E11: From Zero To One: Introducing K-Pop Phenomenon ZEROBASEONE

In this episode of BibimPOP with Sean, we dive into the incredible rise of ZEROBASEONE (aka ZB1) 🚀—a global K-Pop phenomenon born from the survival reality show Boys Planet. With nearly 100 trainees from around the world 🌍 competing for a spot in this groundbreaking group, ZEROBASEONE’s journey is nothing short of inspiring.

Learn how they went from trainees to topping charts 📈, breaking records 🏆, and taking over our music playlists ❤️. Plus, I’ll share my early pick for my bias and my Top 10 ZB1 songs 🎶! Whether you’re a die-hard fan or a curious listener, this episode has everything you need to know about ZEROBASEONE’s epic story.

🎧 Don’t forget to subscribe, like, and share for more pop culture bites with a K-Pop twist! 💜

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Episode 11
• 7:55 The Birth Of ZEROBASEONE
• 13:55 ZEROBASEONE Members
• 20:26 My Top 10 ZEROBASEONE Songs
• 27:42 Subscribe, Follow, Like, & Share

Transcript

Hello Pop Tarts, and welcome to this episode of BibimPOP with Sean, where pop culture ate. You know what's constant on my mind? Like constantly on my mind. Always thinking about it. Can't not think about it. Food. I love food, all food. I do not discriminate against any food. And I am so happy because my mother in law Gael, she is so awesome by the way.

She just got my husband and I a wonderful holiday present. A gift card to one of those meal kit delivery services. I am so excited to dive in and use it! We just had our first delivery last week and we made creamy Creole pork medallions, which were absolutely delicious and so easy to make. I mean, usually I'm going to be honest right here my husband makes dinner nearly well, yes, actually, every time, every time we eat, he's making food.

I rarely, and by rarely I mean never make. And he sort of meals. But I helped out in making the creamy Creole pork medallions and they were so easy I did it. I can cook, I'm a chef. And we also made baked feta salmon, which was like chef's kiss so good. The salmon was super fresh. It was flaky.

I love feta cheese. It had these kalamata olives which gave like a really nice salty bite to the meal. It was so good. And it also came with this side of potatoes. And even though I love nearly every food, potatoes are not at the top of my list. I know my mom from Idaho is like so disappointed, but I just don't really crave starchy high carb foods very often.

Like pasta, bread, rice, potatoes. Like I'm not ever really craving those things, although I will still eat them. I never am like, ooh, I need that right now. I need it really bad. I really want that. Anyway, this meal came with some potatoes and they were so good. They were cooked in such a way that there was this crispy exterior while then being soft on the inside, I honestly am.

I might be a potato fan now. I don't know, maybe it's the way they're cooked because I don't think I'll ever really want a baked potato. I know, I know, my husband's so upset because he loves baked potatoes and I could care less. I don't want to bake potato. I don't really care for baked potato bars. No thank you anyway, so far I'm really enjoying the meal kit delivery service.

I really didn't know how fun they could be. Like, I downloaded an app and I can scroll through their list of available meals for the next week and then just add whatever sounds good to me. For example, coming up in the next few weeks, we have a one pan Acapulco style steak quesadillas coming up. Wow, that is a really that is a mouthful.

A one pan Acapulco style steak quesadillas, one pan. I got a book of diet steak cakes. Yeah, I'm really excited for that one if you can't tell. And we also have a Korean style barbecue salmon rice bowl coming up. So, sounds delicious. I cannot wait, and, I don't know, maybe I'll just keep you updated on my chef journey.

Just call me Chef Sean. I also like that it not only makes the cooking itself easier because everything is just portioned out and ready to go, but it also reduces time of making a grocery list, going out to do the grocery shopping. All of that just takes so much time. And if you know me, one of my greatest pet peeves, if not my greatest pet peeve, is just feeling like I am wasting time.

Which now that I'm thinking about it, I just got back from Disney World and it doesn't make sense. Why do I like Disneyland and Disney World so much if I don't like wasting time? Because there's a lot of waiting in line and just passing time that happens there, I don't know, I think that's different though, because I can like, eat a cute little tree while I'm waiting in line so it doesn't feel like I'm wasting time.

So I don't know, maybe I'm just rationalizing things, but there I go again. Just talking about food. Anything I can do to find a moment to get some talking about food in. Okay, I want to know if you have ever done a meal kit service before. Do you like it? What company have you tried before there are so many.

Or do you not like it? If you've tried it, they can get kind of pricey. I don't know if it's something that I can reasonably just keep up with once our gift card runs out, but I am definitely going to savor every moment and flavor while I can. All right, pop tarts A moment ago, I was just referencing the Korean style barbecue salmon rice bowl that we are getting and speaking of Korean things, Korean culture.

Did any of you catch or see the K-pop special on CNN? The whole story with Anderson Cooper, the reporter in the show is Kyung Lah, who is Korean American, and she goes to Seoul and follows a developing K-pop girl group that is narrowing down to the five trainees that will make the group for a new K-pop label MZMC and some of the girls that are in training are currently in middle school, and if they make the group will forgo high school education to pursue their dream of being a K-pop idol. It talks about the high pressure and expectations such as dieting, plastic surgery, and more. I mean, really, the beauty standards in Korea are another level.

It is so intense and this documentary, I feel, actually did a pretty good job of capturing the rigid expectation of those who are wanting to become K-pop idols. She also interviews past K-pop idols who give insights into some of the challenges, including highlighting the alarming suicide rate of K-pop idols and Korean youth. And I'm not passing any judgment.

Certainly not on another culture. My hope is just that everyone can see their inner beauty and worth and value, and just find confidence in being completely authentic. I think that's something that we're all trying to discover and that we're all in constant pursuit of. I know that I am. If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend you do.

I watched it on Hulu. I believe it also might be on HBO Max. The story is very insightful. Check it out. I would love to know what you think if you've watched it. I am really excited for today's episode because it is a special episode where I am going to take you on a deep dive into a K-pop group called ZEROBASEONE.

One of my hopes with BibimPOP with Sean is to share with you the world of K-pop. It is, in and of itself, a whole world of excitement. It has brought me a lot of joy and I just want to share it with you. And if I can do the research and break it down for you and share recommendations with you and make it more accessible, then I am so happy to do that.

And there is just so much to explore with K-pop that even I am still learning. And this is one of those times. In fact, I didn't know too much about ZEROBASEONE a few days ago. Like literally a few days ago. But I wanted to learn because I heard that they are talented. And so I did what every good pop tart does.

And I did my research, and sometimes I feel like I hit it right. And other times I think not my favorite. Maybe next time. Well, with ZEROBASEONE I feel like I struck gold. I am so excited to tell you more about this fun, high energy, good vibes K-pop group. So stay tuned because today we are going to talk about how ZEROBASEONE became a group.

The members of the group, my top ten ZEROBASEONE songs that I'm listening to right now and more. Get ready because here we go.

All right, every pop group has their own journey and story, and ZEROBASEONE’s, also referred to as ZB1, is definitely an interesting one because they were formed through a very popular competition survival reality show called Boys Planet, which aired in 2023. The goal of the show was to find the next generation of talent who would become the rising global boy group to captivate the world.

This international competition show was similar to The one You Have heard me talking about, Starlight Boys in recent episodes of BibimPOP with Sean. However, Boys Planet was on a much grander scale, with nearly 100 young male competitors all vying for a spot as one of the top nine trainees that would be selected to be in the final group ZEROBASEONE.

If you're doing the math, that means there's a less than 10% chance for each of these contestants of being selected for the final group, and about half of the contestants were from Korea, while the other half were from the United States, Canada, China, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand. Here's a little fun fact for you two competitors from Starlight Boys who made it into the final group, Polaris, were also competitors on Boys Planet Leo and Lee John Hook.

It is truly incredible how many years and years that K-pop idols devote to debuting. They spent so much of their formative years trying to get into a group. And again, I've said this before a few episodes ago, but I think male idols have a particular limited timeline because of the military service. The mandatory military service that they are expected to do.

It makes me think of when I went to Seoul, South Korea in Fall 2024 and I got to see Minho from Shinee perform, and he talked about how he is a, quote, senior idol, even though he's in his young 30s. Yes, he is considered a senior in the K-pop industry as in old, and he's in his 30s. So truly, if someone is an aspiring K-pop idol, then that person really needs to start that journey so early.

Okay, going back to Boys Planet and ZEROBASEONE. Similar to other competition survival shows, the contestants are selected to continue in the program via fan vote. After the first voting period in February, it was obvious that this show was no joke. There were over 52 million votes cast, and impressively, about 40 million of those votes actually came from global viewers.

Outside of Korea, boys planet also received an award from the Asian Academy Creative Awards for best Music or dance program. Do you like fan votes? Survival competition shows? Think American Idol, The Voice, dancing with the stars. I really like these type of shows for so many different reasons. One being over the course of a season, you really get to know the different contestants.

If they get to, you know, stay around long enough, you also become invested in their journey as you watch them try to live out a dream and you feel like you have a direct impact on their success as essentially an investor who can vote. And it's also just really fun to see the growth and development of the contestants and be able to compare where someone started to when they ended, even in just a few months time.

It just feels inspiring because you see the contestants work so hard. I will definitely have to check out Boys Planet to learn more. I did watch one of the Boys Planet's most viewed performances on YouTube, a song called Jelly Pop, and it was very bright, fun bubblegum pop. The choreography was bouncy and fun, and actually something that I really liked was that when a performer was singing his part, his name would actually appear in the top left corner of the screen.

So you can put faces to names and just get to know the contestants better, because again, there's 100 contestant on this show, so how are you ever going to get to know them really well? And I think Boys Planet did a good job of at least helping the audience connect names to faces. I just thought that was a really nice touch.

The finale of Boys Planet was broadcast live on April 20th, 2023, and it was at this show that their group's name would be ZEROBASEONE. The top nine trainees were selected to debut in ZEROBASEONE, and I will tell you about each member in just a moment, so stay tuned. So what does ZEROBASEONE mean?

ZEROBASEONE symbolizes the journey of starting from zero and reaching the ultimate one, representing their collective rise to success. After becoming a group of nine, ZEROBASEONE only had a few months to work tirelessly to promote record music and train two officially debut with a mini album release in July of that year. Their debut was impressive as they broke records as the best selling debut record in K-pop history, with almost 2 million copies sold.

Clearly, ZEROBASEONE was going to be a massive success and they are here to stay and slay. Let's find out more about who the members of ZEROBASEONE are. Remember, if you are liking this content and this discussion, please subscribe. Follow, like and share BibimPOP with Sean. Pop Tarts I have some very exciting news to share with you.

I have some amazing collaboration episodes coming up and an upcoming event that I will be announcing shortly, so stay tuned!

All right, all right, so who are these dynamic members of ZEROBASEONE? Anytime I find a group that I am interested in, I like to get to know the members as individuals because once you understand each member, you get a better idea of how each performer brings their unique talent to create the overall group. So let's go.

In order from the debut members who got the most votes on boys, planet number one is Zhang Hao. His birthday is July 25th, 2000, which makes him 24 years old. He's Chinese. His position within the group is that he is a center, a vocalist and a dancer, and he is the first Chinese trainee to rank number one in a Korean survival show.

And his Chinese zodiac sign is year of the Dragon like me. And we're just wrapping up our year as we go into the new Lunar New Year. The trainee that placed number 2 in ZEROBASEONE is  Sung Han Bin and his birthday is June 13th, 2001, which makes him 23 years old. He's South Korean, and his position within the group is that he is the leader of the group.

He's a vocalist and dancer as well, and his Chinese zodiac sign is year of the snake. So we're going into his Zodiac year this year. Number three is Seok Matthew and his birthday is May 28th, 2002, which makes him 22 years old. His nationality is that he is Korean Canadian, which I think is really cool. I absolutely love when K-pop idols have a North American background.

His position within the group is that he is a vocalist, a dancer and a rapper. And a fun fact he is fluent in English and Korean, and he's also the shortest member at five foot seven. I mean, I'm five foot six and a half, so, you know, slay short kings. Yes. Number four in the group is Ricky and his birthday is May 20th, 2003.

He's 21 years old and his nationality is Chinese. His position within the group is that he's a vocalist and a dancer, and he is known for his very striking visuals, and he has a background in fashion modeling. He was a fashion model before becoming a K-pop idol. Number five in the group is Park Gun Wook and his birthday is January 10th, 2004, making him 21 years old.

I'm just realizing right now his birthday was just the other day. Happy birthday to Park Gun Wook and he is known for being what's called an all rounder. What that means is that he is good at all the different categories of K-pop music. So being a strong vocalist, a strong dancer, a strong rapper, essentially he can do it all.

He also has an interest in music production. The number six trainee to make it into ZEROBASEONE is Kim Tae Rae and his birthday is July 14th, 2002, making him 22 years old. He's South Korean and he is a main vocalist and a dancer, and he can play the guitar, and he's the only member of the group who has the astrology sign of being a cancer like yours truly.

Number seven in the group is Kim Gyu Vin and his birthday is August 30th, 2003, making him 21 years old. He's South Korean and he is known for his very talented rap skills. Number eight is Kim Ji Woong and his birthday is December 14th, 1998, making him 26 years old. He's South Korean, he is also a rapper and prior to joining ZEROBASEONE, he was an actor.

He is the oldest member and the only one not born in the 2000. I wonder if he's going to have to do his military service soon, and if so, what that means for the group. I guess only time will tell. And last but certainly not least, is number 9 Han Yu Jin and his birthday is March 20th, 2007. Making him 17 years old.

His nationality is South Korean and he is a dancer and rapper, and he is the youngest member of ZEROBASEONE. As you can see, each member of this group has a very specific role and makes a meaningful contribution to the overall success of the entire group. So typically with K-pop groups, the natural next question when talking about members is who is your bias?

A bias, for those of you who don't know, is pretty much just asking someone who your favorite member is. And while I am just getting into ZEROBASEONE, I watched a few of their music videos and performances and tried to identify who I get the best vibe from, and based on my very early predictions, I would say that my bias is Sung Han Bin.

I was watching a studio performance for one of their songs, and a studio performance is basically where the group is performing, not in front of an audience, but it's not a music video, and I like them because it really showcases their choreography and a very high quality video. Anyway, watching a studio performance and someone being just looked like he was having so much fun, he was literally smiling the entire time he's bopping around and I love that.

So my early bias is Sung Han Bin. He also has some really cool tattoos, including one on his inner arm that reads quote, don't regret what you do. Close quote. I could use that advice, you know, every now and then I like that. And then he also has another tattoo across his collarbone the sun star and moon, which looks so cool.

Speaking of the stars, he's a Gemini like my husband. Coincidence? I think not. He also has a great dance background, which is maybe why I like him so much. I love the K-pop idols that just have really great dance abilities, and he even used to be a backup dancer and danced with beats. He also worked at a cafe that his mother owns, which I think is so cute and I'm sure that he can make a delicious coffee.

So obviously he's my fave.

Right. All right, now that you know who ZEROBASEONE is, their background, the members of the group let's talk the best ZEROBASEONE songs. These are my current favorite songs by ZEROBASEONE that I am listening to nonstop right now. If you're interested in checking out their music to see if you like them for yourself, I suggest you start with these songs.

I will list with my 10th and then move in order to my number one favorite ZEROBASEONE song. Let's get Started. Number ten Melting Point. This song just has a really nice ambient, soft yet still smooth beat production. It feels really sweet and intimate and the lyrics are really cute and explore what it means to let your guard down, get vulnerable and open up to someone as you develop a crush, or just feel that magnetic pull with someone in particular.

I just think it's really cute. Give this song Allison. Number nine is in bloom and this is their first debut single. It has a really bright melody and won many awards and recognition, including making it to the Billboard list of 25 best K-pop songs of the entire year of 2023, so you definitely need to hear this one again.

It's the song that launched them, so definitely listen to In Bloom. Number eight is Solar Power and this one is not like the other cute songs that I just talked about, this song is definitely showing more of a hard vibe. The song is very strong. It's in your face, it's loud, it's bold, and I love the fast verse of the song as it's leading up into the main chorus.

Feeling, feeling power, power. Make it, make it hot, hot. Getting getting hot. Air power power power up I love it, it's so fun. Obviously they sound a much better than I do. In fact, I shouldn't even get into the lyrics on this podcast because I'm pretty sure that if I'm ever singing out some lyrics that I'm excited about, you're probably thinking, okay, definitely not listening to that song because Sean sounds wack.

I promise they sound much better than I do. Give this song Solar Power. And, my number seven favorite ZEROBASEONE song is Dear Eclipse. This song definitely slows it down from the previous one that I just mentioned. It's ballad ish, but not necessarily a slow song. It kind of has this melancholic or longing feeling as it talks about fleeting moments compared to the quick eclipse.

But even though the eclipse comes and goes fast, its rarity makes the moment unforgettable. I love that the metaphor in this song is just so cool to me again. Dear eclipse number seven. Number six is a song called Sweat. This song actually came up in one of my Spotify Made for you playlists, and I immediately fell in love and added it to my workout mix.

I've been listening to it every day for weeks now. Maybe I like it because the lyrics say quote, I'll make you sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat. Close quote. And if I'm at the gym, I better be sweating. I highly recommend this very charisma song you are sure to love it. Number five is called Feel the Pop. Can you say cuteness?

Times 1 million. This song became one of their singles and has a music video to accompany it. It's super vibrant, playful, catchy and bubble gum like bubble pop. Bubble gum. The word pop appears in some form about 62 times. Yes, I counted in less than three minutes. Hello Pop tarts, this one is obviously a song for us. Check it out.

You will definitely love this song. It's so fun and honestly, just kind of takes you back to that nostalgic moment of just being a kid again because it is so playful. And on the very opposite side of the spectrum is number four, checkmate. This is a newer ZEROBASEONE song, and it has more of a mysterious vibe with a very hypnotic beat.

I absolutely love it. The lyrics are all about making moves, not holding back, going for what you want and who you're interested in. Oh, it is so good. Listen to this song right now. Like if you need to pause this podcast and go listen to the song and then come back, do it because it's so good. You don't want to forget to listen to this song.

Number four on my list. Checkmate. We're getting down. Let's talk about the top three ZEROBASEONE songs that I'm listening to. Number three is a song called Yura Yura. A lot of their songs are a combination of Korean and English, and this song is mostly in Korean, but I love it. It's got such a great beat.

I love the chorus where they just repeat yura yura baby, baby, I just it's so fun. I just can't do it justice. So you need to listen to it and you'll find yourself dancing all over the room. My number two favorite song is Good So Bad ZEROBASEONE kills it in this song. It's an emotional song about Self-refer, flection and resilience.

And I really like these lyrics. Quote making me feel good, wanting it more. You're so bad. Close quote. The rhythm is catchy and their moments of crescendos are just on point and really adds great depth and texture to the song. I mean, if it's my number two song, it might as well be my number one because the margin here is so thin.

It's a great song. Go give it a listen. All right, drum roll. My number one ZEROBASEONE song is Kill the Romeo. This song. Oh my goodness I, I don't even know where to start. It incorporates literally everything you could ever want. A catchy, great beat, vocal and rap ability is showcased so well. You can sway, you can pump, you can dance, you can listen in the car, in the gym.

It's versatile in every sense of the word. It's dramatic. The lyrics are about forbidden love and ambition. The instrumentals are powerful. It's it's honestly an epic song. I love these lyrics. Quote. Here we go up. Shout it out I love it fly high I take control. This is our story. Fly high, just let it go. You better get out of my way.

Kill the Romeo. We can be runaways. Dancing the night away. Close quote I am telling you right now. Pick up your phone, add this song to your playlist and listen to it ASAP. All right. And there you have my top ten songs that I am listening to right now by ZEROBASEONE. I would love if you checked them all out, gave them a listen and let me know what you think.

I would like to know if you are a new ZEROBASEONE fan, you just complete it. The ZEROBASEONE 101 course and have graduated with high honors. You are now officially a certified ZEROBASEONE expert. Congrats! Galatians.

Five all right, Pop Tarts, that's a wrap on this episode. Thank you so much for listening. Please stay tuned for the next episode. And as a reminder, episodes of BibimPOP with Sean will release on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. And remember to subscribe, follow, like and share BibimPOP with Sean and follow me on social media for updates @bibimpopwithsean on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok and @bibimpopsean on X, formerly Twitter and go to my podcast website bibimpopwithsean.buzzsprout.com.

You can find out more information there including send me messages. Thanks again for listening to BibimPOP with Sean where pop culture ate.