PSY hopes to see success with debut of first boy band TNX

Boy band TNX made its debut into the fourth-generation K-pop idol battleground at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in central Seoul on Tuesday. The band of six — Hwi, Sungjun, Junhyeok, Kyungjun, Hyunsoo, and Taehun — is set to drop its debut EP..

Boy band TNX made its debut into the fourth-generation K-pop idol battleground at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in central Seoul on Tuesday. The band of six — Hwi, Sungjun, Junhyeok, Kyungjun, Hyunsoo, and Taehun — is set to drop its debut EP "Way Up" at 6 p.m.

"I've dreamed so much of being here, but I still can't believe it," said the group's leader Taehun. "As much we've dreamt, we've been working hard. TNX will do its best at every moment."

"We're very happy and excited, but on the other hand, we also feel anxious and nervous that we have to do this well," Junhyeok said.

TNX, which stands for "the new six," formed last September through the SBS audition show "Loud." The show was a collaboration between K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment and "Gangnam Style" star PSY's label P Nation. Ever since its formation, the group has been surrounded with anticipation, earning the nicknames "PSY's idols" and "P Nation's first boy band."

TNX is the first idol group produced by singer PSY's label P Nation. [P NATION]

"We've waited for a long time to get a team name," said Junhyeok. "We did wonder what TNX meant when we first heard it, so we got really emotional and it felt so cool."

"Since we are from P Nation, there were talks about our group name starting with P," said Hwi. "We had names like Pigeon and Pheonix on the candidate list. So after hearing those, we were elated to hear TNX.".

The lead track "Move" is composed by Yoo Gun-hyung and Penomeco, the composers beind hits like "Gangnam Style" (2012), "New Face" (2017) and fellow P Nation singer HyunA's "I'm Not Cool" (2021). It is a powerful dance number with choreography to match.

"The straightforward title shows TNX's vibe," said Junhyeok.

The music video for "Move" has a mysterious atmosphere, featuring masked men wearing striking red jumpsuits, reminiscent of the henchmen from Netflix's "Squid Game" (2021).

"There's a scene of me kicking glass and breaking it," said Sungjun. "I remember getting a bad leg cramp and having to lie down for a while," he laughed. The dramatic music video also features action scenes, which were a new challenge for the members.

"The filming took place over the span of three days and was physically exhausting," said Junhyeok.

TNX performs during its debut showcase. [P NATION]

As his label's first idol group, PSY has been offering plenty of emotional support to the boy band, according to Sungjun.

"He encouraged us and said that we are doing just fine," he said. "He told us to show ourselves as we are on stage."

"We asked him [PSY] what other K-pop group we should aspire to be like," Hwi said. "He told us he wishes us to go our own way."

Hwi composed two out of the EP's five tracks, and along with Kyungjun and Junhyeok, participated in writing the lyrics for the first track "We On."

"I wrote the fifth track back in April of 2021 before I was on 'Loud,'" Hwi said. "I wrote it thinking that it may come out to this world someday and could comfort people. It's an honor to have two of the songs that I wrote on our debut EP."

TNX [P NATION]

Although reaching the finals, it was announced in January that fellow "Loud" contestant Tanaka Koki would not debut with the other six in order to pursue further training.

"He's extremely talented and there was a lot to learn from him," said Taehun. "Now, we are cheering on for each other's futures."

Although "Loud" itself saw low ratings, TNX hopes to follow the recent trend in K-pop which sees acts formed through not-so-popular television audition programs go on to see great domestic and international success, as seen with Enhypen and Kep1er.

"Our goal has no end, to keep running to the top," said Junhyeok.

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]