KunLeader
쿤- Name
- Qian Kun
- Born
- 1 January 1996
Cast in Beijing in 2015; he debuted with NCT U in March 2018 and sang "Back to You" with Xiaojun in 2021.
Their story
NCT's team for China
WayV was built as the China-based part of NCT, run by SM's sub-label Label V. The name is short for "We are your Vision". Ten had been the first to join, through an SM audition in Bangkok in 2013, while Kun was cast in Beijing two years later. The group debuted in January 2019 with a digital EP whose lead single was a Mandarin take on NCT 127's "Regular". For Xiaojun, Hendery and Yangyang it was their first debut of any kind.
A long wait for a trophy
The early releases did well on charts outside Korea. Take Off topped iTunes album charts in many regions, and Kick Back became their first No. 1 on the Gaon album chart in 2021. A music show win took much longer. It finally came in June 2024, when "Give Me That" won on The Show, almost five and a half years after the debut. By then Lucas had left, and WinWin was sitting out the promotions.
Mandarin first
Most WayV title tracks are sung in Mandarin, with Korean or English versions added along the way. The concepts lean on Chinese imagery. "Moonwalk" went to outer space, while "Vision Wings" pairs a guzheng with jungle beats and uses a bird flying through a storm as its image. Its video was shot at a Shaolin temple, with the members cast as warriors. The sub-unit singles of 2021 showed other sides: "Back to You" from Kun and Xiaojun, "Low Low" from Ten and Yangyang.
Where they are now
2026 changed the line-up again. Ten ended his SM contract in April but said he would stay in WayV and NCT. WinWin left both in July, when his contract ran out. Kun, Ten, Xiaojun, Hendery and Yangyang released the eighth mini album Vision Wings in August. The BORN THIS Way tour, announced in July with two nights at KBS Arena in Seoul, named only four of them: Kun, Xiaojun, Hendery and Yangyang.
