Knock, knock — It’s the BoyNextDoor, ready to open your heart, that's 'WHO!' [GOLDEN 2023]

K-pop

Published: 27 Nov. 2023, 19:43 Updated: 28 Nov. 2023, 12:35

Knock, knock — It’s the BoyNextDoor, ready to open your heart, that's 'WHO!' [GOLDEN 2023]

Boy band BoyNextDoor [KOZ ENTERTAINMENT]

Nicknamed the “Korean Grammys,” the 38th Golden Disc Awards will take place on Jan. 6 in Jakarta, Indonesia, to honor the passion and talent that shone bright in the world of K-pop during the year of 2023.

Organized by the JoongAng Group, the Golden Disc Awards is considered one of the most prestigious awards in Korea with its unique format where dozens of nominees and multiple winners are chosen for three main categories — music, album and rookie of the year.

In this series, Golden 2023, the Korea JoongAng Daily’s entertainment arm Celeb Confirmed looks at K-pop’s biggest and brightest stars who are potential nominees, and their achievements this year.

Knock, knock. Who’s there? It’s the BoyNextDoor. The BoyNextDoor who? The BoyNextDoor ready to open people's hearts with an easy-going, casual vibe never before seen in a HYBE boy band.

BoyNextDoor debuted on May 30 as the first new boy band to come from KOZ Entertainment, a K-pop agency founded by singer and producer Zico in November 2018, with a namesake theme of approaching the public with a casual, friendly and young vibe like “the boy next door.”

Boy band BoyNextDoor [KOZ ENTERTAINMENT]

Six members make up the band: Sungho, Riwoo, Jaehyun, Taesan, Leehan and Woonhak.

Having been produced by Zico, who had debuted as part of hip-hop boy band Block B, and coming from HYBE — whose boy bands BTS, Tomorrow X Together and Enhypen have been known for their masculine, strong and mystical approach to music —, the audience anticipated that BoyNextDoor would be another hip-hop-based crew with a touch of darkness.

Unexpected they may have been, but subpar they certainly were not. BoyNextDoor managed to land its first album on the Billboard 100 albums chart just 112 days after its debut and nabbed Rookie of the Year awards and nominations at major ceremonies in Korea.

BoyNextDoor has become one of the most anticipated boy bands of 2023, vying for more awards and recognitions to come its way.

Read the full story here at Celeb Confirmed

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]