Victon (; stylized as VICTON, an acronym for Voice to New World) is a South Korean boy group formed in 2016 by IST Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: Han Seung-woo, Kang Seung-sik, Lim Se-jun, Do Han-se, Choi Byung-chan and Jung Su-bin. They debuted on November 9, 2016, with their extended play Voice to New World. Originally a septet, Heo Chan left the group on October 11, 2022.
History
Pre-debut
Members Chan, Seungwoo, Seungsik and Byungchan joined A Cube Entertainment in 2014 and were among the company's first batch of male trainees. Hanse and Sejun joined a year later, followed by last-minute addition, former Cube Entertainment trainee Subin. Several of the members had experience working with their label-mates whilst still trainees, having been back-up dancers for Apink at their 2015 "Pink Island" concerts and recorded backing vocals for Huh Gak's album.
2016: Me & 7 Men and debut
In August 2016, Plan A Entertainment (formerly A Cube Entertainment) released details regarding the new group they planned to debut, referred to as "Plan A Boys", and their upcoming reality show that would chronicle the group's preparation for debut, titled Me & 7 Men, with the first episode airing August 30 on Mnet.
On September 1, Seungsik, Sejun and Hanse released a digital single as Plan A Boys in collaboration with Huh Gak titled "#Begin Again", accompanied by a music video starring Huh Gak and all seven members of the group.
Following the finale of Me & 7 Men, the group's official debut was set for November 9. For their debut, Plan A held a debut showcase for the group on November 9, announcing their group name Victon, an acronym for "Voice to a New World", with their debut EP Voice to New World with the dual title tracks "I'm Fine" and "What Time Is It Now?" being released the same day.
2017: Further EP releases
On March 2, 2017, Victon released their second EP, Ready, with the lead single titled "Eyez Eyez". Despite being relative rookies, the members were personally involved in the production process, with Hanse writing all his rap parts and Chan and Seungwoo co-creating the choreography for "Eyez Eyez" and the other promoted song "Blank" (얼타). "Eyez Eyez" is primarily in the futuresynth genre, with the group's second EP intended to show a different musical side to the group than their debut release. Critics also noted from its music video and more sophisticated choreography that the group had adopted a more mature and charismatic image.
Victon's third EP, Identity, was released on August 23, with a total of five tracks including the lead single "Unbelievable". They also held a comeback showcase at the Samsung Hall at Ewha Womans University on the same day as the album's release.
Their fourth EP, From. Victon, was released on their one year anniversary on November 9. The EP contains six tracks including the title track "Remember Me".
2018: Busking project and Time of Sorrow
On February 18, 2018, Plan A Entertainment announced that Victon would have a three-week busking project in various locations throughout Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. They performed songs from their previous albums as well as unreleased songs such as "On My Way", performed by Hanse and Seungsik.
On May 23, Victon released their first single album Time of Sorrow. The song topped the Tower Records chart in Japan, despite the group not having made their official debut in the country and only performed at KCON Japan.
2019: Produce X 101 participation, comeback with 6 members
In early 2019, Seungwoo and Byungchan participated as contestants in Produce X 101. On July 11, it was announced by Play M Entertainment (formerly Plan A) that Byungchan would be leaving the show permanently to recover from the increasing pain from his chronic Achilles tendinitis. On the final episode on July 19, Seungwoo came third in the vote rankings and became a member of new boy group X1, originally on a contract for five years.
Victon made their comeback as a six-member group on November 4 with their fifth mini album Nostalgia and lead single "Nostalgic Night". The release attracted much more attention and the group became a top 3 trending search topic on domestic online music sites. "Nostalgic Night" earned the group their first music show win since their debut. After completing domestic promotions, they embarked on an Asian concert tour, playing at venues in Thailand, Philippines, Japan and Taiwan before concluding it with two sold-out encore concerts at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, the first time they have held their own full concert.