WayV

WayV () is a Chinese boy band which serves as the fourth sub-unit and China-based unit of the South Korean boy band NCT managed by SM Entertainment's sub-label, Label V. Debuted on January 17, 2019, with their digital extended play "The Vision", the group is composed of seven members: Kun, Ten, Winwin, Lucas, Xiaojun, Hendery, Yangyang.
The group have released one studio album and three extended plays and made regular appearances on "Billboard"'s world charts.
History.
2016–2018: Formation.
All seven members of WayV were originally part of SM Rookies, a pre-debut training team maintained by SM Entertainment. In January 2016, SM founder and producer Lee Soo-man announced plans for a new boy group NCT with several different units to be based in cities around the world.
Ten debuted with the first unit, NCT U, on April 9, 2016. Kun participated in the Chinese version of the NCT U song "Without You" in 2016 but was considered to not have formally debuted with the group until he and Lucas debuted in NCT 2018, a project involving all members of NCT, and promotions of their album "Empathy". Winwin debuted as part of the second unit, NCT 127, on July 7, 2016. On August 13, 2018, SM announced their plan to launch a China-oriented unit under the project name, NCT China.
The formation of WayV was announced through the group's official Weibo account on December 31. The group consists of seven members: the four preexisting NCT members - Kun, Winwin, Ten, and Lucas - along with three new members who were just introduced through SM Rookies earlier that year - Hendery, Xiaojun, and Yangyang. The group was announced to be under SM Entertainment's new China-exclusive label, Label V.
The group is a sub-unit of NCT, although it was not promoted as an NCT group until the announcement of NCT 2020. Journalists theorize that the distancing of WayV from the NCT label was due to tense relations between China and South Korea. Despite this, since their formation, SM Entertainment CEO Chris Lee had acknowledged WayV as NCT's China-based unit.
2019: Debut, further success and rising popularity.
On January 17, 2019, WayV debuted with their first digital EP "The Vision" with a Chinese version of NCT 127's "Regular" as the lead single. All three tracks of the EP earned the top ten rank on "Billboard" World Digital Songs. The group debuted at number four on the "Billboard" Social 50, the best debut on the chart since XXXTentacion in June 2018.
WayV released their first EP "Take Off" with lead single with the same name on May 9. The EP debuted at seventh on the "Billboard" World Albums Chart and claimed number one on iTunes top album chart in 30 regions. Meanwhile, the single debuted at number two on the QQ Music Weekly Popularity chart.
On October 29, WayV released their second EP "Take Over the Moon" with the title track "Moonwalk". Members Hendery and Yangyang participated in lyric writing for the first time in songs "King of Hearts" and "We Go Nanana". The group made their debut on the "Billboard" Heatseekers Albums and Korean Gaon Album Chart by ranking at number twenty-four and five respectively. The group had their first comeback stage for the album during MBC Music's "Show Champion" on October 30, marking their first performance in Korea. On November 5, the group released an English version of "Love Talk" which debuted and peaked at number three on the "Billboard" World Digital Song Sales. The song also marked the group's first entry on QQ Music Weekly Digital Sales Chart by ranking at number two. The repackaged version of the album titled "Take Over the Moon: Sequel" was released in 2020, adding the English version of Love Talk and the spoken track "WayV.oice #1" to the original tracklist.
The group then went on a promotional tour in China, South Korea, and Thailand.
2020–present: First full-length album and NCT 2020.
In 2020, WayV was the second group from SM Entertainment to hold a live online concert - jointly organized by SM Entertainment and Naver, as part of the world's first online-dedicated live concert series "Beyond LIVE". The live concert, which was WayV first-ever concert and titled "WayV - Beyond the Vision", was held on May 3. The group performed songs from their prior albums as well as a mashup of "Turn Back Time" and "Bad Alive", two tracks on their first studio album "Awaken the World" which was released five weeks later on June 9, 2020.
"Awaken the World" was preceded by an online game designed for smartphones, challenging players to unlock teaser images of the individual members. Additionally, individual video teasers of the members were released across different platforms. Both the album's physical release and the music video of its lead single "Turn Back Time" were released with a delay due to the removal of potential issues with the outfits used in its promotional visual content. Upon its release, WayV earned their first top-three entry on Tencent Music's UNI Chart (previously known as Yo! Bang) and the Gaon Album Chart. The album also peaked at number nine on the "Billboard" World Albums chart, while "Turn Back Time" ranked at number twelve on the World Digital Song Sales chart. "Awaken the World" became the group's first release to chart in Japanese music charts by appearing on both "Billboard Japan" Hot Albums and Oricon Weekly Albums Chart. Subsequently, the group released a Korean version of "Turn Back Time" digitally with an accompanied similar music video. On June 29, an English version of the track "Bad Alive" was released as a digital single. The single managed to rank at number one on QQ Music's Daily Digital Sales chart and earned Gold certification hours after it was released. It eventually ranked at number six on the weekly chart.
WayV participated in NCT's project NCT 2020, combining members of WayV with members of the other NCT subunits NCT U, NCT 127, NCT Dream, and two new members. The group released the album in two parts, with "NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1" released in October and "NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 2" in November, marking WayV's first official promotion as an NCT subunit and Xiaojun, Hendery & Yangyang's official induction as NCT members. For the album, WayV recorded the song " (Nectar)" which debuted at number twelve on the UNI Chart.
By the end of the year, WayV received international awards from Mnet Asian Music Awards and Asia Artist Awards, and ranked at third place on the UNI Chart Top 10 Groups of 2020 based on their achievements on the local chart.
On March 10, 2021, WayV released their third EP, "Kick Back", with the lead single of the same name. Members Winwin and Lucas were absent during the promotion of the album given they were undergoing quarantine in China for solo schedules. The album became the group's first number one album on the Gaon Album Chart, and eventually earned the group their first certification for selling more than 250,000 copies in South Korea.
Other ventures.
Endorsements.
WayV has endorsed and collaborated with multiple brands including Skechers, Carslan, Cigalong Beauty, and Maeil Barista Rules. The group has also featured on the cover of magazines such as "Nylon China", "Harper's Bazaar China", "InStyle" "Icon", and "Men's Uno".
Philanthropy.
On July 23, 2020, WayV donated through the China Social Welfare Foundation's charity project to help victims and front-line flood relief workers in Jiangxi and Hunan.
Artistry.
Influences.
In the group's interview, WayV stated their musical influences range from Jay Chou to Rihanna, Michael Jackson, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, and Justin Bieber. They also look up to their fellow idols from SM Entertainment - Taemin from Shinee for Ten, and Exo for Kun and Winwin.