Biography
In 2011 WM Entertainment launched the K-pop quintet B1A4, an acronym for “Be the one, All for one.” The five members, who specialize in wholesome R&B-tinged dance pop and sincere ballads, were scouted through Korean social-media posts and a series of vocal competitions. They are rapper Baro (Cha Sun-woo), leader Jinyoung Jung, Gongchan (Gong Chan-sik), Sandeul (Lee Jung-hwan), and CNU (Shin Dong-woo). Their first EP, the six-track Let’s Fly, appeared that year and featured the single “O.K.” Months afterward came their second release, It B1A4, and by December the group tested the Japanese market with a retrospective compilation.
The boy band stayed active throughout 2012, issuing the chart-topping debut LP Ignition plus two Japanese singles, the Japanese album 1, and the In the Wind EP. Sold-out concerts and the What’s Happening EP—another number-one record—highlighted the next twelve months, while growing overseas interest prompted dates in Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Australia, and the United States. In 2014 both the second Korean album Who Am I and the fifth EP Solo Day debuted at the summit, and the second Japanese set 2 earned the act’s second Top Ten placement there. A 2015 world tour added Mexico, Puerto Rico, Europe, and South America to the itinerary, with the sixth EP Sweet Girl arriving that summer.
The members pursued solo projects in 2016 before regrouping for third Japanese and Korean albums. The Japanese release 3 became their highest-charting effort in that country, while Good Timing secured a third consecutive Korean number one and marked B1A4’s first entry on the Billboard World Albums chart. Further touring took place in 2017, coinciding with the fourth Japanese album 4.
The boy band stayed active throughout 2012, issuing the chart-topping debut LP Ignition plus two Japanese singles, the Japanese album 1, and the In the Wind EP. Sold-out concerts and the What’s Happening EP—another number-one record—highlighted the next twelve months, while growing overseas interest prompted dates in Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Australia, and the United States. In 2014 both the second Korean album Who Am I and the fifth EP Solo Day debuted at the summit, and the second Japanese set 2 earned the act’s second Top Ten placement there. A 2015 world tour added Mexico, Puerto Rico, Europe, and South America to the itinerary, with the sixth EP Sweet Girl arriving that summer.
The members pursued solo projects in 2016 before regrouping for third Japanese and Korean albums. The Japanese release 3 became their highest-charting effort in that country, while Good Timing secured a third consecutive Korean number one and marked B1A4’s first entry on the Billboard World Albums chart. Further touring took place in 2017, coinciding with the fourth Japanese album 4.
Albums
Singles
