The likelihood of project idol groups extending their lifespans

As members of Kep1er extend contracts, what might that mean for ZEROBASEONE?

The girl group Kep1er recently confirmed plans that the majority of its members would renew contracts to stay in the band.

This signals the first time a project idol group formed on an Mnet reality competition show would carry on promotions longer than its original agreement. It’s also an unprecedented move.

Idol groups formed on shows from the broadcaster Mnet are very rarely intended to be permanent. And oftentimes, members go off to pursue their own projects, whether it’s joining other idol groups, working on solo music or acting in television shows and movies.

Given Kep1er’s recent extension, a part of me wonders whether this could extend to a group like ZEROBASEONE, who is arguably one of the top rising boy bands of the moment. Like Kep1er, they too were formed on a reality competition show and aren’t expected to last forever.

But perhaps the tides can turn once again?

The concept of the Mnet reality competition show

To put things into perspective, I must first explain how competition shows on Mnet work.

Kep1er was formed in 2022 after members competed on the competition show Girls Planet 999 in 2021. Competitors on the show were trainees from different agencies. Though winners who made it into the top nine —Yujin, Ziating, Mashiro, Chaehyun, Dayeon, Hikaru, Huening Bahiyyih, Youngeun and Yeseo— eventually became the idol group Kep1er, signing a contract lasting two years and six months with WAKEONE Entertainment.

Given that each member of Kep1er entered Girls Planet 999 as trainees representing different entertainment companies, the expectation is for those idols to return to their respective agencies afterwards.

This is unlike in-house record label reality shows like I-Land (Enhypen) and A2K (VCHA), where the groups are meant to be permanent barring contract renewals and expirations.

In 2023, Boys Planet followed a similar format to Girls Planet 999. And thus, the nine-member group ZEROBASEONE was formed. Similarly to Kep1er, the band will be active for a total of two years and six months, and are also currently on a contract with WAKEONE.

Like Kep1er and ZEROBASEONE, there are other groups that were formed on similar competition programs like Produce 48 and Produce 101. That includes Wanna One and Iz*One.

Both found widespread popularity and commercial success in South Korea and beyond when they were active, winning several newcomer awards and accolades for their releases.

But as planned, they ended up disbanding once contracts ended, with members of both groups going off to pursue other projects like music and acting.

Some of the most famous alum coming out of these shows include soloist Kang Daniel, Sakura and Chaewon from LE SSERAFIM and Yujin and Wonyoung from IVE.

Why I have hope for the future of ZEROBASEONE

Since watching Boys Planet recently, I have found myself invested in the future of ZEROBASEONE.

While much of the band’s popularity can be attributed to Boys Planet, what’s important here is that ZEROBASEONE has kept the momentum going.

In its first year as an active group, ZEROBASEONE earned what’s known as a “Rookie Grand Slam” in South Korea, sweeping the 10 Rookie of the Year awards from different domestic award ceremonies, including Golden Disc Awards, MAMA Awards, Melon Music Awards and Seoul Music Awards.

Its debut EP Youth In Shade was basically a runaway hit, selling 1.8 million copies in 13 days and becoming the first K-pop debut album to sell over a million copies. And the EP’s lead single, "In Bloom", charted on the Billboard Global 200.

ZEROBASEONE is also incredibly well-rounded and members seem to genuinely get along well in interviews and social media videos they’ve posted.

That goes a long way in the chemistry of the band’s performances and songs. The group looks and sounds great together. And if I didn’t know it was a group formed from a competition show, I would have thought the members have all worked and trained together for years.

Given that K-pop is currently in an era where newer girl groups like aespa, NewJeans and IVE are more popular than their male counterparts, ZEROBASEONE is arguably one of those boy groups that is capturing my attention and making things feel fun again.

I’d hate to have to say goodbye in a few years time.

But are things all bad if ZEROBASEONE disbands?

In all honesty, the likelihood of ZEROBASEONE carrying on beyond its current agreement appears to be slim, given that each member of the group are essentially on loan to WAKEONE from the K-pop agencies they were signed with originally as trainees.

And as we’ve seen with many contract negotiations (most recently with Blackpink), the process can be long and complicated. And at the end of the day, the company and artists may not even align philosophically.

The other factor at play here is the separate labels each member of ZB1 is signed with may not also be willing to let go of their star idols even longer. Four of ZB1’s members (Yujin, Gyuvin, Ricky and Zhang Hao) are on loan from Yuehua Entertainment. The smart thing for Yuehua would be to buy out the contracts of all the other members of ZEROBASEONE. But why would they spend all that money? After all, the quartet could theoretically just be in an idol group themselves once ZEROBASEONE ends.

While most good things must come to an end, I am trying to keep an open mind about what the future holds.

While Kep1er’s recent contract extension is proof that project idol groups can stay together longer, we’ve seen numerous times what other opportunities can arise once these acts are no longer together.

Without the disbandment of Wanna One, would we even have the success of Kang Daniel’s career? And what is a world without LE SSERAFIM and IVE, without the end of a group like Iz*One?

K-pop would be a much different scene than it is without all of these developments. And I’d like all the members of ZEROBASEONE to go on to do cooler and more amazing things in the future like acting, songwriting and producing.

And given the time ZEROBASEONE still has together, there’s still many opportunities for the group to make a significant impact on the K-pop space as it moves into the 5th generation.

As member Matthew told Teen Vogue in 2023:

“Whenever we talk about these goals and these dreams that we want to achieve, it makes us work even harder, and we're more passionate about it. We all have the same dream of reaching higher and making ZB1 last forever in everyone's hearts.”

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