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Rookie boy band AHOF takes first step toward 'hall of fame' with debut album 'Who We Are'

Published: 01 Jul. 2025, 18:33

SHIN HA-NEE
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Boy band AHOF performs B-side track ″The Universe″ during a debut showcase on July 1 at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul for the release of its first EP, ″Who We Are.” [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

Boy band AHOF is proudly imperfect yet more than ready for its pursuit of perfection, with its nine members launching their journeys toward “the hall of fame” with the debut album, “Who We Are.”

At the band's debut showcase held Tuesday in eastern Seoul, the AHOF members were visibly emotional — with some brought to tears — as the band finally marked its official beginning after being formed through boy band audition program “Universe League” (2024-) in January.

“When I was performing on stage just before, I truly felt happy to be here and to debut together as the nine of us,” said leader Steven with his voice trembling.

Boy band AHOF performs lead track ″Rendezvous″ during a debut showcase on July 1 at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul for the release of its first EP, ″Who We Are.” [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

Steven is among several band members who got a second chance at their K-pop career with AHOF. Before joining the team, the leader debuted in the now-defunct boy band Luminous in 2021, and appeared on the boy band audition program “Produce X 101” (2019).

Member JL, who previously debuted in the boy band Pluus in the Philippines, shared that being a K-pop idol has been a long-held dream of his.

“I believe my experience in the Philippines will be able to have a positive influence on AHOF,” said JL.

AHOF stands for “All-time Hall Of Famer,” and is pronounced "a-hop," a Korean word referring to number nine, symbolizing the nine members’ journey toward reaching perfection.

Boy band AHOF poses for a photo during a debut showcase on July 1 at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul for the release of its first EP, ″Who We Are.” [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

The debut album “Who We Are” features six songs: the lead track "Rendezvous” and B-sides “The Little Star (Intro),” “The Universe,” "Incompleted,” ”Cosmic Underdog” and “AHOF (Outro).” BigHit Music singer-songwriter El Capitxn produced the entire album.

"Rendezvous” is a pop-rock track that explores the nervousness and anxiety of chasing one’s dream.

Woongki, who contributed on writing the lyrics for the lead track, said that his previous experiences served as inspiration.

“To be honest, I didn’t want to revisit some of my previous experiences, so I had some struggles while writing lyrics,” said Woongki while trying to hold back tears in his voice.

“But I’m really glad that it was nicely conveyed in our lead track,” he added with a smile.

Woongki also previously debuted in the boy band TOO back in 2020 but left the group in 2022.

Citing BTS as the group's role model, Steven said that "we also want to take on new challenges for each of our albums like BTS, which sits in the hall of fame."

AHOF is the first boy band launched by F&F Entertainment, established by fashion company F&F, and comes after UNIS, which debuted in March last year. AHOF consists of Steven, Jeongwoo, Woongki, Shuaibo, Han, JL, Juwon, Chihen and Daisuke, who won the popularity votes on the SBS boy band audition program “Universe League,” which finished in January. The program was a sequel to “Universe Ticket” (2023), a girl group audition program, which led to UNIS’s launch.