Introducing 2025's Newest Boy Group: XLOV
Design by Laura Gomez
Seven days into the new year, rookie boy group XLOV are already capturing listeners' attention and hearts with their debut song, “I’mma Be.” The first group from their company, 257 Entertainment, XLOV consists of four members: Wumuti, Rui, Hyun, and Haru. 257 Entertainment also shared that XLOV will aim for a “genderless” concept, bringing something new and not fully explored to the K-Pop scene.
For fans of survival shows, Wumuti, Rui, and Haru are familiar faces that many have been waiting to see in a permanent group lineup. Wumuti has competed on MBC’s Under Nineteen in 2018, Mnet’s Boys Planet in 2023 (finishing in 34th place), and Mnet’s Build Up in 2024, as well as been apart of the project boy group WATERFIRE and the Chinese boy group SWIN-S, and he had his solo debut on June 30, 2024 with “You Make Me Better.” Wumuti was the first member of XLOV to be introduced to the public and has writing credits for their debut track. Rui and Haru also competed on Boys Planet in 2023, finishing in 23rd and 66th respectively. Rui was the second member introduced in the XLOV lineup, and Haru rounded out the team as the fourth member introduced.
Despite not making it to the final lineup, many contestants on Boys Planet created solid fandoms for themselves for future projects, and these three members are no exception. There was already buzz surrounding this group as soon as Wumuti was announced, and with the addition of known trainees like Rui and Haru, more and more fans are preparing to tune in for the group’s debut.
Unlike the other three, Hyun is the only one without previous survival show experience. Not much is known of him as of now, but according to 257 Entertainment, Hyun has been a trainee for five years and is a multi-talented performer with captivating visuals and exceptional skills. With their pre-debut content and first music video out now, it is easy to see how seamlessly Hyun fits in with the other three members and how much talent he brings to this team.
Their debut song “I’mma Be” comes from the EP of the same name. While the EP technically consists of four songs, three of these are remix versions of “I’mma Be”—“I’mma Be (backing track),” “I’mma Be (88 Techno Remix by dxp),” and “I’mma Be (Dark House Remix by dxp).” The song is catchy right off the bat, opening with a sultry and almost haunting string riff and repetition of the post-chorus lyrics, “I'mma be your / I'mma be your, ooh, ooh, ooh / I'mma be your.” The song keeps this dark style up until the beat change of the chorus, where it takes a turn into a more chant-style track similar to other fourth and fifth generation songs, and then reverting back to the dark string style melody for the next set of verses. While this change up wasn’t expected, it immediately created another catchy hook that gets the song stuck in your head after the very first listen. The verses are littered with lyrics that tie to their exploration of identity, including, “See my body moving like this / I'm riding on the wall of prejudice” and “The gun for my head is that the philosophical, huh, ha / Stop pretending to be okay, not gonna lie / Pick one, free the beauty that will unfold on the stage / Yeah, paint the color you need, yeah.” The choreography is just as addicting as the song itself, featuring unique moves and a sleek style of dancing that is not often seen from boy groups in recent releases.
“I’mma Be” is a true showing of XLOV’s talents and skills. With three members already having fandoms for themselves, the pressure to create something people love is heavy, but the XLOV boys have achieved this. With praise and accolades coming from fans and fellow idols alike, their future in the industry looks bright.