Nine-member boy band BLANK2Y debuts with some familiar faces

BLANK2Y is the latest boy band to enter the cutthroat fourth-generation K-pop idol scene. The group of nine — DK, Louis, Donghyuk, U, Siwoo, Mikey, Youngbin, Sungjun and Sodam — held its debut showcase on Tuesday at the Yes24 Live Hall in eastern ..

Boy band BLANK2Y poses during its debut showcase on May 24. [KEYSTONE ENTERTAINMENT]

BLANK2Y is the latest boy band to enter the cutthroat fourth-generation K-pop idol scene.

The group of nine — DK, Louis, Donghyuk, U, Siwoo, Mikey, Youngbin, Sungjun and Sodam — held its debut showcase on Tuesday at the Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul’s Gwangjin District. The band also dropped its first EP “K2Y I: Confidence [Thumbs Up]” on the same day.

Pronounced Blankey, the group name is a combination of the words “blank” and “key” (The number two is pronounced as ‘e’ in Korean.)

“A blank is an empty space, which the nine of us want to fill up with our fans,” said DK, "and the key is what connects us and those who listen to our songs.”

Many of the members have already left an impression on the public. Donghyuk was a member of boy band ENOi, which was active from 2019 to 2021. Youngbin was on the Mnet audition show “I-LAND” (2020), Siwoo on Mnet’s “Produce X 101” and MBC’s “Extreme Debut: Wild Idol" (2021), Mikey on the second season of “Produce 101 Japan” and Louis on MBC’s “Under Nineteen” (2018-19). Louis was also a member of the band 1THE9, formed by the show’s finalists, which was active from 2019 to 2020. Perhaps because many of them have ample experience in the K-pop scene, BLANK2Y members are not assigned to any particular position.

“All of us are the main vocalists, dancers, rappers and visuals,” said Louis. “The lack of definitive positions means that we’re limitless. We will compete with each other in those fields, in a positive way, and improve together.”

Even the leader of the group is not fixed. For the next nine months, each member will take on the role. Then, the agency and members will evaluate which member is most fit for the position.

The lead track “Thumbs Up” is a trap song combined with powerful synth sounds, which sings about BLANK2Y’s ambitions and confidence to fill up the world with its energy. The music video will be released Tuesday at 6 p.m.

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