| “ |
We are the! Blue Sun! Hello, we are aoen! |
” |
| —aoen | ||
aoen (Korean: 아오엔; Japanese: アオエン) is a seven-member boy group under YX LABELS. Formed through the reality survival show Oen-High, they made their debut on June 11, 2025 with the single album "The Blue Sun".
Their group name is a combination of the purity and possibility represented by "Ao (青; translation: blue)" and the encounters and connections represented by "En (炎; translation: flame)".[2][3] It holds the meaning of "a passionate run that fills the world with blue, the color of the hottest flame".[4] It symbolizes the world's hottest flame burning inside the group's heart while they work energetically and support everyone.[4]
History[]
Pre-debut: 24kumi and Oen-High[]
On September 24, 2023, HYBE Labels Japan[n 1] announced their upcoming boy group through the opening of their official SNS accounts on various platforms under the tentative name 24kumi (24組).[5] By mid 2024, the group went inactive and was ultimately disbanded.
On February 2, 2025, HYBE Labels Japan[n 1] announced the launch of a new project to form a next-generation J-Pop boy group. To achieve this, an audition program titled 応援-HIGH ～夢のスタートライン～ would air starting February 15, 2025.[6] The eight members previously introduced as 24kumi were revealed to be contestants on this show.
On April 4, it was announced that the group produced by Oen-High would be called aoen. Five members would be chosen through the results of their stage performances and two members would be chosen through a public fan voting making the team a seven-member group. Their official SNS accounts were also opened by YX LABELS.[7]
During Oen-High's finale on April 12, the first five members of the debut team were announced. Kyosuke ranked first overall, followed by Yuju, Sota, Ruka and Hikaru (then known as Haku) respectively.
The results of the public fan voting were announced during a live broadcast of Nippon TV's show DayDay. on April 23, 2025. Gaku and Reo ranked sixth and seventh overall respectively therefore completing the lineup of the aoen.[8][9] The same day, the group's fandom name was also announced to be 'aoring'.[1]
2025: Debut with "The Blue Sun", "Seishun Incredibles", "Seishun Incredibles/MXMM (Remixes)"[]
On April 24, 2025, it was announced that aoen would be making their debut with their first single album "The Blue Sun" on June 11.[10] The group held a debut announcement press conference the same day.[2] "Finish Line ~Last Race, New Start~" and "The Blue Sun" were pre-released on May 16 and June 2, respectively.
On September 26, aoen announced that they will release their third Japanese digital single "Seishun Incredibles", on October 15.[11]
On November 15, they released their first remix single "Seishun Incredibles/MXMM (Remixes)".[12]
2026: "秒で落ちた"[]
On December 7, 2025, aoen announced their second single album "秒で落ちた", set for release on March 18, 2026.[13]
Members[]
| Rank | Name | Position(s) | Emoji[14] | Color[14] | Year(s) active | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Korean | Japanese | |||||
| 2 | Yuju | 유주 | 優樹 | Leader[15] | 🐶 (Dog) | #4CEDFF | 2025–present |
| 4 | Ruka | 루카 | 琉楓 | Sub-leader[16] | 🐬 (Dolphin) | #0AFF00 | 2025–present |
| 6 | Gaku | 가쿠 | 雅久 | TBA | 🐯 (Tiger) | #FE0B00 | 2025–present |
| 5 | Hikaru[n 2] | 히카루 | 輝 | TBA | 🦢 (Swan) | #FFFFFF | 2025–present |
| 3 | Sota | 소타 | 颯太 | TBA | 🐈⬛ (Black Cat) | #FF3186 | 2025–present |
| 1 | Kyosuke | 쿄스케 | 京助 | TBA | 🦭 (Seal) | #FF7A00 | 2025–present |
| 7 | Reo | 레오 | 礼央 | Sainenshō[n 3] | 🐰 (Bunny) | #CE33FF | 2025–present |
Discography[]
Single albums[]
- "The Blue Sun" (2025)
- "秒で落ちた" (2026)
Digital singles[]
- "Finish Line ~Last Race, New Start~" (2025)
- "The Blue Sun" (2025)
- "Seishun Incredibles" (2025)
Remix singles[]
- "Seishun Incredibles/MXMM (Remixes)" (2025)
Trivia[]
- The group aims to have a borderless music style that crosses J-Pop and K-Pop.[2]
- All members, excluding Sota, are former members of the pre-debut boy group 24kumi.
- Yuju is also a former member of the J-Pop boy group VOYZ BOY. He graduated from the group on November 30, 2021.
- He is also a stage play actor.
- Yuju is also a former member of the J-Pop boy group VOYZ BOY. He graduated from the group on November 30, 2021.
- Some members have joined other survival shows and audition programs prior to Oen-High.
- Gaku and Hikaru are former &AUDITION - The Howling - contestants.
- Ruka is a former iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~ contestant.
Gallery[]
Promotional[]
Pictorial[]
.png "Aoen SPUR Magazine May 2025 (1).png (2.03 MB)")
(May 2025) (1)
.png "Aoen SPUR Magazine May 2025 (2).png (1.44 MB)")
(May 2025) (2)
(Yuju & Haku)
.png "Aoen SPUR Magazine May 2025 (3).png (1.72 MB)")
(May 2025) (3)
(Ruka, Reo & Gaku)
.png "Aoen SPUR Magazine May 2025 (4).png (2.3 MB)")
(May 2025) (4)
(Sota & Kyosuke)
Miscellaneous[]
(for debut single)
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (JP) aoen website: aoen メンバーシップ名決定のお知らせ
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 (JP) Oricon News: HYBE発・新星グループaoen、記者会見で見せた素顔とギャップ 宿舎でかわいいのは…?
- ↑ Oen-High: Episode 7
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 (JP) Kstyle: HYBE新グループaoen、アーティスト写真公開！ファンダム名は「aoring」に…公式FCもオープン
- ↑ @24kumi_hlj on Twitter (September 24, 2023)
- ↑ (JP) Kstyle: HYBE LABELS JAPAN、新世代J-POPボーイズグループプロジェクト始動！2月15日より日本テレビでオーディション番組スタート
- ↑ (JP) Model Press: HYBE手掛ける新世代J-POPボーイズグループ、名前は「aoen（アオエン）」に決定 メンバーへの重大発表も
- ↑ Nippon TV: Oen-High voting details
- ↑ (JP): Nippon TV: Oen-High official webpage
- ↑ (JP) aoen website: aoen Debut Single「青い太陽 (The Blue Sun)」シリアルナンバー特典発表！
- ↑ @aoen_official on X (September 26, 2025)
- ↑ @aoen_official on X (November 15, 2025)
- ↑ @aoen_official on X (December 7, 2025)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 @aoen_members on X (May 3, 2025)
- ↑ @luvyu_ju on X (April 23, 2025)
- ↑ @aoentranslation on X (April 24, 2025)
Official links[]
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