Astro (South Korean band)

Astro (Korean: 아스트로; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean boy band formed by Fantagio. The group is composed of four members: MJ, Jinjin, Cha Eun-woo, and Yoon San-ha. Originally a sextet, Rocky departed from the group on February 28, 2023, and Moonbin died on April 19, 2023. They debuted on February 23, 2016, with the extended play Spring Up and were subsequently named as one of the best new K-pop acts of 2016 by Billboard.

Career

Pre-debut

Astro was formed through the rookie talent development program "i-Teen", which was created by their agency Fantagio. In August 2015, the final member line-up and group name were announced. The same month, the group starred in a web drama titled To Be Continued, which aimed to introduce them to the public. The drama featured the members as themselves, as well as Kim Sae-ron, Seo Kang-joon, and the girl group Hello Venus.

After their web drama finished airing, the group started the "Meet U" project. As part of the project, Astro traveled through South Korea, covering songs in front of crowds and holding fan meetings. Along with the performances, a KakaoTalk Plus Friends account was set up. Fantagio stated that once the group had gathered 10,000 friends on the app, they would announce their official debut date. The goal was met by December 2015. Their debut showcase, held on January 28, 2016, was sold out in under a minute and far exceeded the original limit of 1,000 attendants. There, they also announced their official fan club name, Aroha.

They also appeared in their own reality TV show titled Astro OK! Ready, which began airing on January 21, 2016, on MBC every1 and concluded on February 18, 2016.

2016: Debut with Spring Up and rising popularity

On February 23, 2016, Astro released their debut extended play Spring Up alongside its lead single "Hide & Seek". For two days, starting on February 22, 2016, showcases and press conferences were held at Lotte Card Art Center and Wapop Concert Hall to commemorate the group's first release. Within a week of its release, Spring Up reached number six on the Billboard World Albums Chart in the United States, as well as number four on the Gaon Album Chart. On February 25, the group released the music video for "Cat's Eye" (장화 신은 고양이), containing clips from their web drama To Be Continued. On April 13, Astro was the only Korean act invited to the LeTV Entertainment Awards in China.

Their second extended play Summer Vibes was released on July 1. The album peaked at number six on the Billboard World Albums Chart and at number two on the Gaon Album Chart. Furthermore, the music video for "Breathless" (숨가빠), featuring labelmate Choi Yoo-jung of Weki Meki, surpassed half a million views in just three days. The same month, on July 31, Astro performed in front of more than 20,000 people at Staples Center in Los Angeles for KCON 2016.

Just five months after their debut, Astro held their first solo mini concert titled Astro 2016 Mini Live – Thankx Aroha from August 27 to 28 at the KEPCO Art Center in Seoul. Additional showcases were held in Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand throughout the months of October and November.

The group released their third extended play Autumn Story on November 10. The music video to its lead single "Confession" (고백) featured Sei of Weki Meki. Simultaneously, their reality TV show Astro Project A.S.I.A, which explored the events of their first oversea showcases, began airing. In December, Billboard named Astro one of the best new K-pop groups of 2016.

2017–2018: First tour, group hiatus, and Rise Up

On February 22, 2017, one day before their one-year anniversary, Astro's four seasons project came to a close with their special album Winter Dream. The album and its lead single "Again" (붙잡았어야 해) were neither promoted on any music shows nor did they receive a music video. The group did, however, resume their overseas showcases with performances in Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. The group released their fourth extended play Dream Part.01, featuring the lead single "Baby", on May 29. The album placed sixth on the Billboard World Albums Chart. The same month, Astro signed a contract with Avex Taiwan to handle their music distribution in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia. On July 15, 2017, the group started their first tour, titled The 1st Astroad to Seoul, in Seoul at Olympic Hall, later expanding it with stops in Osaka, and Tokyo. On November 1, Astro released their fifth extended play Dream Part.02, featuring the lead single "Crazy Sexy Cool" (니가 불어와). A limited "Wish" edition of the EP was released on January 10, 2018. All 10,000 copies were sold out in pre-orders alone. The edition contains a poem written by member Cha Eun-woo titled "Purple Evening", a hidden "Thanks to", as well as polaroid pictures taken by the members themselves.

The group held a second showcase in Taiwan on January 20, 2018, at the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC). Throughout the months of February and March, Astro held twelve fan meetings across nine cities around the world, visiting the United States, Canada, South Korea, Japan, and Thailand. On July 24, after a prolonged hiatus, Astro released their second special extended play Rise Up alongside its lead single "Always You" (너잖아). Due to internal issues at their label, Fantagio Music, the album was not promoted on music shows. Still, the group proceeded to hold their second Japan tour 2nd Astroad to Japan in August, with performances in Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo. Another tour titled The 2nd Astroad to Seoul [Star Light] (Part 1) in South Korea followed, concluding on December 23 with a last performance in Seoul at KBS Hall.

2019: First studio album All Night, Japanese debut with Venus, and Moonbin's hiatus

On January 16, 2019, following their 14-month hiatus without any full comeback, Astro released their first studio album All Light. To further promote the album, the group continued their The 2nd Astroad to Seoul [Star Light] tour with shows in Taiwan, the United States, Hong Kong, and Thailand. On January 29, they received their first music show win for "All Night" (전화해) on the SBS MTV music program The Show.

On April 3, Astro made their Japanese debut with the extended play Venus. The EP features three original Japanese tracks along with Japanese versions of their Korean singles "Baby", "Always You", and "All Night". The release was well received by the general public, ranking third on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart and peaking at number one on the Daily Album Chart.

On November 12, Fantagio announced that Moonbin would be going on a hiatus to recover from health issues and focus on his treatment. Subsequently, Moonbin did not participate in the promotions for the group's sixth extended play Blue Flame, which was released on November 20. His parts were therefore temporarily re-distributed amongst the remaining members. Despite this, he still took part in the recording of the EP and appeared in the music video for their lead single "Blue Flame".

2020: One & Only, Gateway, and first sub-unit Moonbin & Sanha

On February 14, 2020, Moonbin appeared in a V Live broadcast with the other Astro members, officially ending his hiatus. In celebration of their fourth debut anniversary, Astro released a special digital single album titled One & Only on February 23. A physical edition of the single was released on March 13.

In May 4, Astro released their seventh extended play Gateway. On May 12, the EP's lead single "Knock" earned the group their second win on the MBC M music show Show Champion. On June 28, Astro held their first online live streaming concert 2020 Astro Live on WWW, where they performed the song "No, I Don't" for the first time. On the same day, the single was distributed digitally through various streaming services.

On August 14, Fantagio confirmed that members Moonbin and Yoon San-ha would form Astro's first sub-unit called Moonbin & Sanha and that the recording for the unit's first extended play had already been completed. Their debut EP In-Out, featuring the lead single "Bad Idea", was released on September 14. Eight days later, on September 22, the sub-unit received their first music show award from The Show, making them the fastest K-pop sub-unit to receive their first win on a music show.

On December 31, Astro released the digital single "We Still (Be With U)" as a special year-end gift to their fans. The song is a re-arranged, winter-themed version of the track "We Still" from their seventh extended play Gateway.