backback

ZeroBaseOne prepares never-before-seen performances for first world tour

Boy band ZeroBaseOne performs its new track ″Good So Bad″ during a showcase held on Aug. 26 in central Seoul for its fourth EP ″Cinema Paradise.″ [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]


ZeroBaseOne is assuring fans that its upcoming tour, set to begin next month, will be filled with never-before-seen performances, adding that it will ensure every minute of every show counts for everyone.

“We’re so excited to kick off our very first world tour,” Zhang Hao told reporters on Monday during a showcase for ZeroBaseOne’s newest album, “Cinema Paradise,” at the Blue Square Mastercard Hall in central Seoul.


“All of the members are practicing so hard so that we can deliver the best performances for our tour,” Zhang continued.

“We’re all actively voicing our opinions on how to make the music or stage better. If I could give you one spoiler, it would be that the audience will be able to see songs we’ve never shown before. We’ll even rearrange the music or change the choreography of existing songs to give a special touch.”

“Cinema Paradise” comes three months after the boy band’s last EP, “You Had Me at Hello.”

Boy band ZeroBaseOne poses for photos during a showcase held on Aug. 26 in central Seoul for its fourth EP ″Cinema Paradise.″ [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]
Boy band ZeroBaseOne poses for photos during a showcase held on Aug. 26 in central Seoul for its fourth EP ″Cinema Paradise.″ [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]


For “Cinema Paradise,” ZeroBaseOne takes both the good and bad points of life and turns them into playful cinema, inviting the audience to enjoy everything as amusing episodes that will eventually take everyone to their happy endings. Lead track “Good So Bad” and B-side tracks “Kill The Romeo” and “Road Movie” use themes directly related to the theater, but the other four tracks are also aimed at giving a cinematic ambience to the listeners, according to Kim Ji-woong.

“The album tries to send the message that we’re all moving toward the happy endings in the different genres of our lives, despite the different episodes that we’re going through at the moment,” he said. “We added ZeroBaseOne’s iconicly refreshing and energetic touch to the songs, which we hope everyone will enjoy listening to.”

It’s been a year since ZeroBaseOne was created via cable network Mnet's audition program, “Boys Planet” (2023). The boy band debuted with its EP “Youth in the Shade” on July 10 last year with the nine winning members of the program: Zhang Hao, Sung Han-bin, Seok Matthew, Ricky, Park Gun-wook, Kim Tae-rae, Kim Gyu-vin, Kim Ji-woong and Han Yu-jin.

Boy band ZeroBaseOne performs its new track "Good So Bad" during a showcase held on Aug. 26 in central Seoul for its fourth EP "Cinema Paradise." [NEWS1]
Boy band ZeroBaseOne performs its new track "Good So Bad" during a showcase held on Aug. 26 in central Seoul for its fourth EP "Cinema Paradise." [WAKEONE]


Since then, the band has nabbed 16 awards, including Rookie of the Year, and sold over a million copies of all three of its past albums in just a single day.

“We truly are grateful for all the love we’ve received from everyone around the world,” Kim Ji-woong said. “We’re so glad that we get to get closer to fans outside of Korea with our overseas schedules. The more we get to meet fans, the happier we are. We are honored to be doing this all.”

ZeroBaseOne will kick off its first tour “Timeless World” with three concerts from Sept. 20 to 22 in Seoul at KSPO Dome, Songpa District, southern Seoul. The boy band will then perform in Singapore on Sept. 28; Bangkok on Oct. 5; Manila on Oct. 12; Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 26; Macau on Nov. 2 and 4; Aichi, Japan, from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1; and Kanagawa, Japan, on Dec. 4 and 5.

“The members are voluntarily staying late even after their schedules are over so that they can really give their best in this first tour,” Park Gun-wook said. “We’re going to give everything that we have, so we hope all of you look forward to the performance and really enjoy it."

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]