ZEROBASEONE is just getting started — and they only have a small amount of time to do so. The temporary K-pop group was formed on a competition show, and will disband around 2026. Keep reading to learn why, and for more details about the boy band.
Who Are ZEROBASEONE?
Formed by Mnet’s reality competition program Boys Planet and managed by WakeOne, the group consists of nine members: Kim Ji-woong, Zhang Hao, Sung Han-bin, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae-rae, Ricky, Kim Gyu-vin, Park Gun-wook and Han Yu-jin.
Boys Planet, which aired its final episode in April 2023, introduce more than 90 idol trainees, who all competed for the opportunity to debut in a boy group.
“Honestly, all trainees who participated on the program have shown so much chemistry and great level of synergy and passion on every performance they prepared and put on,” Hanbin told Teen Vogue in November 2023. “If you look at the program, there is a lot of footage where we react to each other’s stages and we are just amazed by everybody’s performance … We can’t really predict exactly who’s going to debut, but everyone [had] a possibility.”
The final nine-member lineup, which consists of members from South Korea, China and Canada, debuted on July 10, 2023, with the extended play (EP) Youth in the Shade. Becoming the best-selling debut record in K-pop history with almost two million copies sold to date, the group has been coined as the popular K-pop term, “monster rookies.”
“On our debut day, I remember looking at the members and feeling absolutely proud of each and every one of them,” leader Han Yujin said during an interview with Grammys.Com in November 2023. “And I had this thought that if we work harder, we are going to succeed and improve to be even better. I could just feel it. I also thought that, personally, I wanted to work even harder to resemble my amazing hyungs [older members]. I’ve been enjoying every single day since our debut.”
Abbreviated as ZB1, the group name’s meaning represents the “journey of the nine trainees to be completed as one after their debut.”
Why Does ZEROBASEONE Have to Disband?
As they were formed through Boys Planet, the program promises that any group formed their show would only be a temporary one. For ZEROBASEONE, the band will remain active for two years and six months since their debut.
That being said, they’ll most likely go their separate ways around January 2026.
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