Considered one of the first breakout stars of K-Pop's 'fifth generation,' xikers have already started to make a name for themselves. Formed by KQ Entertainment in March 2023, the band consists of 10 members: Minjae, Junmin, Sumin, Jinsik, Hyunwoo, Junghoon, Seeun, Yujun, Hunter and Yechan.
Similar to ATEEZ, who are managed by the same company, xikers began their promotions long before the release of their first album. Back in August 2022, KQ posted a series of solo interviews with each boy, before dropping a dance video to "Iffy" by Chris Brown that featured the entire group. At this point in time, they were given the temporary name of 'KQ Fellaz 2" following their predecessors.
A few days later, they released a web series called Ready To One, during which the group travelled to Los Angeles, California in order to train their singing, dancing, and rapping skills. As a grand finale, the 'Fellaz' dropped their first-ever music video, "Geek," which was composed and produced by their leader, Minjae.
In order to give them more experience before officially releasing an album, the group was in for an exciting journey. KQ Entertainment sent the 10 boys on the road with ATEEZ as the opening act for the U.S. leg of 'The Fellowship: Break the Wall' tour.
On February 24, their official name, xikers, was finally revealed to the public. Soon after that, they announced that their first EP, House of Tricky: Doorbell Ringing was coming out on March 30.
Success came rather quickly for the rookie group, as the album sold more than 100,000 copies, becoming the fifth-highest first week sales figure for a debut in South Korea. In addition, the music video for the title track, "Tricky House," hit 10 million views in a little over a day. The EP also ended up placing on the Billboard 200 chart at the 75th spot.
So what's next for xikers? Well the group just came out with their second EP, House of Tricky: How to Play on August 2. You can watch the music video for the album's title track, "DO or DIE" now!
And for those in the U.S. wanting to see xikers perform live, the group will be making their way out to the sunny state of California for KCON LA on August 19 at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles!
Click here for more information about how to buy tickets or watch the online livestream.