ATBO

ATBO (Korean: 에이티비오; RR: Eitibio; an acronym for At The Beginning of Originality) is a South Korean boy group formed through IST Entertainment's survival competition The Origin – A, B, Or What? in 2022. The group consists of six members: Junseok, Junmin, Hyunjun, Seunghwan, Yeonkyu, and Won Bin. Originally a septet, Rakwon left the group on May 6, 2024, due to health issues. They debuted on July 27, 2022, with the extended play (EP) The Beginning: 開花.

ATBO
ATBO in August 2022 L–R: Hyunjun, Seunghwan, Yeonkyu, Junseok, Rakwon, Junmin, and Won Bin
Background information
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	K-pop
Years active	2022 (2022)–present
Labels	IST
Members	Junseok Junmin Hyunjun Seunghwan Yeonkyu Won Bin
Past members	Rakwon

Name

"ATBO" is an initial of At The Beginning of Originality which means the start of a dream. The name was originally "ABO", but was changed due to fan concern as the original name is a racial slur in some regions.^[1]

History

Pre-debut

Junmin and Rakwon were SM Entertainment trainees; the latter also being a former child model. While Yeonkyu was a YG Entertainment trainee who participated in YG Treasure Box, but did not make it into the show's final debut lineup.^[2]

2022: Formation through The Origin - A, B, Or What?

On February 6, it was reported that IST Entertainment, home to male idol groups Victon and The Boyz as well as female idol group Apink and Weeekly, was planning to debut their first boy group under the new company name in the first half of the year.^[3]

On February 10, it was announced that the members would be selected from a group of 13 trainees through a survival program called The Origin - A, B, Or What?, jointly produced with Kakao Entertainment and Sony Music Solutions.^[4]

On the final episode aired on May 7, 2022, it was announced that the final seven contestants: Junseok, Junmin, Hyunjun, Donghwa, Rakwon, Seunghwan and Yeonkyu would debut as ABO, which was then changed to ATBO.^[5]

On June 13, 2022, IST Entertainment announced that Donghwa would not be debuting as a member of ATBO after his past misconduct when he was a student surfaced online.^[6] On June 17, 2022, IST Entertainment announced that Won Bin, who was originally eliminated in episode 5, would be debuting with ATBO in replacement of Donghwa.^[7][8]

2022-2023: Debut with The Beginning: 開花

ATBO made their official debut on July 27, 2022, with the release of their debut EP, The Beginning: 開花, which can be roughly translated to "blooming flower".^[9][10][11]

2024-present: Rakwon's departure and formation of The CrewOne

On May 6, 2024, IST announced that Rakwon will be leaving the group due to health issues dating back to March.^{[citation needed]}

On June 27, the group collaborated with Just B to form the project boy group The CrewOne.^[12] The project group then joined Mnet's competition program Road to Kingdom: Ace of Ace, which premiered on September 19, 2024.^[13]

Members

Current members

• Junseok (준석) – leader, rapper, dancer
• Junmin (준민) – vocalist
• Hyunjun (현준) – rapper
• Seunghwan (승환) – vocalist, dancer
• Yeonkyu (연규) – vocalist
• Won Bin (원빈) – rapper, vocalist

Former members

• Rakwon (락원) – vocalist, dancer

Discography

Extended plays

List of extended plays, showing selected details, selected chart positions, and sales figures

Title	Details	Peak chart positions	Sales
		KOR [14]
The Beginning: 開花	Released: July 27, 2022 Label: IST, Kakao Formats: CD, digital download, streaming Track listing "7ibe (Vibe)" "Monochrome (Color)" "Graffiti" "High Five" "WoW" "Run"	6	KOR: 66,212[15]
The Beginning: 始作	Released: October 26, 2022 Label: IST, Kakao Formats: CD, digital download, streaming Track listing "Attitude" "Time to Go!" "Magic" "Boost" "The Way" "Good Vibes Only"	5	KOR: 87,009[16]
The Beginning: 飛上	Released: May 18, 2023 Label: IST, Kakao Formats: CD, digital download, streaming Track listing "Next to Me" "Bounce" "Just Dance" "사랑해줘" "Good Thing" (굿 띵), "Just for Us" (저스트 포 어스)	5	KOR: 66,230[17]
Must Have	Released: November 27, 2023 Label: IST, Kakao Formats: CD, digital download, streaming	9	KOR: 64,628[18]

Singles

Title	Year	Peak position	Album
		KOR DL [19]
"Monochrome (Color)"	2022	147	The Beginning: 開花
"Attitude"		116	The Beginning: 始作
"Next to Me"	2023	186	The Beginning: 飛上
"Must Have Love"		163	Must Have

Videography

Music videos

List of songs, showing year released, name of the directors, and the length of the music videos

Title	Year	Director(s)	Length	Ref.
"Monochrome (Color)"	2022	Gibeak Lee (BOLD)	3:58	[20]
"Attitude"		Jimmy (VIA)	3:40	[21]
"Next To Me"	2023	Haansol Rim (Haans)	3:45	[22]
"Must Have Love"		Jimmy (VIA)	3:16	[23]

Filmography

Television shows

Year	Title	Notes	Ref.
2022	The Origin – A, B, Or What?	Survival show determining ATBO's members	[8]
	ATBO Walkshop	Reality show	[citation needed]

Ambassadorship

• PR Ambassador for Korea Forest Love Youth Boys (2023)^[24]

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, award category, nominee(s) of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee(s)/work(s)	Result	Ref.
Asia Artist Awards	2022	Focus Award	ATBO	Won	[25]
Asia Model Awards	2022	Rookie of the Year – Singer		Won	[26]
Asia Star Entertainer Awards	2024	Hot Trend		Won	[27]
Genie Music Awards	2022	Best Male Rookie Award		Nominated	[28]
K-Global Heart Dream Awards	2023	K-Global Next Leader Award		Won	[29]
MAMA Awards	2022	Best New Male Artist		Nominated	[30]
		Artist of the Year		Longlisted