Aug. 7 is approaching, which means it has been a year since the “Produce 101” winners debuted as Wanna One members.

The boy band is composed of 11 members, who were all trainees at various entertainment companies before competing on “Produce 101 Season 2,” a survival reality show where the nation votes on which trainees make the group.

They debuted with their EP “1x1=1(To Be One),” which immediately flew off the shelves and has surpassed 1 million sales in Korea. Since then, the group has released two more EPs, which included collaborations with artists including Dynamic Duo, Zico, and Heize. They are scheduled to stay active until Dec. 31, 2018.

In addition to making music, Wanna One has been busy with the other responsibilities that come with being pop sensations.

1. TV turns

The members are obviously used to being around cameras as they were all on “Produce 101,” but even after the show ended, they continued to appear on the small screen frequently.

Like any other rising K-pop group, Wanna One has been hosted on iconic variety shows like “Running Man,” “Weekly Idol,” and “SNL Korea.”

In addition, the boys have also been a part of their own reality series called “Wanna One Go,” which allows fans to get a glimpse of their behind the scenes activities.




2. Grabbing endorsements

Even before Wanna One had debuted, well-known Korean brand Lotte recruited the group to promote its yogurt sandwich cookies “Yo-Hi!”

And within a single month of debuting, the boys signed a contract with Korean cosmetics brand Innisfree, becoming spokesmodels for the camera app Snow shortly afterward. Those who were legal to drink alcohol at the time also snagged a sponsorship from Hite to promote its newest beer, while Vita 500, a vitamin C drink company, signed on the entire group. In all, the number of endorsements Wanna One is affiliated with as a group and as individual members surpasses 30.




3. Switching to Swing

Wanna One was originally signed to YMC Entertainment, which also managed the group created from “Produce 101 Season 1.”

However, the group opted to transfer to Swing Entertainment in May. According to a fan cafe announcement, Swing is a management company that is solely responsible for Wanna One with dedicated staff members prepared to focus on supporting the boys.

Although the change in companies for the temporary group raised concerns among fans initially, the transfer was seemingly smooth and void of major issues.




4. Overseas overtures

As the tour follows the release of their popular third EP, which hit No. 10 on Billboard’s World Albums chart, Wanna One’s name is becoming more well-known abroad.

Named “One: The World,” the group embarked on its first worldwide tour on June 1 with three concert dates in Seoul. Until Sept. 1, the band is set to perform in 14 countries including the US, Hong Kong and Australia. During the tour, the band also made a pit stop in New York to be the first act at this year’s East Coast-based KCON.




5. Going ‘Gold’

From being nominated for artist and album of the year awards to being presented with popularity awards to being recognized with a best male group award, Wanna One is not only gaining recognition for becoming successful rookies, the boys are receiving attention for the quality of their work too.

They have already racked up over 20 honors including those from the Asia Artist Awards, Gaon Chart Music Awards and Golden Disc Awards. With additional music program awards from shows such as M Countdown and Music Bank, they are developing quite the collection of accolades. As the number of months Wanna One has left is waning, fans will undoubtedly show enough support for the band to earn at least a few more recognitions.

By Serena Soh, Intern reporter (sjsoh@heraldcorp.com)