When talking about “self-producing idols," one group that most certainly can’t be left out of the discourse is none other than SEVENTEEN. With all 13 members known to have contributed to the group’s creative process since their debut in 2015, it’s no surprise that the Korean media and general public have given them the title of “자체제작 아이돌” (Self-Produced Idol). 

SEVENTEEN aren’t the first idol to self-produce, but they help normalize the notion that idols should be able to show their artistry and be celebrated for it. Being heavily involved in all creative aspects of the group from music to choreography isn’t the only impressive thing under SEVENTEEN’s repertoire. Despite being larger than your average K-Pop group with 13 members, they are recognized for being one of the most synchronized acts and have rightfully earned the title of being the “K-Pop Performance Powerhouse." The path to success hasn’t been the easiest when faced with many roadblocks, but with a strong sense of teamwork and enough passion to literally destroy a stage floor during a performance, SEVENTEEN have become one of the most well-known and respected idol groups in the industry today.

The Prolonged Road To Debut

Although SEVENTEEN debuted in 2015, their journey started back in 2012 when Pledis Entertainment posted on their YouTube channel a video titled Seventeen TV, hinting at the debut of a new boy group in the company. The world was first introduced to the trainees through Seventeen TV which was streamed on UStream. The live streaming show went on for five seasons in the span of two years and showed the trainees as they went through the training process in the company’s iconic “Melona” green practice room. 

With the company facing financial difficulties prior to the launch of the new boy group, their initial debut set for 2013 got pushed back multiple times, which led some trainees to leave the company before debuting. In an interview with IZE Magazine in 2015, leader S.Coups said it was frustrating seeing their debut being postponed as they practiced every day like they were going to debut the next month. At some point in that time, the group decided to take matters into their own hands and began learning how to make their own music. Woozi, who is now known as the main producer of SEVENTEEN, got his start in composing music by playing around on an application he found on member Wonwoo’s Macbook during trainee days.  

Eventually, a teaser dropped on April 19, 2015 revealing that the remaining trainees would appear in Seventeen Project: Debut Big Plan broadcasted on MBC Music. Unlike other elimination-style debut shows, the 13 members worked together through a series of missions to improve their skills to impress the general and music industry professionals rather than competing against each other for a chance to debut. At the end of the seven-episode series, all 13 members were confirmed to debut and SEVENTEEN also became the first male K-Pop group to debut with a one-hour live broadcast showcase.

The “S” For Super Rookies

SEVENTEEN debuted on May 26, 2015 with 13 members divided into three subunits internally, each with an area of specialization: Hip-Hop, Vocal, and Performance. Hip-Hop unit consists of four members: the unit leader who is also SEVENTEEN’s general leader S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, and Vernon. Vocal unit has five members: unit leader Woozi, Jeonghan, Joshua, DK, and Seungkwan. To round out the group is the Performance unit with four members: unit leader Hoshi, Jun, The8, and Dino. With THIRTEEN members being divided into THREE teams but together they are ONE team, a simple math equation can be used to explain the group’s name: THIRTEEN + THREE + ONE = SEVENTEEN

The group debuted with a five-track mini-album, 17 CARAT, and “Adore U'' as their title track. Described as a funky and refreshing pop song, “Adore U” stood out among other K-Pop releases at a time when strong and dark-sounding music was popular. The song was composed by members Woozi, S.Coups, and Vernon alongside Pledis Entertainment's in-house producer Bumzu, with performance leader Hoshi also participating in the making of the choreography. Despite facing initial backlash and doubts of success simply based on their large headcount, the song peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales Chart. The EP itself peaked at No. 4 on Gaon—marking an incredible beginning for the rookie group to assert themself as the known “Self-Produced Idol” they are today.

Not even four months later, SEVENTEEN came back with a fresh take on the popular schoolboy concept through the title track “Mansae” on their second mini-album Boys Be, which would later become the highest selling rookie album of 2015. SEVENTEEN ended their year with yet another impressive achievement as the only Korean act to be featured on “Billboard’s 21 Under 21: Music’s Hottest Young Stars”.

As 2016 rolled around, SEVENTEEN would earn their first music show win on Show Champion—almost a year after their debut—with "Pretty U" off of their first full album LOVE&LETTER  released on April 25. Outside of domestic rankings, the album also saw success in Japan when it topped the weekly pop album chart for Oricon. Quintessentially SEVENTEEN, “Pretty U” features the group’s signature youthful sound paired with a theatrical choreography. The choreography, which many fans describe as Broadway-esque, incorporates a sofa that was suggested by Hoshi after he got inspired while sitting on a couch at a waffle cafe. This unique creative process from the performance unit leader made for a memorable and entertaining stage.

LOVE&LETTER  was later re-released as a repackaged version in July with the lead single "Very Nice (아주 Nice)”. Despite receiving zero wins during its promotion period, the impact and longevity of this song can’t be ignored. Often covered by other groups, chosen by SEVENTEEN to be performed at concerts and award shows throughout the years, used as the background for various variety shows, and even heard when South Korea’s Women’s Volleyball team scored at the 2021 Olympics, "Very Nice (아주 Nice)” is undeniably the group’s representative song.

Following LOVE&LETTER came SEVENTEEN’s third mini-album Going Seventeen with the title track “BOOMBOOM,” which was released that December. The song ended up bringing the group a total of three music show wins—the most out of the three title tracks being promoted in 2016. Going Seventeen once again broke the group’s personal sales record, proving that SEVENTEEN’s popularity continued to rise every day.

The “V” for Versatility

2017 marked a momentous transition for SEVENTEEN in their musical direction as the group experimented outside of their signature energetic and uplifting sound and opted for the sentimental EDM-influenced title track “Don’t Wanna Cry” for their fourth mini-album Al1. The album marks the first chapter of their 2017 Seventeen Project. Sitting at 200 million views and counting, the music video for “Don’t Wanna Cry” is the group’s most viewed music video to date.

Around this time, SEVENTEEN launched a new series on their YouTube channel titled GOING SEVENTEEN to show behind-the-scenes footage of the group's production process, tour life, and other daily activities. It wasn’t until 2019 when the series rebranded to be SEVENTEEN’s official weekly variety show and is one of the most beloved projects by fans. With creative and entertaining concepts every week, GOING SEVENTEEN even garnered the group a second fandom called CUBICs. People who tune in to the series frequently and haven’t gotten into the group through their music yet call themselves CUBICs, which is taken from cubic zirconia—a type of synthetic diamond and a smart name derived from SEVENTEEN’s official fandom name, CARAT.

After a year and a half since the release of their first full album LOVE&LETTER, the third chapter of their 2017 Seventeen Project was revealed to be the group’s second full-length album. The album TEEN, AGE  saw the lead single “CLAP” featuring heavy guitar riffs and high-energy choreography that was a complete 180 degree turn from “Don’t Wanna Cry”.

Prior to the release of TEEN, AGE, SEVENTEEN also had releases for each of their sub-units throughout the month of September and October, starting with “Change Up” by the 3 sub-unit leaders, followed by Hip-Hop unit’s “TRAUMA,", Performance unit’s “Lilili Yabbay,” and Vocal unit’s “Pinwheel.”

SEVENTEEN’s first special album DIRECTOR’S CUT was released on February 5, 2018 containing all the songs from TEEN, AGE  and four additional songs. The title track “THANKS” serves as a medium for the members to express their gratitude to CARATs through touching lyrics and choreography that incorporates Korean sign language for the phrase "Thank you." To reciprocate the love from the group, the song achieved No. 1 on MelOn real-time chart thanks to the streaming efforts of their fans. This also marks SEVENTEEN’s first time reaching this chart position.

On March 21, members Hoshi, DK, and Seungkwan, also known as SEVENTEEN’s gag trio, debuted as a sub-unit called BSS or BooSeokSoon. The sub-unit released and promoted their debut single “Just Do It” for a short period, but has not made a comeback since.

Shortly after, the group made their official debut in Japan with the Japanese track “CALL CALL CALL! ” on May 30. Their first Japanese mini-album WE MAKE YOU debuted at No. 2 on the Oricon Album Chart on the first day of sales. 

2018 proved to be a busy year for the group when “어쩌나 (Oh My!)” was announced to be the lead single of their July comeback in the summer-themed mini-album YOU MAKE MY DAY. Along with SEVENTEEN’s original summer anthem "Very Nice (아주 Nice)," “어쩌나 (Oh My!)” is recognized as another song perfect for the hot weather with its refreshing and ear-catching melody.

SEVENTEEN spent the rest of 2018 touring around Asia for a total of 18 shows in 8 countries. At the beginning of 2019, the group came back with winter mini-album YOU MAKE MY DAWN, a continuation of their previous summer album YOU MAKE MY DAY. The title track “Home” won the group 10 trophies on weekly music shows and became SEVENTEEN’s most successful promotion run to date.

Following the release of their first Japanese single “Happy Ending" that peaked at No. 1 on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart, SEVENTEEN released the digital single “HIT.” The single would be the introduction to the group’s third full album An Ode with the title track "독 : Fear" released on September 16. An Ode went on to earn SEVENTEEN their first daesang for “Album of the Year” at the 2019 Asia Artist Awards held in Vietnam. The album was also critically acclaimed by Billboard as the "Best K-Pop Album of 2019."

During this time, leader S.Coups would step down and take a hiatus from SEVENTEEN after experiencing symptoms of anxiety. As he was privately taking care of his health, the remaining 12 members of SEVENTEEN continued on the rest of their Ode To You world tour until it was ultimately cancelled in February 2020 due to COVID-19. 

The “T” For Tirelessness

Even with the European leg of the Ode To You World Tour and the 2020 Japan Dome tour plans being cancelled due to the pandemic, SEVENTEEN still managed to pack their year with activities—including two Korean and two Japanese releases— and earned remarkable achievements. Leader S.Coups made his return to the group after a short hiatus before the release of their second Japanese single "舞い落ちる花びら (Fallin' Flower)" in April. The song, accompanied by an aesthetic music video, became the third best-selling single on Oricon by a Korean act. 

On May 25, HYBE became the majority shareholder of Pledis Entertainment, SEVENTEEN’s label. The following June, SEVENTEEN released their seventh EP Heng:garæ, which would earn the group their first "million sellers" title after having sold over one million copies in under a week. On July 7, Oricon announced that Heng:garæ topped the Oricon Weekly Album Chart—becoming the first foreign male artist in 12 years to rank No. 1 for two consecutive weeks. The record was previously held by the Backstreet Boys back in November 2007.

The record-breaking streak doesn’t end there, as the release of the group’s second Japanese mini-album, 24H, would make them become the first foreign male artist in history to have four albums rank No. 1 in the Oricon Weekly Album Chart.

The second special album ; [Semicolon]  saw the members challenge themselves by forming new units based on their age groups: the 95-liners (S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua), the 96-liners (Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi), the 97-liners (DK, Mingyu, The8) and the maknaes (Seungkwan, Vernon, Dino). The retro-swing title track “HOME;RUN” further asserted SEVENTEEN as the "theater kids of K-Pop" with yet another show stopping choreography and performance.

At the year-end 2020 Korean Popular Culture and Arts Awards, SEVENTEEN was awarded the “Prime Minister’s Commendation." The prestigious award is dedicated to those who are recognized for their significant contribution in spreading South Korean culture.

Stepping into the year 2021, SEVENTEEN dropped their third Japanese single “ひとりじゃない (Not Alone)” with the song’s message serving as an encouragement to the youths who have been struggling the past difficult year. “Not Alone” ranked No. 1 on Billboard Japan Hot 100 and again proved that SEVENTEEN’s popularity in Japan is not to be overlooked.

With ‘Power of Love’ being the main theme of the year through a concept trailer posted in May, SEVENTEEN made their comeback with the mini-album Your Choice and title track “Ready to love.” Unlike their first few title tracks showing the innocent side of love, like confessing to a crush in “Pretty U,” the eighth mini-album explored the theme of love in a more mature way. Your Choice earned SEVENTEEN another “million sellers” title and is the fastest album to reach one million copies sold to date (in just four days after release!).

On September 1, Pledis Entertainment announced that Chinese members Jun and Minghao will be going back home to visit family and focus on activities in China until the end of the year. In the meantime, the remaining 11 members who are still in Korea will continue with the group’s Korean promotions. In the most recent comeback on October 22, the group explores passionate love with the album title Attacca, referring to a musical term to move from one movement to the other without pause. The fast-paced title track “Rock with you” perfectly encapsulates "passionate love" with many rock and pop-punk elements. 

SEVENTEEN has achieved a lot in just six years of being an active group, but it doesn’t look like they’re slowing down any time soon. Earlier this year, all 13 members renewed their contracts with Pledis Entertainment, making them the first 10+ member group to break the seven-year curse without any lineup change nor member leaving. With full trust in each other and their craft, there’s no limit to what SEVENTEEN can do moving forward.