K-pop band Wanna One embarks on world tour

Members of K-pop band Wanna One pose at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul during a press conference for their special album "Undivided" on Sunday. / Courtesy of Swing Entertainment

By Kwak Yeon-soo

K-pop band Wanna One unveiled its special album "1÷x=1 (Undivided)" and kicked off its first world tour titled "One: The World" in 14 cities in 11 countries for the next three months.

The new mini album, which was released at a news conference at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Sunday, is a follow-up to its previous album "0+1=1 (I Promise You)" released in March.

"Our song Light is an up-tempo dance track that draws out our sexy image. We've worked hard on our choreography, vocals, and rapping," said Park Woo-jin.

Ong Seong-wu added "'Light' is actually a fan song. The lyrics include our thankful message to Wannables (Wanna One's official fan club)."

The five-track mini album also features four unit projects, in which Wanna One members teamed up with prominent producers ZICO, Nell, Heize and Dynamic Duo.

Subunit Triple Position, which consists of Kim Jae-hwan, Kang Daniel and Park Woo-jin, joined hands with ZICO to produce the hip-hop track "Kangaroo."

Lean On Me, which is composed of Yoon Ji-sung, Ha Sung-woon and Hwang Min-hyun, participated in the modern rock track "Eternity+1" produced by Nell.

The Heal, which is made up of Ong Seong-wu and Lee Dae-hwi, teamed up with Heize to produce ballad track "Sandglass."

Number One ― Park Ji-hoon, Bae Jin-young and Lai Kuan-lin ― worked together with Dynamic Duo to produce "11," a blend of electro and hip-hop beats.

Wanna One members perform in Seoul to kick off their 14-city world tour, titled "One: The World." / Courtesy of Swing Entertainment

Alongside the release of the special album, the 11-member act embarked on the world tour, starting in Seoul from June 1 to 3. According to Swing Entertainment, Wanna One will play in the U.S., Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, Thailand, Taiwan and the Philippines.

The three-hour concert, Sunday, was fierce from the beginning. After kicking off with "Burn It Up," Wanna One stormed around the stage with hit songs "Energetic," "Boomerang" and "Beautiful."

After commemorating 300 days since their debut on June 2, all 11 members expressed gratitude to their fans. During the concert, Kang Daniel said he'd "remember this moment even after 30 years." Lai Kuan-lin also said "I hope you (fans) will be proud of us. We'll keep on showing different sides of us through unit or solo performances."

Hwang Min-hyun revealed his abs during a solo performance, which drew a big cheer from the audience. He explained why he'd shown his abs from the second concert by saying "On Friday, the blindfold for the performance didn't work out as expected, so I was a bit nervous that I'd make a mistake."

Meanwhile, Bae Jin-young clarified why he started tearing up at Saturday's concert after injuring his ear. The accident occurred when Bae bumped into band mate Ong onstage, and Bae's earpiece causing the injury. After receiving treatment backstage, Bae returned to the stage and cried.

"It was nobody's fault. It just happened all of a sudden. I cried onstage because I was upset about myself and felt like I'd messed up the performance," he said.

Put together appearing on the second season of Mnet's popular Korean reality show "Produce 101," Wanna One has gained whirlwind attention since the release of their first mini album, "1x1=1 (To Be One)."

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