Oneus (Korean: 원어스, pronounced as "One Us") is a South Korean boy band formed by RBW. The group consists of five members: Seoho, Leedo, Keonhee, Hwanwoong and Xion. Originally a six member group, Ravn left October 2022. The group released their debut extended playLight Us on January 9, 2019.
History
2017–2018: Pre-debut and formations
Individual members of Oneus came out of various trainee programs. Seoho, then known as Gunmin, Keonhee and Hwanwoong were trainees for RBW in the second season of Produce 101 during the first half of 2017, and Ravn and Seoho were trainees for RBW on the YG survival show Mix Nine during the second half of 2017. Leedo also participated in Mix Nine as an independent trainee, but did not pass the first audition.[1]
RBW started a pre-debut project "RBW Trainee Real Life – We Will Debut" in late 2017, to showcase the label's promising male trainees. Produce 101 frontrunners Keonhee and Hwanwoong were the first to join the lineup.[2] In December 2017, They participated in the second chapter 'Special Party' with their label-mates MAS.[3] In early 2018, Keonhee and Hwanwoong, with the addition of Ravn and Seoho, were introduced as pre-debut team RBW Boyz, with Leedo and Xion added in March 2018.[4] They were renamed Oneus in June 2018.[5] On September 27, Oneus and their label-mates Onewe (formerly MAS) released a pre-debut single "Last Song".[6]
2019–2020: Debut and early day
The group's debut EP Light Us was released on January 9, with "Valkyrie" serving as its lead single.[7] The single charted in the top ten of several countries' iTunes charts, including at number one in the U.S. and Australia,[8] as well as at number fifteen on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart.[9] Oneus released their second EP Raise Us on May 29, with the lead single titled "Twilight".[10] Releasing a Japanese version of the single on August 27, Oneus made their official Japanese debut. The Japanese version of "Twilight" sold more than 60,000 copies by October.[11] The group also held their first concert in Japan, 2019 Oneus Japan 1st Live: 光差, with shows at Osaka's Zepp Namba on July 28 and Tokyo's Zepp DiverCity on August 25.[12] In August, the group won the "Next Artist Award" at the 2019 Soribada Best K-Music Awards.[12] Oneus released their third EP Fly with Us on September 30, with the lead single titled "Lit".[13] Following the release of the EP, they held their first tour in the U.S., also called Fly With Us in November 2019. The tour made stops in six cities: New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.[14][15] On December 18, they had their first Japanese comeback with the single "808".[16][17] "808" debuted at number 1 on the Oricon Daily Single Chart with 3,662 copies sold on the first day of release.[18][19]
On January 10, 2020, Oneus held a fan-meeting in honor of their one-year anniversary, called Our Moment, at Yes 24 Live Hall in Seoul.[20][21] In early February, Oneus had a second concert series in Japan, Fly With Us Final, performing in Osaka on February 8 and 9 and in Chiba on February 15 and 16.[22] The concert had 2,200 in attendance in Osaka[23][24] and 3,800 in attendance in Chiba.[25][26] On March 20, it was announced that the group would join Mnet's reality television competition Road to Kingdom.[27] For the show's finale on June 12, Oneus released their song "Come Back Home" and finished in fourth place overall. On March 24, the group released their first single album called In Its Time with the lead single "A Song Written Easily". The song was the group's third single to chart on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart, ranking the highest of the three singles at number eleven.[9][28] On August 19, the group released their fourth EP Lived, with the lead single "To Be Or Not To Be".[29] On December 1, the group released their first digital single "Bbusyeo".[30]
2021: Devil, Binary Code, and Blood Moon
On January 19, the group released their first studio album Devil, with consisting of eleven tracks, including the lead single "No Diggity".[31]
On May 11, their fifth EP Binary Code was released, with the lead single "Black Mirror".[32] The EP also contained a rock version of their debut song "Valkyrie".[33]
It was announced that Oneus would be holding an online and offline concert "Oneus Theatre: Blood Moon" in Seoul from November 6 to 7.[34] On November 9, the group released their sixth EP Blood Moon, with the lead single "Luna".[35] On November 17, the group earned their first music show win of their career with "Luna" on MBC M's Show Champion.[36]
On December 21, Oneus released a new collaboration single with Onewe titled "Stay".[37]
2022–present: Trickster, Malus and Ravn's departure
In February 2022, Oneus began their U.S. tour with twelve stops including major cities such as New York City and Los Angeles and smaller cities such as Wilkes-Barre and Lawrence.[38] In April, Oneus announced two stops to continue their Blood Moon tour, holding their third Japanese concert with a show in Chiba and in Osaka.[39] They also announced to release their seventh EP Trickster on May 17, with the lead single "Bring It On".[40][41] On June 1, RBW released the poster "2022 Oneus Japan 1st Fanmeeting 'Summer'" through ONEUS's official SNS which is a Japanese fan meeting event that was held on June 25 and July 3.[42] On August 16, they announced to release their eighth EP, Malus on September 5.[43] In October, Oneus announced their first world tour scheduled to begin on October 29, traveling to Japan and America.[44] On October 17, RBW announced the temporary suspension of Ravn's activities due to reports of inappropriate behavior, and until the fact check is complete.[45] Later on October 27, RBW announced that after consideration, Ravn had made the decision to voluntarily leave the group, making Oneus a five-member group.[46]
On April 13, 2023, RBW confirmed that Oneus plans to release their ninth EP in early-May.[47] Later on April 17, Oneus announced their ninth EP Pymaglion schedule to release on May 8.[48] The EP contains five-track including the lead single "Erase Me" and also marks their first release as a five-member group.[49] On September 5, Oneus was announced to release their tenth EP La Dolce Vita on September 26.[50]
On September 12, they released teaser image to announced their upcoming second world tour with the same name of their tenth EP, which plans traveling to Japan, Europe and America.[51]
On May 19, 2024, Oneus released new digital single "Now", a remake song of girl group Fin.K.L's "Now" (2000).[52]
^Hwang, Mi-hyeon (September 2, 2019). 원어스, 30일 컴백 확정 '폭넓은 음악 세계'. News 1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 19, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
^Yoon, Ki-baek (November 18, 2019). 미주투어 마친 원어스, 글로벌 대세로 '가자'. E Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021 – via Naver.
^Ji, Min-kyung (March 20, 2020). 펜타곤·온앤오프·골든차일드·더보이즈·베리베리·원어스·TOO, '로드 투 킹덤' 출연 확정 [공식] [Pentagon, ONF, Golden Child, The Boys, Verivery, Oneus, TOO, confirmed 'Road to Kingdom' appearance [Official]]. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
^Cha, Hye-young (June 2, 2022). "원어스, 첫 일본 단독 팬미팅 'SUMMER' 개최...글로벌 행보 기대" [Oneus to hold their first Japanese solo fan meeting 'SUMMER'... Expected to make a global move] (in Korean). TenAsia. Archived from the original on June 2, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2022 – via Naver.
^Ji, Min-kyung (August 16, 2022). "원어스, 9월 5일 미니 8집 'MALUS'로 컴백 확정" [ONEUS will make a comeback with their 8th mini album "MALUS" on September 5th] (in Korean). OSEN. Archived from the original on August 16, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
^"뉴스 : 네이버 TV연예". m.entertain.naver.com. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
^Kim, Ji-hye (October 17, 2022). "[POP초점]양다리+폭언+명품 구걸 폭로에..RBW, 레이븐 활동 중단 발표" [[Focus on POP] RBW announces suspension of Raven's activities due to exposure of legs + abusive language + begging for luxury goods] (in Korean). Herald Pop. Archived from the original on October 17, 2022. Retrieved October 17, 2022 – via Naver.
^週間 デジタルアルバムランキング 2023年11月06日～2023年11月12日 [Oricon Weekly Album Ranking November 6, 2023 – November 12, 2023] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
^"U+아이돌Live 베스트아티스트상 1차 투표" [1st vote for U+Idol Live Best Artist Award]. Idol Live TV (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
^Lee, Ji-sook (August 17, 2020). [MHN포토] 이달의 소녀 '당찬 소녀들'(2020 소리바다 어워즈) [[MHN Photo] Loona 'Dauntless Girls' (2020 Soribada Awards)]. MHNS. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020.
