Victon (Korean: 빅톤; stylized as VICTON, an acronym for Voice to New World) is a South Korean boy group formed in 2016 by IST Entertainment (formerly A Cube Entertainment, Plan A Entertainment and Play M Entertainment). The group is composed of six members: Seungwoo, Seungsik, Sejun, Hanse, Byungchan and Subin. They debuted on November 9, 2016, with their extended play Voice to New World. Originally a septet, Chan left the group on October 11, 2022, after being charged for driving under the influence (DUI).
History
Pre-debut
Members Chan, Seungwoo, Seungsik and Byungchan joined A Cube Entertainment in 2014 and were among the company's first batch of male trainees.[1][2][3]Hanse and Sejun joined a year later, followed by last-minute addition, former Cube Entertainment trainee Subin.[3][4] Several of the members had experience working with their label-mates whilst still trainees, having been back-up dancers for Apink at their 2015 "Pink Island" concerts and recorded backing vocals for Huh Gak's album.[5]
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.[6]
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.[7]
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 with the dual title tracks "I'm Fine" and "What Time Is It Now?" being released the same day.[8]
2017: Further EP releases
On March 2, 2017, Victon released their second EP, Ready, with the lead single titled "Eyez Eyez".[9][10] 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).[11] "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.[12] Critics also noted from its music video and more sophisticated choreography that the group had adopted a more mature and charismatic image.[13][14]
Victon's third EP, Identity, 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.[15][16]
Their fourth EP, From. Victon, was released on their one year anniversary on November 9.[17] The EP contains six tracks including the title track "Remember Me".[18][19]
2018: Busking project and Time of Sorrow
On February 18, 2018, Plan A Entertainment announced that Victon would have a three-week busking project in various locations throughout Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.[20] They performed songs from their previous albums as well as unreleased songs such as "On My Way", performed by Hanse and Seungsik.[21]
On May 23, Victon released their first single album Time of Sorrow.[22][23] 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.[24][25]
2019: Produce X 101 participation, comeback with 6 members
In early 2019, Seungwoo and Byungchan participated as contestants in Produce X 101. 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.[26] 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.[27]
Victon made their comeback as a six-member group on November 4 with their fifth mini album Nostalgia and lead single "Nostalgic Night".[28] The release attracted much more attention and the group became a top 3 trending search topic on domestic online music sites.[29] "Nostalgic Night" earned the group their first music show win since their debut.[30] 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 in Seoul, the first time they have held their own full concert.[31][32][33]
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.[34][35] On March 9, Victon released their sixth mini album 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.[36] It was announced later by Play M that member Byungchan would sit out of group promotions due to a herniated disk in his neck.[37] From April 14 Seungwoo and Seungsik co-hosted the radio show Blanket Kick (이불킥), which airs on Naver's streaming app Naver NOW. on Tuesday nights;[38][39] Chan eventually replaced Seungwoo as co-host on July 20, 2021, due to the latter's impending enlistment.[40][41]
On June 2, the group returned with their second single album Mayday.[42] They won first place on The Show on June 9 for "Mayday", marking the group's third win.[43]
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.[44][45]
In October, Hanse confirmed he was working on a solo mixtape release, although without a set release date.[46]
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".[47] 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. Although all members tested negative, they decided to complete the quarantine period.[48]
2021: Voice: The Future is Now and Seungwoo's enlistment
Following the delay, the album was released on January 11, 2021.[49] The group held a comeback show that same day and it was aired on Mnet and its digital channel M2.[50] The album includes four solo songs, one each for Seungsik, Chan, Sejun and Hanse, respectively.[51]
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.[52] Seungwoo released his second EP Fade and lead single "See You Again" on June 28.[53] He enlisted for his mandatory military service as a member of the military band on July 28.[54] 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.[55] Then, Hanse made his solo debut on September 25 with the digital album Blaze with the double title tracks "Take Over" and "Public Enemy".[56]
On November 9, Victon released the single "Sweet Travel" to commemorate their fifth anniversary.[58] On November 26, Chan tested positive for COVID-19.[59]
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.[60] The music video for "Chronograph" reached 10 million views within three days, the fastest of the group's music videos to reach that mark.[61] 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.[62]
In March, the group released an original soundtrack for the drama Business Proposal titled "You are Mine", with Seungsik, Sejun, and Byungchan participating.[63]
On May 31, Victon released their seventh mini album Chaos and its lead single "Stupid O'clock".[64]
On October 11, IST Entertainment announced that Chan would be leaving the group following his DUI charge, and the group will remain with 6 members.[65]
In October, the group announced their eighth EP Choice, was released November 15.[66]
2023: Military service and contract renewals
On January 27, Seungwoo became the first member to be discharged from the military.[67]
On February 1, the agency confirmed that Seungsik will enlist in the military on March 20, 2023. After basic training, he will be sent to the Army Personnel Command's Army Military Music Equipment Battalion.[68]
On March 31, IST Entertainment officially announced that Sejun would enter the training center on June 13 and undergo basic military training before serving as an active duty soldier.[69]
On April 20, IST Entertainment officially announced that members Byungchan, Hanse, and Subin did not renew their contracts with the agency, while members Seungwoo, Seungsik, and Sejun have their exclusive contract periods partially changed due to their military service, so they will retain their artist status for the time being.[70]
^빅톤 한승우, 8월 솔로 데뷔 확정 “앨범 준비 중” [Victon's Han Seung-woo confirms solo debut in August "Album in preparation"]. Sports Donga (in Korean). June 26, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via Naver.
^빅톤 한승우, 28일 솔로 컴백…전곡 프로듀싱 '페이드' [VICTON's Han Seung-woo, solo comeback on the 28th... Produced all songs 'Fade']. Newsis (in Korean). June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021 – via Naver.
^Kang, Da-yoon (July 21, 2021). 빅톤 한승우, 26일→28일 입대 연기 "생활관 방역 위해" [공식] [VICTON's Han Seung-woo, 26th → 28th enlistment postponed "Dormitory quarantine"]. My Daily (in Korean). Retrieved July 21, 2021 – via Naver.
^Lee, Se-ul (September 15, 2021). 빅톤 도한세, 25일 솔로 앨범 'BLAZE' 발매…전곡 프로듀싱 참여 [VICTON's Do Han-se releases solo album 'BLAZE' on the 25th... Participated in all song production]. Xports News (in Korean). Retrieved September 15, 2021 – via Naver.
^Park, Seo-hyun (December 29, 2021). 빅톤, 1월 18일 싱글 ‘Chronograph’ 발매 확정 ‘1년만 컴백’ [VICTON, confirmed to release single 'Chronograph' on January 18th 'Comeback after 1 year']. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved December 29, 2021 – via Naver.
^빅톤 ‘사내맞선’ OST 부른다. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
^Kim, Na-yul (May 9, 2022). 빅톤, 'Chaos' 컴백 스케줄러 공개..오늘(9일) 예판 시작 [Victon unveils 'Chaos' comeback scheduler.. Pre-order starts today (9th)]. Herald Pop (in Korean). Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Naver.
^Choo, Seung-hyun (October 11, 2022). "음주운전' 빅톤 허찬, 결국 팀 탈퇴…"6인 체제 재정비" [전문]" [Drunk Driving' Victon's Heo Chan eventually leaves the team... "Reorganization of the six-member system" [Full text]] (in Korean). Seoul Economic Daily. Retrieved October 11, 2022 – via Naver.
^Cho, Hye-jin (October 18, 2022). "'허찬 탈퇴' 빅톤, 11월 15일 '5인 체제'로 컴백 [공식입장]" [[Official position] VICTON, 'Leaving Heo Chan', on November 15th with 'Five-Person System' [Official Position]] (in Korean). X-ports News. Retrieved October 18, 2022 – via Naver.
^Lee, Yu-na (January 27, 2023). "한선화 동생' 빅톤 한승우, 오늘(27) 육군 만기 전역" [Han Seonhwa's younger brother' Han Seung-woo of Victon, today (27) discharged from the army]. YTN (in Korean). Retrieved January 27, 2023 – via Naver.
^Jeon, Hyo-jin (February 1, 2023). "빅톤 강승식, 3월 20일 입대…육군 군악대 복무 [공식]" [Seungsik Kang of Victon enlists on March 20th... Army military band service [Official]] (in Korean). Sports Donga. Retrieved February 1, 2023 – via Naver.
^Myung, Hee-sook (March 31, 2023). "빅톤 임세준, 6월 13일 현역 입대 "비공개 입소" [공식입장]" [Lim Sejun of Victon, active duty enlistment on June 13 "Private enlistment" [Official position]] (in Korean). X-ports News. Retrieved April 1, 2023 – via Naver.
^Kim, So-yeon (April 20, 2023). "빅톤 최병찬·도한세·정수빈, IST엔터 떠난다" [Choi Byungchan, Do Hanse, and Jung Soobin of Victon leave IST Entertainment] (in Korean). The Korea Economic Daily. Retrieved April 20, 2023 – via Naver.
2020년 02월 Album Chart. Gaon Album Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on December 27, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
^週間 アルバムランキング 2017年10月16日付 [Weekly Album Ranking on October 16, 2017] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
2020년 05월 Album Chart. Gaon Album Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
^週間 アルバムランキング 2017年10月16日付 [Weekly Album Ranking on March 23, 2020] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on March 18, 2020. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
2020년 05월 Album Chart. Gaon Album Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
^U+아이돌Live 베스트아티스트상 1차 투표 [1st vote for U+Idol Live Best Artist Award]. Idol Live TV (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
