SF9 marks 10th year with new album 'TENACITY,' vows 6 more decades

K-pop boy band SF9 marks its 10th anniversary this year, but the eight-piece is measuring its career in a much longer unit: 60 more years, by the group's own reckoning, health permitting.

The FNC Entertainment act returned Wednesday with "TENACITY," its second full-length album, led by the single "Without Wings," coming back to the scene with a decade's worth of added experience behind it.

"We plan to keep this going for another 60 years or so, and we're a group with the will and the nerve to do it," Inseong said at a media showcase in Seoul, Wednesday afternoon. "As long as we stay healthy, it's possible."

SF9 debuted in October 2016 with the single album "Feeling Sensation" and opened its 10th year in March with the special album "About Love." Wednesday's release caps off that run, with 10 tracks spanning a range of genres.

The group, now made up of Youngbin, Inseong, Jaeyoon, Dawon, Zuho, Yoo Tae-yang, Hwiyoung and Chani, held the press event at Cube Convention Center in Seoul's Mapo District hours ahead of the release, performing the new song for the first time and reflecting on the anniversary.

"I'm grateful to FANTASY (the group's official fandom) for being the support that let us keep going for 10 years," leader Youngbin said. "It hadn't really sunk in that we'd hit 10 years, but standing here onstage, it's starting to."

Members Yoo and Zuho are sitting out promotions while serving in the military.

"The members doing their service sent us text messages saying they'd be watching closely," Youngbin said. "It's hard to reach them given the circumstances, so even one text meant a lot. Each of us will get through it from where we are."

"TENACITY," according to the members, is an album about looking back on the past decade and stepping forward again. The title carries a double meaning, referring both to persistence and to the group's "TEN" years.

Lead track "Without Wings" pairs the group's full-throated vocals with an Afrobeats-based production for a trendy, laid back mood. Hwiyoung, who has a writing credit on the track, said the lyrics came out of lived experience.

"I drew on things I've been through," he said. "I tried to write a message of hope that fit the title and the concept the members felt suited the song."

Asked to recall the moment that has stayed with them since debut, Dawon went to the group's first music show trophy, won with "Good Guy" on Mnet's music show "M Countdown" in 2020.

"So much has happened, but if I had to pick one, that's it," he said. "Everyone who debuts wants it, and that dream took up a big part of us. My heart still races when I think about it."

Youngbin said the biggest change from the group's early years is how the members deal with each other.

"Everyone came in with music they wanted to make. Over time we learned to hold our ground more loosely and move in the direction the team needs," he said. "We fought a lot when we debuted. What stands out now is how flexible the teamwork has become."

SF9 will follow the release with two anniversary concerts on Oct. 10 and 11 at KBS Arena in Seoul, with a setlist spanning the decade and special performances.

"We're planning to put everything from 10 years into it," Chani said. "You'll see the passion of a more mature version of us."

"It's a 10th anniversary concert, so we're trying to fit in all 10 years," Jaeyoon said. "I hope a lot of people come and share the memories with us."