Monsta X

South Korean boy band Monsta X fuse hip-hop, EDM, and pop into an aggressive, high-energy sound. Global notice arrived with the 2017 release The Clan, Pt. 2.5: The Final Chapter, which reached number two on the GOAN chart and led the Billboard World Albums chart. Their albums have stayed dominant in South Korea, as 2018's Take.1 Are You There?, 2019's Take.2 We Are Here, and 2020's Fatal Love each claimed the top position. International impact grew when the first English-language effort, 2020's All About Luv, entered the Billboard 200 at number five. The 2021 album The Dreaming also yielded the Billboard Top 40 single "One Day."

The group formed in 2015 through the reality competition NO.MERCY. Its members are leader/vocalist/dancer Shownu, vocalist/dancer Wonho, vocalist Minhyuk Lee, vocalist Ki-hyun Yoo, vocalist/dancer Hyungwon Chae, rapper Jooheon Lee, and rapper I.M. During the program the members delivered covers of tracks by Ariana Grande, Justin Timberlake, Jay Park, and additional artists, while early singles "0 (Young)" and "Interstellar" appeared amid the broadcast.

Their debut EP Trespass surfaced in 2015 and climbed to number five on the Korean charts. Months afterward the Rush EP advanced them to number three. Two 2016 mini-albums, The Clan, Pt. 1: Lost and Pt. 2: Guilty, marked their first Billboard World Albums chart entries, landing at numbers five and three. Early 2017 brought the third installment, Pt. 2.5: The Final Chapter (later reissued as Shine Forever), which topped the Billboard World Albums chart and reached number two in Korea. That year also saw the fifth EP The Code and the Japanese-language debut single "Hero," followed by "Beautiful," which led the Japanese daily singles chart.

In 2018 the members served as torchbearers for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and advanced into Japan with the original track "Spotlight," later included on the album Piece. Korea saw another EP, The Connect: Dejavu, plus the second full-length Take.1 Are You There?, which rose into the Top Ten on the U.S. Heatseekers and World Albums charts and reached number 24 on the Independent Albums list. The year closed with Monsta X becoming the first K-pop act to perform at Los Angeles station KIIS-FM's annual Jingle Ball concert.

2019 opened with Take.2 We Are Here and the Steve Aoki collaboration "Play It Cool." May brought a signing with Epic Records and the English-language single "Who Do U Love?" featuring rapper French Montana. October delivered the seventh EP Follow: Find You. Wonho departed late that year, and Jooheon Lee announced a mental-health break in early 2020. The first English-language album All About Luv appeared in 2020, debuting at number five on the Billboard 200. Fantasia X followed later that year, while the Japanese singles "Wanted" and "Neo Universe" arrived back to back in March 2021. The Dreaming, the second English-language album, was released that December and included the Top 40 hit "One Day," peaking at number 21 on the Billboard 200.