4 Rising 4th Gen K-pop Boy Groups That You Should Keep Your Eyes On

4th-gen girl groups like IVE, New Jeans, and Le Sserafim have gained immense popularity with their distinct images, addictive songs, and stunning visuals. However, many fantastic boy groups deserve the same attention and love. Let’s check out four talented 4th-gen K-pop boy groups with different concepts who will lead the future of K-pop. Get ready to fall for the irresistible charms of these rising stars!

As the second idol boy group under FNC Entertainment, P1Harmony is a sextet comprising Korean-Canadian leader Keeho, Korean-Japanese Soul, and Korean members Theo, Jiung, Intak, and Jongseob. The group was first introduced through the film "P1H: The Beginning of a New World", in which each member had a character archetype and a storyline interwoven throughout the group's releases. P1Harmony officially debuted on October 28, 2020, with the EP "DISHARMONY: STAND OUT" and the title track "SIREN."

Since their debut, the group has released 6 EPs under two trilogies, "Disharmony" and "Harmony." The former series explores different disharmonies in the world, while the latter shows how the members create their own new rules in the new world called "+World" and finally come together as one. This resonates with the group's name of creating infinite possibilities of harmony. P1Harmony demonstrates a distinct hip-hop, street style concept, and all their title tracks have repetitive and catchy lyrics in the chorus, similar to 2nd-gen K-pop songs, which make them very addictive and will stick in your head even if you only listen to them once.

The group recently made their comeback with their 6th mini album, "HARMONY: ALL IN." The title track, "JUMP," retains P1Harmony's hip-hop colors while giving out energetic party vibes as the members celebrate the birth of their new world after going through disharmonies and finally bringing their "Harmony" trilogy to a perfect end.

Another song that is worth sparing a listen to is "Doom Du Doom", which is the title track of their 4th EP “HARMONY : ZERO IN”. The crunchy guitar bass pours in extra playfulness to this upbeat song. Not to mention Soul’s freestyle dance break and Intak holding the flag at the beginning as well as at the end of the choreo making the overall visuals really cool!

Fun fact about P1Harmony: The group launched a new project "P1-POST” in April last year, where the members invited fans to share their stories, and released self-written tracks based on them.

DRIPPIN is a seven-member boy group under Woollim Entertainment which comprises Yunseong, the leader, Hyeop, Changuk, Dongyun, Minseo, Junho, and Korean-German Alex (on hiatus since January 2023 due to health concerns). Except for Alex, all the members participated in the Mnet audition program, "Produce X 101," in 2019, with Junho making it to the debut line-up of X1. After its disbandment, Junho joined the other five members as Woollim Rookie. All the members, including Alex, were introduced to the public as a new boy group through the video "Allegory of DRIPPIN" and the reality show "We Are DRIPPIN!". The group finally debuted with a mini album, "Boyager," and the title track, "Nostalgia," on October 28, 2020.

While DRIPPIN debuted on the same date as P1Harmony, the two groups have entirely different styles. With all the members having pure, prince-like visuals, many of their discographies have an adorable concept such as "Free Pass" or elegant style like "Young Blood." At the same time, the boys also experimented with different music styles in the "Villian" trilogy last year, ranging from funk and rock to drum and bass and more, which widened their music spectrum and made them grow a lot musically and as artists.

After the "Villian" series, DRIPPING came back in April this year with their third single album, "Seven Sins." The title track, "Seven Sins," showcases a sexy yet elegant side of the group, in which the boys are turned into sinners, each representing different sins. The music video's aesthetic is also genuinely stunning, bringing out the mature and dark charms of DRIPPIN.

DRIPPIN's debut song "Nostalgia" is another masterpiece that demonstrates the boys' graceful image but with a more dream-like and brighter concept than "Seven Sins." On their M Countdown debut stage, the members were dressed in white tailcoats and performed in front of a beautiful flower garden set. They look like little princes coming out straight from a Shoujo manga!

Fun fact about DRIPPIN: they held their first fan meeting since their debut in Taiwan on January 7 this year, and are going to hold their first Korea fan meeting on July 2.

Comprising nine members, including leader Serim, Taiwanese-American Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung, and Seongmin, CRAVITY debuted under Starship Entertainment in April 2020. Similar to DRIPPIN, 4 of the members (Jungmo, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun) joined Produce X 101, with Minhee and Hyeongjun managing to debut as members of X1. CRAVITY kicked off their music career on April 14, 2020, with a mini album, “HIDEOUT: REMEMBER WHO WE ARE,” the title song was “Break All The Rules.” This mini album marked the start of their “Hideout” trilogy, and despite it being released at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, it recorded album sales of more than 150,000 copies, which was impressive for a rookie boy group.

While the concept of the “Hideout” series is on the darker and mature side, CRAVITY has switched to a bright, cute style since part 2 of their 1st full-length album “LIBERTY: IN OUR COSMOS,” in which the boys showcase their youthful high school boy image in the title track “Adrenaline.” This change in concept proved to be the right move, as the album set a new record in the group’s first-day album sales. Since then, CRAVITY continued to release refreshing hits that brought them two first place in The Show and made them become one of the rising high teen, boy-next-door idol groups.

CRAVITY came back in March this year with their 5th mini album, “Master: Piece.” The title track, “Groovy,” is an electro-fuck song that captures the retro pop vibes of the early 2000s. The members pull off this freewheeling and energetic piece perfectly, and the members performing dance breaks with the catchy brassy synths is satisfying to enjoy.

The “Hideout” series contains several cheerful bops, including “Cloud 9”, a b-side from their debut album. This upbeat and joyful song is perfect for summer, and the cute choreography and funny interactions between the members on the live stages melt your heart. The members even spelled their fandom’s name “LUVITY” in the last week of their album promotion (they are doing “L” in 1:56)! Isn’t that too sweet to handle?

Fun fact about CRAVITY: Despite there being 9 members, each member has a different surname.

8 makes 1 team! How can we end this list without mentioning ATEEZ? ATEEZ is an octet formed by KQ Entertainment, which consists of Captain Hongjoong (yes, they call the leader captain because they are pirates!), Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho. The group was first known as “KQ Fellaz” through a dance video back in May 2018, and the boys officially debuted as ATEEZ on October 24, 2018, with the EP “TREASURE EP.1: All To Zero” and title track “Pirate King.” While their debut album wasn’t a great success, the team started to garner attention with the signature “driving dance” in their next title song, “Say My Name.” ATEEZ later hit an apex in its career with “WAVE” as it got its first win in a Korean music show, and its popularity continued to grow in the following years.

Despite coming from a small label, ATEEZ has successfully attracted a massive loyal following, especially in overseas countries, with their one-of-a-kind pirate concept, sophisticated music video storylines, and explosive performances. The storyline of their music videos is interconnected with interesting theories revolving around the A and Z Dimensions, and they always give spoilers for their next song at the end of each music video. Also, ATEEZ always gives out total energy in every performance with powerful choreography, mesmerizing facial expressions, and outstanding rap and vocals, which never fails to leave everyone in awe, regardless of fans or non-fans.

ATEEZ has recently reached new heights in its music journey with its latest album, “THE WORLD EP.2: OUTLAW,” as it recorded over 1.5 million copies in first-week album sales. The title track, “Bouncy (K-hot chilli peppers),” takes inspiration from the Korean cheongyang chilli pepper, which is extremely spicy, to show the group is ready to break the rules and change the world. Put on this track to feel the unique cheongyang chilli-pepper vibe of the hottest pirates on earth!

Being crowned as the “pirate boy group,” many of ATEEZ’s discographies are related to adventure, and one of the iconic ones is “WIN,” which is a b-side track from their first full-length album, “TREASURE EP.FIN: All To Action.” This impactful anthem declares the pirate kings’ determination to overcome the fierce waves and wind as they go for a one-way adventure (Wooyoung’s line “our boat only goes one way” is so lit!). The members look like pirates when they stand on the box, pretending to be riding a ship in the second chorus. Get on the pirate ship and sail toward the dazzling utopia with ATEEZ!

Fun fact about ATEEZ: all the members initially had stage names before they debuted (Hongjoong: Lucky, Seonghwa: Mars, Yunho: Uno, Yeosang: Logan, San: Howl, Mingi: Iyaah, Wooyoung: Wooyeon, Jongho: Shinwoo).