Almost every time a member of K-pop group ZEROBASEONE speaks during our interview, he starts by introducing (and later re-introducing) himself by name. At times, he’ll even gently raise his hand for emphasis or interrupt himself mid-thought, realizing he forgot to say his name first.
It’s not an entirely unheard of practice, but it’s not exactly what you’d expect from a group of this caliber. Before they were ZEROBASEONE, Hanbin, Jiwoong, Zhanghao, Matthew, Taerae, Ricky, Gyuvin, Gunwook, and Yujin were already international sensations, even if they didn’t realize it.
It all started in February when we met them and 89 other trainees on Boys Planet, the Korean reality competition show where 98 contestants from different agencies and countries competed for nine coveted spots in the K-pop group we now know as ZEROBASEONE.
“Honestly, all trainees who participated on the program have shown so much chemistry and great level of synergy and passion on every performance they prepared and put on,” Hanbin tells Teen Vogue through an interpreter. “If you look at the program, there is a lot of footage where we react to each other's stages and we are just amazed by everybody's performance … We can't really predict exactly who's going to debut, but everyone [had] a possibility.”
Every week, the members would diligently practice and perform, and every day, thousands of viewers, dubbed Star Creators, would diligently cast their votes. Despite the rankings, the fierce competition — coupled with the seclusion of living in dorms on set and having limited phone access — left even the most popular contestants unaware of their success or their viral clips.
“Whenever we actually did end up going outside, people would notice us right away and we were very shocked. We were like, ‘Oh, you know me?’” Matthew says, reenacting the scene. “During the show, I didn't know that this was actually going to be very liked, but it was the ‘I love you, I want you, Seok Matthew’ [bit]. I was a bit embarrassed to do it at first and that's why I got shy after doing it. But after seeing that a lot of people liked it, I was like, ‘Oh, so people like cute things. I see.’”
Whether it was one of their cute moments or the very first line they sang — even one as short as just “girl” — that won over Star Creators, in the end, Hanbin, Jiwoong, Zhanghao, Matthew, Taerae, Ricky, Gyuvin, Gunwook, and Yujin were destined to become ZEROBASEONE. And as the guys graduated from trainees to idols, Star Creators became ZE_ROSE.
However, the ending of that story was just the beginning of a new one. Now, the boy group has just two and a half years to prove themselves and show what they can do before they split ways and return to their respective agencies.
“We feel very fortunate and thankful to receive so much love and support from so many Star Creators and ZE_ROSE around the world,” Taerae says. “So our main goal now is to become an artist that can really pay [back] such support and love to them with good music and good performance.”
The fans were indeed eagerly awaiting. ZEROBASEONE’s first release was so highly anticipated that the group broke records before they even dropped the mini-album.
“After we debuted and got our phones back, and when we knew that we hit the new record for the followers on Instagram for the first week and the album selling thing, we [were] shocked by that too,” Ricky says. He’s just casually referring to reaching one million Instagram followers in just six days and being the first K-pop group to earn 780,000 pre-orders on a debut album in just five days and eventually one million pre-orders in 13 days.
Receiving all this success and attention within such a short amount of time, especially at such a young age, might seem intimidating. But the youngest member of the group, 16-year-old Yujin, takes it in stride. “I think for me personally, it motivated me to work even harder rather than being pressured by it,” he says. “Because knowing that there are so many people anticipating and waiting for our debut, I just wanted to show a better version of myself and that really inspired me to work even harder.”
From the start, Boys Planet was always set to end with a nine-member group. But every event in between — intense practices, hardships and victories — swayed Star Creators hearts and led to this line-up. Whereas other groups’ rosters are carefully curated with a particular image and sound in mind, the members of ZEROBASEONE were put together because of their fans’ passion. It was up to them to figure out what to make of their new team.
“I think the biggest difference from Boys Planet and after the debut is that on Boys Planet, since it is the survival program, it is really important to appeal your own personal charms to the audience because you want to get those votes from the Star Creators and you want to get their support,” Hanbin explains. “But now that we are promoting as a team, it's really important to focus on the team's identity and how each of us can really represent that as individuals.”
At a closer look, the nine individuals that Star Creators picked are all quite different. Jiwoong and Yujin were born almost nine years apart. Zhanghao and Ricky hail from China, Matthew grew up in Canada, and the others are all native Koreans. Hanbin comes from an intense dance background, while Zhanghao is trained in music and has a penchant for the violin. Gyuvin dominated Boys Planet with his sharp dance skills, while Taerae charmed viewers with his deep vocals and Gunwook commanded the stage with his rap skills. And as Jiwoong says, the members are still learning new things about each other every single day. With a lineup this diverse, it was hard to predict what ZEROBASEONE would feel like in terms of vision and musicality, even for the members themselves.
“I think we are in the process of figuring that out actually,” Hanbin says. “We still have a long way to go, but I think we are in the process of really understanding each other and accepting each other's differences. Our main priority as a team would be [to] just focus on the message that we want to deliver to the audience as ZEROBASEONE. We are working together to make that goal happen... and I think we are doing a good job so far.”
That feeling of trying even if you don’t necessarily have it all figured out is exactly what ZEROBASEONE captured in their debut single “In Bloom.” The song juxtaposes an eerie pre-chorus that’s a call to take control of your own fate with an upbeat, rushing hook that promises first loves and new experiences.
“It's a refreshing song, but it's got a different message,” Gunwook says. “So it is talking about giving something from my heart and it's very sincere compared to the refreshing melody of the song and the whole vibe of the song. It really represents who ZEROBASEONE is.”
The song reflects both the fear and bliss of ignorance that you feel in your youth, whether you’re 16 or 24. It’s a sentiment that many young people can relate to, and as Ricky points out, the lyrics encapsulate ZEROBASEONE’s journey. In fact, Ricky reveals that the group was originally worried about whether people would like the song or not.
Matthew thinks he knows the reason for that. “When we first listened to the song, it's not like your typical K-pop song, it's very different. So we were nervous,” he says, adding that the feeling was heightened because it was set to be their debut song.
However, the track’s warm reception has reassured the group. “It feels like the effort that we paid during the preparation [is] all worth it after we see those kind of comments,” Ricky says. ZE_ROSE’s reactions have again become motivation for the group, especially as they continue to perform internationally. “It's that kind of track that we want to put more effort and more power into,” Zhanghao says.
The unique upbeat tone of “In Bloom” and the entire Youth in the Shade EP has even driven some fans to say ZEROBASEONE saved the summer. Funnily enough, the members say the same about ZE_ROSE.
“For me, I would like to describe the summer as ZE_ROSE, because we met them, and we started being with them in the season of summer,” Jiwoong says. “Personally, I used to be a winter guy over a summer guy, but from now on, I think I'll be the summer guy.”
“I would like to say this summer was a dream come true,” Gyuvin adds. “It was just so unreal.”
Part of the novelty of ZEROBASEONE’s story is just how quickly it’s been going. From February to now, the members have been working tirelessly to make it all happen. All the meanwhile, there are members who are still in school studying, taking on side projects, and more. According to the group, de-stressing is a team effort.
“Whenever I feel pressured, I usually just shout in the air,” Zhanghao says. “I'll just give it a quick little shout and then it usually de-stresses me a little bit. And sometimes I will go find the members who are extra energetic and I'll ask them, ‘Hey, can you share your energy with me?’ And they would actually hold my hands or hug me and just talk to me. Being able to spend some time with those members gave me a lot of energy as well.”
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Though ZE_ROSE’s first summer with ZEROBASEONE has already gone by in a flash, the group has already teased their next comeback. Their next mini-album, Melting Point, is set to drop on Nov. 6. Keeping to the group’s themes of youth and changing seasons, the teaser video shows the members clad in pajamas, exploring a winter setting set to the tune of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” With a successful debut behind them and another release coming up, the next big question for the group is what their legacy will be. They’ve already prepared an answer, though.
“This is actually a really great question because me and Gyuvin actually talked about this not so long ago,” Matthew says. “Gyuvin said that he wants ZB1 to be a legendary group, so in these two and a half years, he wants this group, maybe in the next 20 years or the next 10 years, to always be like, ‘Oh, you know ZB1?’ and then, they'll just know right away. So he wants to make ZB1 part of history, and I totally agree with that. Whenever we talk about these goals and these dreams that we want to achieve, it makes us work even harder, and we're more passionate about it. We all have the same dream of reaching higher and making ZB1 last forever in everyone's hearts.”
In the meantime, they have their sights set on something a little more simple. According to Matthew, there’s a particular concept they want to do. “I think we can all agree, but we kind of want to try ‘sexy.’ I think Yujin wants to do ‘sexy’ too, right?” he asks his groupmates, who were already laughing (with Gyuvin grabbing his shoulder for support) before he even said it. “Right,” Yujin responds.
Whatever it may be that seals ZEROBASEONE’s legacy — sexy concept, upbeat music, relatable lyrics, heartfelt performances, or something else they have up their sleeves — like many of their Gen Z peers, they’re still figuring it out. And that’s totally fine. After all, this is just their introduction.
