History of K-Pop: CIX
Back in the early days of Produce 101 groups, before the scandal broke out on the rigged system, the most popular members of each show dominated the media. The result was an influx of new groups popping up with at least one of these members. While they were active, WANNA ONE was at the top and totally dominating the K-Pop world, and the uncertainty of the future once they would disband had the world watching the 10 members closely once they returned to their respective companies.
Bae Jinyoung, No. 10 in the WANNA ONE lineup, was one of the most popular trainees on the show as he went viral even before Produce 101 Season 2 premiered. While he was the most notorious future member of CIX, BX also made a name for himself in the survival show world, placing at No. 9 on MIXNINE and earning himself a place in the group that YG Entertainment would eventually choose not to debut. Seunghun also joined BX in the survival show YG Treasure Box to try to make that group, with both ultimately not making it and joining C9 Entertainment instead.
The group was officially announced in February 2019, originally under the temporary name C9Boyz. The group featured the three members listed above, plus the addition of Yonghee and Hyunsuk. Their name was changed to CIX (which stands for “Complete In X”) ahead of their debut in June 2019. The group’s debut single “Movie Star” skyrocketed the group into the spotlight, and even to this day is considered one of the best K-Pop releases, beloved by many. Though the debut album HELLO Chapter 1: Hello, Stranger was considered only a mild success in terms of sales, “Movie Star” combined with Jinyoung’s WANNA ONE notoriety gave the group a bigger boost in their debut compared to most.
The group would have their first comeback in November 2019 with HELLO Chapter 2: Hello, Strange Place and title track “Numb.” The track dived deeper into more intense topics, including the pressures of society on students in South Korea, issues with bullying, etc. It would be hard to follow up on the success of “Movie Star,” especially with a totally different concept, but I personally love “Numb” and the messaging behind it.
It would be almost a year before we’d get another comeback from CIX, due to Jinyoung injuring himself during album preparations and likely issues involving the pandemic. Before the world had shut down, the boys had plans for a global fan meeting tour. The third mini-album HELLO Chapter 3: Hello, Strange Time finally released in October 2020 with the lead single “Jungle.” The new title once again had the boys explore a different genre, and it proved successful as the music video hits went back up to the same realm as “Movie Star.”
Just four short months later in February 2021, CIX would return with HELLO Chapter Ø: Hello, Strange Dream, which would give the group their first No. 1 position on the Gaon Weekly Album Chart. The title track “Cinema” was hailed by a number of outlets (TIME, Billboard, etc.) as one of the best releases of 2021. The song definitely has a classic K-Pop feel while keeping the sound fresh, so it’s no surprise it earned such critical praise.
In August of 2021, the group released their first full-length studio album OK Prologue: Be OK, marking the official end of the Hello series. The title track “WAVE” has since gained 30 million hits on YouTube, while the album peaked at No. 4 on the Gaon Weekly Album Chart.
The group embarked on their first stateside tour earlier this year in May, and stood out quite a bit in the K-Pop community for their prowess in performance. You can read more about that in our coverage of the show. Most recently, they released a new mini-album titled OK Episode 1: OK Not and title track “458.” You can read in depth about the album here.
One thing CIX has been known for since debut is how solid their discography is. While they have experimented with different sounds in their title tracks, it seems they’ve found a balance within the last year on what sound works best for them as a group while consistently releasing great albums alongside them. It is interesting to see millions of hits on their music videos not reflect higher rankings on album charts, but numbers aren’t all that dictates talent in a group.
CIX is certainly a group worth keeping tabs on.
Edited by Vivian N.