HAVING disbanded in 2001, pioneer K-Pop group H.O.T. is set to reunite and perform for the first time on the popular variety show Infinite Challenge.
According to a news report by Soompi, the producers of the highly-rated TV show yesterday said the group would appear on the programme after several setbacks.
“We met H.O.T. members for the first time in November 2014 while preparing the ToToGa (Saturday, Saturday is for Singers) special.”
They said discussions began in 2015, then a year later, with all five members for ToToGa 3.
Even though 2016 marked the group’s 20th anniversary, and its members, Moon Hee-joon, Jang Woo-hyuk, Tony An, Kangta and Lee Jae-won, were eager to return to the stage, plans fell apart.
Only recently, when the members met again with the Infinite Challenge production team, did the reunion materialise. The group will perform together for the first time on Feb 15.
Due to the Winter Olympics from Feb 9 to 25, the H.O.T. special will air as a spin-off on Feb 17 and 24 instead.
Formed in 1996 by SM Entertainment, the group released 13 singles, including Candy, We Are The Future and Hope, as well as five albums, which saw sales of more than 12 million copies.
Arguably the first K-Pop boy band to emerge and a forerunner to the “idol group” trend in the South Korean music scene, H.O.T. gained fame in South Korea, Taiwan, China and Asian communities in the United States.
The group, made up of the five teenagers at the time, garnered multiple wins at the Mnet Asian Music Awards, including for Best Group in 1999. Its name stands for “High-five Of Teenagers”.