Apink

South Korean girl group Apink resurrect a bright and positive time in K-pop when the wholesome Fin.K.L and <a href="spotify:artist:61HUG80Xma4rnXsqfZkzeM">S.E.S.</a> ruled the charts. Debuting in 2011 with the Seven Springs of Apink EP, they released their first full-length Une Année the following year. Follow-up album Pink Memory arrived the same summer as their first foray into the Japanese market, 2015's Pink Season. The group continued to balance their efforts between the two markets -- while reaching a chart peak in the U.S. with 2018's One & Six -- into the 2020s. In 2022, they issued their fourth Korean-language LP, Horn.

Formed by Plan A Entertainment (which later became IST Entertainment) in 2011, the group comprises Park Cho-rong, <a href="spotify:artist:5WPIiO8qOU3bd9Pcg7XbqM">Yoon Bo-mi</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7cgAZ03K2mMaWB70gwZs92">Jeong Eun-ji</a>, Son Na-eun, Kim Nam-joo, and Oh Ha-young (the seventh founding member, Hong Yoo-kyung, left Apink in April 2013 to pursue her studies). With throwback production and an innocent aesthetic, Apink made their debut with the Seven Springs of Apink EP in April 2011. The EP's first single was "Mollayo" ("I Don't Know"). Their sophomore EP, Snow Pink, arrived the same year. To celebrate their first anniversary, Apink issued the aptly titled "April 19," the first single off their debut LP, Une Année. A third EP, Secret Garden, was released in 2013. It featured their first major hit single, "NoNoNo," which peaked at number two on the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100. "Mr. Chu" -- off 2014's Pink Blossom EP -- scored the exact same chart position, setting them up for their first number one single and release, the Pink Luv EP.

As their popularity expanded in Asia, they made their Japanese concert debut, which preceded a Japanese-language version of "NoNoNo" (it became a Top Five hit in Japan), and their first Japanese album, Pink Season. Their second LP, Pink Memory, and a coinciding tour capped off a busy 2015. As the Apink presence spread even further, the group made its way to Singapore, Vietnam, China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Taiwan. In 2016, Apink became the first K-pop girl group to tour North America since <a href="spotify:artist:1l0mKo96Jh9HVYONcRl3Yp">2NE1</a> in 2012. They hit Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, and Vancouver on their sold-out journey. By 2016, Apink began to evolve their sound, aiming for depth and maturity on their third album, Pink Revolution, which featured the Korean chart-topping "Only One." A "special album" titled Dear was released as a gift to their dedicated fanbase, while their second Japanese-language effort Pink Doll kept them busy in Japan, closing out a busy year for the group.

Activities in the Japanese market continued in early 2017 and, that same year, Apink issued Pink Up, home to the hit single "Five." 2018 saw the release of single album Miracle and the chart-topping EP One & Six, which helped push their image and sound in a more mature direction. The six-track set -- which included hit single "I'm So Sick" -- also became their highest-charting release in the U.S. to date. They closed the decade with 2019's mini-album Percent.

Apink launched the new decade with Look, which featured their highest-charting Korean single since 2015, "Dumhdurum." Things remained relatively quiet for the group through 2021, during which time they released a lone single, "Thank You," which celebrated their tenth anniversary. The six-piece made their comeback in 2022 with their fourth full-length, Horn. ~ Neil Z. Yeung, Rovi