ZEROBASEONE Begins a New Chapter as Five, While AND2BLE Debuts and Park Gun-wook Joins the Seoul Music Awards as MC

ZEROBASEONE has opened a second chapter after reorganizing from nine members to five. Since debuting in 2023, the group has sold a cumulative 10 million albums, underscoring its standing as a leading fifth-generation boy group. With the release of Ascend- and after reaching an agreement among the members and reorganizing its internal system, the group is returning to fans as a five-member act. The new lineup gives each member a more distinct presence onstage. Leader Sung Han-bin said that a song title can be interpreted in many ways, but that this encounter felt destined for them. Seok Matthew said they selected the song whose color suited them best, describing it as classic and clean. Encouraged by their fans, the five members have put the tears of the nine-member era behind them and prepared for a new stage. Ascend- contains seven tracks: Intro., TOP5, V for Vision, Customize, Exotic, Changes and Zero to Hundred. Park Gun-wook's first self-written song, Customize, was designed to showcase each member's vocal strengths, and he said he worked in a direction that would convey greater sincerity. The album further defines ZEROBASEONE's minimalist concept centered on youth.

The group has not completely erased its memories as a nine-member act. Four members left, while the remaining five began a new phase. According to the source reports, the four departing members returned to their original agencies and formed AND2BLE with Yoo Seung-eon, who had promoted with EVNNE, beginning again as a five-member group. Meanwhile, ZEROBASEONE strengthened its position as a new pillar of fifth-generation K-pop by reaching the milestone of 10 million cumulative album sales.

AND2BLE's debut has also drawn attention. The five-member group released its first mini album, Sequence 01: Curiosity, on the 26th. Its title track, Curious, combines synth-pop and future house. Although it was not initially selected as the title track, the members responded strongly to the song and it was ultimately chosen. AND2BLE held a showcase at Blue Square's Woori WON Banking Hall in Seoul on the 26th. Leader Zhang Hao, Yoo Seung-eon, Ricky, Kim Gyu-vin and Han Yu-jin displayed a range of charms in performances spanning pop and R&B, and anticipation among fans quickly spread worldwide.

AND2BLE also achieved results on global charts. Soon after its release on the 26th, Sequence 01: Curiosity entered the top 10 of the iTunes Top Albums chart in 23 countries and regions, reaching No. 1 in eight regions including Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia. It also ranked No. 2 on the Worldwide iTunes Albums chart. In Asia, the album topped QQ Music's daily best-selling albums chart and rose to No. 2 on its weekly chart just one day after release. It also entered the upper ranks of Melon's HOT100 in South Korea, an unusual response for a rookie group. Though ZEROBASEONE and AND2BLE are following different paths, both are preparing to shape a new current in K-pop.

The Seoul Music Awards has heightened fan expectations with another high-profile lineup. Park Gun-wook was confirmed as an MC for the 35th Seoul Music Awards. Having already served as an MC on Mnet's M Countdown, he will join Super Junior's Leeteuk and KiiiKiii's Leesol to form a three-MC team. The ceremony will be held on June 20 at Inspire Arena on Yeongjong Island in Incheon. Attention is focused on how Park, who has been active across music festivals and entertainment programs, will shape the atmosphere of the event.

Additional ticket sales were also announced. A limited number of VIP and restricted-view seats will go on sale through NOL Ticket from 2 p.m. on the 28th, while the final fan vote on the global fandom platform IDOLCHAMP will remain open until 11:59 p.m. that day. ZEROBASEONE and AND2BLE are thus demonstrating the current breadth of K-pop from different trajectories. Going forward, attention will be on how the five-member ZEROBASEONE translates minimalism and the emotions of youth into music, and what impact AND2BLE will make with its new male vocal performance style.