TNX (an acronym for The New Six) is a five-member boy group under P NATION. Originally debuting as six members, the group was formed through the SBS survival program LOUD, a collaboration project between J.Y. Park and PSY. They officially debuted on May 17, 2022 with their first mini album Way Up. The group’s lineup was finalized during the finale of LOUD in 2021, where Kyung Jun, Tae Hun, Hyun Soo, Jun Hyeok, Hwi, Sung Jun, and Tanaka Koki were selected for P NATION’s upcoming boy group. However, in January 2022, P NATION announced that Tanaka Koki would not debut with the team in order to continue training, leading the group to debut as six members under the name TNX. On their debut day, they also introduced their fandom name THX, meaning “Together with TNX.” Following their debut, TNX continued building their discography with releases such as Love Never Dies, Boyhood, and the digital single &quot;Fuego&quot;, while also participating in the survival competition Road to Kingdom : Ace of Ace in 2024. During this period, member Jun Hyeok temporarily paused activities due to anxiety before later returning to the group. In October 2024, it was announced that member Kyung Jun would enlist in the military and depart from the group following the completion of his service, reducing TNX to five members. The group continued activities with releases including the mini album For Real? in 2025 and the digital single &quot;Call Me Back&quot; in 2026, maintaining their growth under P NATION.

TNX's Kurated KPOPWORLD playlist doubles as commentary on "Die Another Day" itself

Kurated: 10 Songs That Inspired TNX During “Die Another Day”

WHIB is a seven-member boy group under C-JeS Entertainment, consisting of members Kim Junmin, Haseung, Jinbeom, UGeon, Leejeong, Jaeha, and Wonjun. Originally an octet, they debuted on November 8, 2023, with the single album Cut-Out. The group was first teased in November 2021 as the trainee group M.I.C, which stood for “Made in C-JeS.” On September 7, 2023, it was revealed that the group would debut as an eight-member group under the name WHIB, along with introductions to the new members. In 2025, members LeeJeong, Junmin and Wonjun competed on the Mnet survival show Boys II Planet, ranking 12th, 13th, and 62nd, respectively. On October 16, it was announced that member Inhong had departed from the group. WHIB released their first mini album, ROCK THE NATION, on January 29, 2026.

WHIB

Once driven by the need to do everything perfectly, he has learned to trust his own strengths, find his individual style, and enjoy the process more freely

An Interview with WHIB’s WONJUN – The Perfectionist Learning to Trust Himself

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TNX have spent four years building a reputation on performance. With "Die Another Day," they went looking for it somewhere new

TNX Talk Rock, Live Vocals, and Refusing to Hold Back

Beyond K-pop, Southeast Asian genres like P-pop are gaining international attention. Leading the charge is boy band SB19, who are coming to San Antonio to show exactly why

KPOPWORLD Festival Spotlight: SB19

Jay Park headlines the first-ever KPOPWORLD Festival, and if you know his story, that booking makes perfect sense

KPOPWORLD Festival Spotlight: Jay Park

As the second KPOPWORLD Festival headliner, indie-rock band The Rose present a refreshing authenticity

KPOPWORLD Festival Spotlight: The Rose

ZEROBASEONE, commonly known as ZB1, is a five-member boy group formed through the Mnet survival show &quot;Boys Planet&quot; in 2023. They originally debuted as a nine-member group — along with AND2BLE&#x27;s members Zhang Hao, Ricky, Kim Gyuvin and Han Yujin — under WAKEONE Entertainment, with &quot;In Bloom&quot; setting first-week sales records that demonstrated the massive anticipation built through the survival show. As a project group with a limited contract period, ZB1 operates with an urgency to make every comeback count, and they have delivered with consistent chart-topping releases and sold-out concerts. The group&#x27;s strength lies in their strong individual star power combined with impressive group synergy, cultivated through the intense bonding of their competition experience. Their fandom, ZEROSE, mobilized quickly into one of the most organized fan bases in fourth-generation K-pop. ZB1 represents the continued power of the survival show format to create commercially dominant groups with built-in passionate audiences. On March 15, 2026, they held their last concert as a nine-member boy group, sparking sadness among fans, who had grown fond of the relationship that had developed between the nine boys. As YH Entertainment did not renew the contracts of Zhang Hao, Ricky, Kim Gyuvin, and Han Yujin with WAKEONE, ZB1 are now promoting their career as a five-member boy group, with Sung Hanbin, Kim Jiwoong, Seok Matthew, Kim Taerae, and Park Gunwook.

ZEROBASEONE

Sung Hanbin, leader of ZEROBASEONE, has announced his first solo album under THE L1VE LABEL, to be released on October 12

ZEROBASEONE’s Sung Hanbin To Release First Solo Album

EXO-CBX is a subunit of EXO formed by SM Entertainment, consisting of Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin. The unit debuted in 2016 with Hey Mama!, giving three of EXO&#x27;s most agile vocal performers a brighter and more compact setting than the main group often used. The unit&#x27;s appeal comes from vocal chemistry and pace. Chen brings strong high-note power, Baekhyun adds a flexible R&amp;B/pop center, and Xiumin gives the trio a clean tone and performance sharpness. The trio&#x27;s music, especially &quot;Hey Mama!&quot; and &quot;Blooming Day,&quot; shows a lighter, funkier, and more playful side of EXO&#x27;s wider musical world without disconnecting from the main group. EXO-CBX is important because it made an EXO subunit feel like a complete pop act rather than a temporary pairing. The group&#x27;s releases in Korea and Japan gave fans a focused version of EXO&#x27;s vocal color, built around three members whose voices could carry both energetic dance tracks and smoother melodic material.

EXO-CBX

EXO’s sub-unit CBX, made up of Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin, have reportedly filed a legal injunction against their company INB100

EXO and CBX’s Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin File for Contract Suspension from INB100

WONHO has always known how to catch the eye. Four years with MONSTA X, and now a soloist of six years

KPOPWORLD Festival Spotlight: Wonho

ENHYPEN is a boy group formed through the 2020 survival show I-LAND and managed by Belift Lab. The current lineup consists of Jungwon, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-ki. They debuted in November 2020 with Border: Day One, arriving with a built-in global audience from the show and a concept built around connection, transformation, and fate. The group&#x27;s early work used dark, dramatic imagery to separate them from brighter rookie-boy-group formulas. &quot;Given-Taken,&quot; &quot;Drunk-Dazed,&quot; &quot;Fever,&quot; and later songs in the Dimension and Dark Blood eras leaned into supernatural metaphors, sharp choreography, and a tension between elegance and danger. That made ENHYPEN feel less like a simple survival-show product and more like a group with a continuing storyline. ENHYPEN&#x27;s member appeal is strongly performance-based. Jungwon gives the team a steady center as leader, Jay and Jake bring international texture, Sunghoon&#x27;s skating background informs his clean stage image, Sunoo adds brightness and contrast, and Ni-ki anchors the dance line with unusual precision for a maknae. Their fandom, ENGENE, grew quickly because the group&#x27;s identity invited close reading: fans could follow the music, the lore, and the members&#x27; development at the same time. As a fourth-generation act, ENHYPEN&#x27;s importance sits between survival-show fandom and global idol scale. They showed how a group could debut with a transnational audience already watching, then keep that audience through consistent visual storytelling, polished performance, and songs that made adolescence feel mythic rather than ordinary.

ENHYPEN

EVAN has arrived with his first mini album: DEATH OF ME is out now, with eight tracks led by EVAN across production and creative direction, stretching from alt-rock grit to dream pop softness

EVAN Arrives With Debut Mini Album DEATH OF ME

82Major (stylized in all caps) is a South Korean boy band formed by Great M Entertainment. The group consists of six members: Cho Seong-il, Yoon Ye-chan, Nam Seong-mo, Hwang Seong-bin, Park Seok-joon and Kim Do-gyun. The group&#x27;s name is a combination of South Korea&#x27;s calling code (+82) and the word ‘major’, expressing their desire to become a group that represents Korea. They debuted on October 11, 2023, with the single album On.

82MAJOR

Rising boy group 82MAJOR has reached the number one spot on a real-time chart for the first time with the title track of their latest single album, ‘HEAT.’

82MAJOR Tops Real-time Charts for the First Time with “Like Fire

NiziU (ニジュー) is a nine-member Japanese girl group formed by JYP Entertainment and Sony Music Japan through the Japanese reality show Nizi Project. The group’s name, a combination of &quot;Nizi&quot; (rainbow) and &quot;U&quot; (the fans/members), symbolizes their goal of shining in various colors. The final lineup was established on June 26, 2020, featuring leader Mako, along with Rio, Maya, Riku, Ayaka, Mayuka, Rima, Miihi, and Nina. After the massive pre-debut success of &quot;Make you happy&quot;, the group officially debuted on December 2, 2020, with &quot;Step and a step.&quot;

NiziU

JYP Entertainment’s rising Japanese girl group NiziU has announced their first Korean mini album, ‘Sour Grapes.’ Scheduled for September 28, 2026

Japanese Girl Group NiziU To Release First Korean Mini Album

BLACKPINK is a four-member South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, consisting of Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. They debuted on August 8, 2016 with Square One, led by &quot;Boombayah&quot; and &quot;Whistle,&quot; and arrived as YG&#x27;s first new girl group after 2NE1. From the beginning, the group was presented less as a large idol ensemble and more as four sharply individualized performers, each with a distinct vocal tone, visual identity, and public role. The group&#x27;s name captures the tension that became central to their image: &quot;black&quot; for a harder, more self-assured edge and &quot;pink&quot; for glamour, playfulness, and pop accessibility. Their music often builds around that contrast. Jennie and Lisa&#x27;s rap sections give many songs a clipped, percussive center, while Jisoo and Rosé&#x27;s vocals provide melodic lift and emotional color. This structure made BLACKPINK songs easy to recognize even across different producers, languages, and markets; the group could move from the spare whistle hook of their debut to the maximal drops of &quot;DDU-DU DDU-DU&quot; and still feel like the same act. BLACKPINK&#x27;s rise was also shaped by scarcity. Compared with many idol groups, they released relatively few songs in their first several years, which made each comeback feel closer to an event than a routine promotional cycle. That strategy had tradeoffs, but it concentrated public attention on a small set of songs, videos, styling choices, and stage moments. Tracks such as Kill This Love, How You Like That, Pink Venom, and Shut Down became reference points for a global-facing K-pop style built around impact, visual clarity, and immediately repeatable hooks. Their international growth came from more than chart performance. BLACKPINK connected K-pop&#x27;s idol system with the language of global pop, luxury fashion, digital fandom, and festival stages. They were the first Korean girl group to perform at Coachella in 2019 and returned in 2023 as the first K-pop act to headline the festival. Collaborations with Western pop artists, major fashion-house relationships, and an unusually large YouTube and social-media footprint helped make the members visible to audiences who did not necessarily follow Korean music closely. As individual artists, all four members developed major careers in music, acting, fashion, and brand work, making BLACKPINK one of the clearest examples of a modern K-pop group whose group identity and solo identities reinforce each other. After renewing with YG for group activities, the members&#x27; individual paths became more independent while BLACKPINK remained active as a shared brand and performance unit. Their significance is not only that they broke records, but that they helped normalize a model where a K-pop girl group could operate simultaneously as an idol act, a global pop project, and a set of four standalone celebrity careers. The fandom is known as BLINK.

BLACKPINK

JENNIE has officially been handed the keys at adidas. Her debut collection, "Functional Grace," takes the brand's most recognisable codes

From Three Stripes to ‘Fallen Angel’: Inside JENNIE’s adidas Universe

KickFlip is a seven-member boy group under JYP Entertainment, consisting of Kyehoon, Amaru, Donghwa, Juwang, Minje, Keiju, and Donghyeon. The group was formed through the SBS audition program Loud and debuted in 2025. The group&#x27;s identity connects JYP&#x27;s idol training system with a more youthful, agile performance image. Because several members were already known from a survival-show context, KickFlip&#x27;s debut carried built-in curiosity around how the lineup would translate from trainee competition to a working group. The fandom is known as WeFlip. KickFlip is still early in its career, with its public identity centered on formation, lineup, and debut positioning rather than a long-established legacy.

KickFlip

JYP Entertainment’s rookie boy group KickFlip has announced their fifth mini album, ‘KICK OFF THE WALL Pt. 1,’ for October 6, alongside hints at their first world tour

KickFlip Announces 5th Mini Album and First World Tour

LISA of BLACKPINK has released her new single “SaWaDiKa,” ahead of a new mini album titled ‘PRESS PLAY’

LISA Releases “SaWaDiKa” Ahead of October EP ‘PRESS PLAY’

Jessi arrives at the KPOPWORLD Festival as an icon

KPOPWORLD Festival Spotlight: Jessi

UNIS is an eight-member multinational project girl group under F&amp;F Entertainment, formed through the survival show Universe Ticket. The lineup consists of HyeonJu, Nana, Gehlee, Kotoko, Yunha, Elisia, Yoona, and Seowon. The group debuted in 2024 with &quot;SUPERWOMAN,&quot; carrying the survival-show narrative into a team built from Korean, Japanese, and Filipino members. That multinational makeup is central to UNIS&#x27;s identity, especially because the group gained attention from audiences following the members before debut. The fandom is known as EverAfter. UNIS is a current project group shaped by Universe Ticket, with its early identity driven by the lineup, multinational fan interest, and the survival-show story that introduced the members.

UNIS

F&amp;F Entertainment has announced that rising girl group UNIS will release a remake of B.B’s hit song “Heaven’s Land Star Land” on September 8, 2026

ZEROBASEONE’s Sung Hanbin To Release First Solo Album

EXO and CBX’s Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin File for Contract Suspension from INB100

Exclusive

Kurated: 10 Songs That Inspired TNX During “Die Another Day”

An Interview with WHIB’s WONJUN – The Perfectionist Learning to Trust Himself

News

KPOPWORLD Festival Spotlight: Wonho

EVAN Arrives With Debut Mini Album DEATH OF ME

82MAJOR Tops Real-time Charts for the First Time with “Like Fire

Japanese Girl Group NiziU To Release First Korean Mini Album

From Three Stripes to ‘Fallen Angel’: Inside JENNIE’s adidas Universe

KickFlip Announces 5th Mini Album and First World Tour

LISA Releases “SaWaDiKa” Ahead of October EP ‘PRESS PLAY’

KPOPWORLD Festival Spotlight: Jessi

UNIS Announces Remake of B.B’s 90s Hit “Heaven’s Land Star Land”

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