5 things you need to know about iKON
Despite being formed less than a year ago, iKON is now the next big thing in K-pop.
For those who cannot keep up, here are five things you need to know about the boy band touted as the next BigBang
1 iKON was formed only after their agency YG Entertainment's CEO made the group members go through two reality TV survival programmes on Mnet during their trainee days.
In 2013, B.I, Bobby, Jinhwan, Junhoe, Donghyuk and Yunhyeong appeared as Team B on the show WIN: Who Is Next, against other trainees in Team A for the chance to debut as a group.
Team A won and debuted as the idol group Winner.
Team B appeared in Mix & Match the next year, when child actor Chanwoo was included in the final line-up of iKon.
2 In 2014, B.I and Bobby, who were still trainees at the time, took part in the third season of South Korean rap competition Show Me The Money.
In it, contestants ranging from amateurs to experienced rappers competed for the title of best rapper in South Korea.
B.I was eliminated after reaching the Top 8, while Bobby went on to win the competition.
3 Before joining iKON, Chanwoo appeared in 2006 in South Korean pop duo TVXQ's music video Balloons. He was also known for playing the younger version of actor Lee Min Ho's characters in the popular South Korean dramas Boys Over Flowers, and The Heirs.
4 iKON proudly call themselves "self-composing idols" like their YG Entertainment seniors BigBang and Winner.
For their 2015 debut album Welcome Back, Bobby and B.I were involved in writing the lyrics, while Junhoe helped compose the single Rhythm Ta. B.I assisted in the production and song composition of the majority of the tracks.
5 iKON, as well as fellow K-pop boy bands VIXX and Monsta X, recently took part in Chinese reality TV music show Heroes Of Remix to promote electronic dance music in China.
In the first episode, which aired on June 19, iKon performed a remix of Beijing Beijing by Chinese singer Wang Feng, and was voted most popular record for that episode.
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