In an actual attempt to resurrect the blog for the time being, I'm talking about the discography of a KPOP boy group who I've bought physical albums of...from their last two releases but the first time they were made available in big name retailers in the United States, Zerobaseone.
Phase two of the ZB1 experiment is marked by initial expansion into Japan and a partial follow-through, but we will get there momentarily. As to why ZB1 and co. released music in Japanese, it's very simple. Literally all KPOP acts release songs in multiple languages. Sometimes in English and sometimes in languages they have a consistent grasp of like Japanese. 2nd Gen (that's second generation or like 2007 to 2012 or something) acts, specifically the girl group KARA first gained traction in Japan by having singles released there. As to why this came even before them, there's a soloist that's still going named BoA whose career in Japan largely overshadowed her being from South Korea and most of her Korean singles (given that she only ever hit #1 in Japan and not once ever went #1 in her native South Korea.)
But as with all international expansions, it comes with its own set of "make this shit work for this audience but make it make sense for even us at home". In this case, it's telling 6 Korean nationals (Hanbin, Jiwoong, Taerae, Gyuvin, Gunwook & Yujin), 2 Chinese nationals(Hao & Ricky) and 1 Canadian national (Matthew) to sing in a language that as far as their current label knew, they may have not learned even for their chosen industry or for a strong want to learn it on their own terms. Luckily for them, their original material in Japanese managed to hit crucial milestones for them faster than their Korean releases.
ZB1 made their official debut in Japan with the March 8th, 2024 released "Yura Yura (Unmei no Hana)" which means either "swaying (flower of destiny)" if you let Wikipedia tell the story or "(flower of fate)" without trying to translate "Yura Yura" into anything like the captions for the official music video does. The song does exceptionally well, debuting at #1 in Japan and it made ZB1 the first foreign artist to sell more than 300,000 copies in the first week with their Japanese debut single.
That being said, this is the group's best song. "Gurl how the fuck do you listen to KPOP but think the Japanese single is their best?" I know, I know but let me explain. Part of the reason I even decided to listen to the group was because of several compilations of moments...of certain members being around each other and giving off "oh they might actually be" and thinking, "OK even if like maybe 1/3 of this group total might kiss guys for real, let's see if they're any good." 29 songs on a separate playlist and multiple copies of the albums to be mentioned in Part 3, yeah gurl I still like the group. But more on that "1/3" thing later.
What makes "Yura Yura (Unmei no Hana)" such a thrill is that it exudes all the BL (Boys Love) energy this group has, plus for Jiwoong in particular, he has lines and sounds more confident when singing in Japanese. Later on, I would learn that before Boys Planet, he was both a BL drama leading man in Kissable Lips and Roommates of Poongduck 304 (and like one other vampire themed one) and part of a pre-debut group B.I.T. which only promoted in Japan (and went nowhere but Jiwoong picking up Japanese served him well long-term.) As for the song itself, it's bright but not saccharine or corny and vocally shows off all the members having at least a very strong grasp of Japanese (at least to my baka gaijin ass). There's also b-sides that have "Crush" and "In Bloom" in Japanese, but as we're establishing now: there's a reason some songs start off in one language and not the other way around.
Cut to August 26th, 2024 (and after the YHMAH era) and the release of their 4th EP Cinema Paradise and the title track "Good So Bad". The release is warmly welcomed by the fans [who have the cutest fan name story: the group is named Zerobaseone but instead of naming them "zeroes" they make a pun and use "Zeroses"/"Ze_roses" all flowery n shit] and "Good So Bad" finally returns the group to a Top 40 chart position at #39. This title track marked two milestones for the group. One is it winning five of the six music programs in South Korea [The Show, Show Champion, M Countdown, Music Bank and Inkigayo, just missing Show Music Core] and it being the start of a musical relationship with a KPOP songwriting god-figure, Kenzie.
Kenzie has been a songwriter since 2002 but started getting major hits in 2007. Specifically, one of the first songs she ever wrote that became a hit was "Into the New World" by Girls Generation. In other words, she's never had to worry about financial security since that song. She's also had a hand in writing "Hurricane Venus" with BoA, "Monster" by EXO, "Power Up" and "Psycho" by Red Velvet and even "Strike a Pose" by the retired goddess of Japanese pop music Namie Amuro. Basically, look up the list of songs written by Kenzie on Wikipedia and get your life.
Anyway, onto Cinema Paradise as an EP. It's noted for being a departure from their first three EPs [Youth in the Shade, Melting Point and You Had Me at Hello] as that was a trilogy of being in love, and them moving toward being inspired by movies and the movie theater/"cinema". This is basically them even in sanitized KPOP terms going from "romance" to "glamour" [like movie star 1940s Hollywood star] or more bluntly in the West, going from "love" to "sex". Romance and love is often fairy tale/Romeo and Juliet vibes and overall packaging. Glamour and sex is often "love on the run"/Bonnie and Clyde vibes and packaging. But the Romeo and Juliet reference does make sense here.
Cinema Paradise does succeed in bringing three good songs to the table out of seven (although you do not have to count the Korean version of "Yura Yura". I know I don't, because let's remember: there's a reason it started off in one language and not the other.) Along with "Good So Bad", "The Sea" (a remake of the song by a ye olde Korean co-ed group called UP) which has the group's fairest line distribution by this point and this career highlight that could've also been a single or the B-side to perform on music shows, "Insomnia".
"Insomnia" is the catchiest song to the group's name by this point in 2024 even if it suffers from "dance pop under a 3:00 runtime syndrome". It's a sound that suits them to a T and like the vocalists they are, they know that dance production of this caliber requires vocal clarity above all else. Clear, crisp, rounded vocals against this kind of dance pop, yes please.
As for the other tracks on Cinema Paradise? I don't actively hate all of them! In fact, it's mostly a 6-8 score range for them. Let's start with "Road Movie". It's not "Solar Power" levels of trying to Tarzan (not that one) some Janes, but it is trying to be all early 90s or whenever New Kids on the Block released "Hangin' Tough". But "Road Movie" does have its uses in live settings, which works out for the better (just like "Scheiße" by Lady Gaga is useless until it's rolled out in a live setting where it hits.) For "Eternity", it's the closest ZB1 got to an effective ballad in 2024. It still comes up short, being overpowered by its production and then just becoming lowkey summer beachside bonfire music. Not a bad tradeoff but for the group that wouldn't have an effective ballad until 2025 in Part 3...this was a red flag that they might not actually get a ballad that shows off their full vocal prowess.
Then there's "Kill the Romeo", a solid 8/10, so of course that's the B-side rolled out for promotion when "Insomnia" was right there. I don't hate "Kill the Romeo", it just took a while for me to get what its purpose was. It signified a switch from candy coated aesthetics to something decidedly mature or edgy in the future, while still being the variety show or whatever 1N2D level goofballs they've been trained to be. As with the Gaga deep cut and with "Road Movie", "Kill the Romeo" found its footing in live settings. Specifically at the 2024 MAMAs/Mnet Asian Music Awards, in which Ricky catches the camera per usual and causes the audience to lose their shit.
Cut past two major checkpoints, one being brought up in Part 3: first was the October 11th, 2024 Japanese release "Only One Story" [there's a Korean version that released in 2025, but again...yes, reason it's Japanese first, good job.] Then, the up and "SURPRISE" release of "Checkmate" on November 26th, 2024 in conjunction with an MNET dance competition called Stage Fighter. "Checkmate" will be brought up in Part 3.
"Only One Story" would mark ZB1 getting an opening theme to the Pokémon anime Pokémon Horizons: the Series and in turn their debut Japanese EP, the January 29th, 2025 released Prezent. "Only One Story" being an opening theme to the still active Pokémon anime is an insane pull and was the perfect way to follow up their Japanese debut earlier in the year. Then again, their label in Japan had a complete brain malfunction when they decided not to release physical units of their group's POKÉMON ANIME opening theme...in the country that still buys physical units of both SINGLES...AND ALBUMS. I quote my sis-quaintance Random J when I say "Girl. Fire the whole management and marketing team."
Then comes January 15th, 2025 and the release of the single "Now or Never" which is marked by a music video proper, playing into baseball being the national sport of Japan. So naturally, this must not have been given a physical single either because even with a Q1/January release date HOW DID THIS NOT CHART? How was this not the easiest time to get ZB1 a followup hit in Japan? Girl, fire the whole management and marketing team.
Ignoring the fact that this video gets cinematic for 37 seconds and has that "fan represented by a girl" bullshit from earlier, this was promising that the debut Japanese EP was going to be handled with careful curation. And in true Japanese EP fashion, half the songs were released as singles!
Prezent boasted four original songs, aside from the singles. There's also Japanese versions of "Good So Bad" and "Feel the Pop" but we're focused on the originals and I don't want to spend more time bashing "Feel the Pop" in another language. And here's something I didn't expect...all four original songs in Japanese are good! "Gurl, you listen to KPOP and think the Japanese debut is their best work?" I know, but the thing of it is, I'm all over the place with my taste in music. It's for the best, yet I can't help what I gravitate to (and I haven't made large reference to Pokémon and BL considering those like most Japanese pop culture had an easier...I said easier time becoming popular in the U.S. than KPOP which didn't even have a stake in the U.S. until they exported BoA in 2009 to mixed results at best and fluking their way in via "Gangnam Style" in 2012 and not having staying power until Blackpink in 2016. Japanese pop culture had video games from the NES days to vice grip the current crop of weebs that make content online.)
Anyway, "Firework" was another upbeat offering that if line distribution videos are right...or at least consistent, gave Taerae the most lines so that was a nice change of pace. But the standout track and easily Top 5 overall of ZB1 for me is the ballad "Hana"...the ballad that finally showed off VOCALbaseone which again let's point out; the Japanese debut EP got the ballad right and not any of their previous three Korean EPs.
"Hana" is beautifully sung by the group and tows the line toward arena rock flavored pop balladry and shows off the group's stellar vocals and grasp on Japanese. God, I wish this EP was released alongside the albums their label based in South Korea decided to release in the U.S. but we'll get there in Part 3.
Now for the elephant in the room. I mention BL energy and all that, as a way to mention that at least in this group (other groups too but especially here) there's a significant amount of gay here. At least in the "doesn't mind male fans" kind of way, because let's be real: even outside of the collectivistic culture of South Korea (especially with the evangelism that runs like water there), this is the music industry. No one's coming out as gay unless they're willing to go for broke and bring about change to an industry that still panders hard to female fans. We're even talking about how in ZB1 videos, the "love interest" isn't actually a love interest but a supposed avatar of the fans, but is physically represented by a girl. It's very much "we know gay fans exist but yeah lol we're using a girl to represent the 'fans'".
That and it's already dicey to speculate who and how many are actually gay. This is mainly because there's an overall debate on whether or not being openly gay even matters for anyone in the music industry much alone in a KPOP boy group. There's no simple way to say it but it kinda does matter, but not for the reason you think.
The group overall can basically come across as a litmus test for openly gay people in KPOP, especially under the prospect of commercially successful artists instead of being commercial flops outside of a group and then having a faded star power. Essentially, think about the celebrity "Star Masters" for Episode 9 and 10 of Boys Planet and how two of them, both from well known boy groups have long since been in the rumor mill because of them possibly being gay and...well...see if you can have a kii before that other way of saying 2 in the morning and then you'll get it.
The answer at least for me is as follows: it sure would be nice to see members of million selling groups like ZB1, come out and be embraced for their talent even if who they love is "radically" different by some societal standards at large.
But in all honesty, ZB1 comes across like any other 18 to early 20 year old guys in a KPOP group: happy go-lucky buddies who play video games and butt drums with each other when not in practice for either singing or dancing. Whether or not million seller world tour having (or whatever can count as a "world tour", but that's in Part 3), KPOP boy group members would have the time or energy for a romantic relationship with anyone aside...which come on, they don't have that to them now. That and it is a reminder that not a motherfucking one of us fans knows a goddamn thing about the members of a KPOP group we like. At best, we're getting a curated, media-trained version of this person, on-camera.
There is however a specific pairing...not to try and sail the ships again *wink* but in the case of Zhang Hao and Sung Hanbin, they might actually be and be together. Sure the shipping thing is weird as shit sometimes but from my end of which fan accounts are just playing around, the general attitude there is "girl we don't actually think this group is Zerostraightones, we're just having fun with this." It's very much, "I'm a fool, not an idiot." But "Haobin" might actually be a thing and if it ever comes to confirming it, then there is a place for openly gay men in the world of KPOP on a mid to major label in South Korea.
The only thing I'll bring up before wrapping this post up is "representation" and "visibility": two elements of being openly gay in society that I feel have very specific contexts as it pertains to the entertainment and not just the music industry. "Representation" to me in this context means that a singer or member of a group can be openly gay and still be well respected, liked, etc. by others in his group, colleagues and even industry professionals. "Visibility" to me in this context means "representation with commercial success". It's one thing to be represented in an industry that to some is designed against you from the jump. It's another to be in said industry and pull huge numbers like any other artist or group in said industry. If and I do mean if any ZB1 member comes out, then they're not just representing us, they're visible in that they're integral in playing a part in being in a million selling group whose commercial peaks expanded internationally in 2025 (more in Part 3).
Overall, this era of ZB1's discography built upon some promises but not in ways one would expect. Japanese debut getting a critical music element right but fucking up commercial follow-through, the Korean comeback actually regaining lost momentum and re-establishing the group commercially but still not getting the ballad right. Still, when able to look past some commercial misgivings, it's nice to have some quality music around.
Highlights:
"Yura Yura (Unmei no Hana)" 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
"Insomnia" 🏆
"Good So Bad" 🥇
"The Sea" 🥇
"Hana" in particular but all the originals from Prezent, basically 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
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