K-pop has become globalized enough that the K-pop ethos has expanded into music in other countries and with artists who are not Korean. SM Entertainment was one of the trendsetters in that regard, when it announced back in August 2018 that it would be expanding its NCT boy group brand to include a unit based in China. The NCT China group would officially be named WayV on December 31, 2018, and while SM has never formally stated why WayV does not use “NCT” in its name, it is speculated that this decision was made in order to sidestep complicated political relations between China and South Korea. Nevertheless, WayV blossomed swiftly into a successful group, beloved internationally. So let’s take a look back at when exactly Kun, Ten, Winwin, Lucas, Xiaojun, Hendery, and Yangyang made their debut as WayV at SM Entertainment and what their first song was.
WayV Debuted on January 17, 2019 with The Vision and “理所当然 (Regular)”
WayV made their debut on January 17, 2019 with the single album, The Vision, and lead single “理所当然 (Regular).” The Vision contains three songs in total: “理所当然 (Regular),” “噩梦 (Come Back),” and “梦想发射计划 (Dream Launch).” Incidentally, “理所当然 (Regular)” was actually a Chinese re-recording of a song (“Regular”) that had been previously recorded by NCT 127 in both English and Korean versions. The music video for “理所当然 (Regular)” was released in tandem with the debut, and a music video for “梦想发射计划 (Dream Launch)” would follow on January 24, 2019. The latter song had lyrics provided by 小寒 (Xiao Han), was composed by Hyuk Shin (153/Joombas), $un (153/Joombas), Minsu Bae (153/Joombas), and Jeff Lewis, and was arranged by $un and Minsu Bae. As the title of the song would suggest, “梦想发射计划 (Dream Launch)” is a dreamy track with bright energy.
The first televised WayV live performance may have been on February 14, 2019, with “理所当然 (Regular)” on All for One. However, on May 19, 2019, WayV would release their first mini-album, Take Off, which contained all three songs from The Vision, plus three more: “无翼而飞 (Take Off)” (title track), “真实谎言 Say It,” and “爱不释手 (Let me love u).” On the day of release, WayV held a global press conference, during which they performed “理所当然 (Regular)” and “无翼而飞 (Take Off).”
Prior to the formation and debut of WayV, several members had participated in other activities at SM Entertainment. Chiefly, Ten had featured in NCT U at the conception of NCT in 2016, Winwin had been an NCT 127 member since its establishment in July 2016, and Kun and Lucas had officially joined NCT via NCT U in 2018. Everyone in the group is of Chinese descent but hailing from different regions, with Ten in particular being from Thailand. However, Lucas would ultimately leave NCT and WayV on May 10, 2023, following a nearly two-year-long hiatus, to focus on solo promotions at SM; it is believed, but not confirmed, that this departure stemmed from controversies in which Lucas been involved in his personal life. WayV would continue on as a six-member group afterward, and in November 2023, the group would surpass one million albums sold in total.
In summary, WayV made their debut on January 17, 2019 with single album The Vision and a Chinese version of “Regular,” and they have gone on to great domestic and international success. For more about the group, check out how old the WayV members currently are and who their leader is.
For more NCT in general, check out the story behind the debut of NCT Wish, the Japan-based extension of NCT.
