Astro (South Korean band)

Astro () is a South Korean boy band formed by Fantagio that debuted in 2016. The group is composed of six members: MJ, Jinjin, Cha Eun-woo, Moon Bin, Rocky and Yoon San-ha. They debuted with the single "Hide & Seek" from their debut EP ''Spring Up'', and were subsequently named by ''Billboard'' as one of the best new K-pop groups of 2016.

Career

Pre-debut

The members of Astro were known as iTeen Boys while training as part of Fantagio iTeen, a rookie talent development program under the management agency Fantagio. The group's name and members were announced in August 2015. That month, they starred in a web drama series titled ''To Be Continued''. The web drama featured the members as themselves, as well as Kim Sae-ron, Seo Kang-joon, and Hello Venus.

In January 2016, Astro starred in their own reality show, ''Astro OK! Ready'', which was aired on MBC Every1 at 7PM KST.

2016: Debut, finding success and rising popularity

Astro's debut extended play ''Spring Up,'' was released on February 23, 2016. Within a week of its release, ''Spring Up'' reached #6 on the Billboard World Albums Chart in the United States, as well as #4 on the Gaon Music Chart. On February 25, the group released the music video for "Cat's Eye", containing clips from their web series ''To Be Continued''. On March 6, the group was the only Korean act invited to the LeTV Entertainment Awards in China.

Their second extended play ''Summer Vibes'' was released on July 1. The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard World Albums Chart and #21 on the Billboard World Digital Songs Chart.

Astro performed at Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 31 for KCON 2016. They held their first solo concert on August 27–28 at the KEPCO Art Center in Seoul. The group also held showcases in Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand throughout the months of October and November.

Astro's third extended play '' Autumn Story'', was released on November 10. The music video features labelmate Sei of Weki Meki.

2017: ''Winter Dream'', ''Dream Part.01'', and ''Dream Part.02''

On February 22, Astro released special album ''Winter Dream'', featuring lead single "Should Have Held On (Again)". Despite the album being the final piece to the group's seasonal album concept, it was not promoted on music shows.

On May 29, Astro released their fourth extended play ''Dream Part.01'', featuring the lead single "Baby". The group held their first tour, titled "The 1st ASTROAD", from July 15 – August 29, with dates in Seoul, Osaka, and Tokyo.

On November 1, Astro released their fifth extended play ''Dream Part.02'' featuring the lead single "Crazy Sexy Cool". On January 10, 2018, the group released a limited edition of their album ''Dream Part.02 'Wish version which sold out all 10,000 copies in pre-orders alone. The special album contains a poem by member Eun-woo, a hidden 'Thanks to', and polaroid photos which the members took themselves.

2018: ''Rise Up'' and group hiatus

On July 24, Astro released special mini album ''Rise Up'' featuring lead single "Always You". The album was not promoted on music programs due to internal issues at their label, Fantagio. Still, the group toured cities such as Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo throughout August 2018.

2019: ''All Night'', ''Venus'', ''Blue Flame'', and Moon Bin's hiatus

On January 16, they released their first full-length album, the first album release in general following their 8-month period hiatus, ''All Light'' featuring the lead single "All Night". To further promote their first full-length album the group announced "The 2nd ASTROAD Tour", which included cities across Asia and North America. On January 21, 2019, their label Fantagio announced four US shows following their 2nd Tapei Tour, to conclude with further tour dates in Asia. On January 29, Astro gained their first music show award during promotions for their release “All Night" on the SBS MTV music program ''The Show''.

On April 3, Astro released their Japan debut EP, ''Venus'' featuring three original Japanese tracks along with three Japanese versions of their Korean singles "Baby", "Always You", and "All Night". The album garnered a successful debut, debuting #2 on the daily album chart of Japan's largest music site Oricon.

On November 12, Fantagio Music announced that Moon Bin would be going on a hiatus to recover from health issues and focus on his treatment. On November 20, Astro released their sixth extended play ''Blue Flame'' featuring the lead single of the same name.

Moon Bin focused on recovery from mental health concerns, allowing him to take a break from group promotions as parts were re-distributed temporarily to other members. Despite this, he participated in the album and appeared in the music video for Blue Flame.

2020: ''One&Only'', ''Gateway'', "No, I Don't", and first sub-unit

On February 14, Moon Bin appeared in a Vlive broadcast with the other Astro members, ending his hiatus. On March 13, Astro released special single album '' One&Only'' for their 4th anniversary debut.

On May 4, Astro released their seventh extended play '' Gateway'', promoting the song "Knock". On May 13, 2020, they received an award from the Korean music show ''Show Champion'' for the song "Knock", marking the group's second win. On June 28, 2020, Astro held an online 'Ontact' concert '2020 ASTRO Live on WWW.' to communicate with fans in a new way. On June 28, 2020, Astro released digital single "No, I Don't" and they performed it for the 1st time at the '2020 ASTRO Live on WWW.'

On August 14, Fantagio confirmed that Moon Bin and Yoon San-ha would form Astro's first sub-unit called ''Moonbin & Sanha''. On September 14, 2020, they released their first extended play ''In-Out'', with the lead single "Bad Idea". They received an award from the Korean music show ''The Show'' on September 22, 2020, marking their first award as a sub-unit and third win as Astro. They also set the record of fastest sub unit to receive their first win on a music show, which is 8 days.

On December 31, Astro released a special digital single "We Still (Be With U)" as a special gift to their fans. "We Still (Be With U)" is a new arrangement of 'We Still' from their seventh EP '' Gateway'' to match the winter atmosphere — containing a warmer & emotional feeling.

2021: ''All Yours'', ''Switch On'', and first solo

On April 5, Astro released their second full-length album '' All Yours'', and its lead single "One". On April 13, they received their first win for “One” on ''The Show'', marking their fourth win as a full group. On April 14, the group received their second music show trophy for "One" on ''Show Champion''. On April 15, they took their final win for "One" on ''M Countdown'', which was their first-ever win on the music show as well as their sixth win overall. On June 10, ''All Yours'' is certified platinum on Gaon and ''All Yours'' is the first Astro album to get certified on Gaon.

On August 2, Astro released their eighth extended play ''Switch On'', and its lead single "After Midnight". On August 10, they received their first win for “After Midnight” on ''The Show''. On August 11, the group received their second music show trophy for "After Midnight" on ''Show Champion''. On August 13, Astro won their third music show trophy on ''Music Bank'' which was their first ever win on the music show and first win on a national broadcast. On August 14, Astro won their fourth and final win for "After Midnight" on ''Show! Music Core'' which was their first-ever win on the music show. On October 7, ''Switch On'' was certified platinum on Gaon making this is their second album to reach platinum.

On September 2, Astro released the promotional single "Alive" through Universe Music for the mobile application, Universe. "Alive" appeared at number 103 on the component Download Chart.

On October 14, Fantagio confirmed that member MJ will be making his solo debut with a semi-trot single in November. The song was released digitally and produced by Trot musician Young Tak. The song also features Kim Tae-yeon — a child singer who was a contestant on Miss Trot 2. MJ is Astro's first member to promote as a solo artist. On November 29, he won in SBS's The Trot Show and is the first k-pop idol to ever win first place on The Trot Show.

2022: Second sub-unit, MJ's enlistment, and ''Drive to the Starry Road''

On December 27, 2021, Fantagio confirmed that members Jinjin and Rocky will form Astro's second sub-unit called ''Jinjin & Rocky''. They debuted with the extended play ''Restore'' on January 17.

On February 22, 2022, Fantagio announced that Astro will hold their annual fan meet to commemorate their anniversary since debut. For their 6th anniversary, the fan meet — ''Gate 6'', was held both online & in person making it their first fan-meet with a live audience since 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the fan meeting, MJ announced he would enlist in the military as part of his mandatory military service on May 9, making him the first Astro member to serve. He will enter the military band for his service.

On May 16, Astro released their third full-length album ''Drive to the Starry Road'', and its lead single "Candy Sugar Pop". The album featured solo songs performed by the six members. On May 24, they received their first win for "Candy Sugar Pop" on ''The Show''. On May 25, the group received their second music show trophy on Show Champion. On May 26, the group received their third music show trophy on M Countdown. On May 27, the group received their fourth music show trophy on Music Bank. On May 28 & 29, Astro held their third solo concert — ''The 3rd ASTROAD to Seoul TARGAZER' at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul .On May 31, it was announced that tickets for their Japan solo concert — ''The 3rd ASTROAD to Japan TARGAZER' to be held on June 3 & 4 sold out shortly after going on sale.

On July 21, Astro released the promotional single "U&Iverse" through Universe Music for the mobile application, Universe. "U&Iverse" appeared at number 96 on the component Download Chart.

On November 30, Astro released the japan single "Let's say goodbye to the my favorite person", The music video features Astro member Cha Eun-woo and Japanese actress/model Airi Matsui All the shooting was done in Japan, and it is a story-like video that expresses the world view of the painful lyrics.

Members

* MJ ()
*Jinjin ()
*Cha Eun-woo ()
*Moon Bin ()
*Rocky ()
*Yoon San-ha ()

Discography

* ''All Light'' (2019)
* '' All Yours'' (2021)
* ''Drive to the Starry Road'' (2022)

Filmography

Film

Web series

Reality shows

Concerts and tours

Asia tours

* The 1st Astroad to Seoul (2017)
* The 2nd Astroad to Seoul: Star Light, Part 1 (2018)
* The 3rd Astroad 'Stargazer' (2022)

World tours

* The 2nd Astroad: Star Light (2019)

Online concerts

* Astro Live on WWW (2020)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* on Fantagio

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South Korean boy bands
South Korean dance music groups
K-pop music groups
Fantagio artists
Musical groups established in 2016
2016 establishments in South Korea
Musical groups from Seoul