For ONEUS, now in their 7th year, 2024 was remembered as an “especially hot year”. This is because, following ‘Road to Kingdom’ in 2020, they appeared in ‘Road to Kingdom: Ace to Ace’, the second season of the show, in November last year, competing fiercely with 7 other boy groups, including Cravity and Tempest.

The only reason they “re-challenged themselves” in a competition format that other groups have never found difficult was because “we wanted to show how good ONEUS is.” The five members laughed and said, “We had a ‘well-founded confidence’ that we could do better than before” in an interview to commemorate the release of the special album ‘Dear.M’ held at a cafe in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul on the 14th.

“Even the company was worried, but as soon as we heard the news that Season 2 would be produced, we said, ‘We‘ll do it’. We wanted to show that we’d grown a lot since our first appearance. Our goal from the beginning was ‘To win’. Even though we came in second, we heard compliments from many fans saying, ‘ONEUS is as expected of ONEUS,’, so that‘s enough for us. Even though it was really hard, we learned a lot. But I don’t think we can try a third time. Haha!”

Through the process of competing with our colleagues on stage and performing various performances, the members said, “We also gained confidence that we can do it for longer.“ Based on that confidence, the title song of the new album was decided to be ‘IKUK’, an arrangement of ‘I Know You Know’, which was performed as the final stage competition song at the time.

“While doing the survival program, I realized not only the importance of the stage, but also how much we love our job as singers. I was really grateful to the fans who sent us endless support. To repay that love, I titled the album ‘Dear.M’, which means it‘s dedicated to the fandom ‘Toomoon’. That’s why I chose songs and stages that the fans would like. That‘s why I brought the competition song back.”

The new album also includes re-recorded title songs from the past, such as ‘Let’s Go’ ‘Valkyrie’. This is the result of reflecting the constant requests from fans for a ‘5-member version’ since member Raven left the group in 2022. ‘Dear.M’ prepared even the smallest details “only for the fans”. It is for the fans who are worried ahead of the 7th year, contract renewal discussions, and Seoho‘s enlistment, who was born in 1996.

“I am ready to work hard when my country calls. I can’t tell you exactly because nothing has been decided yet about enlistment or contract renewal, but it is clear that everything will be directed towards protecting ‘ONEUS’. Our ultimate goal is to protect this beloved group and stage. I want to tell fans not to worry at all, as we are focusing on how to protect this team.”


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com