KPOPWORLD #6 (Yves)

KPOPWORLD #6 (KEYVITUP X VAYONN)

KPOPWORLD #5

KPOPWORLD #4

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

82MAJOR have their first music show win — and SEONG MO, who spent over a year presenting trophies on Show Champion as an MC, finally got to receive one

82MAJOR on HEAT, Their First Win, and What Comes Next

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

Seok Matthew and Park Gunwook, members of WakeOne’s ZEROBASEONE, have announced the September 21 release of their long awaited sub-unit project under the duo name ‘EMP’

ZEROBASEONE’s Seok Matthew and Park Gunwook Announce Mixtape Under Sub-unit ‘EMP’

TOMORROW X TOGETHER, often shortened to TXT, is a five-member boy group under BIGHIT MUSIC. The group consists of Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai. They debuted in March 2019 with The Dream Chapter: Star, becoming BigHit&#x27;s first boy group after BTS and immediately attracting heavy attention. TXT&#x27;s early identity centered on youth, friendship, imagination, and the strange emotional weather of growing up. Instead of debuting with a hard-edged performance image, they leaned into brightness, fantasy, and vulnerability on songs such as &quot;Crown,&quot; &quot;Run Away,&quot; and &quot;Blue Hour.&quot; That made the group feel distinct within fourth-generation boy-group trends, especially because their storytelling often treated adolescence as magical, confusing, and a little unstable. As their catalog developed, TXT added sharper pop-rock, emo, and dance influences through songs like &quot;0X1=LOVESONG,&quot; &quot;LO$ER=LOVER,&quot; &quot;Sugar Rush Ride,&quot; and &quot;Chasing That Feeling.&quot; The members&#x27; strengths map cleanly onto that evolution: Soobin&#x27;s calm leadership, Yeonjun&#x27;s performance charisma, Beomgyu&#x27;s color, Taehyun&#x27;s vocal focus, and Huening Kai&#x27;s bright tone all help the group move between softness and intensity. TXT&#x27;s fandom is known as MOA, short for Moments of Alwaysness. The group&#x27;s significance is tied to how carefully they built a coming-of-age identity across albums, videos, and performances. Rather than defining themselves through a single sound, TXT became a group about transition itself: childhood into adulthood, fantasy into reality, and polished idol pop into something more emotionally restless.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER

When Dolce &amp; Gabbana named SOOBIN its newest ambassador, they led with skincare. Alongside the expected fashion portraits, his debut imagery puts glass skin and product front and center. It's not a random choice

SOOBIN, Dolce & Gabbana and the Growing Power of Male K-Beauty

SEVENTEEN is a thirteen-member boy group formed by Pledis Entertainment, debuting in May 2015. The group is organized into three internal teams: hip-hop, vocal, and performance. That structure is more than branding; it explains how SEVENTEEN functions, with members contributing to songwriting, choreography, staging, and the division of energy across a very large lineup. The members are S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino. Their nickname as &quot;self-producing idols&quot; comes especially from Woozi&#x27;s central role in music and Hoshi&#x27;s role in performance direction, but the larger appeal is how the group makes thirteen people feel coordinated rather than crowded. SEVENTEEN&#x27;s early music leaned bright, youthful, and rhythmically nimble, with songs like &quot;Adore U,&quot; &quot;Mansae,&quot; and &quot;Very Nice&quot; presenting them as a group with unusual stage chemistry. Later releases such as &quot;Don&#x27;t Wanna Cry,&quot; &quot;Home,&quot; &quot;Left &amp; Right,&quot; &quot;Rock with you,&quot; and &quot;Super&quot; widened the scale while keeping the choreography and vocal distribution clear. Their best songs often turn teamwork itself into the hook: repeated gestures, fast transitions, and formations that reward watching the whole stage. The group&#x27;s growth into one of K-pop&#x27;s top album sellers came from consistency as much as spectacle. SEVENTEEN built trust through steady comebacks, strong variety content, and concerts that emphasized the members&#x27; humor as well as precision. Their fandom, CARAT, became part of that identity, following a group that could be technically impressive without losing warmth. SEVENTEEN&#x27;s legacy is tied to durability. Few large idol groups have kept such a clear group image while allowing so many individual personalities to stand out. As their scale expanded under the wider HYBE era, they remained recognizably Pledis-born: performance-first, member-driven, and unusually good at turning the mechanics of a big team into something emotionally easy to understand.

SEVENTEEN

JEONGHAN and JOSHUA of SEVENTEEN have announced that they will return as a new sub-unit on October 19, under the name JxJ

SEVENTEEN’s JEONGHAN and JOSHUA Form New Sub-unit JxJ

Rookie groups have taken over this week’s latest K-pop releases with songs that are intense, dramatic, soft, and lighthearted

Comeback Corner: IU, YOUNGTAK, NAZE & MORE

Wanna One was an eleven-member project boy group formed through Produce 101 Season 2 and managed by Swing Entertainment. The lineup consisted of Kang Daniel, Park Jihoon, Daehwi, Kim Jaehwan, Seongwu, Woojin, Kuanlin, Jisung, Hwang Minhyun, Jinyoung, and Ha Sungwoon. The group debuted in August 2017 with 1X1=1 (To Be One), led by &quot;Energetic,&quot; and almost immediately became one of the biggest acts in Korea. Wanna One&#x27;s appeal came from the survival-show bond already formed with viewers: fans had watched the members compete, struggle, and be selected, so the debut felt less like an introduction than a payoff. That emotional investment translated into huge album sales, music show wins, endorsements, and concerts during a very short contract period. Musically, Wanna One balanced bright rookie energy with more dramatic performance tracks, moving from &quot;Energetic&quot; and &quot;Beautiful&quot; to later releases that emphasized nostalgia and urgency. Because the group was temporary from the start, even ordinary comebacks carried a countdown feeling. Their fandom, Wannable, supported the group with the intensity of knowing the project had an end date. Wanna One disbanded in early 2019, but their influence lasted through the members&#x27; later solo, acting, and group careers. They became one of the clearest examples of survival-show fandom turning into full-scale mainstream power, and their success shaped expectations for later project groups across the Produce system and beyond.

Wanna One

Seven years after disbanding, Wanna One are back – and the internet has not forgotten them. The first teaser for their new reality show, WANNA ONE GO: Back to Base

Wanna One Reunite After 7 Years With Reality Show ‘Back To Base’

Seventeen closed their "New_" world tour in Incheon on April 5th with an announcement that had nothing to do with the setlist. All thirteen members have renewed their contracts with Pledis Entertainment for the second time

Seventeen Renew Contracts With Pledis For The Second Time

Korean-American actor Daniel Dae Kim is teaming up with CNN for K-Everything, a four-part original series exploring the global rise of Korean culture – from K-pop and K-dramas to food and skincare

Daniel Dae Kim To Host CNN Special “K-Everything”

BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Music in 2010 and debuting on June 12, 2013, with the single album &quot;2 Cool 4 Skool&quot;. The group consists of seven members: RM (leader), Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. The name BTS stands for Bangtan Sonyeondan (“Bulletproof Boy Scouts”), reflecting the group’s original concept of resisting societal expectations and criticism aimed at youth. Members RM, Suga, and J-Hope have played significant roles in songwriting and production throughout the group’s career. BTS first gained widespread attention with the [The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1 era], particularly the single I Need U, which earned the group their first Korean music show win in 2015. Their international breakthrough followed with releases such as Wings and the Love Yourself series. In 2018, &quot;Love Yourself: Tear&quot; became the first album by a Korean act to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The group achieved further global success with singles including &quot;Dynamite&quot;, &quot;Butter&quot;, and &quot;Permission to Dance&#x27;&quot;, all of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. BTS is among the best-selling artists in South Korean history and has received numerous international awards, while also participating in global initiatives such as the UNICEF Love Myself campaign. Between 2022 and 2025, BTS paused full-group activities as the members completed South Korea’s mandatory military service. The last member, Suga, was discharged in June 2025, marking the completion of service for all seven members. Following their reunion, the group confirmed they were preparing a new album and world tour for 2026. Their tenth studio album, &quot;ARIRANG&quot;, recorded between July and November 2025, was released on March 20, 2026, marking their first group release in more than three years. The album will be supported by the Arirang World Tour, beginning in April 2026.

BTS have officially made history (again). Their fifth studio album ARIRANG debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 641,000 equivalent album units in its first week – the biggest debut of 2026

BTS Make History With Simultaneous Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 Number Ones

HYBE INDIA is looking for its next girl group – and applications are open now

HYBE India Has Opened Auditions for a New Girl Group

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

History has been made. BLACKPINK's Lisa has become the first K-pop artist to hold a Las Vegas residency, with "VIVA LA LISA" set for The Colosseum at Caesars Palace across two weekends in November

LISA Becomes First K-pop Idol To Book Vegas Residency

AHOF is a 9-member group under F&amp;F Entertainment, consisting of members: Steven, Jeongwoo, Woongki, Shuaibo, Han, JL, Juwon, Chihen and Daisuke. The multinational boy group, formed through SBS&#x27;s survival program &quot;Universe League&quot;, name of AHOF stands for &quot;All-time Hall Of Famer&quot;, representing the members&#x27; bold ambition of one day entering Kpop&#x27;s Hall Of Fame. Their group name has further meaning, with it in Hangul (&quot;아홉&quot;) translating to &quot;Nine&quot;. In July of 2025, they debuted with the EP &quot;WHO WE ARE&quot;, with their title track &quot;Rendezvous&quot; winning the music show &quot;The Show&quot; only 7 days later. Their fandom name, FOHA, was released a few months later, on September 9, 2025. While literally being a reversal of AHOF&#x27;s group name, it also stands for &quot;Forever Our Hope, AHOF&quot;. AHOF continue to develop their musical journey, through wins on music shows, new albums, and unwavering support from fans.

AHOF

AHOF have made history as the first project group to extend their contract with their entire nine-member lineup intact — seven years, all members, no exceptions

AHOF’s 7-Year Contract Extension Sets An Interesting Precedent For Project Groups

HYBE INDIA Is Coming for the Next Generation of Indian Pop Talent

JUSTB, formerly stylized as JUST B, is a South Korean six-member boy group under Bluedot Entertainment. They debuted with their first mini album, Just Burn, marking the beginning of their activities in the music industry. The group was formed following the transfer of several PlayM BOYS trainees to Bluedot Entertainment, with the full lineup revealed sequentially ahead of debut. Prior to their official launch, the members engaged with fans through early promotional content and live audio interactions, building anticipation for their debut. They officially debuted with Just Burn, followed by their first single album Just Beat later that year. In 2022, they continued to expand their discography with their second mini album Just Begun and third mini album = (Neun), further developing their musical identity. In 2023, the group launched the “JUST Be with you” project, collaborating with other artists and releasing various digital and special singles, including “Camellia” and I Luv You Merry Christmas. They also released their fourth mini album ÷ (Nanugi), showcasing continued growth in both concept and sound. In 2024, they released the English digital single “Daddy’s Girl” and participated in the project group The CrewOne alongside ATBO. During this period, member Siwoo temporarily suspended activities before later returning. In 2025, the group released the digital single “Still I Luv You,” followed by additional releases including a digital album and English singles. They also adopted the stylization JUSTB and continued their activities with further music releases, including their fifth mini album Snow Angel, accompanied by a pre-release track.

JUSTB

JUSTB's JIMIN is taking a break from group activities following a diagnosis of anxiety symptoms, with BlueDot Entertainment confirming the decision was made in consultation with a specialist and with the full support of his fellow members

JUSTB’s JIMIN To Take Mental Health Break Amid Anxiety Symptoms

THE BOYZ is an eleven-member boy group formed by Cre.Ker Entertainment (now an independent group), debuting in December 2017. The group gained significant attention for their performance abilities, particularly after their appearance on the Mnet competition show &quot;Road to Kingdom&quot; in 2020, where they won first place with theatrical, visually stunning stages that showcased their storytelling through dance. Their &quot;Road to Kingdom&quot; victory was a turning point, elevating THE BOYZ from a mid-tier group to one of the most respected performance-focused acts in K-pop. Songs like &quot;The Stealer,&quot; &quot;THRILL RIDE,&quot; and &quot;MAVERICK&quot; have highlighted their versatility. THE BOYZ&#x27;s fandom, THE B, has grown steadily, supporting the group through sold-out concerts and strong album sales. The group is widely regarded as having some of the best synchronized choreography and stage presence in the industry. On March 19, 2026, nine members of The Boyz filed for the termination of their exclusive contracts with One Hundred Label, citing issues including unpaid settlements and a breakdown of trust. The agency disputed the claims and rejected the termination, resulting in a legal dispute between the parties. As of April 23, 2026, the court ruled in favor of the nine members, granting the boys an injunction to end the validity of their contracts. The members who were involved are officially free from their ties with One Hundred Label, however the last member still remains as of right now. The group is currently continuing forward as an independent group, being one of the most successful of their peers to make such move.

THE BOYZ

THE BOYZ have filed to terminate their contract with ONE HUNDRED, citing unpaid settlement fees dating back to July 2025 – despite repeated requests for transparency from the group

THE BOYZ Are Done With ONE HUNDRED – And the Receipts Are Piling Up

Stray Kids is an eight-member boy group under JYP Entertainment, consisting of Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. The group was introduced through the 2017 survival program Stray Kids and officially debuted in March 2018 with I Am Not, following the pre-debut release &quot;Hellevator.&quot; Former member Kim Woojin left in 2019. The group&#x27;s identity is unusually tied to self-production. Before debut, Bang Chan had already gathered the members around a team-first concept, and the production trio 3RACHA -- Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han -- became the engine behind much of Stray Kids&#x27; sound. That gave the group a different center of gravity from many idol acts: the music often felt like it came from inside the team rather than being assigned to them. Musically, Stray Kids are known for dense rap writing, aggressive electronic textures, sudden rhythmic switches, and choruses built for performance impact. &quot;God&#x27;s Menu,&quot; &quot;Back Door,&quot; &quot;Thunderous,&quot; &quot;Maniac,&quot; and &quot;S-Class&quot; made their style easy to identify: noisy in the intentional sense, but organized around hooks, slogans, and choreography that fans could immediately hold onto. Their lyrics often return to pressure, self-definition, ambition, and the awkward process of growing into confidence. The members&#x27; contrast is a major part of the group&#x27;s appeal. Bang Chan anchors the team as leader and producer; Changbin and Han give the rap line speed and personality; Lee Know, Hyunjin, and Felix shape the performance image; Seungmin and I.N bring clearer melodic balance. Rather than smoothing those differences out, Stray Kids usually lean into them, making their songs feel crowded, restless, and unmistakably theirs. Stray Kids became one of the defining global boy groups of the fourth generation, with a fandom known as STAY and major touring success across Asia, North America, Europe, and beyond. Their rise helped prove that a self-producing idol group could scale internationally while keeping a specific sonic fingerprint. Even when the group experiments with genre or language, the core idea remains stable: Stray Kids make high-impact pop out of tension, noise, teamwork, and control.

Stray Kids

Stray Kids' Felix brought a different kind of energy to the F1 Grand Prix of China in Shanghai on March 15 – appearing as an Adidas Global brand ambassador alongside the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team, and promptly taking over the internet in the process

Stray Kids’ Felix Makes A Surprising Appearance At F1 Grand Prix

NCT, short for Neo Culture Technology, is a boy group project under SM Entertainment. The system was built around multiple units, changing combinations, and regional expansion rather than a single fixed lineup, making NCT one of SM&#x27;s most ambitious idol structures. The project began publicly through NCT U in 2016, then expanded through fixed or semi-fixed units such as NCT 127, NCT Dream, WayV, and NCT WISH. Each unit carries a different role: Seoul-based performance, youth-to-adult growth, Chinese-language promotion, rotational experiments, and the final new-team expansion. NCT&#x27;s music is often associated with dense production, experimental structures, and performance-heavy arrangements. The group&#x27;s system allowed SM to place members in songs by concept, which helped produce very different sounds under the same brand without asking every unit to serve the same identity. The project also made member identity central to the fan experience. NCTzen follows not only the full brand but also unit dynamics, cross-unit collaborations, and individual member activities, which makes the profile more complex than a normal group page. NCT is both a group brand and a structure for multiple teams. That structure shaped how SM approached global boy-group promotion from the mid-2010s onward, making the project as much about organization and unit design as individual songs.

The lore has finally come full circle. NCT's Mark – known to fans as "Spider-Mark" since at least 2019 – was chosen as Sony and Marvel's representative for South Korea in the global trailer campaign for Spider-Man: Brand New Day

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