[CELEB] BTOB is finally back together after completing military service

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[CELEB] BTOB is finally back together after completing military service

Published: 23 Feb. 2022, 15:50 Updated: 23 Feb. 2022, 17:13

Boy band BTOB [CUBE ENTERTAINMENT]

The boy band that was “born to beat” is back as a whole.

BTOB released its third full-length album “Be Together” on Monday to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its debut and the first time since 2018 that all six members are together. It last released the EP "This is Us" with all six members in June 2018.

It has been about four years since the band dropped music with all members participating, as they have been serving their mandatory military services.

Member Seo Eunkwang enlisted first in 2018 and Lim Hyunsik and Yook Sungjae were the final members to complete their duties. The latter two were discharged last November.

Seo said Monday that it felt “exactly how BTOB should be” while in the process of working on the album with all six members. “I felt comfortable and the energy we have when are altogether is like no other,” he said.

The album, which is a representation of the past 10 years together as a band, also symbolizes a new beginning for the members.

“We poured out everything we had while working on the songs,” Lim said. “We missed making music so much when we were fulfilling our military duties, and we feel like the yearning just exploded through this album.”

The album has 13 songs, “The Song” being the lead track. Lim and Lee Minhyuk took part in either writing or composing nearly all 13 tracks.

According to Lim, it only took him 30 minutes to finish writing the lyrics for “The Song.”

“The first word that comes to mind when I think of BTOB is ‘song,’” Lim said. “That’s how confident we are in presenting songs with our own stories.”

Although the band has already established a reputation as a successful K-pop ballad group, “Be Together” aims to be a source of comfort to many.

“BTOB has always been described as ‘healing-dol’ [a compound word of ‘healing’ and ‘idol’] but now we want to be [the manifestation of] ‘healing’ itself,” Yook said.

BTOB members pose on the red carpet. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

BTOB debuted in 2012 as a seven-member band with the song “Insane.” The band’s name stands for “Born to Beat.” BTOB currently has members Seo Eunkwang, Lee Minhyuk, Lee Changsub, Lim Hyunsik, Peniel Shin and Yook Sungjae.

Member Jung Ilhoon left the band in late 2020 after being investigated for the illegal use of marijuana. He admitted to the charges in May last year.

BTOB’s fans are called Melody.

The band is best known for its ballads, including “Way Back Home” (2015), “Remember That” (2016) and “Missing You” (2017).

BTOB has two subunits: BTOB Blue and BTOB 4U.

BTOB Blue was formed in 2016 and consists of members Seo Eunkwang, Lee Changsub, Lim Hyunsik and Yook Sungjae. BTOB 4U was formed in 2020 with the EP “Inside,” consisting of members who had either completed their military duties or were exempt: Seo Eunkwang, Lee Minhyuk, Lee Changsub and Peniel Shin, who is American.

Contrary to the seemingly serious, contemplative image due to its musical style, the band has earned the nickname “beagle-dol,” a compound of the name of the dog breed and “idol.” The members have shown their humorous sides during appearances on variety shows and even on the red carpet.

Yook Sungjae of BTOB [CUBE ENTERTAINMENT]

Yook Sungjae

Date of birth: May 2, 1995
Zodiac sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Jung District, central Seoul
Debut: March 2012 as a member of boy band BTOB
Agency: Cube Entertainment

Singer and actor Yook Sungjae debuted in 2012 as a member of boy band BTOB. He is also part of its subunit BTOB Blue. He launched his acting career in 2013 with supporting roles in television series like tvN’s “Monstar” (2013) and “Reply 1994” (2013). He made his breakthrough by starring in KBS2’s “Who Are You: School 2015” (2015) and subsequently tvN’s “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” (2015-16). He is also well-known for being a cast member on MBC’s reality variety show “We Got Married” (2008-17), in which he had a mock marriage with Joy of girl group Red Velvet from 2015 to 2016. Yook will star in MBC’s upcoming television show “Golden Spoon” later this year.

This information was confirmed by Cube Entertainment on Feb. 23, 2022.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]