KPOPWORLD #6 (Yves)

KPOPWORLD #6 (KEYVITUP X VAYONN)

KPOPWORLD #5

KPOPWORLD #4

Choi Yu Ree는 Stay 시리즈의 마지막 장인 Stay: Two를 통해, 섬세한 송라이팅으로 일상 속에서 형태를 만들어가는 취약함, 사랑, 두려움, 그리고 조용한 감정들을 이야기한다.

Choi Yu Ree는 자신을 있는 그대로 지키고 있다

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

LOONA에서 솔로 아티스트로의 진화까지, Yves는 2026년 솔직하고 날것 그대로의 대화 속에서 자신의 여정, 창작 정체성, 그리고 성장 뒤에 숨은 어려움에 대해 털어놓는다

Yves의 자아 이미지

K-pop 프로모션 사이클에서 가장 핵심적인 요소가 하나 있다면, 바로 음악방송이고, 그에 따른 음악방송 1위다

음악방송 1위란 정확히 무엇일까 – 그리고 그룹들은 어떻게 1위를 차지할까?

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 BOYZ와 함께한 거의 10년에 가까운 시간 끝에, KEVIN MOON은 데뷔 프로젝트 FREECHILD로 솔로 아티스트로서 새로운 챕터를 열고 있다

KEVIN MOON 인터뷰 – 새장 속 새, 비로소 날아오르다

SM 창립자 Lee Soo-man의 복귀로 주목받고 있는 A2O Entertainment가 2026년 10월 12일 보이그룹과 걸그룹을 동시에 데뷔시킨다고 발표했다.

Lee Soo-man의 A2O Entertainment, 보이그룹과 걸그룹 동시 데뷔 예고

P1Harmony is a South Korean boy group formed and managed by FNC Entertainment. The group debuted on October 28, 2020, with the extended play &quot;Disharmony: Stand Out&quot;. P1Harmony consists of six members: Keeho, Theo, Jiung, Intak, Soul, and Jongseob. Since their debut, the group has released a series of EPs and promotional singles under a narrative continuity that explores themes of identity, conflict, and growth, often described as the &quot;Harmony series.&quot; Their discography includes Disharmony: Break Out (2021), Harmony: All In, Harmony: Set In, and subsequent releases reflecting both commercial and conceptual development. The group is known for strong choreography, narrative-driven concepts, and genre versatility spanning pop, hip-hop, R&amp;B, and EDM influences. P1Harmony has promoted both domestically and internationally, performing on Korean music shows and participating in global events.

P1Harmony

P1Harmony는 영웅 서사를 이어가는 10번째 미니 앨범 BLOW UP를 2026년 11월 6일 발매할 예정이다.

P1Harmony, 11월 10번째 미니 앨범 ‘BLOW UP’ 발매 발표

WayV is the Chinese-based fixed unit of SM Entertainment‘s ambitious NCT (Neo Culture Technology) project, debuting on January 17, 2019 as the fourth sub-unit of NCT. They are managed by SM Entertainment’s China-exclusive label, Label V. They debuted with the digital EP, The Vision. The group currently consists of 6 members; Kun, Ten, WinWin, Xiaojun, Hendery, YangYang

WayV

NCT의 유닛 WayV의 XIAOJUN이 첫 솔로 미니 앨범 Hey, Somebody를 2026년 10월 26일 발매할 예정이다.

WayV의 XIAOJUN, 첫 미니 앨범 ‘Hey, Somebody’ 발매

ALPHA DRIVE ONE, also shortened as ALD1, is an eight-member project boy group under WAKEONE. The lineup consists of Leo, Junseo, Arno, Geonwoo, Sangwon, Xinlong, Anxin, and Sanghyeon. The group was formed through Boys II Planet, continuing the survival-show project group model that has become central to modern K-pop fandom. Their early rollout included the pre-debut single &quot;Formula&quot; before their official 2026 debut, giving the team a staged introduction rather than a single launch moment. The fandom is known as ALLYZ. ALPHA DRIVE ONE is defined by its formation, lineup, debut structure, and five-year project framework, giving fans a clear sense of both the group&#x27;s origin and the limited-contract timeline around its future.

ALPHA DRIVE ONE

ALPHA DRIVE ONE이 UNBREAKABLE : 少年 BEAST를 미국 현지에 선보인다

ALPHA DRIVE ONE, UNBREAKABLE : 少年 BEAST 미국에서 첫 발매

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

떠오르는 genderless 그룹 XLOV가 새로운 로고와 함께 2026년 10월 28일 발매 예정인 세 번째 미니 앨범 소식을 전하며 다음 장을 열었다

XLOV, 3rd Mini Album ‘i=!’로 새로운 시대 예고

Xdinary Heroes is a South Korean rock band under Studio J, a subsidiary of JYP Entertainment. It is the second group introduced by Studio J in nearly six years after DAY6. The group consists of six members ; Gunil, Jungsu, Gaon, O.de, Jun Han, and Jooyeon, all of whom are involved in writing, composing, and producing the music of the band. They made their debut on December 6, 2021 with the single Happy Death Day. The song debuted at number 12 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales. The band&#x27;s name is an abbreviation of “Extraordinary Heroes&quot;, meaning &quot;anyone can become a hero&quot;.

Xdinary Heroes

JYP Entertainment의 K-band Xdinary Heroes가 2026년 10월 12일 발매 예정인 아홉 번째 미니 앨범 IMPULSE의 출시를 발표했다.

Gunil 없이 새 미니 앨범 ‘IMPULSE’ 발표한 Xdinary Heroes

PLAVE is a virtual boy group under VLAST. It consists of five members: Yejun, Noah, Bamby, Eunho, and Hamin. The group uses motion capture technology for their idol activities. They were first introduced through YouTube and Twitch streams starting in September 2022. The group officially debuted on March 12, 2023, with the single album &quot;Asterum&quot;. In 2024, they joined the Melon Billion Club after reaching one billion cumulative streams. This record was achieved in just 494 days since their debut, breaking the previous record and becoming the artist to join the Melon Billion Club in the shortest time since their debut. In 2025, in the first week of the release of their third EP, &quot;Caligo Pt. 1&quot;, they sold one million copies, becoming the first virtual group to achieve this. In mid-June, they made their Japanese debut with the single &quot;Kakurenbo (Hide &amp; Seek)&quot;. It reached one million streams on Melon, making it the first time a Japanese song by a K-pop group had entered Melon&#x27;s &quot;Hall of Fame.&quot;

PLAVE

버추얼 보이그룹 PLAVE가 2026년 10월 12일 디지털 발매 예정인 5번째 미니앨범 HYPERDRIVE의 발매를 발표했다.

매진된 스타디움 콘서트에 이어 PLAVE, 5번째 미니앨범 ‘HYPERDRIVE’ 발매

ENHYPEN is a boy group formed through the 2020 survival show I-LAND and managed by Belift Lab, currently made up of Jungwon, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-ki. They debuted in November 2020 with Border: Day One, arriving with a global audience already in place from the show and a concept organized around connection, transformation, and fate. Their early work used dark, dramatic imagery to pull away from brighter rookie formulas. "Given-Taken," "Drunk-Dazed," "Fever," and the later Dimension and Dark Blood eras leaned on supernatural metaphor, sharp choreography, and a push-pull between elegance and danger &mdash; which made them feel less like a survival-show byproduct than a group with an ongoing storyline. The member appeal is heavily performance-driven: Jungwon holds a steady center as leader, Jay and Jake bring international texture, Sunghoon's figure-skating background shapes his clean stage presence, Sunoo adds brightness and contrast, and Ni-ki anchors the dance line with rare precision for a maknae. Their fandom, ENGENE, grew fast because the group's identity rewarded close reading &mdash; music, lore, and member development all unfolding at once. As a fourth-generation act, ENHYPEN sit at the junction of survival-show fandom and global idol scale. They demonstrated that a group could debut with a transnational audience already watching, then hold it through consistent visual storytelling, polished performance, and songs that treated adolescence as mythic rather than ordinary.

ENHYPEN

EVAN이 첫 미니 앨범 DEATH OF ME를 들고 돌아왔다. 총 8곡이 수록된 이번 앨범은 EVAN이 프로덕션과 크리에이티브 디렉션 전반을 이끌었으며, alt-rock의 거친 질감부터 dream pop의 부드러운 분위기까지 아우른다.

EVAN, 데뷔 미니 앨범 DEATH OF ME와 함께 등장

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 Entertainment의 떠오르는 일본 걸그룹 NiziU가 첫 한국 미니 앨범 ‘Sour Grapes’를 발표했다. 발매일은 2026년 9월 28일로 예정돼 있다.

Japanese Girl Group NiziU, 첫 한국 미니 앨범 발매 예정

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 Entertainment의 신인 보이그룹 KickFlip이 10월 6일 다섯 번째 미니 앨범 ‘KICK OFF THE WALL Pt. 1’을 발표한다고 알리며, 첫 월드 투어를 예고했다.

KickFlip, 5th 미니 앨범과 첫 월드 투어 발표

SHINee is a boy group formed by SM Entertainment, debuting in May 2008 with &quot;Replay.&quot; The group consists of Onew, Jonghyun, Key, Minho, and Taemin. SM promoted them as a &quot;contemporary band,&quot; a phrase that fit their role as trendsetters in music, choreography, styling, and performance. SHINee&#x27;s catalog moved quickly from the smooth youthfulness of &quot;Replay&quot; into sharper electronic pop and hybrid performance tracks. Later records like &quot;View&quot; and &quot;1 of 1&quot; showed how far they could push taste while staying accessible, bringing deep house, retro R&amp;B, and fashion-conscious presentation into mainstream idol pop. Their dances were often technical without feeling stiff, and their vocals gave even experimental tracks a polished center. The members built unusually strong individual identities: Onew as a warm vocalist, Jonghyun as a songwriter and one of K-pop&#x27;s most expressive singers, Key as a style and variety standout, Minho as an athletic performer and actor, and Taemin as a solo performer whose work influenced later idols. Jonghyun&#x27;s death in 2017 remains an important and painful part of SHINee&#x27;s history, and the group&#x27;s later activities are often understood through both grief and continuity. SHINee&#x27;s fandom is known as Shawol. Their legacy is deep because they were not only popular; they were influential in ways that became part of K-pop&#x27;s basic vocabulary. Later groups inherited their emphasis on difficult choreography, distinctive styling, strong solo identities, and the idea that idol pop could be both polished and genuinely adventurous.

SHINee

SM Entertainment가 MINHO의 솔로 컴백 소식을 전했다. MINHO는 2026년 9월 7일 미니 앨범 Make it Hot으로 돌아온다. 이번 발표는 SHINee의 6월 그룹 앨범 Atmos 활동이 마무리된 뒤 이어졌다.

SHINee의 MINHO, 9월 두 번째 미니 앨범 ‘Make it Hot’ 발매

ALL(H)OURS is a South Korean boy group under EDEN Entertainment. The group debuted on January 10, 2024 with the mini album ALL OURS and the title track &quot;GOTCHA.&quot; Its lineup consists of Kunho, Youmin, Xayden, Masami, Hyunbin, Minje, and ON:N. The group&#x27;s fandom is known as Min(ut)e. The name ALL(H)OURS suggests a team that is ready to give everything at every hour, a theme that fits the group&#x27;s high-impact performance style. After debut, the group continued building its discography through releases such as WITNESS, Smoke Point, VCF, and NO DOUBT, balancing sharp choreography with direct, energetic title tracks.

ALL(H)OURS

5세대 보이그룹 ALL(H)OURS가 첫 월드 투어를 앞두고 2026년 9월 10일 여섯 번째 미니 앨범 ‘UNBOUND’를 발매한다

Mini Albums