KPOPWORLD #5

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&amp;TEAM is a nine-member Japanese boy group under YX Labels (formerly HYBE Labels Japan). The group was formed through the survival program &quot;&amp;Audition - The Howling&quot; and debuted in December 2022 with their first extended play &quot;First Howling: Me&quot;. The group consists of EJ, Fuma, K, Nicholas, Yuma, Jo, Harua, Taki, and Maki, with EJ serving as the leader. Several members, including K, Nicholas, EJ, and Taki, previously participated in the survival show I-LAND before being selected for HYBE&#x27;s Japanese global debut project. Before their official debut, the group released the digital single Under the Skin, which introduced their storyline and concept. Their debut EP, First Howling,e followed shortly afterward, marking the beginning of the group&#x27;s &quot;First Howling&quot; series of releases. Although primarily active in Japan, &amp;TEAM promoted internationally and later expanded into Korea with Korean-language releases and promotions. Their fandom name is LUNÉ, representing fans who support the group like the moon lighting the night sky.

&TEAM

Las primeras actuaciones de &amp;TEAM en Estados Unidos no fueron solo un debut en KCON, sino una prueba. En el Artist Stage, el grupo actuó ante una multitud abarrotada, pegada a las vallas.

El debut de &TEAM en KCON 2026 destaca

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 han pasado cuatro años construyendo una reputación basada en la performance. Con "Die Another Day", salieron a buscarla en un terreno nuevo

TNX Hablan de Rock, Voces en vivo y de no contenerse

Más allá del K-pop, géneros del sudeste asiático como el P-pop están ganando atención internacional. Al frente de este impulso está la boy band SB19, que llega a San Antonio para mostrar exactamente por qué

KPOPWORLD Festival Spotlight: SB19

XLOV is a South Korean boy group formed by 257 Entertainment and currently managed by [WM Entertainment]. The group consists of four members: Wumuti, Rui, Hyun, and Haru. They debuted on January 7, 2025, with the single album I&#x27;mma Be. XLOV gained attention for promoting a genderless concept, incorporating androgynous styling and performances that challenge traditional gender norms in Kpop. The group&#x27;s name combines &quot;X,&quot; representing the unknown and negation, with &quot;LOV,&quot; symbolizing incomplete love, while their fandom name, EVOL, represents the completion of that concept. Several members were previously known through survival programs before debut. Wumuti, Rui, and Haru participated in Boys Planet, while Wumuti was also active in the project group WATERFIRE before helping form XLOV. The group is particularly noted for Wumuti&#x27;s involvement in songwriting and production, including contributions to their debut release. Since debuting, XLOV has released music including I&#x27;mma Be and I ONE, earning recognition for their distinctive concept, performance style, and growing international fanbase. In 2026, the group&#x27;s management structure changed following the acquisition of 257 Entertainment by WM Entertainment through RBW. Their music primarily incorporates elements of hip-hop, R&amp;B, and pop, while their visual identity and performances have distinguished them as one of the more unconventional rookie acts of the fifth generation of Kpop.

XLOV

Desde su debut en enero de 2025, XLOV han convertido el estilismo sin género en la base de toda su identidad, no solo en un look al que un miembro recurre de vez en cuando

Cómo el estilismo sin género de XLOV está rompiendo el molde del K-pop

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

Compositor y letrista dentro del grupo, JUNMIN aborda la música desde la melodía, al mismo tiempo que abraza la capacidad de WHIB para moverse entre distintos sonidos y estilos

Una entrevista con KIM JUNMIN de WHIB: el creador musical con oído para la melodía

Los años de rookie son brutales. Eso no es nuevo, pero los márgenes se sienten aún más estrechos ahora. La quinta generación ha llegado a un ecosistema donde la atención está dispersa y el listón de la industria para la “preparación” ha subido, mientras la paciencia de los fans se ha acortado

Chispas tempranas, grandes futuros: Los rookies que iluminan 2026

Siempre ha habido un cruce entre la moda y el K-pop, pero 2025 hizo imposible fingir que la relación no es ahora algo estructural

Los momentos de moda que definieron el K-pop en 2025

Algunos años en el K-pop transcurren en línea recta. 2025 no fue uno de ellos. Este fue el año en que la industria zigzagueó tan bruscamente que ni siquiera los fans veteranos podían fingir que lo vieron venir

Las mayores K-sorpresas de 2025

A K-pop le encanta un momento en solitario, pero no siempre ama una carrera en solitario. Esa es la verdad silenciosa que atraviesa 2025: trabajar en solitario, en esta industria, es más difícil de lo que la gente admite

Los solistas que reinaron en 2025

En teoría, un mini-álbum debería ser el formato más fácil del mundo de acertar. De cuatro a seis canciones, sin necesidad de construir toda una mitología, espacio suficiente para probar una idea sin agotarla

La belleza de las cosas pequeñas: los mini-álbums de 2025 que pegaron fuerte

LOONA (이달의 소녀, &quot;Girl of the Month&quot;) is a girl group formed by Blockberry Creative with one of the most ambitious pre-debut projects in K-pop history. From 2016 to 2018, each of the twelve members was individually introduced with her own solo single, music video, and lore before the full group debuted in August 2018. This elaborate rollout created an intricate &quot;LOONAVERSE&quot; mythology that captivated fans who dissected every visual clue and narrative connection. LOONA&#x27;s music spans a remarkable range of styles — from Chuu&#x27;s bubbly &quot;Heart Attack&quot; to the cinematic grandeur of &quot;Butterfly&quot; to the girl-crush energy of &quot;PTT (Paint the Town).&quot; The group gained a uniquely devoted international fandom, Orbits, who turned LOONA into an internet phenomenon long before the group achieved mainstream domestic success. Despite significant company controversies and member departures, LOONA&#x27;s creative ambition and the quality of their discography have ensured their place in K-pop history as one of the most artistically inventive groups of their generation.

LOONA

Chuu anuncia su álbum de estudio debut &lsquo;XO, My Cyberlove,’ que saldrá el 7 de enero

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

ENHYPEN anuncian su 7.º miniálbum ‘THE SIN : VANISH’, previsto para enero de 2026

Intentar predecir cómo se verá el K-pop en 2026 se siente un poco como intentar dibujar un blanco móvil. Nada se queda quieto el tiempo suficiente. Pero eso podría cambiar el próximo año. O al menos, las piezas se están alineando de una manera que hace que parezca posible.

El año en que el K-pop vuelve a la conversación global en sus propios términos

Aunque el K-pop domina la narrativa de exportación, el ecosistema musical de Corea es mucho más grande, extraño y gratificante que los carriles donde la mayoría de los oyentes se quedan

La música coreana esencial de 2025 que no es K-pop

En el mundo del K-pop, puede resultar complicado distinguir, tras la producción intensa y las voces pulidas, las emociones humanas crudas que hay debajo

Reseña de ‘Back to Life’ – &TEAM va más allá del concepto y entra en algo real

Hace diez años, la idea de las giras de K-pop se veía muy diferente. Una gira mundial solía significar un par de arenas en Asia, una parada simbólica en Estados Unidos si tenías suerte y quizá —si las estrellas se alineaban— una noche en Europa en un recinto que no estaba pensado para el pop en absoluto

Noticias

Chispas tempranas, grandes futuros: Los rookies que iluminan 2026

Los momentos de moda que definieron el K-pop en 2025

Las mayores K-sorpresas de 2025

Los solistas que reinaron en 2025

La belleza de las cosas pequeñas: los mini-álbums de 2025 que pegaron fuerte

Chuu anuncia su álbum de estudio debut ‘XO, My Cyberlove,’ que saldrá el 7 de enero

ENHYPEN anuncian su 7.º miniálbum ‘THE SIN : VANISH’, previsto para enero de 2026

El año en que el K-pop vuelve a la conversación global en sus propios términos

La música coreana esencial de 2025 que no es K-pop

Reseña de ‘Back to Life’ – &TEAM va más allá del concepto y entra en algo real

Las giras de K-pop que definieron 2025

2025 en lo visual: Las estéticas conceptuales más llamativas del año

Tendencias

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