MONSTA X

The Korean boy band Monsta X came into being when Starship Entertainment created the reality singing competition show No.Mercy specifically to find the members for a new pop group. The show aired in 2014, and the show’s winners (Hyungwon, I.M, Joohoney, Kihyun, Minhyuk, Shownu, and Wonho) released their debut EP, Trespass in May of 2015, and it hit Number 5 in their home country. Less than four months later, they released the EP Rush, notching another Top 5 showing and establishing their sound, a mix of hip-hop and dance beats. They ended the year by capturing the Next Generation Artist Award and the Mnet Asian Music Awards. After a number of new television endeavors, the band released the EP The Clan Pt. 1 Lost in May of 2016, their third straight Top 5 that included the song “All In,” which went Top 10 on the US World Digital Sales chart. The Clan Pt. 2 Guilty dropped that October and the trilogy culminated in March of 2017 with their first album, The Clan Pt. 2.5: The Final Chapter, which went to Number 2 in Korea and topped the US World Digital Sales chart. The 2017 EP The Code was their first to top that chart in Korea and contained the single “From Zero,” their biggest hit in America to that point. In 2018, they issued their second LP Take.1 Are You There?, their first Korean Number 1 album. After a 2019 world tour, Wonho exited the group due to personal legal issues. The now sextet released Fantasia X, their eighth consecutive Top 5 EP in Korea, in May of 2020. That year, Monsta X also dropped their chart-topping fourth Korean album Fatal Love, as well as their first English album All About Luv, which hit Number 5 on the US charts. In 2021, their third Japanese full-length Flavors of Love went to Number 2 on the Oricon charts and it was closely followed by The Dreaming, Monsta X’s second English-language album. Monsta X released their eleventh EP Shape of Love, led by the single "Love", on April 26. In May, Starship confirmed that Shownu, Kihyun, and Hyungwon had renewed contracts, with Minhyuk, Joohoney, and I.M still in discussion; by August, all had renewed except I.M, who remained active with the group despite leaving the agency. During mid-2022, they released the singles "If with U" and "Late Night Feels" with DJ Sam Feldt, held the No Limit Tour in Seoul in September, and performed at international events in Bangkok and Seoul. In 2023, they dropped their twelfth EP Reason. Military enlistments followed: Minhyuk (April), Joohoney (July), Kihyun (August), and Hyungwon (November), while Shownu was discharged in April. In 2024, activities shifted to solos for Shownu and I.M, and a 9th anniversary pop-up event was held. By 2025, all enlisted members were discharged—Joohoney in January, Kihyun in February, Hyungwon in May. On May 14, they released the anniversary compilation Now Project Vol.1.