The group created by MNET’s survival show Boys Planet is set to debut with Youth in the Shade, and they’ve already exceeded expectations.

ZEROBASEONE (abbreviated to ZB1) fought to be where they are, and now they’re ready to prove to the world why they were chosen with their mini album, Youth in the Shade. The nine boys competed on Boys Planet, a famous MNET survival show, where they proved that their talent simply has no limits. They are now a group under WAKEONE Entertainment where they’ve already made their mark on the world, but what comes next is the real fun. 

ZB1 are set to debut on 10th July with their mini album, Youth in the Shade. On 4th July, it had already broken the record of most pre-ordered album for a debuting Korean artist with over 1.08 million pre-orders in only 13 days. The group is already regarded as the first “Million Seller” debuting group and as the most anticipated debut of the year — after the traction they got during Boys Planet, this comes as no surprise. 

From zero to one

The group consists of members Sung Han Bin, Kim Ji Woong, Zhang Hao, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae Rae, Ricky, Kim Gyu Vin, Park Gun Wook, and Han Yu Jin (starting with their leader, then in order from oldest to youngest).

Their group name is to symbolize a “glorious beginning” as they went from being zero to coming together as one. The official name for their fans is ZEROSE, a combination of “zero” and “rose”. As explained by Ji Woong, ZEROBASEONE minus themselves (ZeBaONE) leaves them with ROSE, making ZB1 and their fans a perfect match. 

ZB1 has been working nonstop on films, dance practices and teasers, all raising the bar one after another. After introducing the group name to fans, an official dance practice of the Boys Planet song “난 빛나 (Here I Am)” was released and has already accumulated over 2 million views.

Meanwhile, darkness takes over in their spoiler film for the mini album’s title, while their “Back to ZEROBASE Film” is light and airy with a running theme of togetherness. 

The next step is the release of their mini album with the title track “In Bloom” and five more songs: “Back to ZEROBASE”, “New Kids on the Block”, “and I”, “Our Season”, and “Always”.

“In Bloom” directly reflects the path ZB1 want to take as a group. They are young and new, so they plan on blooming brightly and creating beauty for everyone to enjoy. Fans can look forward to what seems like an ode to being young and facing life’s challenges with the best group of friends. 

For fans interested in binge watching Boys Planet for a look into the group pre-debut, the full show is available on Viki. Their mini album Youth in the Shade will be released 10th July 2023 at 18:00 (KST). Until then, we can enjoy the “In Bloom” MV Teaser and pick our possible biases, but personally, we think we might be OT9!

What was your favourite ZEROBASEONE moment on Boys Planet? Let us know in the comments below!

Edited by Gabii Rayner.