ZEROBASEONE is ready to take on the world
The K-pop boy band just celebrated their one-year anniversary and are ready to kick off their first tour
ZEROBASEONE just recently celebrated their one-year anniversary as a boy band.
Courtesy of CJ ENM
Words by Philiana Ng
For a group that celebrated its one-year anniversary on July 10, ZEROBASEONE (or ZB1 for short) has checked off an impressive list of achievements since forming last year. Created through the popular Mnet survival program, Boys Planet, the skyrocketing popularity of the nine-member Korean boy group can’t be denied. ZEROBASEONE shattered sales records (Youth in the Shade was the best-selling debut album in Korea), charted on the Billboard Global 200 with its first single “In Bloom,” swept every major rookie-of-the-year award and performed in front of 18,000 fans, collectively known as Zerose, at Seoul’s Gocheok Skydome only one month into their classification as an official group.
Since then, the group has dropped two more EPs (Melting Point and You Had Me at Hello), released their first Japanese single (“Yura Yura”) and are about to embark on their first tour at the end of September. It’s no wonder that when ZEROBASEONE touched down in sunny California in late July to attend KCON LA for the second straight year, excitement, screams, and tears of elation followed the nine charming and charismatic members—Sung Hanbin, Kim Jiwoong, Zhang Hao, Seok Matthew, Kim Taerae, Ricky, Kim Gyuvin, Park Gunwook, and Han Yujin—all weekend long.
Juggling a packed three-day schedule of fan meetings, emcee appearances, and concert performances, ZEROBASEONE injected a bright, youthful energy during its two tight sets on the opening and closing nights at Crypto.com Arena, where the group performed “In Bloom,” “Feel the POP,” “Crush” and “Sweat,” and memorably covered the Red Velvet classic “Psycho” amid a sea of white emanating from the official ring-shaped lightsticks. Of course, K-pop’s fifth generation “it” boys had another surprise up their sleeve, revealing the upcoming fourth EP, Cinema Paradise (out Aug. 26), through a moody video teaser in the middle of their final KCON LA performance.
Two days before the album news dropped, the nine members of ZEROBASEONE sat down with JoySauce during a brief reprieve from their busy KCON LA schedule to reflect on their proudest accomplishments during year one, what Zerose can expect with the new album and tour, the goals they’ve set for the next year—and yes, we had to ask Hanbin about being K-pop’s tutting king.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Philiana Ng: You just met U.S. Zerose at the meet and greet earlier today. What was the energy like in the room? How did it feel to interact with them in an intimate setting?
Sung Hanbin: It was great to meet and communicate with all the LA KCONers. Their energy was so great and we had a great time with the great atmosphere. It was very passionate. So I think with that energy, I think we are going to be doing the main performance just as well.
Kim Jiwoong: We had a great response from the public and the fans, so it was very exciting to meet them. We’re going to have great energy for the rest of KCON.
PN: You guys are very busy today! You have a very full schedule.
SHB: Oh dear!
PN: This is your second year at KCON LA. How does it feel to be back? Is it a little bit more special to come to this event and perform here for your fans?
Zhang Hao: We missed LA KCONers so much we prepared a special stage this time. Actually, last year we had a Dream Stage with our Dreamers (where they performed “Here I Am”) so we love LA KCONers so much. This time, I wish we can have fun together.
PN: Last year’s KCON LA appearance was also your first official U.S. performance. What do you remember most about that experience?
Ricky: The most unforgettable moments were the chants and the passion that the LA KCONers gave us. It was so hot and they gave us so much energy that it made us perform better.
PN: Congratulations on recently celebrating your one-year anniversary. (Multiple members say, “Thank you!”) What has been the most memorable highlight from this first year?
Seok Matthew: It’s really hard to pick one because we’ve done so many new things. I think even going to all the awards shows, that was really a surprise for us to even attend. But maybe one moment—I think we’d all have to choose our very first fan concert [at Gocheok Skydome on Aug. 15, 2023]. It really gave us that impression of, “Wow, we made it.”
PN: You’ve already accomplished a lot for a group just entering its second year. From setting sales records to winning every rookie award, which achievement or milestone has meant the most to you?
Ricky: I think the MAMA Music Awards always means the biggest award for all of us. Being able to get three awards from MAMA was a real great achievement for all of us.
ZH: When we received the first [place] at Music Bank for “Feel the POP.” It was our first gongjungpa (a Korean term that means “public TV”) win. [Laughs] It means a lot to us.
ZERONBASEONE will be kicking off their first tour in September.
Courtesy of CJ ENM
PN: The most recent mini album, You Had Me at Hello, was released back in May. How does this third album represent the musical growth you’ve made as a group so far?
Park Gunwook: For our third album, You Had Me at Hello, it’s kind of like a summary of our first year as a debut group. We’re completing the story that we continued from the first album. We have this fan song, “Hello,” and we really wanted to spread the positive energy with “Feel the POP” as well. We really wanted to represent that we are always going to be there for them and we are here together. We are here to spread the good energy with them and we really want to represent the youth from those [first three] albums so far. I think that [album] was the conclusion of the story that has been told so far over the last year.
PN: What can you tell us about the new music the group is working on?
PGW: Yeah, we are planning to release a new album this coming August and continuing with that we are going to be going on a tour, so I think it’s going to be an announcement of a new beginning. We’ve wrapped up our first year so we’re going to have a new and fresh start with our second year with the new album and the tour. We are never afraid to take challenges so we are continuing to do that by trying different genres and styles while maintaining our own color.
PN: What surprises await fans with this new album?
SM: We always say this for every album, that we’re going to show a different side of us. But I think for the next album, it’s going to be actually something very different. And I think the main part about this album that we all love is that there’s a lot of variety.
PN: A variety in genres and musical styles?
SM: Yeah, exactly. That’s what you can get your hopes up for.
PN: You mentioned your first tour, Timeless World, which kicks off in September in Seoul. What are you most excited for or most nervous about?
Han Yujin: This is our first tour so we are very excited to visit all the different regions and explore different cultures while we’re on tour and most of all, we are really looking forward to meeting our fans, Zerose, in different regions. We would love to see what kind of energy and image each region’s fans are going to show us. I’m sure there are going to be differences so we are really excited to witness that from our fans.
PN: Will you be stopping by the U.S.? I noticed there aren’t any U.S. dates at the moment...
SHB: We are ready anytime whenever we get invited. We’ll be happy to come here and we’ll make sure that we work harder to make sure that we can really prove ourselves to hold our own concert in the States. It’ll be really exciting so please invite us! Whenever there’s an opportunity, we would love to come and yeah, we are so ready for it.
PN: Hanbin, I have to congratulate you on being named Studio Choom’s Artist of the Month for July. The “Bad Boy” performance has become a bit of a viral sensation. How does it feel to be known as K-pop’s tutting king?
SHB: [Laughs] I’m just very grateful for Zerose always supporting and cheering me on all our endeavors and performances. I’m just glad that my vision as an artist is finally coming through and I get to have more opportunities to fully express who I am as an artist. And I think it really motivates me to love dancing and singing even more. It was a great opportunity to promote who I am and who ZEROBASEONE is as well. I’m very thankful for that opportunity.
PN: You’ve all been operating at a high level. How do you stay mentally healthy? What do you do to unwind?
Kim Gyuvin: Recently we are finding our hobbies, taking a rest or if we have time, we want to spend time being joyful and happy. We are hanging out with our members when we have time. That’s [how] we are helping with our mental and physical health.
PN: What personal or professional goals do you have for this next year that you want to accomplish?
R: Album of the year.
SM: Me personally, it’s a very big goal—a very big goal. But seeing what all our sunbaenims (a Korean term that means “seniors”) at the last awards show, they’re getting Album of the Year. It’s like, wow. It’s kind of crazy that they [can] achieve that. We want to get to that level too. So we want to try our best. Hopefully, we can see if we can do that. And also, I think another [goal] would have to be, after this Asia tour, we want to do the world tour and we would love to come here [to the U.S.].
PN: We’ll definitely be waiting. Lastly, what do you want to say to Zerose?
Kim Taerae: Last year we got such loud cheers and support from fans so we were very happy to see that. We’re going to continue making sure that we work hard so that whenever we come to the States and anywhere around the world, they are going to be ready for us—and we are ready for them.
Published on August 19, 2024
Words by Philiana Ng
Philiana Ng is a Los Angeles-based entertainment writer and editor specializing in TV. She is a Daytime Emmy winner and a National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award honoree.Her work has appeared in The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Entertainment Tonight, TV Guide, Yahoo Entertainment, Netflix, The Daily Beast, The Wrap, Primetimer, Backstage, and more.