Everything You Need to Know About SEVENTEEN: From Debut to 2025
SEVENTEEN has 13 members. Not 17. Stop asking.
13 members + 3 units + 1 team = 17 (SEVENTEEN)
Honestly, I wasn’t really into K-pop that much.
But as I kept listening to music, I thought, “Wait, this is SEVENTEEN?”
I just kept playing their songs, and then I got curious and looked into them more.
I hope what I’ve gathered helps you too.
SEVENTEEN
SEVENTEEN is a 13-member boy group that debuted in 2015.
They’re under an agency called Pledis Entertainment.
The name SEVENTEEN comes from 13 members + 3 units + 1 team = 17.
At first, I thought there were 17 members too, lol.
They’re divided into three units: Hip-Hop Team, Vocal Team, and Performance Team.
They’re famous as a “self-producing idol” group where members directly write lyrics, compose music, and create choreography. That’s their key selling point.
2012, SEVENTEEN TV
To truly understand SEVENTEEN’s story, you need to go back before their debut.
Originally, Pledis planned to create a 7-member boy group called “Tempest” after their senior group NU’EST.
But when executive Kim Yeon-soo joined the company, the plan completely changed.
They started the SEVENTEEN project with 17 members averaging 17 years old.
Some trainees left and new ones joined along the way,
so they finalized with 13 members. The members averaged about 3-4 years of training.
What’s unique is that they started an internet live broadcast called “SEVENTEEN TV” in December 2012.
Trainees who hadn’t even debuted showed their faces to fans for 2 years through broadcasts.
It’s like YouTube content today, but doing this in 2012 was really ahead of its time.
SEVENTEEN TV was an internet live broadcast that ran from December 2012 until their debut in 2015 on a platform called Ustream.
These are precious archives showing the fresh-faced members who were in their mid-to-late teens. Not much footage remains today.
They also appeared as cameos in senior groups’ music videos and worked as backup dancers.
Through this pre-debut system, they built a fanbase in advance.
2015, SEVENTEEN Project: Shining Diamonds
On May 26, 2015, SEVENTEEN officially debuted through a reality show called “SEVENTEEN Project: Shining Diamonds.”
Their first album was 17 CARAT.
Members participated in writing lyrics for all songs on this album.
1st Mini Album, 17 CARAT
Woozi, who was only 19 at the time, participated in writing 5 songs and composing/arranging 4 songs.
The choreography was created by the Performance Team led by Hoshi.
While there were idols who participated in song production before, SEVENTEEN was the first to have all members participate in production from their debut album.
The term “self-producing idol” was coined at this time.
2nd Mini Album, BOYS BE
In December of the same year, just 7 months after debut, they held their first solo concert LIKE SEVENTEEN - BOYS WISH at Yongsan Art Hall.
They drew 3,700 people over 3 days, but seats ran out, so they held an encore concert in February 2016.
Even at 5 times the scale, it was completely sold out.
2016, First Full Album - FIRST ‘LOVE&LETTER’
In April 2016, they released their first full album FIRST ‘LOVE&LETTER’, recording 80,000 first-week sales.
On May 4, they achieved their first music show win on Show Champion.
This was less than a year after debut.
1st Full Album, FIRST 'LOVE&LETTER'
- 엄지척
- 예쁘다 - Music Video
- 이놈의 인기
- 유행가
- Say Yes
- 떠내려가
- 아낀다(Vocal Team ver.)
- 만.세(Hiphop Team ver.)
- Shining Diamond(Performance Team ver.)
- 사랑쪽지 (Love Letter)
In December that year, their third mini album Going Seventeen came out, surpassing 130,000 first-week sales.
They became the 4th boy group ever to exceed 100,000 first-week sales.
And on December 16, they won their first place on Music Bank, a terrestrial broadcast.
It was quite a topic at the time that a rookie from a mid-sized agency achieved such results through pre-debut activities and self-production alone.
3rd Mini Album, Going Seventeen
In October, they also decided on their official colors.
Rose Quartz and Serenity. Pink tone and light blue tone, representing SEVENTEEN’s warmth and freshness.
It was for their 500th day since debut.
2017, 2nd Full Album - TEEN, AGE
2017 seems to have been an important year for SEVENTEEN.
In May, their 4th mini album Al1 recorded 190,000 first-week sales, and in November, their 2nd full album TEEN, AGE recorded 210,000.
Digital streaming performance was also solid.
4th Mini Album, Al1
- 울고 싶지 않아
- 입버릇
- IF I
- Swimming Fool
- MY I
- Crazy in Love
- WHO
- Check-In
From July, they started their first world tour DIAMOND EDGE.
They drew 170,000 people across 13 cities including Seoul, Japan, North America, South America, and Asia.
A world tour in their 2nd year after debut… their growth speed was incredible.
2nd Full Album, TEEN, AGE
- Intro. 新世界
- CHANGE UP
- 모자를 눌러 쓰고
- 박수
- 날 쏘고 가라
- 13월의 춤
- TRAUMA
- 바람개비
- Flower
- ROCKET
- Hello
- 캠프파이어
- Outro. 未完
2018, Special Album - DIRECTOR’S CUT
In February 2018, the title track ‘고맙다’ from special album DIRECTOR’S CUT reached #1 on Melon, Korea’s music chart.
It was the best performance among SEVENTEEN’s title tracks at the time.
Special Album, DIRECTOR'S CUT
- Thinkin’ about you
- 고맙다
- 지금 널 찾아가고 있어
- Falling For U
- Intro. 新世界
- CHANGE UP
- 모자를 눌러 쓰고
- 박수
- 날 쏘고 가라
- 13월의 춤
- TRAUMA
- 바람개비
- Flower
- ROCKET
- Hello
- 캠프파이어
- Outro. 未完
‘A-TEEN’, released as an OST for the drama A-TEEN, also reached #1 on charts. It was the first and best performance by a male idol OST after the chart reorganization.
On May 30, they officially debuted in Japan with Japanese mini album WE MAKE YOU.
It reached #2 on the Oricon chart in just one day.
Their Japanese debut was also successful.
5th Mini Album, YOU MAKE MY DAY
- 어쩌나
- Holiday
- 나에게로 와
- What’s Good
- MOONWALKER
- 우리의 새벽은 낮보다 뜨겁다
2019, 3rd Full Album - An Ode
In January 2019, their 6th mini album YOU MADE MY DAWN surpassed 330,000 first-week sales.
They won 1st place 10 times on music shows, achieving their first Grand Slam and Triple Crown.
6th Mini Album, YOU MADE MY DAWN
- Good to Me
- Home
- 포옹
- 칠리 (Chilli)
- Shhh
- 숨이차 (Getting Closer)
Notably, the SBS Inkigayo win was Pledis’s first in 9 years since their senior group After School.
In September, their 3rd full album An Ode came out, recording 700,000 first-week sales.
More than double the previous album.
They became the 3rd boy group ever to achieve 700,000 first-week sales.
They also won Album of the Year at the AAA awards.
Their first daesang in their 5th year.
2020, Special Album - Semicolon
2020 was COVID-19 worldwide.
In April, their 2nd Japanese single Fallin’ Flower recorded 330,000 first-week sales.
The Japan dome tour was canceled due to COVID though.
On June 22, they released their 7th mini album 헹가래.
With 1.06 million pre-orders and 1.09 million first-week sales, they achieved their first million-seller!
They became the 2nd boy group ever to exceed 1 million first-week sales.
In September, Japanese 2nd mini album 24H came out, and in October they made a comeback with special album Semicolon.
With 930,000 first-week sales, they became double million-sellers.
2021, All Members Re-signed
On June 18, 2021, they released their 8th mini album Your Choice.
Recording 1.36 million first-week sales, they achieved 4 consecutive million-sellers, becoming quadruple million-sellers.
But something more important happened on July 19.
All 13 members re-signed their contracts.
And it was an early renewal with time still left on their contracts.
This was the first case of a successful full re-signing among large boy groups with 10+ members and multinational idols with Chinese members.
According to what members later revealed, the re-signing process wasn’t easy.
13 people discussing sensitive topics like money, profit distribution, and contract period together… that’s incredible teamwork.
2022, 4th Full Album - Face the Sun
On May 27, 2022, they released their 4th full album Face the Sun. 2.06 million first-week sales!
They became the second artist in Korean music history to surpass 2 million first-week sales, following BTS.
They also reached #7 on the Billboard 200 chart.
From June, they started their world tour BE THE SUN after 3 years.
2023, MAMA Awards, Album of the Year
2023 was a legendary year for SEVENTEEN.
On April 24, they released their 10th mini album FML.
4.64 million pre-orders, 4.55 million first-week sales.
First in Korean music history to surpass 4 million first-week sales!
In June, it exceeded 5.2 million, becoming the best-selling album in Korean music history.
It reached #2 on the Billboard 200.
The title track ‘손오공’ set a record by staying on Melon’s daily chart for 467 consecutive days.
It also ranked #29 on the 2023 annual chart.
In August, they released Japanese best album ALWAYS YOURS. 510,000 first-week sales, another record.
On October 23, they released their 11th mini album SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN.
5.09 million first-week sales! First in Korean music history to surpass 5 million first-week sales.
In 2023 alone, they sold an incredible 16 million albums.
SEVENTEEN was the artist with the second-highest first-week sales worldwide in 2023, after Adele.
In November, they became the first K-pop artist to be allocated a solo session at the UNESCO headquarters Youth Forum, where they gave a speech and performed.
On November 28-29, they also won Album of the Year at the MAMA Awards.
2024, Best Album - 17 IS RIGHT HERE
On April 29, 2024, they released best album 17 IS RIGHT HERE.
The title track ‘MAESTRO’ incorporated samples from 7 past hit songs.
In May, they drew 140,000 people over two days at Nissan Stadium.
They became the second Korean artist to perform at this stadium after TVXQ, and the first 3rd generation K-pop idol.
On June 28, they became the first K-pop act to perform on the Pyramid Stage at the UK’s Glastonbury Festival.
Foreign media gave them perfect scores.
In November at MAMA, they won both Artist of the Year and Album of the Year simultaneously.
2025, 5th Full Album - HAPPY BURSTDAY
On May 26, 2025, marking their 10th anniversary, they released their 5th full album HAPPY BURSTDAY.
From May 23-25, they held a ‘B-DAY PARTY’ event at Jamsu Bridge in Seoul.
They became the first K-pop act to perform at Jamsu Bridge.
352,000 people visited over 3 days, with 206,000 coming on the 25th alone.
As someone living in Seoul, it’s hard to imagine 200,000 people gathering around Jamsu Bridge. In that narrow space…
Final Thoughts…
So we’ve followed SEVENTEEN’s footsteps from 2015 to 2025.
From 80,000 first-week sales to 5.09 million. From 3,700 people at Yongsan Art Hall to 200,000 at Jamsu Bridge. Just looking at the numbers, their growth is incredible.
A rookie from a mid-sized agency who started with self-production and left their name in K-pop history. The teamwork of 13 people staying together for 10 years. That seems to be SEVENTEEN’s real story.
What I realized while researching is that this group has gone beyond just being idols who sing and dance well. The members creating music themselves, all 13 staying together for 10 years, breaking records every year while maintaining humility—that was impressive.
K-pop is a rapidly changing market. New groups keep debuting, trends constantly shift. Surviving for 10 years in that environment must not be easy.
Which SEVENTEEN album is most memorable to you? Or how did you first learn about SEVENTEEN? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments!