Astro (Hangul: 아스트로) is a South Korean boy group formed by Fantagio in 2016. The group is composed of six members: Park Jinwoo (JinJin), Kim Myungjun (MJ), Lee Dong Min (Cha-Eunwoo), Moon Bin (Moon Bin), Park Minhyuk (Rocky) and Yoon Sanha (Sanha). They debuted with the single "Hide & Seek" from their debut EP Spring Up,[1] and were subsequently named by Billboard as one of the best new K-pop groups of 2016.[2]
Contents 1 History 1.1 Pre-debut 1.2 2016: Debut with Spring Up, Summer Vibes and Autumn Story 1.3 2017: Winter Dream, Dream Part.01, first tour and Dream Part.02 1.4 2018: Rise Up 1.5 2019: All Light 2 Members 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Extended plays 3.3 Singles 4 Filmography 4.1 Dramas 4.2 Reality shows 5 Videography 6 Awards and nominations 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links History Pre-debutPrior to being part of Fantagio, Moonbin acted in Boys Over Flowers as young So Yi-Jung in 2009.[3]
The members of Astro were known as iTeen Boys while training as part of Fantagio iTeen, a rookie talent development program under the management agency Fantagio. The group's name and members were announced in August 2015.[4] That month, they starred in a web drama series titled To Be Continued.[5] The web drama featured the members as themselves, as well as Kim Sae-ron, Seo Kang-joon, and Hello Venus.[6]
In January 2016, Astro starred in their own reality show, Astro OK! Ready, which was aired on MBC Every1 at 7PM KST.[7]
Leading up to their official debut, Astro held a nationwide showcase tour called "Meet U Project". The group toured South Korea and held twenty shows and two fanmeetings.[8]
2016: Debut with Spring Up, Summer Vibes and Autumn StoryAstro's debut extended play Spring Up, was released on February 23, 2016, featuring title track "Hide & Seek".[9] The group held a debut showcase where they announced their official fan club name Aroha (an abbreviation for "Astro hearts all fans").[10] Aroha also means "love" in Māori.[11] Within a week of its release, Spring Up reached #6 on the Billboard World Albums Chart in the United States,[12] as well as #4 on the Gaon Music Chart.[13] On February 25, the group released the music video for "Cat's Eye", containing clips from their web series To Be Continued.[14] In March, 6 the group was the only Korean act invited to the LeTV Entertainment Awards in China.[15]
Their second extended play Summer Vibes, was released on July 1, featuring title track "Breathless".The music video features label mate Choi Yoo-jung of Weki Meki.[16] The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard World Albums Chart and #21 on the Billboard World Digital Songs Chart.[17]
Astro performed at Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 31 for KCON 2016.[18][19] They held their first solo concert on August 27–28 at the KEPCO Art Center in Seoul.[20] The group also held their first Asia showcase in Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand throughout the months of October and November.[21][22]
Astro's third extended play Autumn Story, was released on November 10, featuring title track "Confession".[23] The music video features lablemate Sei of Weki Meki.
2017: Winter Dream, Dream Part.01, first tour and Dream Part.02On February 22, Astro released Winter Dream featuring title track "Again". The album was not promoted on music shows as it was considered a special album dedicated to their fans. The album also completed the group's seasonal project that included the previous albums Spring Up, Summer Vibes and Autumn Story. Four days after its release, the group held an anniversary fan meeting titled "The 1st Astro Aroha Festival".[24]
On May 29, Astro released their fourth extended play Dream Part.01 featuring the title track "Baby".[25] The group held their first tour, titled "The 1st ASTROAD", from July 15–August 29, with dates in Seoul, Osaka, and Tokyo.[26] On November 1, Astro released their fifth extended play Dream Part.02 featuring the title track "Crazy Sexy Cool".[27] On January 10, 2018, the group released a limited edition of their album Dream Part.02 'With' version which sold out all 10,000 copies in pre-orders alone. The special album contains a poem by member Eunwoo, a hidden 'thanks to', and polaroid photos which the members took themselves.[28]
2018: Rise UpOn July 24, ASTRO released 'Rise Up' featuring title track 'Always You'. They did not promote this album on music shows as it is considered a special album dedicated to their fans. Furthermore, they decided to focus on their Japan tour in August.
2019: All LightOn January 16, ASTRO released 'All Light' with featuring title track 'All Night'. It is ASTRO's first full album and the first promoting album since 'Dream Part.02':' Crazy Sexy Cool'.
MembersAdapted from their Naver profile.[29]
MJ (Hangul: 엠제이) JinJin (진진) — Leader Cha Eun-woo (차은우) Moon Bin (문빈) Rocky (라키) Yoon San-ha (윤산하) Discography Albums Title Details Peak chart positions Sales KOR JPN TW USWorld All Light Release date: January 16, 2019[30] Label: Fantagio Music Formats: CD, digital download, streaming To be released