Treasure (band)

Following the establishment of YG Entertainment's representative boy bands BigBang (2006), Winner (2014), and iKon (2015), news of their next creation, circulated as early as 2017.[2] K-pop Star 2 (2012–2013) runner-up, Bang Ye-dam, headlined reports as a member of the provisional ensemble—cited as the label's youngest male act thus far compiled of trainees aged 15–17 on average with four to five years of training;[2] however, a survival reality program was instead planned to aid its formation.[3] Latent candidates were seen in Stray Kids (2017), most notably Bang and K-pop Star (2011–2012) entrant, Choi Rae-sung.[4] The label documented its creation in the series YG Treasure Box (2018–2019) and unveiled twenty-nine trainees, who were gradually eliminated as the show advanced.[5] The finale finalized: Haruto, Bang Ye-dam, So Jung-hwan, Jun-kyu, Park Jeong-woo, Yoon Jae-hyuk, and Choi Hyun-suk, under the name, Treasure.[6] The agency unveiled a second line-up of trainees in January 2019 inhering: Ha Yoon-bin, Mashiho, Doyoung, Yoshi, Jihoon, and Asahi under Magnum.[7] The two were collectively to be called Treasure 13;[8] however, Ha's departure to pursue a career as a soloist, resulted Treasure and Magnum to merge into one definite band, adopting the name, Treasure.[9]

Several attained stints in entertainment since childhood; including Junkyu, who started as a child model,[10] Bang Ye-dam recorded for animated shows,[11] and So Jung-hwan shortly starred as a child actor, enlisted in the Taekwondo demonstration team K-Tigers, and obtained awards with them.[12] Mashiho starred in Akdong Musician's (AKMU) Spring of Winter,[13] and Choi Hyun-suk and Junkyu competed on Mix Nine (2017–2018), finishing in fifth and thirty-fifth, respectively.[14] Bang was first amongst the dozen to be scouted in June 2013 after the singing contest.[15] Mashiho was accepted that year as its second recruit by an audition held by YG Japan. Junkyu, Choi and Doyoung, and Jihoon joined through private auditions gained by their respective academies in 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively.[16] So, the youngest member, was cast less than a year prior to the broadcast of YG Treasure Box (2018–2019),[16] Yoon Jae-hyuk was the only member to be street cast to audition and joined the label a few months ahead of its premiere,[10][16] and its final member, Asahi joined within the same time frame.[16]

Image displaying Treasure's Logo

In January 2020, Treasure was re-introduced to the public with pictorials and performance videos for "Going Crazy" (미쳐가네; michyeogane)[17]—first disclosed on YG Treasure Box (2018–2019),[18] and co-written by label-mate Mino of Winner[19]—amidst others, and variety programs including Treasure Map.[20][21] BigBang was used as a blueprint with plans to release new music 3–4 times until year end, as their senior label-mate had with single albums when they debuted in 2006.[22] Bang Ye-dam also became the first amongst the twelve to release solo material with the digital single, "Wayo" (왜요; waeyo) in June.[23] Notably, label-mates Kang Seung-yoon of Winner and Lee Chan-hyuk of AKMU, participated in its production.[23] "Wayo" peaked at number 10 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart and entered Billboard Korea K-pop Hot 100 at number 98.[24][25] Treasure became the fastest Korean act to chart on the Billboard Social 50 and remain in it for six consecutive weeks prior to their debut,[26][27] and peaked at number 3 on August 29.[28] The twelve also amassed an estimated figure of 1.49 million subscribers on its YouTube channel, ahead in advance.[27]

Treasure debuted on August 7, 2020, with the single album, The First Step: Chapter One, the first installment of The First Step series.[27] It garnered a total of 170,000 pre-orders ahead of its release,[27] debuted atop the Circle Album Chart (formerly Gaon) after,[29] and was certified platinum by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA), becoming their first-ever certification.[30] The music video for its titular single, "Boy", received a "record amount of money" for its creation,[31] and surpassed 10 million views in 26 hours and 20 million views in six days on YouTube.[32][33] It also became their first to reach 100 million views on the platform.[34] Treasure commenced with promotions on August 9 with their first broadcast on Inkigayo.[35] The second installment was released on September 18 and placed second on the Circle Album Chart.[36] The lead single, "I Love You" (사랑해; saranghae), topped Rakuten Music for the month of September with less than two weeks of tracking.[37][38] The third installment and its release on November 6 included the B-side "Orange" (오렌지; olenji), the group's first self-written song, created by Asahi.[39][40] Concluding The First Step series, their first studio album was released on January 11, 2021.[41] It marked their third number one on the Circle Album Chart and debuted atop for the month of January.[42][43] The series ended with over 710,000 copies sold in three months[37] and one million in five months,[44] earning the band multiple awards, including their first at the Asia Artist Awards.[45] Treasure were also dubbed as the "fastest growing K-pop act" in the world of 2020 by Twitter, ranking above Tomorrow X Together, Stray Kids, and Iz*One, amongst others.[46]

Treasure lent their voices to the soundtrack of the TV Tokyo Japanese anime, Black Clover.[47] First revealed on January 5, 2021, in the anime itself,[48] the song also served as the band's first original Japanese release.[49] It was digitally released as two versions on January 22 and February 14, respectively;[50] where the full version of "Beautiful" entered the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart at number 58,[51] and the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart at twenty-third.[52] In commemoration of Black Clover's final episode, the full version was aired at the request of its director.[53] Their Japanese debut album, sharing a title with their first full-length album, was released on March 31.[49] It included the Japanese versions of all their Korean releases to date, with the group's newest single, "Beautiful", and the accompanied music video.[49] The album debuted and consecutively charted at number one for four days on the Oricon Daily Chart,[54] and debuted atop the weekly chart with over 57,000 sales in its first week.[55] The band first appeared on terrestrial broadcast in Japan with the Nippon TV music program Buzz Rhythm, where they performed the Japanese version of "Boy",[56] in conjunction to their official debut in the country.[57]

Treasure performing the b-side, "Darari" (다라리), at their first-ever concert entitled Trace, held at the Olympic Hall in Seoul on April 10, 2022

YG Entertainment publicized a prelude for "The Second Step" on New Year's Day,[58] heralding The Second Step: Chapter One, their first extended play (EP), and its release on February 15, 2022.[59] 600,000 records were pre-ordered in eight days[59] whilst 700,000 were sold in three days.[60] It was also listed in the twenty-five best K-pop albums of 2022 by Billboard staff.[61] Its titular single, "Jikjin" (직진), obtained ₩500,000,000 ($420,000) for its music video,[62] amassing 10 million views in 21 hours, and 20 million in under three days, also career highs[63] rising five times faster.[63] It reaped their first music show trophy on Show Champion[64] and earliest entry on Circle Digital Chart.[65] Its B-side, "Darari" (다라리), found success on TikTok, reaching 500 million views with over one million uploads,[66] and was one of the most shazamed and streamed K-pop songs of 2022 on Apple Music and Spotify.[67][68] Released on October 4,[69] titular single, "Hello", from their sophomore EP was listed as one of five best K-pop songs of 2022 by Time[70] while its Japanese equivalent became their first album to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).[71] Bang Ye-dam and Mashiho, who went on hiatus in May to pursue studies in music and recuperate in health, were absent;[72] both departed in November.[73] They embarked on their first arena tour in Japan that month[74]—the largest debut tour held in the country by a Korean act, exceeding 300,000 attendees[75]—later extended to an Asia tour dubbed "Hello", in correlation to its latest release,[76] concluding with est. 420,000 people.[77]

SBS Power FM's Cultwo Show guests Treasure for its broadcast on August 8, 2023, in correlation to the band's promotion for Reboot.

The ten-piece reunited with the Black Clover franchise for its theatrical soundtrack, with "Here I Stand".[78] It became their first number one hit on the Billboard Japan Hot 100,[79] and first platinum certification awarded by the RIAJ ensued from its integration into their Japanese single album of the same title.[80] Its certification was attained five days following its release on March 29, 2023,[80] and placed second on the Oricon Weekly chart with 235,347 copies sold,[81] generating ¥464.4 million ($3.51 million).[82]

Treasure sought a new chapter with a "reboot" project by a partnership with Columbia Records to aid global distribution and local marketing in North America,[83] and their first sub-unit, T5.[84] Its creation was fostered among those who raised their hands and believed they were the most "handsome" in the band, molding the self-proclaimed "flower boy quintet"; amid So Jung-hwan, Junkyu, Jihoon, Yoon Jae-hyuk, and Doyoung.[85] "Move", served as a pre-release for Treasure's second studio album,[86] and marked Junkyu's first solely penned piece.[84] Released on July 28,[87] Reboot achieved a three-fold increase in sales since its last release,[88] selling 1,718,517 copies across various formats in two days.[89]

In their career, Treasure became endorsement models for the naturalist cosmetics brand, Manyo Factory,[90] assisting in achieving its highest sales through the group's product advocacy to the viewers on a live broadcast hosted with CJ Olive Young,[91] and I'mmune, an aloe immune health functional food under Univera.[92] Ongredients, an eco-friendly organic beauty brand, also recruited Treasure as its newest muse for their Korean and Japanese affiliates.[93]

Treasure also partook in various partnerships, including with the global creative studio, Line Friends,[94]—in which their products, branded as Truz, sold out domestically in one minute through the official smart store, and under an hour in eighteen countries abroad[95]—Shinsegae's convenience store, Emart24, and its branches in Korea and Malaysia, and the Pucca Puzzle Adventure game.[96]

Members of Treasure joined senior label-mate, Sean of Jinusean's charity marathon event, Miracle 365, across various occasions, ahead of their debut.[98] Funds and awareness were raised to construct South Korea's first-ever Lou Gehrig rehabilitation hospital for those requiring medical treatment, resulted by the disability.[99] Further acts include partaking in a program organized by YG Entertainment, through the Blue Angel Volunteers at an animal shelter, where they created shelters, cleaned, and restocked feed supply amidst other acts;[100] and was involved in opening a school support fund, through Naver's Happy Bean with Muju YG Foundation and Um Hong-gil Human Foundation, to construct schools for youths and adolescents, in Nepal's underprivileged areas.[101]

Treasure advocated for children diagnosed with cancer and partnered with YG Entertainment and Muju YG Foundation, to encourage individuals to provide help and create a difference by donating through the Naver platform. Happy Bean,[102] and further used their social media platforms to advocate for the 51st Earth Day, voicing concerns on environmental problems which include climate change, and promoted how to confront these issues.[103]

In the band's debut press conference, they stated their main role model and influence towards their careers were their labelmate seniors under YG Entertainment through their various music releases and videos.[105]

• YG Treasure Box (2018,/ YouTube / JTBC2)[108]
• Treasure Map (2020–2022, YouTube / SBS MTV / SBS FiL)[109][110]

• T.M.I (Treasure Maker Interaction) (2020–present, YouTube)[111]
• Fact Check (팩트체크) (2020, 2023–present; YouTube)[112]
• 3-Minute Treasure (3분 트레저) (2020, 2023–present; YouTube)[112]
• T-Talk (2020, 2023–present; YouTube)[112]
• Treasure Studio (2020–2021, YouTube)[113][lower-alpha 1]
• Find Your Korea (2021, YouTube)[114][lower-alpha 2]
• TMI Log (2021–2022, YouTube)
• Treasure World Map (2023–present, YouTube)

• It's Okay, That's Friendship (2021, YouTube)[115][lower-alpha 3]
• The Mysterious Class (2021, YouTube)[116]
• My BF is Treasure (2023, YouTube)[117][lower-alpha 4]