Wanna One was formed through the 'survival' competition series Produce 101 (season 2), which aired on Mnet from April 7 until June 16, 2017. Out of an initial 101 trainees representing various agencies, the final 11 were chosen by audience voting and announced via live television broadcast.[2]
2017: Debut with 1X1=1 (To Be One) and 1-1=0 (Nothing Without You)
Wanna One performing at the Incheon K-POP Concert on September 9, 2017.
Wanna One signed with YMC Entertainment (who previously managed season one's winning group I.O.I).[5] Unlike I.O.I, however, Wanna One members were not permitted to participate in other activities with their original agencies.[6]
The group participated in a final concert that took place on July 1 and 2, 2017 at Olympic Hall in Seoul to mark the end of Produce 101.[7][6] Wanna One officially debuted at an event titled Wanna One Premier Show-Con that took place at the Gocheok Sky Dome on August 7, 2017.[5][8] The group released their debut extended play 1×1=1 (To Be One) on August 8, 2017, with the title song "Energetic", originally composed by Hui of Pentagon and FlowBlow, with lyrics written by Hui and Wooseok of Pentagon.[9][10][11] Two music videos were released for their debut, for "Energetic" and "Burn It Up".[12]
On November 13, Wanna One released their repackaged album, 1-1=0 (Nothing Without You), with the title track "Beautiful".[13] With the combined sales of their first album and its repackaged edition, Wanna One became only the third Korean group to sell a million copies of their debut album, and the first since Seo Taiji and Boys did so with their eponymous debut in 1992.[14][15][16]
2018: Golden Age Begins, unit project and world tour
In February, Wanna One posted a series of teaser images titled 2018 Golden Age Begins.[17] On March 5, Wanna One released their special theme track, "I Promise You (I.P.U.)" along with its music video.[18] It was also announced that the number of preorders for their second extended play, 0+1=1 (I Promise You) had surpassed 700,000 copies, breaking the previous record set by the group.[19] The album was released on March 19, along with the title track "Boomerang".[20]
In April, Wanna One announced that the members would split into multiple units and collaborate with different artists such as Dynamic Duo, Zico, Nell and Heize for their upcoming special album.[21] The album was later revealed to be titled 1÷x=1 (Undivided), which was released on June 4 along with the title track "Light".[22][23]
The group also announced their first world tour, titled "One: The World", which would span 13 different cities around the world and begin on June 1.[24][25]
Wanna One's contract with YMC Entertainment expired on May 31. Starting from June 1, Wanna One would be managed under Swing Entertainment, a new agency exclusively established for the group. This new arrangement would still maintain the partnership with YMC.[26][27][28]
On October 30, 2018, Wanna One released a teaser video and also revealed the title of their 1st studio album, 1¹¹=1 (Power of Destiny). The album was released on November 19, along with the title track "Spring Breeze".[29]
2019: Final concert and disbandment
On December 18, 2018, Swing Entertainment released an official statement that the group's contract will end on its original planned date, December 31, 2018.[30] Swing also stated that all agencies came to an agreement that will allow the members to attend scheduled year-end shows and award ceremonies throughout January 2019.[30] The group concluded activities with a final concert (titled Therefore 2019).[30] The concert was held at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, where the group held their debut showcase.
2021–2022: Reunion
On November 15, 2021, it was confirmed that the group, except Lai Kuan-lin, would perform on a reunion stage at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards on December 11, 2021.[31] It was also reported that CJ E&M, together with the members' current agencies, is in talks for the group to have a concert and album in the future.[32] However, Pledis Entertainment announced that Hwang Min-hyun is only performing with the group at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards reunion stage, and will return to NU'EST and his solo projects afterward.[33]Ong Seong-wu is also only scheduled to perform at the reunion stage and will not join subsequent activities, citing the back-to-back filming of his ongoing drama series and two films that he is confirmed to star in.[33] The group performed "Energetic", "Burn It Up", and a new song "Beautiful (Part 3)", scheduled for release on January 27, 2022, as an album title B-Side.[34] Swing Entertainment also launched the group's YouTube channel for archive purposes.
Impact
The group was recognized for their brand recognition and marketing power,[35][36] having topped 'Boy Group Brand Power Ranking' published by the Korean Corporate Reputation Research Institute for four months;[37][38][39] as well as viewership ratings of the TV shows they appear on.[40][41]
In 2017, they ranked second in the 30 "Power People" survey by Ilgan Sports, for their influence among broadcasting companies and advertisers;[42] and sixth in the top 10 artist of Gallup Korea survey.[43] The group was also chosen as Best K-pop Artist of 2017.[44] For their achievements, Wanna One ranked second on Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list, which ranks South Korea's most powerful and influential celebrities, in 2018 and third the following year.[45][46]
Endorsements
In 2017, Wanna One was featured in 16 advertisements including cosmetics, clothing, mobile games, foods and beverages and more.[47]
^Maliangkay, Roald (2014-01-21). "The Korean Popular Culture Reader". Duke University Press: 296–313. doi:10.1215/9780822377566-018. ISBN9780822377566. Archived from the original on 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2018-11-13. The band's debut album, 'SeoTaiji and Boys', was released on March 23, 1992. (…) More than 1.5 million copies of the debut album were sold within a month from the date of its release…
