Asian Boy Bands- Part 2

Two weeks ago, I did a post about Asian boy bands. It ended up getting too long, so I planned to split it into two parts. Part 1 features Chinese, Japanese and Korean boy bands. You can see it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/06/asian-boy-bands-part-1.html

Here is Part 2! This one features more Korean groups and "crossover" boy bands (i.e. Japanese/Korean). :) 

 

C-pop/J-pop

  

WARPs Up

WARPs Up is a collective boy group originally consisting of 5 members from Japan and China. However, SHO RI left in late 2020, so they are now a 4-piece. They debuted in December 2019 with the Chinese single Rock Tonight (and a Japanese version) and were originally known as WARPs. Almost a year later they released the English and Chinese language single Hali Gali.

According to Japanese Music Wiki, RIKIMARU (real name Chikada Rikamaru) and SANTA (Uno Santa are inactive until next year (I'm not sure why), so WARPS Up is currently a duo. The two current active members are LANGYI (Dengi Langyi) and MINGJUN (Yu Mingjun).*

I shared the boys' dance cover of Justin Bieber's Yummy in this dance videos post from January 2020 (scroll to the bottom): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/01/dance-videos_24.html

And the music video for their single Pleasure in my 2021 J-pop Videos post: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/05/j-pop-videos.html

 

Also, here is the video for POWER which was released back in January. Just LANGYI and MINGJUN are in this one. It's a mostly English song with some Chinese lines.

Note: Avex videos are blocked from being shown on third party applications. If you click on the video, you can watch it fine on YouTube. :)

 

J-pop

FlowBack

5-member group FlowBack made their official debut in 2016, after being together for several years. To date they have released two EPs (a demo CD and Shake the Worlds) and two studio albums- Versus (2017) and Do Not Hesitate (2019). 

The music video for their 2020 single Dramatic Lover also featured in last year's J-pop Videos post: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/05/j-pop-videos.html

 

Watch the video for their latest single, released in May, here (Japanese title): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkVicb4OJHc

 

J-pop/K-pop

 

G-EGG/NIK

Japanese/Korean boy group project G-EGG (GLOBAL EGG) made their debut in 2020, after taking part in a survival TV programme. There were originally 4 teams- A, B, C and D.

The final group is called NIK (made up of 11 members- 6 Korean and 5 Japanese). They made their Korean debut in September 2021 with the single Santa Monica (previously released in Japanese in April 2020 by G-EGG B-Team) and also released the single Universe in Japan in October.

 

Visit my New(ish) J-pop and K-pop Videos post (Oct '21) to see the videos for G-EGG B Team's Santa Monica and NIK's verson: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/10/newish-j-pop-and-k-pop-videos.html

 

K-pop/C-pop

 

EXO

EXO is a Korean/Chinese boy band (debuting in 2012) that originally consisted of 12 members divided into two sub groups- EXO-K (who sing in Korean) and EXO-M (who sing in the Chinese language Mandarin). However, in a situation similar to TVXQ! (see Asian Boy Bands- Part 1 post), 3 members from EXO-M (Kris Wu, Luhan and Tao/Huang Zitao) all filed lawsuits against their record label SM. Entertainment, in 2014 and 2015. This brought the group down to 9 members.

To date, EXO have released 4 Korean and Chinese albums, two Korean exclusive albums and one Japanese. In addition, they have brought out 7 EPs, their latest is Don't Fight the Feeling (released last June). Since 2014 they have performed as one group.

Here is the 2013 single Growl from their debut album XOXO (both Korean and Chinese versions): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2014/04/weekly-music-video_30.html

Videos for CALL ME BABY: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2015/04/weekly-music-video_49.html

LOVE ME RIGHT video: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2015/07/new-k-pop-videos.html 

Here is Ko Ko Bop,  the band's first ever reggae song from their 4th studio album The War, released in 2017 (both Korean and Chinese versions): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2017/08/weekly-music-video_16.html

And this New K-pop Releases post from June 2017 features the video for Don't fight the feeling, the title track from their 7th EP: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/06/new-k-pop-releases.html

Plus, my 2018 Christmas Music post which includes The First Snow from the group's 2013 Christmas/winter themed EP Miracles in December: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2018/12/christmas-music.html

 

K-pop

 

MONSTA X

MONSTA X is another popular band. They've been around nearly as long as BTS (see Asian Boy Bands- Part 1), debuting two years later in 2015. The group started out with 7 members but Wonho left in 2019. To date they have released 4 Korean studio albums, 3 Japanese and two English albums, plus 11 EPs.

The band released their first English album All About Luv in early 2020 and their second, The Dreaming, came out last year. Their latest release is the EP SHAPE of LOVE which came out in April.

Visit this post to see a round-up of MONSTA X posts on the blog up to November 2019 (also a BTS round-up): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/11/bts-and-monsta-x-videos.html

My post about their debut English album All About Luv: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/02/monsta-x-debut-english-album.html

Korean and Japanese versions of Love Killa (2020): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/11/weekly-music-video.html

Check out this New K-pop Releases post from June 2021 to see the video for GAMBLER: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/06/new-k-pop-releases.html

Watch the video for their single LOVE (from SHAPE of LOVE), released in May, here:  https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/05/weekly-music-video.html

 

Their latest single Whispers in the Dark (from The Dreaming) came out in late June. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN0imS_Mfc8

GOT7

GOT7 consists of 7 members from Korea and other countries. They started out as a duo called JJ Project before later expanding and debuted in January 2014. To date GOT7 has released 5 studio albums and 16 EPs. 

In January 2021 the group left their record company JYP Entertainment after their contract expired. They released the single Encore in February (2021) and then took a break for over a year, during which they focused on solo activities. (I've featured a few of Jackson Wang's solo songs on the blog.) This May they returned with the EP GOT7 and lead single NANANA, released though Warner Music Korea.

 

Visit this Girls vs Boys K-pop post to see the video for their 2016 single Hard Carry (also features Red Velvet): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/10/girls-vs-boys-k-pop.html

New K-pop Releases (April 2017)- includes the video for Never Ever (2017): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2017/04/new-k-pop-releases.html

New K-pop Releases post (Nov 2017) which features their Japanese single Turn Up and Korean single You Are: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2017/11/new-k-pop-releases.html

Christmas Music- features the 2018 Christmas/winter single Miracle: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2018/12/christmas-music.html

New Music Releases (Nov 2019)- includes You Calling My Name, one of my favourite songs: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2019/11/new-music-releases.html

Another New K-pop Releases post, this one is from June 2020 and features NOT BY THE MOON: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2020/06/new-k-pop-releases.html

 

And here is the music video for NANANA, their latest single (released last month):

 

NCT

NCT (short for Neo Culture Technology) was formed in January 2016 and currently consists of 23 members (aged from late teens to mid-20s) and 4 sub-units. Two new units are set to debut soon.

 

NCT U

The first unit is called NCT U and they debuted in April 2016 with the double digital single The 7th Sense/WITHOUT YOU. The unit doesn't have permanent members, so the line-up changes for each comeback. 

To date they have brought out 3 albums, the latest being Universe which came out in December, along with the lead single Universe (Let's Play Ball). Their latest single is coNEXTion (Age of Light), a collaboration with SM STATION. It was released in March.

 

Visit this Weekly Music Video post to read more about NCT and see the video for 7th Sense: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2016/05/weekly-music-video.html

And visit their Kprofile page to see the members for different concepts/releases: https://kprofiles.com/nct-u-members-profile/

 

NCT 127

The next sub-unit to be revealed was NCT 127 (a multinational unit), making their debut that July with the EP NCT #127. They started out with 7 members and 3 more joined later. WinWin is currently inactive, meaning there are 9 members at the moment.

The group has released 3 Korean albums and 1 Japanese one so far. Their latest is 2021's Sticker and their most recent single Favorite (Vampire) which came out last October.

 

Visit my K-pop Faves post to see the video for their 2016 Limitless (scroll to the bottom): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2018/11/k-pop-faves.html

And last October I featured Favorite (Vampire) in my Spooky Videos for Hallowe'en! post: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/10/spooky-videos-for-halloween.html  

NCT Dream

Introduced in August 2016 with their debut single Chewing Gum, NCT Dream was originally intended to be NCT's teenage unit. However, once all 7 members became adults (20 is considered the legal age of adulthood in South Korea), the group was rebranded. Former member Mark who had "graduated" once he turned 20, returned and it was announced that NCT Dream would continue in a similar format to NCT U.

In May 2021 the band released their first studio album Hot Sauce. Their second album Glitch Mode, was released this March. Both albums were repackaged as Hello Future and Beatbox respectively.

 

Here is the music video for their latest single Beatbox (the title track from the repackaged album). It was released in May. English subtitles available! :)

 

WayV

Chinese sub-unit WayV was next to debut in early 2019 with their single album The Vision. For more on them and links to their songs, check out the Asian Boy Bands- Part 1 post (C-pop section): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/06/asian-boy-bands-part-1.html

 

NCT Hollywood and NCT Tokyo (upcoming)

Finally, two new sub-units will debut in the future. The first is NCT Hollywood which will be an American unit. Last year it was announced SM Entertainment would partner with the American TV studio MGM for a TV show searching for boys/young men aged 13-25 to form a US based group. There's been no new updates though.

The 2nd unit is NCT Toyko and will be based in Japan. I don't know much about this group yet, but I am always up for new J-pop and K-pop, so it sounds like a great idea! :)

Check out these links for more on the new units (not a lot of info currently):

Zoom Entertainment article: https://www.zoomtventertainment.com/korean/sm-entertainment-reveals-concrete-plans-to-debut-nct-hollywood-nctzen-still-not-onboard-korean-entertainment-kpop-news-article-91894090

Koreaboo feature: https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/nct-tokyo-sm-entertainments-new-boy-group/

 

I will update this as/when more information becomes available. :)

 

2018 saw the release of NCT's debut album, NCT 2018 EMPATHY, a combination of the different units' singles. And the entire NCT group came together again to release their second studio album NCT 2020 RESONANCE in 2020. It was released in two parts, Part 1 on 12th October and Part 2 on 23rd November. The lead single RESONANCE was a mix of the songs Make A Wish (Birthday Song), 90s Love, Work It and Raise The Roof.

Last December, the third group wide album (minus Lucas and Winwin who are on hiatus) Universe was released.

 

Visit my new K-pop Vides post from Jan 2021 to see the RESONANCE video (released under NCT 2020: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2021/01/new-k-pop-videos.html

 And go here to watch the video for the single Beautiful (released by the whole group under NCT 2021 in December): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAvjYapdSxk

 

Follow NCT at their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwgtORdDtUKhpjE1VBv6XfA

 

Hope you enjoyed the post! :) There are more boy bands to feature but since these posts have been long, this is all for now. Look out for a 3rd post in future!

 

 *These are Japanese and Chinese names with the surname/family name written first.