K-pop rookies 1VERSE have been so busy that they forgot how long it’s been since they debuted. It’s not a bad thing. The group has been busy preparing music, practicing, prepping for their tours and fan meets, and keeping up with a very robust social media schedule. After completing the North American concerts of their 1VERSE Shattered World Tour, the group stopped in Los Angeles for a songwriting camp before embarking on their European leg of the tour.
It’s the middle of March, and the boys are tired from working on music from early morning until 9 pm, when they return to their Airbnb. They are excited to talk about their first World Tour and the new music they’ve been working on. Mentioning that they’ve been together for nine months surprises the members – Hyuk*, Seok, Nathan, Kenny, and Aito – as they realize how quickly time has passed since their debut last June. (*Hyuk has been on hiatus since the fall of last year and did not participate in the world tour, the songwriting camp, or this interview.)
“Nine?!” Kenny says. “Hasn’t it been six months?”
Nathan adds, “Everything’s moving so fast. It’s really hard to keep track.”
It was only seven months ago, in August, when Kenny (23) and Nathan (25) first spoke about their debut. The two are Asian American – one of Chinese descent and the other Laotian/Thai. Due to visa issues, Kenny and Nathan were the only ones to perform at K-Playfest in Orange County, California, in a sold-out show. The other members also hail from different parts of the world: Hyuk (25) and Seok defected from North Korea, with Seok (25) having lived in South Korea for only 7 years. Aito, the youngest at 20, is from Japan. All five members understand what it means to be different and stand out in the K-pop world. But that’s what makes them so interesting.
Though Seok is disappointed he wasn’t able to join Kenny and Nathan the last time, he’s very proud that he’s been able to do the World Tour. Meeting the fans and performing during the tour really became his “ah-ha” moment as an idol.
“I am very proud and happy that we’re able to tour within nine months of our debut,” says Seok. “I am really pursuing this as a career. I have really debuted as an artist.”
Aito agrees, “This is my second time coming to the US. The first time I came, I could only talk to my fans, but this time around, I actually performed on stage. That made me feel like I am an artist.”
The guys have tried to find time to relax when they can, but they’re really excited about the talented LA-based songwriters and producers they’ve been working with. One of which left Nathan starstruck, as he grew up listening to one of the artists they’re working with. They couldn’t reveal anything, but say it has left them inspired. Nathan reveals, “There’s going to be a lot of starstruck moments because all these artists and producers that we’re working with are people that made music that we used to listen to.”
1VERSE’s SEOK
Singing Beetle
When it comes to their music, Kenny says they’re just “going with the flow,” and are excited for things to come out soon. They’ve been working on multiple songs, and when they feel complete, they’ll release them.
“Of course, we want to release it as soon as possible, but we want to wrap it around with a beautiful music video or some nice visualizers for you guys this time around,” Kenny explains. “Our group is very involved with music and the creative process.”
Though this doesn’t mean you’ll see them directing their music video anytime soon. Kenny makes it a point to say, “You never know, right?”
Aito, who is enjoying his second time participating in the songwriting session, felt more involved this time than he did last time. The first time, he wasn’t comfortable yet to really put himself out there. He smiles, thinking about today’s session, and reveals, “Today, I felt more ready. I had a lot of fun contributing different ideas to the session. I’m excited to see what will happen.”
1VERSE’s “WABIF (Wide Awake Before I Fall)”
Singing Beetle
When it comes to music, they are often inspired by everything around them. Aito, the main dancer, does think about the performance when he’s working on music. When he listens to tracks, he thinks about how the song would translate into a good performance or a choreographed dance.
“Today, we were listening to different tracks, and I had a fun idea to mix the two like a performance aspect,” Aito details. “I don’t know where exactly the inspirations come from, but these are some personal thoughts that I have and share while we’re making music.”
He also draws on ideas already in the session, such as the type of flow he wants to add to the pre-existing track. He shares, “That kind of moment came to me today while we’re trying to think of rap flows, and there was something already there. So I try to think away from that and what new things we could do on it.”
We talk about visiting parts of North America during the tour, including Nathan’s hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, the birthplace of Walmart. I recall Nathan telling me the last time we spoke. Nathan couldn’t believe he got to perform for his hometown, where his family and friends still reside.
“[When I debuted] I didn’t know what to expect,” Nathan reflects. “I thought, okay, I’m going to debut, perform on a couple of stages, and make some songs and release them. I didn’t think I’d be back, especially in my hometown, performing with the guys and doing all sorts of other activities like fan meets, boba dates, and more. It’s just been so surreal.”
Kenny enjoyed going to the small cities because they rarely had shows, since artists tended to visit the big cities like Los Angeles and New York City. 1VERSE is probably the first K-pop group to ever perform in Bentonville.
“We toured around the U.S., and saw how beautiful everything is,” Kenny states. “Every single venue we went to, we also explored the local towns and fell in love with all of it. Yes, sadly, we didn’t go to LA, but on the brighter side, we actually explored America. Now I’m thinking about buying a house in Ohio or buying a house in Arkansas right next to Nathan’s family.”
1VERSE’s Nathan
Singing Beetle
The group sold out several of their shows, including those in small towns, which surprised them. They were collectively shocked by how big their fanbase is. Not just in the US; they have a large following in Europe – hence, they’ll be stopping in 8 European cities and 1 UK city – and in Latin America.
“This year, we realized how much of a fanbase we’ve had,” says Kenny. “We’ve always not really seen the numbers as real people until people literally started asking us to come. We might see Latin America this year if there’s an opportunity, which is very possible.”
This is Seok’s first time in North America, which he found very cool, but what impacted him the most was interacting with the fans, a.k.a. 5tars. He recalls meeting and talking with them, which made it even more real to him and reminded him why he’s working so hard as an artist.
“Because we’re touring, a lot of things are going on, and sometimes I get physically tired,” Seok begins to explain. “But when you perform and are able to meet the 5tars and communicate with them and interact with them, I get really overwhelmed because it helps me [rediscover] my purpose of doing music. It’s probably been less than a week since our last show in Montreal, but it feels like years have passed. I can’t wait for more stages and performances to meet the fans. I’m looking forward to our European tour.”
All the members seem ready to meet their European fans. Aito, Seok, and Nathan have never been to the UK/Europe, and they’re excited to venture out there. Nathan has talked about visiting Europe with his parents in the past. He chuckles, “I guess I’m going without them.”
It’s rare for a group to already do a world tour within their first year of debut. But if you know their company, Singing Beetle’s CEO, Michelle Cho, she gets these things done. As a former SM Entertainment A&R executive, Cho has been hands-on with the group’s entire creative process, from production to execution. The members credit Cho for everything, thanking her throughout the interview for her thoughtfulness and support. Nathan says, “Thank you for allowing us to express ourselves. We shine bright [because] she has provided us the ability to do so. We are very grateful.”
“It’s become another lovefest for Michelle,” Kenny exclaims, as Cho humbly ducks behind her laptop. It’s obvious the bond she shares with the members – as a mentor, manager, and friend, and sometimes like a mom reeling in her kids. She exclaims, “Are we all crying together as a team?”
Cho has also made it a mission for herself to be aware of the members’ mental health and support them. Hyuk has been on hiatus due to “undisclosed personal and health reasons,” but has not been removed from the group. She didn’t want to comment on his status for privacy reasons, but she says they’re constantly in touch.
1VERSE’s Kenny
Singing Beetle
Kenny admits he is still struggling with his mental health and is getting the help he needs to process everything, dealing with quarter-life crisis, imposter syndrome, and perfectionism. He hit his goal of debuting and knows he is loved by his family, friends, members, and fans, but he’s been experiencing a mental decline since then. He would be told over and over again that he did well during the performance, but he dwelt on what he believed to be a mistake, focusing solely on that moment.
“This time around, I realized I’m a lot weaker than I thought because I can be happy at the moment, but I’m hiding a lot of it,” Kenny’s voice cracks, prompting tears to flow. “I’m so grateful that this time during the tour, people all try to cheer me up. Mentally, I’m not really strong at the moment, but I put up a front. But I’m grateful to people who pull me out of it and tell me to be present. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
He explains these are happy tears, as Cho and Aito pass him some tissues. He is comforted by everyone around him, and he reassures me that he’s working on himself and is very hopeful he’ll be happy.
Kenny has put that pain into his music with their recent all-English single, “WABIF (Wide Awake before I Fall).” Co-written by Nathan, the song explores the “deeply human emotions of listlessness, surrender, and apathy,” and “finding the nuances of hope and despair as one lies awake, watching their world fracture into chaos, but still choosing resilience.”
Nathan has seen the impact of their music, receiving letters from fans expressing their appreciation. He recalls opening a letter, nearly in tears, as the fan tells him that 1VERSE saved them. He shares, “That really gave me a different perspective, not just inspiring others, but that what we do can literally save someone. I don’t care if we become super big or whatnot: if we can impact one person, that’s enough for me. My new goal is to maintain that image.
Aito’s perspective as an artist has also changed. He’s become more ambitious. He initially thought he should just sing and dance well, with no intention of being involved in the creative process, but now wants to be part of it. He says, “I’m exploring the inspiration that I have for what kind of performance we should do next? What kind of structure should we build this show around? These are some of the performance directions that I generally try to think of as we tour.”
1VERSE’s AITO
Singing Beetle
Seok, whose story of defecting from North Korea and becoming a K-pop trainee made headlines before their debut, became an inspiration. He has received so many letters and pieces of fan art, including ones from fans at K-Playfest who handed them to Kenny and Nathan to pass along to him. Seok recalls everyone telling him he’s doing so well, to never give up, and that they’re all rooting for him even in times of difficulty. It was all encouraging. He says, “Every word that the fans have been writing to me and for us is piling up support to allow me to be here now. Writing is one of the most powerful tools for communicating and expressing one’s emotions. I keep these fan letters in my room so I can take one out whenever I’m going through something, when things get too hard, because it gives me so much energy. It means a lot to me.”
As the group approaches its one-year anniversary, it is striving to better itself without being too hard on itself. Kenny says they’re “living in the present” and “enjoying the process.”
Nathan adds, “We just want to be able to express ourselves and who we are [beyond social media] and through our music.”
1VERSE continues their Shattered World Tour with stops in Europe and the UK: Milan, Bordeaux, Berlin, Huskvarna, Paris, Helsinki, London, Frankfurt, and Belgrade.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurasirikul/2026/03/31/1verse-on-their-world-tour-and-dealing-with-shattered-moments/
