Photo = PLEDIS Entertainment

 

[Hanteo News = Reporter KANG SUYOUNG] A new unit of SEVENTEEN has been born. Last Monday (6/29), THE 8 and VERNON formed the unit V8 and released their first mini album, “V8.” It is SEVENTEEN’s new mixed unit.

 

SEVENTEEN’s first mixed unit was BSS in 2018. After SEVENTEEN’s first world tour, “DIAMOND EDGE,” came to an end, WOOZI, who is in charge of SEVENTEEN’s main production, first suggested the stage. At the 2018 fan meeting “CARAT LAND” in February, the unit performed the unreleased song “Just Do It,” which received a great response from fans, leading to their official debut being decided in March of that year. The cheerful and lively chemistry of the three members SEUNGKWAN, DK, and HOSHI became the unit’s identity, and the greeting, “Happiness does not come from grades, but from BSS!” became established among fans. After BSS, it took six years for a new mixed unit to emerge within SEVENTEEN. The flow that had been paused for those six years began to change quickly starting in 2024. In June 2024, JEONGHAN X WONWOO debuted with their first single, “THIS MAN,” and in 2025, HOSHI X WOOZI followed with the single “BEAM,” while S.COUPS X MINGYU followed with their first mini album, “HYPE VIBES,” as SEVENTEEN’s first single-position unit. In 2026, DK X SEUNGKWAN debuted with “소야곡,” and this week, THE 8 X VERNON’s V8 took over the baton. In other words, five units have been released one after another in the two years since 2024. This trend coincides with the military enlistments of HOSHI, WONWOO, and WOOZI. Mixed units have become a way to maintain the density of activities even when the full group is not active.

 

The colors of each of the six units are noticeably different. If BSS breathes together with fans through cheerfulness and liveliness, JEONGHAN X WONWOO built their own worldview through mysterious storytelling inspired by urban legends. HOSHI X WOOZI showed performance-centered synergy created by two team leaders, while S.COUPS X MINGYU created the most genre-dense combination as two members who share the position of hip-hop. DK X SEUNGKWAN expanded their musical spectrum as a vocal unit, including taking the stage at the 18th Seoul Jazz Festival 2026. Their music is so different that it is hard to believe they came from the same group.

 

Among them, this V8 has a uniquely distinctive texture. The unit name, which combines the “V” from VERNON and the “8” from THE 8, was taken from an eight-cylinder engine that creates powerful acceleration. The two members personally led the album’s production and took the lead in writing and composing all tracks. Producers from Korea and abroad added their strength, including PHARRELL WILLIAMS, MECHATOK, who is drawing attention in the European house scene, KIRARA, who has won the Korean Music Awards twice, and DYLAN BRADY, who is noted for his experimental sound. THE 8 has built artistic depth through the release of Chinese EPs, an art film series, and by moving between dance and breaking, while VERNON, based in hip-hop, has moved across pop, rock, and electronic music and has also joined the Recording Academy as a voting member. The two, who have built their own creative worlds over a long period of time, came together to complete an experimental album based on electronic music. It is the result of creating their own path instead of following the familiar formula for success within SEVENTEEN’s mainstream.

 

There are many possible combinations that can be created by a group of 13 members. SEVENTEEN has turned those possibilities not into simple additional activities, but into independent content with distinct musical identities. In other words, mixed units have become not an alternative to the full group, but a way to expand the SEVENTEEN brand in various directions.

 

 

grace@hanteo.com

 

 

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