When you hear about K-pop bands, you probably think about groups such as Blackpink or BTS. But have you heard of Seventeen? Probably not. Seventeen is one of the lesser-known groups but they are one of the most respected groups amongst K-pop fans.

The company *Pledis Entertainment announced Seventeen’s first *lineup on Dec. 24, 2012; consisting of the members Junhui, Soonyoung, Wonwoo, Jihoon, Mingming, Seokmin, Mingyu, Seungkwan, Hansol, Chan and Samuel.

Pledis Entertainment created seven more lineups after this, eventually creating the final lineup on May 25th, 2015 with the members we know and love today. Seungcheol (S.Coups), Jeonghan, Jisoo (Joshua), Junhui (Jun), Soonyoung (Hoshi), Wonwoo, Jihoon (Woozi), Seokmin (DK), Mingyu, Minghao (The8), Seungkwan, Hansol (Vernon), and Chan (Dino).

Finally, on May 26, 2015, Seventeen *debuted.

During this time, Pledis Entertainment went bankrupt for two years, and Seventeen couldn’t debut. The only reason they could have the finances to fund their debut was that the vice president of Pledis Entertainment sold his house. Even after they debuted, things didn’t get better. Member Hoshi choreographed their debut song “Adore u” and the next song “Shining Diamond” by himself. Member Mingyu made merch for their fans, and Seungkwan called radio and variety shows so the group could get more exposure. All this is what a management company was supposed to do, but the company didn’t do it.

Seventeen saved Pledis Entertainment from bankruptcy but still, there were problems. When Seventeen appeared on Afreeca tv, Hoshi hinted that Pledis staff take money from the members even though they had little. Soon after this, Pledis entertainment showed signs of insulting the members. One staff member even called Seventeen member Mingyu a pig for eating alone. Another staff member asked a fan why they don’t like a member from the visual line. The third staff even slapped member Seungkwan on the head.

In the K-pop world, there is a phrase called the 7-year curse of K-pop. It is called that because every 7 years, K-pop groups have to renew their contract (which is a bond to your company that you must sign to keep promoting in your group). Most of the time K-pop groups disband after their 7-year contract ends or a member leaves. Fans were worried that they might disband and rightfully so; not because they weren’t successful. It was because the *senior group under Pledis, Nu’est, almost disbanded. Pristin, another group under Pledis, actually disbanded after only 2 years because of Pledis Entertainment’s mistreatment. Luckily, Seventeen didn’t disband, and they are still a K-pop group.

Now, Seventeen is doing a lot better releasing hit after hit each song topping charts like Gaon weekly and the Billboard top 100. Seventeen has a growing fanbase with *Carats all over the world supporting them at all costs. A few months ago, Mingyu had a bullying scandal. Luckily, it blew over and now everything is back to normal. After reading this article, I hope you’ll picture Seventeen in your mind in a different way. You might realize that Seventeen is just as great as those other k-pop groups, if not better.

A few Seventeen songs I recommend:
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Adore u
Pretty u
Falling for u (Joshua and Jeonghan)
Very Nice
Home; Run
Ready to love
Rock with you
Left&Right
2 minus 1 (English) Joshua and Vernon)
Side by Side (The8)

Definitions *
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Debut – The day and time a group releases their first song.
Lineup – The official listing of members on a group about to debut.
Senior Group – A group in the same company that debuted before you.
Carat – Seventeen fan’s name.
Pledis Entertainment – One of the entertainment companies that manage idols, some idols under their label are Nu’est, Pristin, Pristin V, Hinapia, Seventeen.