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What agency is ALPHA DRIVE ONE (ALD1) with? How the group formed, its debut, members' nationalities and October 2026

How the group came out of Mnet's Boys II Planet, how its agency WakeOne relates to CJ ENM, its debut date and debut single, its Korean, Chinese and Australian members, its work in Japan and its schedule as of October 2026 — drawn from 22 press reports.

ALPHA DRIVE ONE (abbreviated ALD1) is a boy group formed through Mnet's audition show Boys II Planet, and its agency is WAKEONE, a subsidiary of CJ ENM. Its eight members and name were announced at the live finale on September 25, 2025, and it officially debuted on January 12, 2026 with its first EP, EUPHORIA, led by the single "FREAK ALARM."

The members are Leo, Junseo, Arno, Geonwoo, Sangwon, Xinlong, Anxin and Sanghyeon: four Koreans, three Chinese and one Korean Australian. Since April 2026 Geonwoo has been off activities and the group has promoted as seven. Common questions are answered below, with a source number on every claim.

WhenEventDetail
Sep 2025Boys II Planet finale · formationAt the September 25 live finale, the final eight members and the name ALPHA DRIVE ONE were announced; the group is set to be active for five years.1,2
Nov–Dec 2025MAMA stage · pre-release singleFirst stage with "FORMULA" at the 2025 MAMA AWARDS at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Stadium on November 28; the pre-release single "FORMULA" came out December 3.4,5
Jan 2026Official debut, EUPHORIADebuted January 12 with the six-track EP EUPHORIA and lead single "FREAK ALARM." First-week sales of 1,441,270 (Hanteo). Won first place on all three terrestrial-network music shows with its debut single.6,9,11
Mar–Jun 2026First Japan visit · seven members · fan concertFirst visit to Japan and a fan showcase in March. On April 8 Geonwoo stopped activities and the group went to seven members. Joint concert at K Arena Yokohama on April 12. Fan concert in Yokohama on June 26–28 drew about 25,000.8,12,13,14
Aug–Sep 2026Second EP, UNBREAKABLE : 少年BEASTFirst KCON LA appearance on August 16. Second EP and lead single "BORN DIRE" released August 24, selling 1.13 million in its first week. Sangwon became an MC of MBC's Show! Music Core from September 5.16,17,18
Oct 2026U.S. release · follow-up singleSecond EP officially released in the U.S. on October 2; No. 5 on Billboard's World Albums chart dated October 17. Music video for the follow-up single "Talk to me" due October 27.21,22

What agency is ALPHA DRIVE ONE with?

ALPHA DRIVE ONE's agency is WAKEONE. The group's official announcements, from its debut date to the April 2026 hiatus notice, were issued in WAKEONE's name. MTN (Money Today Broadcasting) describes WAKEONE as a subsidiary of CJ ENM. In July 2026 WAKEONE said ALPHA DRIVE ONE and the girl group izna had signed a partnership with Republic Collective, a U.S. label under Universal Music Group. Reports right after the group formed noted that the length of its activity period still had to be settled between CJ ENM and the members' original agencies.

3,4,13,15

How was the group formed? Boys II Planet

ALPHA DRIVE ONE is the debut lineup of Mnet's global audition show Boys II Planet. The final eight members and the group name were revealed at the live finale on the night of September 25, 2025. Japan's THE FIRST TIMES wrote that the eight were chosen through about 26 million votes. The name stands for a goal of reaching the top (ALPHA), passion and momentum (DRIVE) and one team (ONE). Sports Kyunghyang reported that the group is set to be active for five years. Wanna One and ZEROBASEONE are the earlier groups from the same line of Mnet auditions.

1,2,6,7,8

Who are the members, and what are their nationalities?

The eight members are Leo, Junseo, Arno, Geonwoo, Sangwon, Xinlong, Anxin and Sanghyeon. Money Today listed Lee Sangwon, Kim Geonwoo, Jung Sanghyeon and Kim Junseo as Korean, Zhou Anxin, He Xinlong and Zhang Jiahao as Chinese, and Lee Leo as Australian of Korean descent; Newsis wrote "four Koreans, one Korean Australian and three Chinese." The leader is Leo. Sangwon finished first on Boys II Planet. The fandom is called ALLYZ.

1,3,4,10

Debut date and debut single

  • Pre-release. The group gave its first stage with "FORMULA" at the 2025 MAMA AWARDS at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Stadium on November 28, 2025, and released the song as a pre-release single at 6 p.m. on December 3.4,5
  • Official debut (January 12, 2026). The group debuted officially with its first EP, EUPHORIA. Its six tracks include the lead single "FREAK ALARM," "FORMULA," "Raw Flame," "Chains," "Never Been 2 Heaven" and "Cinnamon Shake," and a showcase was held the same day at Blue Square SOL Travel Hall in Seoul.6,7
  • Debut results. According to Hanteo Chart, EUPHORIA sold 1,441,270 copies in its first week (January 12–18), second among K-pop group debut albums after ZEROBASEONE. "FREAK ALARM" won four music-show trophies, making the group the first boy group in about nine years, since Wanna One, to top all three terrestrial-network music shows with a debut single.9,11
4,5,6,7,9,11

Activities in Japan

Japanese media write the group's name as ALPHA DRIVE ONE (アルファドライブワン). It first visited Japan in March 2026, holding a fan showcase on March 13, and made its first appearance at a joint concert, Mynavi presents The Performance, at K Arena Yokohama on April 12. A Japanese official website and the official fan club ALLYZ JAPAN opened in April. Its first fan-concert tour stop in Japan, at Pia Arena MM in Yokohama on June 26–28, sold out all three nights and drew about 25,000 people (Daily Sports). The second EP reached No. 2 on Oricon's weekly combined album ranking. A Sports Kyunghyang report of September 7, 2026 noted that the group had not yet made its official Japanese debut.

5,8,12,14,18

The seven-member lineup

In an official statement on April 8, 2026, WAKEONE said Geonwoo would not take part in upcoming activities or the fan concert and that the group would promote as seven for the time being. A report by The Fact on October 1, 2026 listed the members as seven: Leo, Junseo, Arno, Sangwon, Xinlong, Anxin and Sanghyeon.

13,20

The second EP and where things stand in October 2026

  • Second EP. The group appeared at KCON LA 2026 on August 16 for the first time since debut, and released its second EP, UNBREAKABLE : 少年BEAST, at 6 p.m. on August 24. It sold 1.13 million copies in its first week on Hanteo Chart, taking the group's cumulative album sales including the debut past 2 million. The lead single "BORN DIRE" won three music-show trophies, and music-show promotions ended with SBS's Inkigayo on September 6.16,18,21
  • Individual work. Sangwon was named a new MC of MBC's Show! Music Core alongside BOYNEXTDOOR's Sungho and has hosted the show since September 5, 2026.17
  • Overseas. The group gave its first performance in Mexico at K-EXPO MEXICO in Mexico City on September 26. On October 2 it officially released the second EP in the United States, its first official U.S. album release. On Billboard's charts dated October 17 the album placed No. 5 on World Albums and No. 20 on Top Album Sales, and the group ranked No. 9 on Emerging Artists.19,21,22
  • Next. WAKEONE has scheduled the music video for the follow-up single "Talk to me" for October 27.18,22
16,17,18,19,21,22

How to read this page

This explainer only repeats what press reports have published; the numbers at the end of sentences refer to the sources below. Sales figures are the Hanteo Chart numbers quoted in those reports. It will be updated if the lineup or schedule changes.

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Sources

  1. press 아이즈(ize) (다음 전재), '보플2' 최종 멤버는 이상원·조우안신·허씬롱·김건우·장지아하오·이리오·정상현·김준서, 알파드라이브원으로 데뷔, 2025-09-26
  2. press 스포츠경향, 신인 보이 그룹 ALD1(알디원) 탄생…낭만 바이브 안고 찬란한 시작, 2025-09-26
  3. press 머니투데이, 제베원→알파드라이브원, 리더·데뷔일·활동기간 총정리 [K-POP 리포트]? - 머니투데이, 2025-09-26
  4. press 뉴시스, 알파드라이브원, 워너원·제베원 '상암팝 적자 계보' 잇나…내년 1월 데뷔, 2025-12-02
  5. press ORICON NEWS, 『ボイプラ2』発・ALPHA DRIVE ONE、先行公開曲にK-POPヒットメーカー参加　『MAMA AWARDS』のパフォーマンスも話題に, 2025-12-04
  6. press 스타뉴스, 알파드라이브원, 오늘(12일) 공식 데뷔..새해 첫 신인 | 스타뉴스, 2026-01-12
  7. press 스포츠경향, [스경X현장] “워너원·제베원 닦은 길에 누 되지 않게”…알디원, 대찬 출사표, 2026-01-12
  8. press THE FIRST TIMES, ALPHA DRIVE ONEが韓国デビュー！デビュータイトル曲「FREAK ALARM」MV公開, 2026-01-13
  9. press THE FIRST TIMES, ALPHA DRIVE ONE、韓国デビューミニアルバム『EUPHORIA』が発売初日にミリオンセラー達成, 2026-01-20
  10. press iMBC연예, 알파드라이브원, 벌써 해외 패션 매거진 커버 장식…글로벌 영향력 우뚝, 2026-01-29
  11. press 스타뉴스, 알파드라이브원 상원, 오늘(1일) '인기가요' 스페셜 MC 출격 | 스타뉴스, 2026-02-01
  12. press ORICON NEWS, ALPHA DRIVE ONE、日本開催の合同コンサート初出演　「Chains」日本初披露に大歓声, 2026-04-13
  13. press 더팩트, 알파드라이브원, 부적절 발언 김건우 자숙…당분간 7인 체제 - 연예 | 기사 - 더팩트, 2026-04-08
  14. press デイリースポーツ, ＡＬＰＨＡ　ＤＲＩＶＥ　ＯＮＥが初のファンコンツアーの横浜公演で３日間合計２・５万人動員「最高の思い出作ることができた」/デイリースポーツ online, 2026-06-29
  15. press 머니투데이방송(MTN), 글로벌 가는 K팝, 길 따라가는 이즈나 알디원 [엔터코노미], 2026-07-16
  16. press 스포츠경향 (영문), Rookie ALPHA DRIVE ONE (Alpha Drive One, ALD1), confirms its global popularity firsthand on-site, 2026-08-16
  17. press iMBC연예, 보넥도 성호·알디원 상원, '쇼! 음악중심' 새 MC 발탁…9월 5일 첫 호흡, 2026-08-31
  18. press 스포츠경향 (영문), ALPHA DRIVE ONE (ALD1), completes second mini album promotions, 2026-09-07
  19. press 스포츠경향 (영문), ALPHA DRIVE ONE(Alpha Drive One ALD1), expands its global stage with first performance in Mexico, 2026-09-29
  20. press 더팩트, 알파드라이브원, 미국·멕시코 주요 매체 주목…'영향력 확장' - 연예 | 기사 - 더팩트, 2026-10-01
  21. press 스포츠경향 (영문), ALPHA DRIVE ONE (ALD1) begins its push into the global market beyond Korea, 2026-10-03
  22. press 텐아시아, 알파드라이브원, 데뷔 첫해 美 빌보드 입성 | 텐아시아, 2026-10-14
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“What agency is ALPHA DRIVE ONE (ALD1) with? How the group formed, its debut, members' nationalities and October 2026.” Hallyu Wiki. https://hallyu.wiki/en/guides/alpha-drive-one-faq/ (Retrieved 2026-10-20).

How this article was made: read official statements, court/regulator records and at least two independent outlets; community posts are used only as attention signals. Written by Hallyu Wiki editors with AI assistance — check the sources. Request a correction