WayV

WayV (Chinese: 威神V; pinyin: WēiShén V) is a Chinese boy group which serves as the fourth sub-unit and China-based unit of the South Korean boy group NCT.[1] The group is composed of seven members: Kun, Ten, Winwin, Lucas, Xiaojun, Hendery, Yangyang.

WayV
OriginChina
Genres
Years active2019–present
Labels
  • SM
  • Label V
Associated acts
Members

SM first announced a Chinese boy group on August 13, 2018, through NCT's Twitter under the project name, NCT China.[2] On December 31, 2018, it was announced that the seven-member line-up would debut as WayV in January 2019, under SM Entertainment's China-exclusive label, Label V.[3] The unit debuted on January 17, 2019, with their single album The Vision. They won Best New Asian Artist award at the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards.[4] WayV released their first studio album Awaken the World and its lead single "Turn Back Time" on June 9, 2020.

History

2016–2018: Formation

All seven members of WayV were originally part of SM Rookies, a pre-debut training team maintained by SM Entertainment. In January 2016, SM founder and producer Lee Soo-man announced plans for a new boy group with several different units to be based in cities around the world.[5]

Ten debuted with the first unit, NCT U, on April 9, 2016.[6] Kun participated in the Chinese version of the NCT U song "Without You" which was released on April 10, 2016, but was considered to not have formally debuted with the group.[7] Winwin debuted as part of the second unit, NCT 127, on July 7, 2016. Kun and Lucas were announced as new members of NCT 2018 on January 31, 2018, with Lucas and Winwin also debuting in NCT U on February 22, 2018.[8][9][10] SM first announced a Chinese boy group on August 13, 2018, via NCT's Twitter, under the project name, NCT China.[11]

On December 31, SM Entertainment announced WayV ("威神V") through the WayV official Weibo account.[12] The group consists of seven members – the four preexisting NCT members: Kun, Winwin, Ten, and Lucas – and three new members, previously introduced through SM Rookies: Hendery, Xiaojun, and Yangyang. The group was announced to be under SM Entertainment's new China-exclusive label, Label V.[13][3] The group is a sub-unit of NCT, although it is not being promoted as an NCT group.[14] Journalists theorize that the distancing of WayV from the NCT label is due to tense relations between China and South Korea.[14][15] Despite this, SM Entertainment CEO Chris Lee acknowledged WayV as NCT's China-based unit.[1]

2019: Debut with The Vision, Take Off and Take Over The Moon

On January 17, WayV released their first digital EP, The Vision, with a Chinese version of NCT 127's "Regular" as the lead single.[14]

On May 1, WayV announced their first EP, Take Off. It was subsequently released on May 9.[16][17] The EP debuted and peaked at #7 on the Billboard World Albums chart.[18]

In August and September 2019, WayV's reality show Dream Plan was released, which featured 12 episodes that were made available on Youku and YouTube.[19]

On October 29, WayV released their second EP, Take Over the Moon with the title track "Moonwalk".[20] The songs "King of Hearts" and "We go nanana" feature lyrics written by group members Hendery and Yangyang. They became the first and only Chinese group for the second time to debut an album at #1 on the iTunes Worldwide Album Chart. WayV had their first comeback stage for the album during MBC Music's Show Champion on October 30, where they performed "Moonwalk", marking the group's first performance in Korea.[21] On November 5, WayV released an English-language version of "Love Talk" as the second single from the EP, which debuted and peaked at #3 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales.[22][23] Its repackaged version Take Over the Moon: Sequel was released in 2020, adding the English version of Love Talk and the spoken track WayV.oice #1 to the original track list.[24]

The group then went on a promotional tour in China, South Korea and Thailand.[25][26][27]

2020: Awaken the World

In 2020, WayV was the second group from SM Entertainment to hold a live online concert - jointly organized by SM Entertainment and Naver, as part of the world's first online-dedicated live concert series Beyond LIVE. The live concert, which was WayV first-ever concert and titled "WayV - Beyond the Vision" was held on May 3.[28] WayV performed songs from their prior albums as well as a mashup of "Turn Back Time" and "Bad Alive", the debut performance of two on their first studio album Awaken the World, which was released five weeks later on June 09, 2020.[29][30]

Awaken the World was preceded by an online game designed for smartphones, challenging players to unlock teaser images of the individual members. Additionally, the members' individual video teasers were released across different platforms.[31][32] Both the album's physical release and the music video of the its lead single "Turn Back Time" were released with a delay due to the removal of potential issues with the outfits used in its promotional visual content.[33][34][35] The album debuted at #9 on the Billboard World Albums chart with "Turn Back Time" making a first appearance on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart at #12.[36][37]

Endorsements

WayV has endorsed and collaborated with multiple brands including Skechers,[38] Carslan,[39] Cigalong Beauty,[40] and Maeil Barista Rules.[41] The group has also featured on the cover of magazines such as Nylon China, Harper's Bazaar China, InStyle Icon, and Men's Uno.

Members

Discography
Main article: NCT discography
See also: NCT videography

Studio albums

Filmography

Reality shows
Year Title Chinese title Network Note(s) Ref.
2019 Dream Plan 少年威计划 Youku [49][19]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2019 21st Mnet Asian Music Awards Best New Asian Artist N/A Won [50]

References
  1. Herman, Tamar (August 5, 2019). "SM Entertainment A&R Chris Lee Talks 'Cultural Technology' & Creating K-Pop Hits". Billboard. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  2. "SMTOWN on Twitter: "In the second half of the year, NCT DREAM, NCT 127, and NCT China(working title) to take the stage!". Twitter. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  3. "New NCT-Associated Boy Band WayV Set to Debut in China". Billboard. January 2, 2019.
  4. hermesauto (April 14, 2020). "The Life List: 5 things to know about Chinese boy group WayV". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  5. "SM Entertainment continues expansion with New Culture Technology". Kpop Herald. November 23, 2018.
  6. "SM's neo-boy band 'NCT U' to launch this week". Yonhap. April 4, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  7. 김, 준석 (April 9, 2016). "SM 신규 보이그룹 NCT, 출격 준비 완료…10일 자정 'WITHOUT YOU'발표". Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  8. "NCT Unveils 3 New Members; JUNGWOO, KUN and LUCAS!". SBS News. January 31, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  9. Im, Eun-byel (February 18, 2018). "NCT signals major return with 'Boss'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  10. Lee, Narin (March 2, 2018). "[SBS Star] VIDEO: NCT U Shows Who the 'BOSS' Is!". SBS News. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  11. "K-pop Label SM Entertainment to Launch China-Oriented NCT Group". Billboard. August 13, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  12. "SM "中신인 웨이션브이, 2019년 1월 데뷔확정"…NCT 대거 합류 [공식입장]". Osen (in Korean). December 31, 2018.
  13. "SM's latest boy band is set to debut". Korea JoongAng Daily. January 1, 2019.
  14. Herman, Tamar. "WayV Represents SM Entertainment's Goals For Global Dominance Through Cultural Technology". Forbes. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  15. Assis, Tássia (January 17, 2019). "With WayV, All Eyes are on C-Pop". MTV News. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  16. WayV (2019-04-30). "WayV_'Take Off – The 1st Mini Album'_Symbol Image #WayV #WeiShenV #威神Vpic.twitter.com/tnec2GxPzY". @WayV_official. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
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  18. "World Albums Chart". Billboard. 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
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  20. "Watch: WayV Conquers Outer Space In "Moonwalk" Comeback MV". Soompi. October 29, 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  21. "WayV Set To Make Korean TV Debut On Show Champion". The Standom. October 28, 2019. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
  22. "WayV Want to Hear Some 'Love Talk' On New English Single: Watch". November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  23. "World Digital Song Sales Chart". Billboard. 2019-11-16. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  24. "WayV Mini Album Vol. 2 - Take Over The Moon 'Sequel'". KPOPMART. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  25. "微博". www.weibo.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  26. "微博". www.weibo.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  27. "微博". www.weibo.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  28. "SuperM, 26일 '비욘드 라이브' 스트리밍 서비스 첫 공연 주자..특급 라인업 예고". n.news.naver.com. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  29. "'비욘드 라이브' WayV, 'Yeah Yeah Yeah' 최초 공개 "어제 한숨도 못자..잊지 못할 것"[V라이브]". n.news.naver.com. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  30. Alex Kusumapradja (4 May 2020). "WayV Sukses Menyapa Fans Global Melalui Konser Virtual "Beyond The Vision"". Billboard Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  31. "WayV on Twitter: "2020 06 01 0AM (CST) <Awaken The World> Promotion START". WayV Official Twitter. 30 May 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  32. "威神V预告引话题 首张正规专辑《Awaken The World》期待感爆棚 娱乐中国". chinayule (in Chinese). 3 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  33. "WayV_official on Twitter: [通知] 'Awaken The World' 实体专辑发布延期相关通知 [공지] 'Awaken The World' 음반 발매 일정 연기 안내 [Notice] Announcement of Delay of the 'Awaken The World' physical album release". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  34. "WayV_official on Twitter: [通知] 《超时空 回 (Turn Back Time)》 MV公开时间通知 [공지] '超时空 回 (Turn Back Time)' MV 공개 시간 안내 [Notice] Announcement: Delay of '超时空 回 (Turn Back Time)' M/V Release". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  35. "'SM 中그룹' 웨이션브이, 앨범 발매 연기 "소품 문제 발견"". Naver (in Korean). 9 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
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  40. "Cigalong Beauty". Weibo (in Chinese). 30 September 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  41. "Maeil Barista" (in Chinese). 17 June 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  42. "헨드리 : 네이버 통합검색". search.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  43. "NCT 쿤 : 네이버 통합검색". search.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  44. "NCT 루카스 : 네이버 통합검색". search.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  45. "NCT 텐 : 네이버 통합검색". search.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  46. "NCT 윈윈 : 네이버 통합검색". search.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  47. "샤오쥔 : 네이버 통합검색". search.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-05-28.
  48. "가수 양양 : 네이버 통합검색". search.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-05-28.
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  50. "[2019 MAMA] 방탄소년단, 대상 4개 싹쓸이→9관왕 "최선 다한 한 해" [종합]". Naver (in Korean). December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
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