Seventeen (South Korean band)


Seventeen, also stylized as SEVENTEEN or SVT, is a South Korean boy band formed by Pledis Entertainment in 2015. The group consists of 13 members divided into three sub-units, each with a different area of specialization: 'Hip-Hop Unit', 'Vocal Unit', and 'Performance Unit'. Seventeen has released three studio albums and seven extended plays.
Seventeen is considered a "self-producing" idol group, with the members being actively involved in the songwriting, choreographing, and other aspects of the group.

History

2013–2015: Formation and early years

''Seventeen TV''

Starting in 2013, Seventeen appeared in regular live broadcasts of a show called Seventeen TV on the online streaming platform UStream. The show had multiple seasons in which the trainees were introduced and shown practicing performances, with some seasons ending in Like Seventeen concerts.

''Big Debut Plan''

Prior to debut, Seventeen also appeared in the reality TV show Seventeen Project: Big Debut Plan, broadcast on MBC between May 2–26, 2015. The show concluded with the group's debut showcase.

''Debut''

Seventeen debuted on May 26 with a live showcase televised by MBC. They were the first male K-pop group to debut with a one-hour live showcase on a major broadcasting channel, with label-mates Lizzy and Raina serving as MCs. Three days later, their first EP 17 Carat was digitally released. 17 Carat became the longest-charting K-pop album of the year in the US and was the only rookie album to appear on Billboard's "10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2015" chart.
On September 10 their second EP Boys Be was released, which would later become the highest selling rookie album of 2015. The album's success earned the group awards at the Golden Disk Awards, Seoul Music Awards, and Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards. Seventeen was also the only K-pop group on Billboard's "21 Under 21 2015: Music's Hottest Young Stars" list.
Seventeen held a four-date concert series titled 2015 Like Seventeen – Boys Wish from the 24th to the 26th of December as an end-of-year celebration in Seoul. After the concerts' success, Seventeen held two related concerts the following February in 2016, entitled Like Seventeen – Boys Wish Encore Concert.

2016: Moderate success and first concert tour

Seventeen's first full-length studio album Love & Letter was released on April 25, 2016. Besides success on domestic charts the album charted on the Oricon Weekly Pop Album Charts in Japan. Seventeen received their first win on a music show with the album's lead single "Pretty U".
Love & Letter was later re-released as a repackaged version on July 4 along with the lead single "Very Nice". Promotions were immediately followed by Seventeen's 1st Asia Tour 2016 Shining Diamonds, which included venues in South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, and China.
On December 5 the group released their third EP Going Seventeen.

2017–2018: Mainstream breakthrough and Commercial success

Seventeen held six concerts in Japan between February 15–24 named 17 Japan Concert: Say The Name #Seventeen. The concerts attracted a total of 50,000 spectators despite the group not having officially debuted in Japan. On April 1, Seventeen became the first idol group to have a second season of the show One Fine Day after filming the series during their stay in Japan. The second season was titled One Fine Day in Japan and was created in collaboration between South Korean broadcaster MBC and Japanese network Music On! TV.
Seventeen's fourth EP Al1 was released on May 22, 2017, which peaked at number one in Korea and has sold over 344,000 copies to date. A series of videos titled 2017 Seventeen Project and three music videos subtitled Chapter 0.5 Before AL1 were subsequently uploaded.
The group completed their first world tour, 2017 Seventeen 1st World Tour "Diamond Edge", during which they visited thirteen cities in Asia and North America, on October 6.
On November 6, the group released their second full-length studio album Teen, Age.
Seventeen released a special album on February 5, 2018, named Director's Cut. Although Director's Cut contained all tracks from the previous Teen, Age album, it was promoted as a special album instead of a repackaged one due to the presence of four new tracks, including lead single "Thanks". The album has sold almost 600,000 copies to date. "Thanks" reached first place on iTunes charts in 29 countries, including countries from North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Time magazine named Seventeen one of the best K-pop groups during this promotion period.
Seventeen officially debuted in Japan on May 30 with their first Japanese mini-album We Make You.
Seventeen released their fifth EP You Make My Day on July 16. You Make My Day was their first release to be awarded with Platinum status. Promotions for this album took place in between the Ideal Cut concerts in Seoul and concerts scheduled in other countries in Asia.

2019–present: Continued success, ''An Ode'', and ''Heng:garæ''

Seventeen released their sixth EP You Made My Dawn on January 21. The title track "Home" is considered to be their most popular release yet, winning ten trophies on weekly music shows. The EP also attained two triple crowns which consist of three consecutive wins on any one weekly music show, and a grand slam which consists of winning trophies on Music Bank, Inkigayo, M Countdown, Show! Music Core, and Show Champion in a single promotion period.
On May 29, Seventeen released their first Japanese single "Happy Ending", which peaked at #1 on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart and went on to receive Platinum status from RIAJ.
On August 5, Seventeen released the digital single "Hit". The single was a precursor to the group's third studio album An Ode, which was released on September 16. An Ode sold 700,000 copies in its first week, and granted the group's first daesang or grand prize for Album of the Year. It was also critically acclaimed as the best K-pop album of the year by Billboard.
On April 1, 2020, Seventeen released their second Japanese single "Fallin' Flower", which sold more than 400,000 copies in its first week and secured first place on Billboard's Japan Hot 100 Chart.
On May 13, Seventeen released the first installment of "Hit The Road", a documentary series posted on their YouTube channel. The documentary followed the group behind the scenes during their "Ode to You" tour.
On June 22, Seventeen released their seventh EP Heng:garæ. This album is the group's best-selling album to date, having sold 1,000,000 copies in under a week.

Members

Hip-hop unit

Seventeen BSS

On March 21, 2018, members Seungkwan, DK, and Hoshi debuted as a subgroup called BSS or BooSeokSoon, a common nickname for the three members together. The group released their debut single "Just Do It" and enjoyed a short promotion period.

Discography

Television

Concerts and tours

Headlining

Asia tours

Seventeen earned three rookie awards in their debut year, and have since earned six 'bonsangs,' which are main prizes, and one 'daesang' or grand prize. They have also gained several awards for choreography and dance performance.