Wanna One () was a South Korean
boy band
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. Ma ...
formed by
CJ E&M
CJ E&M (Hangul: 씨제이이앤엠, an initialism for CJ Entertainment & Media) is a South Korean entertainment and mass media company created by CJ Group in 2011. As of July 2018, CJ E&M is a division of CJ ENM.
History
CJ E&M was established ...
through the
second season of ''
Produce 101
''Produce 101'' is a reality television talent competition franchise created by South Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M, based around the formation of a K-pop girl group or boy group. The format is noted for having no panel of judges, em ...
''. The group was composed of eleven members:
Kang Daniel
Kang Daniel (; commonly stylized as KANGDANIEL; born Kang Eui-geon []; December 10, 1996) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, and businessman who rose to fame in early 2017 as the first-place winner of the Produce 101 Season 2, second ...
,
Park Ji-hoon
Park Ji-hoon (; born May 29, 1999) is a South Korean singer and actor. Park first made his debut at eight years old as a child actor and advertisement model, appearing as a supporting cast member on the MBC historical drama '' Jumong'' (2006) ...
,
Lee Dae-hwi
Lee Dae-hwi (Hangul: 이대휘, born January 29, 2001), better known mononymously as Daehwi, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, producer and television personality. He is a member of South Korean boy group AB6IX, and is known for his participa ...
,
Kim Jae-hwan,
Ong Seong-wu
Ong Seong-wu (Hangul: 옹성우, born August 25, 1995) is a South Korean singer and actor. He is known for his participation in the survival reality show ''Produce 101 Season 2'', where he finished in fifth place, and is a former member of the ...
,
Park Woo-jin,
Lai Kuan-lin
Lai Kuan-lin, also romanized as Lai Guanlin and better known mononymously as Guanlin, (; Hangul: 라이관린, born 23 September 2001) is a Taiwanese rapper, singer and actor based in South Korea and China. He is known for finishing seventh in ...
,
Yoon Ji-sung,
Hwang Min-hyun,
Bae Jin-young and
Ha Sung-woon
Ha Sung-woon (; born March 22, 1994), also known mononymously as Sungwoon, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of South Korean boy group Wanna One, as a member of boy group Hotshot, and currently as a solo art ...
. The group debuted on August 7, 2017, under
Swing Entertainment
Swing Entertainment (Korean: 스윙 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean privately held entertainment company founded in June 2018. The company is home to K-pop artists Kim Jae-hwan, A.C.E (co-managed with Beat Interactive), and Kep1er (co-mana ...
and
CJ E&M
CJ E&M (Hangul: 씨제이이앤엠, an initialism for CJ Entertainment & Media) is a South Korean entertainment and mass media company created by CJ Group in 2011. As of July 2018, CJ E&M is a division of CJ ENM.
History
CJ E&M was established ...
. Their contract ended on December 31, 2018, but their final activity as a group was their last concert on January 24–27, 2019.
History
Pre-debut: ''Produce 101''
Wanna One was formed through the 'survival' competition series
''Produce 101'' (season 2), which aired on
Mnet from April 7 until June 16, 2017. Out of an initial
101 trainees representing various agencies, the final 11 were chosen by audience voting and announced via live television broadcast.
Before appearing on the program, several members had already been active in the entertainment industry.
Park Ji-hoon
Park Ji-hoon (; born May 29, 1999) is a South Korean singer and actor. Park first made his debut at eight years old as a child actor and advertisement model, appearing as a supporting cast member on the MBC historical drama '' Jumong'' (2006) ...
was a
child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...
and had appeared on
drama series
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...
such as ''
Kimchi Cheese Smile'' and ''
The King & I''.
He had also made appearances on several variety shows alongside the boy bands
Big Bang
The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from t ...
and
SS501
SS501 is a South Korean boy band consisting of five members: Kim Hyun-joong, Heo Young-saeng, Kim Kyu-jong, Park Jung-min and Kim Hyung-jun. They debuted in 2005 with the EP ''Warning'', which included their first number one song, "Never A ...
.
In 2012,
Hwang Min-hyun made his musical debut as a member of the group
NU'EST
NU'EST (; short for New Establish Style Tempo) was a South Korean boy band formed and managed by Pledis Entertainment. The group consisted of five members: JR, Aron, Baekho, Minhyun and Ren. They debuted on March 15, 2012, with the single t ...
.
Kim Jae-hwan made his first appearance on
season 2 of ''Korea's Got Talent'' but was eliminated during the semi-final. In 2014,
Ha Sung-woon
Ha Sung-woon (; born March 22, 1994), also known mononymously as Sungwoon, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of South Korean boy group Wanna One, as a member of boy group Hotshot, and currently as a solo art ...
had previously debuted as a member of the group
Hotshot.
2017: Debut with ''1X1=1 (To Be One)'' and ''1-1=0 (Nothing Without You)''

Wanna One signed with
YMC Entertainment
YMC Entertainment () was a South Korean entertainment company established in 2010 by Cho Yoo-myung, the eldest son of trot singer Tae Jin-ah.
The company has been home to artists such as Shin Bo-ra, Kassy and Soulights, as well as actresses in ...
(who previously managed
season one Season One may refer to:
Albums
* ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004
* ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012
* ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012
See also
*
*
* Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to:
...
's winning group
I.O.I).
Unlike I.O.I, however, Wanna One members were not permitted to participate in other activities with their original agencies.
The group participated in a final concert that took place on July 1 and 2, 2017 at
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 Fo ...
in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
to mark the end of ''Produce 101''.
Wanna One officially debuted at an event titled ''Wanna One Premier Show-Con'' that took place at the
Gocheok Sky Dome on August 7, 2017.
The group released their debut extended play ''
1×1=1 (To Be One)'' on August 8, 2017, with the title song "
Energetic", originally composed by
Hui of
Pentagon
In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek language, Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple polygon, simple pentagon is ...
and FlowBlow, with lyrics written by Hui and
Wooseok of Pentagon. Two music videos were released for their debut, for "Energetic" and "
Burn It Up".
On November 13, Wanna One released their repackaged album, ''
1-1=0 (Nothing Without You)'', with the title track "
Beautiful". With the combined sales of their first album and its repackaged edition, Wanna One became only the third Korean group to sell a million copies of their debut album, and the first since
Seo Taiji and Boys
() was a South Korean music group active from 1992 to 1996. The three members of the boy band, Seo Taiji, Yang Hyun-suk and Lee Juno, experimented with many different genres of popular Western music. Seo Taiji and Boys was highly successful ...
did so with their
eponymous debut in 1992.
2018: ''Golden Age Begins'', unit project and world tour
In February, Wanna One posted a series of teaser images titled ''2018 Golden Age Begins''. On March 5, Wanna One released their special theme track, "
I Promise You (I.P.U.)
"I Promise You (I.P.U.)" () is a song by South Korean boy band Wanna One. The song serves as the pre-release single of their second extended play, ''0+1=1 (I Promise You)
''0+1=1 (I Promise You)'' is the second extended play by South Korean bo ...
" along with its music video. It was also announced that the number of preorders for their second extended play, ''
0+1=1 (I Promise You)
''0+1=1 (I Promise You)'' is the second extended play by South Korean boy group Wanna One, a project group created through the 2017 Mnet survival show, '' Produce 101 Season 2'', composed of eleven trainees from different entertainment companies ...
'' has surpassed 700,000 copies, breaking the previous record set by the group. The album was released on March 19, along with the title track "
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...
".
In April, Wanna One announced that the members will split into multiple units and collaborate with different artists such as
Dynamic Duo,
Zico,
Nell and
Heize for their upcoming special album. The album was later revealed to be titled ''
1÷x=1 (Undivided)'', which was released on June 4 along with the title track "
Light
Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 te ...
".
The group also announced their first world tour, titled "
One: The World", which would span 13 different cities around the world and begin from June 1.
Wanna One's contract with YMC Entertainment expired on May 31. Starting from June 1, Wanna One would be managed under Swing Entertainment, a new agency exclusively established for the group. This new arrangement would still maintain the partnership with YMC.
On October 30, 2018, Wanna One released a teaser video and also revealed the title of their 1st studio album, ''
1¹¹=1 (Power of Destiny)''. The album was released on November 19, along with the title track "Spring Breeze".
2019: Final concert and disbandment
On December 18, 2018, Swing Entertainment released an official statement that the group's contract will end on its original planned date, December 31, 2018.
Swing also stated that all agencies came to an agreement that will allow the members to attend scheduled year-end shows and award ceremonies throughout January 2019.
The group concluded activities with a final concert (titled ''Therefore 2019'')''.
'' The concert was held at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, where the group held their debut showcase.
2021–2022: Reunion
On November 15, 2021, it was confirmed that the group, except
Lai Kuan-lin
Lai Kuan-lin, also romanized as Lai Guanlin and better known mononymously as Guanlin, (; Hangul: 라이관린, born 23 September 2001) is a Taiwanese rapper, singer and actor based in South Korea and China. He is known for finishing seventh in ...
, would perform in a reunion stage at the 2021
Mnet Asian Music Awards
The MAMA Awards (formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ E&M. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes has been won by K-pop artists, although there are other As ...
on December 11, 2021. It was also reported that
CJ E&M
CJ E&M (Hangul: 씨제이이앤엠, an initialism for CJ Entertainment & Media) is a South Korean entertainment and mass media company created by CJ Group in 2011. As of July 2018, CJ E&M is a division of CJ ENM.
History
CJ E&M was established ...
, together with the members' current agencies, is in talks for the group to have a concert and album in the future. However,
Pledis Entertainment
Pledis Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded by Han Sung-Soo in 2007. The label is home to actress Nana, Hwang Min-hyun, Baekho, and K-pop groups Seventeen and Fromis 9. Its name originates from the pleiades, a star ...
announced that
Hwang Min-hyun is only performing with the group at the 2021
Mnet Asian Music Awards
The MAMA Awards (formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ E&M. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes has been won by K-pop artists, although there are other As ...
reunion stage, and will return to
NU'EST
NU'EST (; short for New Establish Style Tempo) was a South Korean boy band formed and managed by Pledis Entertainment. The group consisted of five members: JR, Aron, Baekho, Minhyun and Ren. They debuted on March 15, 2012, with the single t ...
and his solo projects afterward.
Ong Seong-wu
Ong Seong-wu (Hangul: 옹성우, born August 25, 1995) is a South Korean singer and actor. He is known for his participation in the survival reality show ''Produce 101 Season 2'', where he finished in fifth place, and is a former member of the ...
is also only scheduled to perform at the reunion stage and will not join subsequent activities, citing the back-to-back filming of his ongoing drama series and two films that he is confirmed to star in.
The group performed "
Energetic", "
Burn It Up", and a new song "Beautiful (Part 3)", scheduled for release on January 27, 2022, as an album title ''B-Side''. Swing Entertainment also launched the group's YouTube channel for archive purposes.
In the media
The group was recognized for their brand recognition and marketing power, having topped 'Boy Group Brand Power Ranking' published by the Korean Corporate Reputation Research Institute for four months; as well as viewership ratings of the TV shows they appear on.
In 2017, they ranked second in the 30 "Power People" survey by ''Ilgan Sports'', for their influence among broadcasting companies and advertisers; and sixth in the top 10 artist of
Gallup Korea
Gallup Korea () or Gallup Korea Research Institute () is a South Korean research company. Founded by Park Moo-ik in 1974, the company became a member of Gallup International Association in 1997. It is best known for conducting public surveys o ...
survey. The group was also chosen as Best K-pop Artist of 2017. For their achievements, Wanna One ranked second on
Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list, which ranks South Korea's most powerful and influential celebrities, in 2018 and third the following year.
Endorsements
In 2017, Wanna One were featured in 16 advertisements including cosmetics, clothing, mobile games, foods and beverages and more.
Members
*
Yoon Ji-sung () – leader
*
Ha Sung-woon
Ha Sung-woon (; born March 22, 1994), also known mononymously as Sungwoon, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of South Korean boy group Wanna One, as a member of boy group Hotshot, and currently as a solo art ...
()
*
Hwang Min-hyun ()
*
Ong Seong-wu
Ong Seong-wu (Hangul: 옹성우, born August 25, 1995) is a South Korean singer and actor. He is known for his participation in the survival reality show ''Produce 101 Season 2'', where he finished in fifth place, and is a former member of the ...
()
*
Kim Jae-hwan ()
*
Kang Daniel
Kang Daniel (; commonly stylized as KANGDANIEL; born Kang Eui-geon []; December 10, 1996) is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, and businessman who rose to fame in early 2017 as the first-place winner of the Produce 101 Season 2, second ...
()
*
Park Ji-hoon
Park Ji-hoon (; born May 29, 1999) is a South Korean singer and actor. Park first made his debut at eight years old as a child actor and advertisement model, appearing as a supporting cast member on the MBC historical drama '' Jumong'' (2006) ...
()
*
Park Woo-jin ()
*
Bae Jin-young ()
*
Lee Dae-hwi
Lee Dae-hwi (Hangul: 이대휘, born January 29, 2001), better known mononymously as Daehwi, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, producer and television personality. He is a member of South Korean boy group AB6IX, and is known for his participa ...
()
*
Lai Kuan-lin
Lai Kuan-lin, also romanized as Lai Guanlin and better known mononymously as Guanlin, (; Hangul: 라이관린, born 23 September 2001) is a Taiwanese rapper, singer and actor based in South Korea and China. He is known for finishing seventh in ...
()
Discography
* ''
1¹¹=1 (Power of Destiny)'' (2018)
Filmography
Television
*
''Produce 101'' (season 2) (
Mnet, 2017)
* ''Wanna One Go'' (Mnet, 2017)
* ''Wanna City'' (
SBS Mobidic, 2017)
* ''Wanna One Go Season 2: Zero Base'' (Mnet, 2017)
* ''Wanna One Go in Jeju''
* ''Wanna One Go Season 3: X-CON'' (Mnet, 2018)
* ''Wanna Travel'' (
Olleh TV
Genie TV (formerly Olleh TV) is an IPTV service provided by South Korea's main telecom operator KT. It broadcasts VOD including TV programs, movies, children's programs, sports, documentaries and animations.
On 4 October 2022, KT rebranded its I ...
, 2018)
* ''Wanna Travel Season 2'' (Olleh TV, 2018)
Concert and tours
Showcases
* Wanna One Premier Show-Con (2017)
Headlining tours
*
Wanna One World Tour – One: The World (2018)
Concerts
* Wanna One Final Concert – "Therefore" (2019)
Awards and nominations
Wanna One achieved the "Rookie Grand Slam" in 2018, having won Newcomer awards from major award ceremonies such as
Mnet Asian Music Awards
The MAMA Awards (formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ E&M. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes has been won by K-pop artists, although there are other As ...
,
Golden Disc Awards
The Golden Disc Awards (, formerly spelled the Golden Disk Awards before 2015) is an annual South Korean major music awards ceremony that honors achievements in the local music industry. The awards ceremony was founded with the purpose to promo ...
,
Seoul Music Awards
The Seoul Music Awards (; SMA) is a major South Korean music awards show presented by the newspaper ''Sports Seoul''. The award winners are selected based on a combination of criteria, including music sales, popular votes, and expert judges' op ...
,
Melon Music Awards and
Gaon Chart Music Awards
The Circle Chart Music Awards (), formerly known as the Gaon Chart Music Awards, are a major music awards ceremony that is presented annually in South Korea by the Korea Music Content Association primarily based on the commercial performance of t ...
. ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' chose them as the Best New K-Pop Act of 2017.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
K-pop music groups
Musical groups established in 2017
South Korean boy bands
South Korean dance music groups
South Korean pop music groups
Musical groups from Seoul
Singing talent show winners
Swing Entertainment artists
Produce 101
Produce 101 contestants
2017 establishments in South Korea
MAMA Award winners
Melon Music Award winners