ZEROBASEONE / Courtesy of Wakeone Entertainment

Following a major reorganization into a five-piece act, K-pop group ZEROBASEONE is returning with its new album, "Ascend-," embracing sophisticated contemporary R&B and a sound it describes as "minimalist."

Formed through local music cable channel Mnet's audition show "Boys Planet," ZEROBASEONE debuted in July 2023 as a project group and quickly rose to fame, scoring six consecutive million-selling albums.

After the 2 1/2-year project terminated in January 2026, the five members — Sung Han-bin, Kim Ji-woong, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae-rae and Park Gun-wook — decided to continue their activities as ZEROBASEONE while four other members — Zhang Hao, Ricky, Kim Gyu-vin and Han Yu-jin — left and debuted again as a new boy group.

"Since I lead performances as the frontman, I definitely noticed a huge difference after the personnel change," the group's leader Sung Han-bin said, asked about changes from the reorganization during a group media interview in Seoul on Friday.

To adapt, the group thoroughly researched how to best showcase its dance lines as a five-member act. The effort paid off during a recent performance at KCON Japan, where a positive reception gave the act newfound confidence.

"When I monitored our performance video, I saw a 'grit' that reminded me of our debut days," he noted. "I realized that grit is the strength of our team, comprised of survival show finalists."

The downsizing has allowed the group to highlight individual members more clearly.

"Because we previously were a nine-member group, there were many songs and concepts that prioritized the team's identity over individual members' colors," Park Gun-wook explained. "This time, the concept as a five-member group is calmer and toned down, allowing us to highlight each member's strengths while tying them together." He added that the new dynamics will allow listeners to clearly pinpoint each member's unique charm when their respective parts come up.

"Ascend-," the sixth EP from the band set to come out at 6 p.m. Monday, consists of seven tracks. Fronting the record is "Top 5," a dance-pop, contemporary R&B genre song that reinterprets early 2000s sensibilities with a modern twist.

Source: Korea Times News