In the studio with K-pop’s hottest new rookie boy band
Seoul, South Korea — The week before Close Your Eyes stepped onto the stage for their first-ever solo concert, the seven members moved in practiced formation across a basement rehearsal studio in Seoul’s Gangnam district.
Surrounded by managers and coaches, the band reviewed staging concepts for the performance at Seoul’s Olympic Hall, and repeatedly ran through the steps to the 20-song setlist.
For a rookie group barely a year old, it’s a huge moment that shows how far they’ve come in an incredibly short time.
Formed by global viewer votes on the 2024 cable TV survival show “Project 7,” the band has released three mini albums with 1.2 million sales in 10 months, picking up seven industry awards along the way. In November, Close Your Eyes even clinched the number two spot on the United World Chart, just behind Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Their relentless productivity, quick reinvention, and fiercely invested fanbase have turned them into one of K-pop’s most-watched new acts.
But ask the members what makes them unique, and they’ll point not to the accolades, but to the intensity of the work behind the scenes.
After a day of fan events, photoshoots and recording, “we practice every single day, until past 3 a.m.,” says Min‑wook Jeon, the band’s leader. Their rise may look fast from the outside, but he insists it’s not just a natural aptitude. “We’re not those kinds of people; we spend a lot of time on it.”
Survival show start
The band’s beginnings on entertainment agency SLL’s reality competition series “Project 7” did, in some ways, prepare them for the road ahead.
“You didn’t have much time to prepare for the stage,” recalls Close Your Eyes dancer and vocalist Yeo‑jun Jang. “So, there were many situations where we had to produce something quickly.”
From 200 applicants to 100 trainees on the show, only seven made the final lineup. Viewers voted to create teams for every major round of the competition, which meant the trainees were constantly reassembled into new lineups, with low-ranking contestants eliminated.
As a result, the final lineup is a mix of personalities, skillsets, and nationalities.
Jang, often seen as aloof despite what he calls a “surprising charm,” quickly became known for his dancing and is central to the band’s choreography. Chinese member Jingxiang Ma describes himself as hardworking and passionate, while the youngest member, 17-year-old Kyungbae Seo, brings a mix of raw talent and sincerity that resonated with viewers. Rappers Seung Ho Song and Japanese member Kenshin Sakurada provide contrasting energies: Song’s easy warmth against Sakurada’s bubbly persona. Sung Min Kim, the self-described bridge between the older and younger members, is relentlessly positive. And 26-year-old Jeon, the eldest member, brings quiet leadership shaped by his years in the boy band BAE173.
South Korea’s survival shows have been producing pop idols for decades, and several major groups — including TWICE, ZEROBASEONE, and Stray Kids — started on music reality series. These shows typically feature a group of trainees who compete for a chance to debut in an idol group. Audience members vote after each episode, determining which contestants stay and which are eliminated, a system that can sometimes prioritize popularity over talent.
Despite this, the resulting groups are often incredibly successful. In 2024, girl group ILLIT became the first K-pop rookie group to enter the Billboard 100 with their debut single, putting a bigger spotlight on the talent platformed in these shows.
But it’s not always a sure-fire recipe for pop stardom: from thousands of applicants, only a handful make it to the final lineup, and many bands struggle to transform their reality show win into long-term chart success.
Each member of Close Your Eyes earned his spot through fan votes over 12 weeks — over 17 million votes in the final round alone, according to SLL — which has deepened fan attachment, as well as intensified expectations.
“During ‘Project 7,’ fans supported individuals,” Jang, 20, says. “Now, a lot of the fandom has pivoted to supporting the whole group.”
Meteoric rise
Close Your Eyes debuted in April 2025 with the mini-album “ETERNALT,” a soft, polished introduction that showcased their sentimental vocals and clean pop sound, quickly followed by the four-track EP “Snowy Summer,” which built on that foundation.
But it was “blackout,” released in November, that signaled the band’s first bold reinvention. With house‑inspired production and a darker, more experimental sound, the mini-album — which sold more than half a million copies in four days — hinted at the group’s creative ambition.
“It’s not that we changed,” Jeon says. “From the beginning, we’ve tried to tell our own story in various genres.”
The shift, he explains, reflects both their evolving artistry and their desire to explore new sounds.
Part of that growth comes from taking creative control. Jeon earned his first writing credit within six months of their first album, and contributed heavily to “X,” the lead single from “blackout.”
“I really wanted to sing this song with lyrics that I wrote,” he says. “Because it was lyrics that reflected what our team felt, I personally felt a sense of satisfaction, and I think that my affection for the song grew even more.”
The group’s increasing musical range attracted international collaborators as well, including a notable partnership with Grammy-winning Kazakh DJ Imanbek on “blackout,” venturing into “an electronic genre that we don’t do much as K-pop idols,” says Jeon.
“Working with DJ Imanbek made it very different from our previous Close Your Eyes music. And that song definitely stands out on our third EP. It’s a song that clearly has the DJ’s signature sound more than the others,” says Jeon. “I think I learned a little bit that I could do this style of music.”
Beyond the studio, CYE’s first year has been packed with variety-show appearances, photoshoots, fan meets, performance schedules, and now concert rehearsals. Several members are adding new skills — both Sakurada and Song have taken up guitar, hoping to perform it live.
The awards followed quickly: from the TikTok Awards to the Korea Grand Music Awards and Golden Disc Awards, Close Your Eyes collected seven rookie and artist prizes in five months.
But for the members, the highlights have been more personal.
Jang, who like Jeon has previous experience as a K-pop trainee, recalls his parents watching him perform at an event last year after other attempts to launch his career hadn’t worked out.
“My mother came backstage, and when she saw me, she started crying. Those tears brought back a variety of emotions and memories,” says Jang. “I realized how happy people were that I debuted, how happy my mom and dad were. That’s why I remember that day so vividly.”
International tour
The debut concert marked the end of their first chapter — and the beginning of another.
After their performance in front of thousands of fans in Seoul’s Olympic Hall on January 31st, Close Your Eyes began their first international tour.
Just last week, the band took the stage in Japan, with upcoming stops announced in Canada, Malaysia, and Russia.
The Russia date has sparked backlash from fans, who argue that performing in Moscow during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine is inappropriate.
UNCORE, the group’s management agency, issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter) that performances “are not intended to represent or support any political stance,” describing them instead as cultural exchanges: “At UNCORE, we believe that music has no borders. Our primary mission is to provide fans worldwide with the opportunity to enjoy K-POP performances.”
The band’s Malaysia concert date has been rescheduled by the organizers, after fans raised concerns about holding the event during Ramadan.
For a rookie band, the controversies illustrate how quickly global fandom can become both a platform and a pressure point.
In the studio, though, the band remains focused on the work and is already shaping its next musical era.
After three mini-albums in six months, they’re eager to release a full-length album in 2026, which will include three unreleased tracks — “Best Life,” “Lemonade,” and “Nameless” — which premiered at their debut concert.
“What I can say for sure is that we’ve explored a variety of sounds, so what we’ll be releasing in 2026 will also be something incredibly new and unexpected,” says Jeon.
As soon as our interview ended, the seven idols disappeared to change outfits for an evening rehearsal, and returned minutes later, slurping down steaming cups of ramyeon. There was barely time for their dinner to settle before they were bouncing around the dance floor again, running through the steps one more time.
