Victon ( ko, 빅톤; stylized as VICTON, an acronym for Voice to New World) is a South Korean
boy group
A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Man ...
formed in 2016 by
IST Entertainment
IST Entertainment (Hangul: 아이에스티엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean entertainment company under Kakao Entertainment.
History Plan A Entertainment
In 2011, A Cube Entertainment was established as an independent label of Cube Entertain ...
. The group is composed of six members:
Han Seung-woo, Kang Seung-sik, Lim Se-jun,
Do Han-se
Do Han-se ( ko, 도한세, born September 25, 1997), also known mononymously as Hanse, is a South Korean rapper, singer and songwriter. He debuted as a member of South Korean group Victon in 2016. He debuted with his solo album ''Blaze'' on Sept ...
,
Choi Byung-chan
Choi Byung-chan ( ko, 최병찬, born November 12, 1997), also known as Byungchan, is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as a member of South Korean group Victon in 2016. In 2020, he made his acting debut in the drama ''Live On''.
Car ...
and Jung Su-bin. They debuted on November 9, 2016, with their extended play ''
Voice to New World
''Voice to New World'' is the debut extended play by South Korean boy group Victon. The EP was released on November 9, 2016, by Plan A Entertainment.
Background and release
After the finale of their pre-debut reality show ''Me & 7 Men'', a tea ...
''. Originally a septet, Heo Chan left the group on October 11, 2022.
History
Pre-debut
Members Chan,
Seungwoo, Seungsik and
Byungchan joined
A Cube Entertainment
IST Entertainment (Hangul: 아이에스티엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean entertainment company under Kakao Entertainment.
History Plan A Entertainment
In 2011, A Cube Entertainment was established as an independent label of Cube Entertain ...
in 2014 and were among the company's first batch of male trainees.
Hanse
The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label= Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German ...
and Sejun joined a year later, followed by last-minute addition, former
Cube Entertainment
Cube Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean entertainment company. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing house. Cube are known for h ...
trainee Subin.
Several of the members had experience working with their label-mates whilst still trainees, having been back-up dancers for
Apink
Apink ( ko, 에이핑크, ja, エーピンク) is a South Korean girl group formed by IST Entertainment (formerly Play M Entertainment, A Cube Entertainment, and Plan A Entertainment). The group debuted on April 19, 2011, with the extended play ...
at their 2015 "Pink Island" concerts and recorded backing vocals for
Huh Gak
Huh Gak (; born November 15, 1984) is a South Korean singer. He rose to fame after winning the 2010 Mnet talent competition series ''Superstar K 2,'' during which he became known as "the Korean Paul Potts."
Early life and education
Huh Gak wa ...
's album.
2016: ''Me & 7 Men'' and debut
In August 2016, Plan A Entertainment (formerly A Cube Entertainment) released details regarding the new group they planned to debut, referred to as "Plan A Boys", and their upcoming reality show that would chronicle the group's preparation for debut, titled ''Me & 7 Men,'' with the first episode airing August 30 on
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
.
On September 1, Seungsik, Sejun and Hanse released a digital single as Plan A Boys in collaboration with Huh Gak titled "#Begin Again", accompanied by a music video starring Huh Gak and all seven members of the group.
Following the finale of ''Me & 7 Men'', the group's official debut was set for November 9. For their debut, Plan A held a debut showcase for the group on November 9, announcing their group name Victon, an acronym for "Voice to a New World", with their debut EP ''
Voice to New World
''Voice to New World'' is the debut extended play by South Korean boy group Victon. The EP was released on November 9, 2016, by Plan A Entertainment.
Background and release
After the finale of their pre-debut reality show ''Me & 7 Men'', a tea ...
'' with the dual title tracks "I'm Fine" and "What Time Is It Now?" being released the same day.
2017: Further EP releases
On March 2, 2017, Victon released their second EP, ''
Ready
Ready may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Ready'', a 2002 British short starring Imelda Staunton
* Ready (2008 film), ''Ready'' (2008 film), a Telugu film
* Ready (2011 film), ''Ready'' (2011 film), a Hindi remake of the Telugu film
* Ready ( ...
'', with the lead single titled "Eyez Eyez". Despite being relative rookies, the members were personally involved in the production process, with Hanse writing all his rap parts and Chan and Seungwoo co-creating the choreography for "Eyez Eyez" and the other promoted song "Blank" (얼타). "Eyez Eyez" is primarily in the
futuresynth genre, with the group's second EP intended to show a different musical side to the group than their debut release. Critics also noted from its music video and more sophisticated choreography that the group had adopted a more mature and charismatic image.
Victon's third EP, ''
Identity
Identity may refer to:
* Identity document
* Identity (philosophy)
* Identity (social science)
* Identity (mathematics)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film
* ''Identity'' (2003 film), ...
'', was released on August 23, with a total of five tracks including the lead single "Unbelievable". They also held a comeback showcase at the Samsung Hall at Ewha Womans University on the same day as the album's release.
Their fourth EP, ''
From. Victon'', was released on their one year anniversary on November 9. The EP contains six tracks including the title track "Remember Me".
2018: Busking project and ''Time of Sorrow''
On February 18, 2018, Plan A Entertainment announced that Victon would have a three-week
busking
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...
project in various locations throughout Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. They performed songs from their previous albums as well as unreleased songs such as "On My Way", performed by Hanse and Seungsik.
On May 23, Victon released their first single album ''Time of Sorrow''. The song topped the Tower Records chart in Japan, despite the group not having made their official debut in the country and only performed at
KCON Japan.
2019: ''Produce X 101'' participation, comeback with 6 members
In early 2019, Seungwoo and Byungchan participated as contestants in ''
Produce X 101
''Produce X 101'' () is a 2019 South Korean boy group survival reality show on Mnet and the fourth season of the ''Produce 101'' franchise. The public, referred to as "national producers", "produces" a boy band by choosing 11 members among the ...
''. On July 11, it was announced by Play M Entertainment (formerly Plan A) that Byungchan would be leaving the show permanently to recover from the increasing pain from his chronic
Achilles tendinitis. On the final episode on July 19, Seungwoo came third in the vote rankings and became a member of new boy group
X1, originally on a contract for five years.
Victon made their comeback as a six-member group on November 4 with their fifth mini album ''
Nostalgia'' and lead single "Nostalgic Night". The release attracted much more attention and the group became a top 3 trending search topic on domestic online music sites. "Nostalgic Night" earned the group their first
music show win since their debut. After completing domestic promotions, they embarked on an Asian concert tour, playing at venues in Thailand, Philippines, Japan and Taiwan before concluding it with two sold-out encore concerts at the
Olympic Hall Olympic Hall is a music venue located within the Olympic Park, in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
In 2011, the Olympic Hall was renovated as a concert hall by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion ...
in Seoul, the first time they have held their own full concert.
2020: Continued releases and solo work
Play M announced on January 29 that following a solo fanmeeting in February, Seungwoo would return to promote with Victon and the group would make a comeback in March, following X1's disbandment earlier that month. On March 9, Victon released their sixth mini album ''
Continuous
Continuity or continuous may refer to:
Mathematics
* Continuity (mathematics), the opposing concept to discreteness; common examples include
** Continuous probability distribution or random variable in probability and statistics
** Continuous ...
'' and its lead single "Howling". Their lead single, “Howling”, achieved first place on ''
The Show'', on March 17, and was the group's first win with all seven members. It was announced later by Play M that member Byungchan would sit out of group promotions due to a herniated disk in his neck. From April 14 Seungwoo and Seungsik co-hosted the radio show ''Blanket Kick'' (이불킥), which airs on
Naver
Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to in ...
's streaming app
Naver NOW. on Tuesday nights; Chan eventually replaced Seungwoo as co-host on July 20, 2021 due to the latter's impending enlistment.
On June 2, the group returned with their second single album ''
Mayday''. They won first place on ''The Show'' on June 9 for "Mayday", marking the group's third win.
In August, Seungwoo made his solo debut with the EP ''
Fame'' and lead single "Sacrifice", making him the first member of Victon with an official solo debut.
In October, Hanse confirmed he was working on a solo mixtape release, although without a set release date.
On November 4, it was announced that Victon would be releasing their first full studio album ''
Voice: The Future Is Now'' on December 1 with the lead single "What I Said". Subsequently, it was announced that the release of their new album would be delayed after the members had come into contact with an external staff member who had tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. Although all members tested negative, they decided to complete the quarantine period.
2021: ''Voice: The Future is Now'' and Seungwoo's enlistment
Following the delay, the album was released on January 11, 2021. The group held a comeback show that same day and it was aired on
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
and its digital channel M2. The album includes four solo songs, one each for Seungsik, Chan, Sejun and Hanse, respectively.
Following the release of their first studio album, the members worked on solo projects in 2021. In March, Hanse and Chan participated in Seoul Fashion Week as models for the collection "SETSETSET", marking their second consecutive appearance as models at Seoul Fashion Week. Seungwoo released his second EP ''Fade'' and lead single "See You Again" on June 28. He enlisted for his
mandatory military service
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
as a member of the military band on July 28. Then, in August, Seungsik released the single "Look for the Silver Lining" in collaboration with the music company Clef, as part of a donation project for the charity Good Neighbors. Then, Hanse made his solo debut on September 25 with the digital album ''Blaze'' with the double title tracks "Take Over" and "Public Enemy".
In October, Seungsik, Hanse, Sejun, and Chan participated in a charity project with the charity Good Neighbors for the
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is an international observance celebrated each year on October 17 throughout the world. The first commemoration, "World Day to Overcome Poverty" took place in Paris, France, in 1987 when 100,000 ...
.
On November 9, Victon released the single "Sweet Travel" to commemorate their fifth anniversary. On November 26, Chan tested positive for COVID-19.
2022: ''Chronograph'', ''Chaos'' and Chan's departure
On January 18, Victon returned with their third single album ''Chronograph''. The album included the lead single of the same name and its English version, which is their first song in English. The music video for "Chronograph" reached 10 million views within three days, the fastest of the group's music videos to reach that mark. The album was also noted for offering a more "environmentally conscious" version of buying the album, where those who purchased the album could order a version that just had the normal inclusions of a physical album, such as photocards, but then also receive a digital version of the album.
In March, the group released an original soundtrack for the drama ''
Business Proposal
''Business Proposal'' () is a South Korean romantic comedy television series based on the webtoon of the same title written by HaeHwa and illustrated by Narak. Directed by Park Seon-ho and written by Han Seol-hee and Hong Bo-hee, it stars Ahn H ...
'' titled "You are Mine", with Seungsik, Sejun, and Byungchan participating.
On May 31, Victon released their seventh mini album ''Chaos'' and its lead single "Stupid O'clock".
On October 11, IST Entertainment announced that Chan would be leaving the group following his DUI, and the group will remain with 6 members.
In October, the group announced their eighth EP ''Choice'', was released November 15.
Members
*
Han Seung-woo ( ko, 한승우, links=no)
* Kang Seung-sik ( ko, 강승식, links=no)
* Lim Se-jun ( ko, 임세준, links=no)
*
Do Han-se
Do Han-se ( ko, 도한세, born September 25, 1997), also known mononymously as Hanse, is a South Korean rapper, singer and songwriter. He debuted as a member of South Korean group Victon in 2016. He debuted with his solo album ''Blaze'' on Sept ...
( ko, 도한세, links=no)
*
Choi Byung-chan
Choi Byung-chan ( ko, 최병찬, born November 12, 1997), also known as Byungchan, is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as a member of South Korean group Victon in 2016. In 2020, he made his acting debut in the drama ''Live On''.
Car ...
( ko, 최병찬, links=no)
* Jung Su-bin ( ko, 정수빈, links=no)
Former
* Heo Chan ( ko, 허찬, links=no) (2016-2022)
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Single albums
Singles
Collaborations
Music videos (Korean)
Filmography
Reality shows
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Victon
K-pop music groups
South Korean boy bands
IST Entertainment artists
2016 establishments in South Korea
South Korean dance music groups
Musical groups established in 2016