Within the K-Pop industry, there are many highly prominent artists, some of whom come from big-name companies like SM, JYP, YG, or HYBE. Artists from these companies are often favored by the K-Pop community. They are the groups that are topping the charts and winning several awards both domestically and internationally.
While boy groups and girl groups are generally considered to be equal in terms of popularity, boy groups are still quite influential among the K-Pop community. Most K-pop Stans are familiar with boy groups from large companies like BTS or Stray Kids, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are the only ones with discographies worthy of listening to. There are plenty of underrated artists within the K-Pop industry that are worth checking out!
With that, here are the three underrated boy groups we think deserve a shot at becoming your fave!
1. CIX
First, we have CIX (Complete in X), a five-member boy group formed in July of 2019 by C9 Entertainment. CIX consists of leader BX, Seunghun, Yonghee, Hyunsuk, and former Wanna One member, Bae Jinyoung. This boy group has a rich history in the K-Pop industry as several members have already appeared in a variety of different shows.
Bae Jinyoung, one of CIX’s main dancers and vocalists, was a winner of Mnet’s Produce 101 Season 2. He debuted with the prestigious Wanna One and eventually had a solo debut following the disbandment of his former group. Later on, Bae Jinyoung went on to debut with CIX, bringing in a fair amount of publicity to the group due to being a former member of Wanna One.
CIX’s leader, BX also appeared in the K-Pop scene before his 2019 debut. He appeared as a contestant on the popular JTBC television show, Mix Nine back in 2017.
Seunghun alongside BX, was a YG trainee and appeared on the survival show, Treasure Box before their 2019 debut, back in 2018.
A few songs we recommend listening to are “Rewind”, “What You Wanted”, and their debut song, “Movie Star”. CIX also had their most recent comeback in May with their title track, “Save Me, Kill Me”.
2. MCND
Next, we have MCND (Music Creates New Dream), another five-member boy group. Debuting in February of 2020 under TOP Media, MCND hit the K-Pop scene right before the start of the pandemic. This makes them one of the last groups to debut in the early stages of the 4th generation of K-pop.
This underrated group consists of Castle J, BIC, Minjae, Huijun, and Win. The five-member group made their first appearance in January 2020 with their pre-debut single, “TOP Gang”.
Similarly to the other groups mentioned, MCND’s members also have a history in the K-Pop industry prior to their 2020 debut. Members Castle J and Win both auditioned for Show Me The Money 10 back in 2021.
Both Castle J and Win were able to pass the first rounds of auditions but were unfortunately unable to get past round two, which consisted of a 60-second beat rap.
Some songs we recommend you guys listen to are their debut song, “ICE AGE”, “Spring”, and “Crush”. MCND recently went on a world tour that began May 26th in Brazil and came to a close on June 11th in Mexico City.
3. Cravity
The last underrated group we have for you guys is Cravity, a nine-member boy group from Starship Entertainment. Although their label may be a bit more popular than the others mentioned so far, this group in particular is still a hidden gem within the company.
Consisting of Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung, and Seongmin, the group debuted in April 2020 and caused a bit of an uproar within the K-Pop community.
Members Jungmo, Wonjin, Minhee, and Hyeongjun all participated in Mnet’s Produce X 101 survival show in 2019. Both Minhee and Hyeongjun successfully debuted as members of the infamous X1, while the others placed too low to debut.
X1, being the short-lived group that it was, gave Cravity a bit of publicity, as the two Cravity members who had debuted with X1 were quickly placed into a new project.
Some of the songs we recommend for you to listen to are “My Turn”, “VENI VIDI VICI”, and “Bad Habits”. Cravity recently made their comeback in early September with their 6th mini album, ‘Sun Seeker.’
What do you guys think of these underrated groups? Let us know on Instagram!
