ONF is a South Korean–Japanese boy group formed and managed by WM Entertainment. Originally debuted as a septet on August 3, 2017 with their eponymous extended play, the group is now composed of six members: Hyojin, E-Tion, J-Us, Wyatt, MK and U. Former member Laun left the group on August 23, 2019, shortly before the group's fourth extended play Go Live. Since their debut, ONF has since released four Korean extended plays, and two Japanese singles following their Japanese debut on August 1, 2018.
History
Formation and pre-debut activities
Prior to joining WM Entertainment, U was a trainee at JYP Entertainment and MK was a trainee at Starship Entertainment. In 2015, MK participated in Mnet and Starship Entertainment's survival program No.Mercy but was eliminated during episode 7. 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. 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. In addition, member J-Us, 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, J-Us, 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 and performed "Original", a B-side track from their upcoming debut extended play.
2017–2018: Debut with ''ON/OFF'', ''Mix Nine'' participation and Japanese debut
Following WM Entertainment's confirmation to introduce the group, ONF released their debut eponymous extended play and its lead single "ON/OFF" on August 2, 2017, while having their debut stage at M Countdown the following day. 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 MK. J-Us leads the OFF team, which includes Wyatt, and U. Laun is part of both teams. 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. 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. 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 cancelled. ONF then released their second extended play You Complete Me and its lead single "Complete" on June 7, 2018. A week later, the group signed a contract with Japanese label Victor Entertainment to make their official debut in Japan later in August. 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. They also held their Japanese debut showcase at the Tokyo's Minavi BLITZ Asaka on July 31. On September 7, ONF released the music video for their second Japanese single "Complete ". Their full CD, including two Japanese B-sides, was released on September 26.
2019: ''We Must Love'', first Asia tour and Laun's departure
On February 7, ONF released their third extended play We Must Love, consisting of five tracks and its eponymous lead single. 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 cancelled. 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. ONF performed the main theme for the series "So Pretty", released on July 14. On August 23, WM Entertainment released an official statement saying Laun had left ONF and terminated his contract with the agency due to personal reasons. On October 7, ONF released their fourth EP, Go Live. The EP contains five tracks, including the lead single "Why".
2020: ''Road to Kingdom'' and ''Spin Off''
On March 20, it was announced that ONF will join Mnet's reality television competition Road to Kingdom. On June 12, ONF released their final track from Road to Kingdom, New World. The group eventually finished in second place overall in the program. ONF will release their fifth EP Spin Off on August 10. The EP contains seven tracks, including the lead single "Sukhumvit Swimming".
