iKon (South Korean band)

iKON

iKON at a clothing campaign launch in 2015
From left: B.I, Bobby, Jinhwan, Junhoe, Yunhyeong, Donghyuk, Chanwoo
Background information
Origin Seoul, South Korea
Genres
Years active 2015–present
Labels YG Entertainment
Associated acts YG Family
Members Jinhwan
Yunhyeong
Bobby
B.I
Donghyuk
Junhoe
Chanwoo
Korean name
Hangul 아이콘
Revised Romanization Aikon
McCune–Reischauer Aik'on

Ikon (Hangul: 아이콘), stylized as iKON, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2015 by YG Entertainment. The group was first introduced in the reality survival program WIN: Who is Next as "Team B." Team B and their adversaries Team A, now known as Winner, were both formed from trainees within YG Entertainment. The two teams are friends but they competed against each other in order to debut as the first YG boy group in eight years, after Big Bang. At the conclusion of the program the name "WINNER" was given to the winning team. After that, Team B went on to appear in the 2014 reality survival program Mix & Match, which determined the final seven-member lineup of iKON: B.I, Bobby, Jinhwan, Junhoe, Yunhyeong, Donghyuk and Chanwoo.

According to YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk, the group's name derives from the intent to become an 'icon for Korea', hence the 'K'.[1] The group made their debut on 15 September 2015, through the digital release of their first single "My Type" from their first studio album Welcome Back. Their first broadcast live performance was on 15 October 2015, on SBS's Inkigayo.[2]

As of March 2016, the group has sold over 210,000 physical albums, and over 3.6 million digital records.

History

Pre-debut

Prior to the group's formation, group leader B.I featured on MC Mong's 2009 song "Indian Boy".[3] He performed with MC Mong at the 2009 SBS Dream Concert and on KBS's Yoo Hee-yeol's Sketchbook.[4]

Group vocalist Junhoe also made a pre-debut appearance aged thirteen on the SBS variety show Star King. He also competed on SBS's K-pop Star in 2011.[5]

On 3 January 2011, B.I and Jinhwan joined YG Entertainment as trainees, as did Bobby a week later. The three trained together for a year and formed the basis of what was to become "Team B". On 18 April 2012, Junhoe and Yunhyeong joined Team B, followed by Donghyuk as the sixth and final member on 5 November 2012.[6]

WIN: Who Is Next

In 2013, Team B competed as a six-member team of B.I, Bobby, Jinhwan, Junhoe, Donghyuk, and Yunhyeong on the Mnet reality survival show WIN: Who Is Next, competing against other trainees in "Team A" for the chance to debut as a group.[4] The program involved three rounds of performances and public voting, after which Team B eventually lost to Team A, who debuted as Winner.[1] During the program, the members released two singles as Team B, "Just Another Boy" and "Climax".

On 9 November 2013, the members of Team B appeared as backup dancers in Taeyang's music video for "Ringa Linga".

Show Me The Money 3

In 2014, members Bobby and B.I competed in the third season of rap contest Show Me The Money, at the same time as Mix & Match was being filmed.[7][8] Both shows aired on Mnet. B.I was eliminated from the Top 8 in the seventh episode of the series, while Bobby went on to become the season's champion.[4] During the show, both members released solo tracks to domestic chart success;[9] B.I released his own composition "Be I", while Bobby released four tracks, "L4L (Lookin' For Luv)", "연결고리#힙합 (YGGR#hiphop)", "가 (GO)", and "가드올리고 Bounce" (Raise Your Guard and Bounce).

On 12–13 April 2014, Team B performed at YG Family's Japan Tour at the Osaka Kyocera Dome.[10]

Mix & Match

In June 2014, Team B appeared in the reality survival program Mix & Match, a follow-up to WIN: Who Is Next. The aim of the show was to determine the final lineup of iKON.[8] While Bobby, B.I, and Jinhwan were confirmed members, the remaining members of Team B competed against three new trainees; Jung Jin-hyeong, and Yang Hong-seok, and Jung Chan-woo, who had previously appeared on Korean television as a child actor.[11][12] It was reported that 150,000 fans applied to attend the final performance of the show,[4] and before the announcement of iKON's official lineup, YG Entertainment's blog server crashed.[9] The final lineup contained the three remaining members of Team B, with the addition of Chanwoo. Following the program's success, the iKON members held fan meetings in Korea, Japan, and China. In September, approximately 40,000 Japanese fans applied for 2,000 tickets at a fan meeting at Osaka Tojima River Forum, while more than 50,000 Chinese fans applied for their fan meeting in Beijing.[13] The program was aired on 29 December 2014 on the CS channel in Japan.[14]

On 12 August 2014, Winner debuted with the single "Empty", which was co-composed and written by B.I and Bobby.[15][16] On 18 October 2014, B.I and Bobby featured on Epik High's track "Born Hater".[8] B.I created the song's hook at the request of Epik High member DJ Tukutz.[17] B.I and Bobby performed "Born Hater" alongside Epik High and Winner's Mino at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards and the SBS Gayo Daejeon. Bobby also featured in the songs "Come Here" with senior rappers Masta Wu and Dok2 and Hi Suhyun's "I'm Different", both to chart success.[16][18]

On 15 December 2014, iKON performed as the opening act at Bigbang's Japan Dome Tour 2014-2015 X.[8][19] On 28 January 2015, Billboard listed the group as one of the "Top 5 K-Pop Artists to Watch in 2015".[20] They were the only group on the list that had yet to debut.

2015: Debut and Welcome Back

Following several postponements, iKON's official debut was announced on YG Entertainment's website for 15 September 2015.[21] It was revealed that the group would be releasing their debut album Welcome Back in two parts, with 6 of the 12 tracks being title tracks.[22] The first half of the album, Debut Half Album, was set to be released on 1 October, followed by the Debut Full Album on November 2.[23] The track listing for the first half-album was released on 24 September.[24] Group leader B.I was credited as the producer and co-composer for all of the album's tracks, with B.I and Bobby contributing to lyrics for all tracks and vocalist Junhoe participating in the composition of title track "Rhythm Ta".

iKON debuted with the 'pre-single' "My Type" was released with a music video on 15 September 2015. Within 24 hours of its release, the music video for "My Type" surpassed 1.7 million views on YouTube.[25] The group took their first music show win with the single on 26 September 2015 on MBC's Music Core, even though they had yet to make their first official live appearance.[26] On 24 September, "My Type" achieved a 'triple crown' on the Gaon chart, having taken the number one spot on the digital, download, and streaming charts simultaneously for the 39th week of 2015.[27] On 18 September, the single became number one on the music video chart of Chinese music streaming sites QQ Music and Youku. iKON also trended on Weibo, where they were reportedly searched 1.3 billion times.[13]

iKON's Debut Half Album was released digitally on 1 October. The group held their first concert, SHOWTIME, on 3 October at the Seoul Olympic Gymnastics Arena. The show sold out 13,000 tickets.[28] The concert's taking place at the largest concert hall in Korea was unprecedented for a new K-pop group.[29] SHOWTIME was broadcast live through Naver's V App and streamed by over 500,000 viewers.[30] Through V App, the group's official fan club name was announced to be "iKonic".

On 4 October, a day after their debut concert, the group made their music show debut on SBS's Inkigayo with "Rhythm Ta" and "Airplane", receiving their third music show win for "My Type" in person.[2] On 8 October, they won on Mnet's M!Countdown with "Rhythm Ta".[31] According to the Gaon Music Charts, iKON topped the weekly album sales charts with the first half of Welcome Back for 4–10 October.[32]

During October, iKON embarked on a series of Japanese fan meetings titled "iKontact" in in Tokyo, Aichi, Fukuoka and Osaka,[19] attended by 26,600 fans.[33] At the end of that month, iKON received a MelOn All-Kill Popularity award[34] and had sold 82,208 copies of Debut Half Album - Welcome Back.[35] On 28 October, it was announced that the full album's release would be delayed to 14 December, with two additional digital singles released on 16 November.[36]

Two digital singles, "Apology" and "Anthem", were released on 16 November. "Apology" took the number one spot on Gaon's digital chart for the 48th week of 2015.[37] On 24 December, three new singles, "Dumb & Dumber", "What's Wrong?" and "I Miss You So Bad" were released.

2016: Asia Tour and comeback

On 17 March 2016, YG Entertainment announced that iKON would be holding their first Asia Tour with dates in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.[38][39]

On 1 May, it was announced that iKON were working on the music video for their comeback single.[40]

Members

Discography

Main article: iKON discography

Tours

Headlining
Joint tours
Opening act

Awards and nominations

References

  1. 1 2 Park, So-young. "아이콘, YG가 키우는 무서운 '호랑이 새끼들'[YG 가을공습③]". OSEN. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 "iKON Wins "Inkigayo" Again With "My Type," aqPerforms "Rhythm Ta" and "Airplane"". Soompi. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  3. ↑ "Who Is That Little Indian Boy, B.I.? | allkpop.com". www.allkpop.com. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "To be ★ in 2015"… YG’s New Boy Group "iKON". YG LIFE. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "iKON’s 7 Members Finalized: Difference between WINNER is…?". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  6. ↑ "Mnet [MIX & MATCH] Ep.08: iKON 멤버가 되기 위한 마지막 관문!". YouTube. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "[Oh!Sen Focus]Can We Call iKon a Rookie?". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "YG’s YANG, "iKON? Aiming to Debut Early Next Year"". YG LIFE. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  9. 1 2 "Why Is Complete iKON Called Special Rookie?". YG LIFE. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "TEAM B joins YG FAMILY Japan Tour: Collaborates with WINNER on first official stage". YG Family. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "YANG HONGSEOK & JUNG JINHYEONG Who Failed to Join iKON, "Stays at YG", after Meeting with YANG HYUN SUK". YG LIFE. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "YG Trainee Jung Chan Woo in ‘Mix & Match’ Previously Acted as Young Lee Min Ho". Mwave. September 12, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  13. 1 2 "[Music Talk Talk] iKON Hasn’t Even Debuted in China, Yet They Top the Charts". YG LIFE. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "iKON’s MIX & MATCH Popular in Japan: On Air from Dec 29". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  15. ↑ "[Oh!Ssen Focus] iKON is "true idol" That Will Take Over K-Pop Scene". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  16. 1 2 "MASTA WU, BOBBY, and B.I… "Talking About YG Family"". YG LIFE. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "Shoebox | Born Hater Commentary". YouTube. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "Billboard Says, "BOBBY of YG’s still-to-debut boy band iKON … illustrates his growing potential"". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  19. 1 2 "iKON debuts in Japan in January next year… Holding arena tour in February". YG LIFE. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "iKON: Billboard’s "Top 5 K-Pop Artists to Watch in 2015"". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  21. ↑ "[Exclusive] iKON debuts on September 15 as planned, "No change"". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  22. ↑ "[People IS] There is something different about iKON’s debut… "More than five title tracks"". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  23. ↑ "iKON – WELCOME BACK : SEASON SCHEDULE". YG LIFE. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "iKON – DEBUT HALF ALBUM ‘WELCOME BACK’ TRACK LIST". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  25. ↑ "iKON's 'warm-up' single 'My Type' MV surpasses 1 million views! | allkpop.com". www.allkpop.com. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  26. ↑ "iKON Gets Very 1st Win With "My Type" on "Music Core," Performances by CNBLUE, Red Velvet, and More". Soompi. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  27. ↑ "iKON got triple crown on Gaon chart upon their debut". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  28. ↑ "iKON holds a concert right after their debut… All tickets are sold out upon the opening of the sale". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  29. ↑ "iKON’s Debut Concert "SHOWTIME" was a Huge Success and Captured Hearts of 13,000 Fans". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  30. ↑ "Japan’s Six Major Sports Newspapers wrote "SHOWTIME" was a Complete Success". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  31. ↑ "iKON Takes 1st Win For "Rhythm Ta" Through "M!Countdown," Performances from Taeyeon, Ailee, Oh My Girl, and More". Soompi. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  32. ↑ "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  33. ↑ "iKON, successfully finishing their first Japan fan meeting.. singing ‘RHYTHM TA’ with 26,000 fans". YG Life. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
  34. ↑ "Melon 4th Week of October, 2015". MelOn. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  35. ↑ "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
  36. ↑ "iKON rescheduled comeback plan… "Bringing themselves to the next level in November and December"". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  37. ↑ "iKON’s "APOLOGY" took No.1 on two of Gaon’s weekly charts". YG LIFE. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  38. ↑ "iKON - iKONCERT 2016 'SHOWTIME TOUR' IN ASIA". excite. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  39. ↑ "iKON - iKONCERT 2016 'SHOWTIME TOUR' Dates". YG Entertainment. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  40. ↑ "[Exclusive] iKON is coming, now shooting MV for a new song… "Comeback soon"". YG LIFE. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  41. ↑ "Naver Profile (B.I)". Naver. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  42. ↑ "Naver Profile (Jinhwan)". Naver. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  43. ↑ "Naver Profile (Yunhyeong)". Naver. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  44. ↑ "Naver Profile (Bobby)". Naver. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  45. ↑ "Naver Profile (Donghyuk)". Naver. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  46. ↑ "Naver Profile (Junhoe)". Naver. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  47. ↑ "Naver Profile (Chanwoo)". Naver. Retrieved 23 December 2015.

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