ONF (Korean: 온앤오프; RR: Onaenopeu; pronounced as On and Off) is a South Korean - Japanese boy band formed and managed by WM Entertainment. Originally debuting as a seven-piece group on August 3, 2017, with their EP, the group currently consists of six members: Hyojin, E-Tion, Seungjun (formerly known as J-Us), Wyatt, Minkyun (formerly known as MK) and U. The group's youngest member, Laun, left the group on August 23, 2019, for personal circumstances shortly before the group's fourth extended play Go Live.
History
Formation and pre-debut activities
Prior to joining WM Entertainment, U was a trainee at JYP Entertainment, while Minkyun was a trainee at Starship Entertainment.[3] In 2015, Minkyun participated in Mnet and Starship Entertainment's survival program No.Mercy but was eliminated during episode 7.[4] During the group's first showcase, Laun revealed that he was a trainee at Big Hit Entertainment and used to train together with boy group BTS.[5] All seven members were eventually introduced as WM Boys, and had their first appearance as B1A4's backup dancers at the 2016 Dream Concert in Seoul.[6][7] In addition, members Seungjun, Laun and Wyatt made a cameo appearance in labelmate B1A4's mini drama VCR "The Class", while E-Tion and Wyatt appeared in another B1A4 VCR called "Feeling". Hyojin, E-Tion, Seungjun and Wyatt were featured as dancers in the Korean version of the web drama Loss:Time:Life. On May 25, 2017, all of the members of WM Boys attended IDOLCON (아이돌콘) and performed "Original", a B-side track from their upcoming debut extended play.[8]
2017–2018: Introduction, debut and Japanese debut
ONF in June 2018
Following WM Entertainment's confirmation to introduce the group, ONF released their debut EP and its lead single "ON/OFF" on August 2, 2017, while having their debut stage at M Countdown the following day.[9] The members are composed of two teams, the ON team and the OFF team. Hyojin is the leader of the ON team, which includes E-Tion and Minkyun. Seungjun leads the OFF team, which includes Wyatt and U. Laun is part of both teams.[10] The boy group is WM Entertainment's first idol group in two years and three months following the introduction of fellow labelmate Oh My Girl in April 2015, and subsequently the second boy group from the label after B1A4. Shortly after the group's debut, all seven members joined the survival show Mix Nine in November 2017, with member Hyojin revealed as the male center for Mix Nine's first performance "Just Dance" earlier on October 28.[11][12] He eventually became part of the top nine members to debut during the show's on January 26, 2018, placing second while former member Laun placed seventh.[13] The top nine boys of Mix Nine were set to debut later that year, but due to the inability of the individual companies to form an agreement, the project was canceled. ONF then released their second extended play You Complete Me and its lead single "Complete" on June 7, 2018.[14] A week later, the group signed a contract with Japanese label Victor Entertainment to make their official debut in Japan later in August.[15][16] They officially debuted in Japan on August 1 with a re-recorded Japanese version of their debut eponymous single, preceded by a music video on July 3.[17] They also held their Japanese debut showcase at the Tokyo's Minavi BLITZ Asaka on July 31.[18][19] On September 7, ONF released the music video for their second Japanese single "Complete (Japanese Ver.)".[20][non-primary source needed] Their full CD, including two Japanese B-sides, was released on September 26.[21][non-primary source needed]
2019: Subsequent releases and Laun's departure
ONF released their third extended play We Must Love, on February 7, consisting of five tracks and its eponymous lead single.[22][unreliable source?] They announced a 2019 Asia Tour of the same name, heading to Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taipei in the spring; however, their Singapore stop was canceled.[23][unreliable source?] On June 27, WM Entertainment announced that Laun was cast as Yeon Joo-hyuk in the tVN D STORY web drama Chubby Romance 2 (통통한 연애2), marking his first professional acting role.[24] ONF performed the main theme for the series "So Pretty" (예뻐죽겠다), released on July 14.[25]
On August 23, WM released a statement that Laun departed from the group and terminated his contract due to personal circumstances.[26] Following his departure, ONF released their fourth EP, Go Live on October 7. The EP contains five tracks, including the lead single "Why".[27]
2020: Road to Kingdom and Spin Off
On March 20, it was announced that ONF would join Mnet's reality television competition Road to Kingdom.[28] Their final track from Road to Kingdom, "New World (신새계)", was released on June 12, 2020.[29] It became their first track to appear on the Gaon Digital Chart and Billboard's K-pop Hot 100, peaking at 112[30] and 97 respectively.[31] The group eventually finished in second place overall in the program.[32] ONF released Spin Off, their fifth EP and first since appearing on Road to Kingdom, on August 10. The EP contains seven tracks, including the lead single "Sukhumvit Swimming".[33] They went on to star in their first web drama "Can I Step In?", the first episode of which premiered on YouTube on December 23.[citation needed]
2021–2022: Other activities, new albums and members' enlistment
On February 24, ONF released their first studio album ONF: My Name, consisting of eleven tracks, including its lead single "Beautiful Beautiful". A pre-release single, "My Name Is", was released on February 20.[34] On March 2, the group earned their first music show win of their career with "Beautiful Beautiful" on SBS MTV's The Show.[35] "Beautiful Beautiful" was ONF's first top-10 single, peaking at 7 on the Gaon Digital Chart[36] and topping the Gaon Download Chart.[37] ONF returned with the repackaged version of their first studio album, City of ONF, on April 28, consisting of three additional tracks, including the lead single "Ugly Dance".[38] Like "Beautiful Beautiful", "Ugly Dance" debuted at 1 on the Gaon Download Chart[39] and peaked at 42 on the Gaon Digital Chart.[40]
For ONF's fourth debut anniversary, they released a music video for their song "Trip Advisor" using video submissions from fans all over the world.[41]
On August 9, ONF released the summer popup album Popping, consisting of five tracks, including the title track of the same name.[42]
On November 2, it was announced that all members, except U, will enlist in mandatory military service together in December.[43] Before their enlistments, ONF released their sixth EP Goosebumps on December 3, consisting of five tracks, including the title track of the same name.[44] On December 21, Minkyun was the first member to enlist as an active duty soldier,[45] followed by Seungjun and Wyatt who enlisted on December 27 and Hyojin and E-Tion, who enlisted on December 28 as active duty soldiers.[46]
On May 24, U appeared on street dance survival show Be Mbitious. He appears as a contestant, to compete for a place in a project dance crew that will appear on Mnet's Street Man Fighter,[47] but failed to make it into the main show.
On August 16, to celebrate their debut anniversary, ONF released special album Storage of ONF, the preparation for the album, including music video was finished prior to the Korean members' enlistment. The special album consisting of ten tracks, including five remastered versions, with "Your Song" as the title track.[48]
From October 8 to October 22, 2022, five Korean members serving in the military gathered at the Gyeryong World Military Culture Expo to hold various stages, including Korean Force special show "Consolation train [ko]" and busking performances.[49] Among them, the first group stage, Beautiful Beautiful performance fancam video, and the Hype Boy dance cover video of E-Tion and Seungjun, drew a lot of attention. Hype Boy's individual fan cam videos on social networks gained over 2 million views in just few days,[50] and were listed on Weibo's real-time search keyword and videos were introduced on overseas broadcasts.[citation needed]
2023: Hyojin's solo, end of military service and resumption of group activities
On February 14, Hyojin released special single "Love Things".[51] As with Storage of ONF, the single was recorded before Hyojin's military enlistment and released while Hyojin was still on active duty.
In June 2023, all members were discharged from the military, with Minkyun on June 20, Seungjun and Wyatt on June 26, and E-Tion and Hyojin on June 27.[52] After that on June 28, ONF hosted a live broadcast through Weverse to meet with the fans for the first time after their discharge.
On June 30, WM Entertainment announced that ONF would hold a fan meeting "Be Here Now" at Kwangwoon University's Donghae Culture and Arts Center on July 29.[53]
On July 1, it was announced that ONF would participate in RBW's first family concert "RBW 2023 SUMMER FESTIVAL Over the Rainbow" held at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium on July 16.[54]
In September, it was announced that ONF would make a comeback on October 4, with their seventh EP Love Effect,[55] about 1 year and 10 months after the last one and 4 months after being discharged from the military.[56]
2024: Stage name changes, Beautiful Shadow and Infuse
On January 1, 2024, WM Entertainment announced that the members formerly known by the stage names J-Us and MK will henceforth promote using their legal names Seungjun and Minkyun respectively.[57]
From February 28 to March 3, ONF held their first Canada Tour "Be Here Now in Canada" in three cities: Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.[58]
On February 21, WM Entertainment announced that ONF would be holding a solo concert "Spotlight" in Seoul, South Korea on April 6 and 7, followed by a Japanese tour in four cities: Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, and Tokyo from April 29 to May 3.[59]
On March 12, ONF announced they would be releasing their eighth EP Beautiful Shadow on April 8.[60]
On July 17, ONF announced they would be releasing their first instrumental album Infuse on August 2, as a gift to commemorate their seventh anniversary.[61]
^"ONF JAPAN OFFICIAL SITE". ONF JAPAN OFFICIAL SITE (in Japanese). September 7, 2018. Archived from the original on July 25, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
^"펜타곤·온앤오프·골든차일드·더보이즈·베리베리·원어스·TOO, '로드 투 킹덤' 출연 확정 [공식]" [Pentagon, ONF, Golden Child, The Boyz, Verivery, Oneus, TOO, confirmed 'Road to Kingdom' appearance [Official]]. Osen. March 20, 2020. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
^2021년 상반기 Album Chart [First Half of 2021 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
^2020년 11월 Album Chart [November 2020 Album Chart]. Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
^"2021 올해의 브랜드 대상 수상 기업" [2021 Brand of the Year Grand Prize Winner]. kcforum (in Korean). August 19, 2021. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
