The Hong Kong-based company One Cool Jacso Entertainment is involved in several facets of entertainment across China and South Korea, but in the K-pop sphere, it is known for its public-facing trainee group, OCJ Newbies. OCJ Newbies social media was opened on May 25, 2022, and on June 28, 2022, One Cool Jacso announced an intention to debut a group of more than 16 members in the second half of that year. Of course, no such thing ever happened, but OCJ did indeed eventually debut a nine-member group! So here is the full answer to when exactly Hyunsik, Zayyan, Lex, Beomsoo, Wain, Gyumin, Sing, Davin, and Leo made their debut as Xodiac.
Xodiac Debuted on April 25, 2023 with “Throw a Dice”
Xodiac made their full, official debut on April 25, 2023 with the single “Throw a Dice.” (For those wondering, the Xodiac name means “to find your own constellation with your individuality, infinite effort, and enterprising power.”) The circumstances surrounding their debut were somewhat unique though for various reasons. For starters, there was of course the aforementioned OCJ Newbies, which has naturally seen some trainees come and go since its establishment. But beyond that, even Xodiac’s predebut was noteworthy.
Xodiac first predebuted as a six-member group on March 13, 2023, with the all-English track “Calling.” Zayyan, Gyumin, and Leo had not officially been added to the group yet. However, even Korean news reports from around the time of their predebut noted that Xodiac intended to add more international members before the full debut. (Zayyan is from Indonesia, while Leo is from Hong Kong.) Why One Cool Jacso chose to take this unique approach to debuting the group is not entirely clear. Another noteworthy detail of both the “Calling” and “Throw a Dice” music videos is that they were filmed at lavish locations in China. The “Calling” MV was filmed at Hong Kong Disneyland, while the “Throw a Dice” MV was filmed at resort locations in Macau; OCJ being a Hong Kong-based company likely facilitated these cross-promotional opportunities.
On the day of their full debut, Xodiac held a showcase, where they performed “Throw a Dice,” “Calling,” and a third song, “밤하늘” (“Midnight Sky”). After that, Xodiac performed on the music shows as a nine-member group for the first time on April 27, 2023, with “Throw a Dice” on M Countdown.
Afterward, the group would release a short, three-episode Xodiac web drama, where each episode corresponded with the release of another song. On May 9, 2023, Xodiac released “Always” as a single, followed by “밤하늘” on May 16, 2023, and it concluded with “Special Love” on May 30, 2023. “Special Love” received an official MV on June 6, 2023. And finally, on June 7, 2023, Xodiac released their first mini-album, Throw a Dice, which contained all of their songs to that point: “Calling,” “Throw a Dice,” “Special Love,” “밤하늘,” and “Always.” The group has only continued to grow and attract new fans since then. The group especially has significant Indonesian support, much like when Dita debuted in Secret Number.
In summary, April 25, 2023 is when Xodiac officially made their debut, with the single “Throw a Dice,” and they went on to release a mini-album also called Throw a Dice on June 7, 2023. For more about the group, check out how old the Xodiac members currently are and who the group leader is.