ZEROBASEONE’s ‘Youth In The Shade’ Breaks A 31-Year Record Held By Icons Seo Taiji And Boys

ZEROBASEONE broke a 31-year record in the history of South Korea’s music industry as its first mini-album, “Youth In The Shade,” now reigns as the best-selling debut album of all time.

Twitter account @koreansales_twt reported that the rookie K-Pop boy band beat the record of Seo Taiji and Boys’ self-titled debut album, which previously held the best-selling debut album title after they sold about 1,819,514 copies. The trio was known as one of the pioneers of K-Pop back in 1992 and held the best-selling debut album record for 31 years and five months.

Now, ZEROBASEONE — composed of Kim Ji-woong, Zhang Hao, Sung Han-bin, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae-rae, Ricky, Kim Gyu-vin, Park Gun-wook, and Han Yu-jin — has become the new title holder after its first week sales for “Youth In The Shade” peaked at 1,822,028 copies sold, according to the country’s Hanteo chart. The album was released in early July, months after the group was formed through the Mnet’s survival program, “Boys Planet.”

“Youth In The Shade” also topped the list of having the highest first-day sales for a debut album, surpassing the likes of NewJeans, ENHYPEN, LE SSERAFIM, Kep1er, aespa, Wannaone, TREASURE and IVE. Thanks to the feat, ZEROBASEONE became the fastest million-seller group in the history of South Korea.

The main track of the album, “In Bloom,” also made its way to four of the major music charts in the country, debuting at No. 24 on Bugs, No. 28 on Melon, No. 47 on Genie and No. 89 on Flo. It has also surpassed about 16 million streams on Spotify as of press time.

Following the success of its debut, ZEROBASEONE has actively performed in South Korea’s major music shows and international conventions. Most recently, it participated in KCON LA, and it held its first-ever fan concert last week at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, where it sold out about 18,000 seats.

ZEROBASEONE will soon return with new music this year. A teaser for its first comeback has since been uploaded to the group’s official YouTube channel after it was unveiled during its KCON LA 2023 performance. The rookie group is slated to make a comeback in November.