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Trainee A
Trainee A in 2022 Left to right, standing: Jihoon, Yorch, Woochan, Sangwon, and James Sitting: JJ and Leo
Trainee A in 2022
Left to right, standing: Jihoon, Yorch, Woochan, Sangwon, and James
Sitting: JJ and Leo
Background information
OriginSeoul, South Korea
Genres
Years active2021 (2021)–2022 (2022)
Label
Past members

Trainee A (Korean: 트레이니 A; RR: Teureini A) was a South Korean pre-debut boy band formed in 2021 by Big Hit Entertainment. At the time of the group's disbandment, the lineup consisted of Yorch, Jihoon, Woochan, James, Sangwon, and JJ; former members who had left earlier included Leo, Junil, and Inhyuk. Reported to be Big Hit's next major boy group following BTS and Tomorrow X Together, it was believed that they would debut in 2022.

The pre‑debut group remained active until December 2022, when the project was cancelled and all activities were suspended. Many former members subsequently pursued other opportunities, either competing on survival programs such as Boys II Planet or later debuting with groups including Pow, TWS, Alpha Drive One, AllDay Project, and Cortis, the latter of which Big Hit debuted in 2025.

Name

[edit]
Trainee A's logo, as displayed on the group's social media accounts.

Trainee A was the tentative name used by the project prior to the group's planned debut, with all of the group's social media accounts were branded under that name.[1] Big Hit registered the name Aloners Association on December 3, 2021, prompting media speculation that it might be the group's official debut name.[2][3] Fans were divided over the name, with some began speculating about a fandom name and possible abbreviations, such as ALAS, while others expressed dislike for it.[4][5]

History

[edit]

2021: Formation and initial activities

[edit]

In March 2021, several social media accounts under the name Trainee A began introducing six members, Leo, Sangwon, James, Jihoon, Junil, and Inhyuk, and attracted follows from multiple producers and executives at Hybe. The accounts left space for four additional names, suggesting either four open positions or unnamed trainees yet to be revealed. Trainee A released its first YouTube video on March 19, featuring Leo in a day in the life vlog. Later promotional material included a group photograph showing seven members, with some faces obscured by masks or emojis.[6] In August 2021, Junil left the group, with JJ later being revealed as a member.[7]

In December 2021, Leo drew criticism for lyrics in a video uploaded to the channel that were widely described as misogynistic and offensive.[8][9] The production team issued a formal apology, and Leo apologized for his language, saying he had used "provocative words and expressions in order to make an impact" in the context of a competition.[10][11]

2022: Formal debut plans, departure of Leo, and disbandment

[edit]

In January 2022, it was announced that Woochan, a former contestant on Show Me the Money 6, would be added to Trainee A's lineup.[12][13] That same month, Inhyuk left the project, while Yorch joined the lineup.[14][15] In March 2022, Leo announced that the group would hold a street performance in Los Angeles.[16] In May 2022, Hybe confirmed the group's finalists, Leo, Sangwon, James, Jihoon, Inhyuk, JJ, and Woochan, with plans to debut later that year.[1][2] The group released their first song as a unit, titled "No Privacy", on YouTube and SoundCloud days after, directing the music video for the song themselves.[17]

On August 25, 2022, Leo announced his departure from the group in a video posted to the group's YouTube channel, thanking the company and apologizing to the other members and fans for his decision.[18][19] In December 2022, Trainee A's social media accounts announced that all accounts would be closed on December 23, effectively ending the project and disbanding the group.[14][20] Yorch later confirmed on his social media that Trainee A would not be debuting.[7]

Aftermath

[edit]
Leo of Alpha Drive One
Sangwon of Alpha Drive One
James of Cortis
Woochan of AllDay Project
Yorch of Pow
Jihoon of TWS
Members of Trainee A who later debuted in other groups after the project's disbandment.

After the group's disbandment, many members continued training as trainees and later debuted with different groups. Yorch departed Hybe in 2022 and made his solo debut in April 2023.[15][14] He later debuted as a member of the group Pow under Grid Entertainment in October 2023.[7][21][22] JJ joined SM Entertainment after failing to debut, and was later seen among 24 male trainees at SM Town Live as part of the SMTR25 lineup on February 22, 2024.[23][24] It was later announced that he had joined SMTR25 and would perform under the name Justin.[7][15]

Jihoon was transferred from Big Hit to Pledis Entertainment, where he later debuted with the boy band TWS on January 22, 2024.[7] Woochan left Big Hit and resumed his solo activities in April 2024 before debuting with the co‑ed group AllDay Project on December 8, 2025.[15][25] James remained a trainee at Big Hit, contributing choreography and production for Hybe artists on tracks such as Illit's "Magnetic" and Tomorrow X Together's "Deja Vu" and "Miracle."[26] In July 2025 he was announced as a member of Big Hit's new boy band Cortis, which debuted on August 18, 2025.[27]

Leo decided to compete on Boys II Planet and persuaded Sangwon to enter the competition as well.[28] The pair were ultimately chosen as the final two members to debut from the show, joining six other contestants, with the eight members debuting as the boy band Alpha Drive One on January 12, 2026.[29][30][31] Junil, who had joined the label Inkode via JYP Entertainment, also competed on Boys II Planet but was eliminated in the third elimination round.[7][15] After leaving the project in January 2022, Inhyuk has had no publicly announced plans in music.[15]

Members

[edit]
  • Junil (준일)
  • Inhyuk (인혁)
  • Leo (리오)
  • Sangwon (상원)
  • James (제임스)
  • Jihoon (지훈)
  • Woochan (우찬)
  • Yorch (요치)
  • JJ (제이제이)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b ""'빅히트상' 모아뒀네"...7명 전원 얼굴 공개된 빅히트 차기 男 아이돌" (in Korean). Dispatch. January 20, 2022. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Han, Su-ji (May 22, 2022). "'하이브 연습생' BTS 동생 새 보이그룹, 최종 데뷔조→그룹명 상표출원". Topstarnews (in Korean).
  3. ^ "อนาคตและความคาดหวังของเหล่า Trainee A บอยแบนด์กลุ่มใหม่จาก Big Hit". Vogue Thailand (in Thai). October 4, 2022.
  4. ^ Putri, Eka Dewi Sofia (May 23, 2022). "Inikah Nama Resmi Boyband Baru HYBE yang Diperkenalkan sebagai Trainee A?". WowKeren (in Indonesian).
  5. ^ Nguyet, Thuy (May 25, 2022). "Nhóm em trai cực phẩm của BTS có tên chói tai, netizen ớn lạnh". Thể thao & Văn hoá (in Vietnamese).
  6. ^ Herman, Tamar (May 11, 2021). "Is BTS and TXT label Hybe about to launch a new K-pop boy band? 'Trainee A' social media accounts spark rumours". South China Morning Post.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Noronha, Karen (September 27, 2025). "Where are Trainee A members now? From BIGHIT pre-debut group to CORTIS, ALLDAY Project, and beyond". Poprant.
  8. ^ Lee Jae-eun (December 30, 2021). "'여성혐오 가사 작사' 빅히트 연습생 리오 "진심으로 죄송하다"". Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean).
  9. ^ Lee, Da-gyeom (December 30, 2021). "빅히트 연습생 리오, 여성 혐오 가사 사과 "미성숙했다"". Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean).
  10. ^ Chin, Carmen (December 30, 2021). "HYBE trainee apologises after backlash over "provocative" rap verse". NME.
  11. ^ Kim, Soo-jung (December 31, 2021). "빅히트 연습생 리오, 여성혐오 가사로 뭇매…"정말 잘못" 사과". No Cut News (in Korean).
  12. ^ Han, Su-ji (January 9, 2022). "'쇼미더머니6' 조우찬, 빅히트 비공개 연습생이었다…"정체성 혼란 겪어" 근황 공개". Topstarnews (in Korean).
  13. ^ "'빅히트'가 공개한 차기 남돌 데뷔조에 포함된 '쇼미6' 조우찬 모습 (영상)". Insight (in Korean). January 12, 2022.
  14. ^ a b c "ปักหมุดรอ 'ยอร์ช ยงศิลป์' เปิดค่ายเพลงเอง เตรียมเดบิวต์ซิงเกิ้ลแรก" (in Thai). 7 April 2023. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Lee, Deok-haek (July 20, 2025). "'보2플' 참가자도 주목한 트레이니 에이, 현재 근황은?". iZE (in Korean).
  16. ^ Han, Su-ji (March 24, 2022). "'빅히트 연습생' 트레이니A 리오, LA 버스킹 예고 "기대해달라"". Topstarnews (in Korean).
  17. ^ See, Andrea (May 25, 2022). "Pre-debut BIGHIT MUSIC group, Trainee A, drops 'Ain't No Privacy' on YouTube and SoundCloud". Bandwagon Asia.
  18. ^ Yu, Hye-ji (August 29, 2022). ""회사와 멤버들에 미안…" 트레이니A 리오, 돌연 데뷔조 하차 선언". Topstarnews (in Korean).
  19. ^ Lee, Chang-gyu (August 27, 2022). "빅히트 연습생 리오, 데뷔조 하차 "혼자 멈추는 시간 필요" [엑's 이슈]". XSport News (in Korean).
  20. ^ Kim, Hyun-seo (2022-12-16). "데뷔 무산 or 임박?"…'빅히트 연습생' 트레이니 A, SNS 채널 운영 종료. Topstarnews. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  21. ^ Lee, So-jung (August 24, 2025). "빅히트 데뷔 무산 3년 만에…'트레이니에이 출신' 유명 아이돌 "색다른 매력 보여드릴 것"". Ten Asia.
  22. ^ Lee, So-Jung (August 24, 2025). "빅히트 데뷔 무산 3년 만에…'트레이니에이 출신' 유명 아이돌 "색다른 매력 보여드릴 것"". Ten Asia (in Korean). The Korea Economic Daily.
  23. ^ "SM Entertainment to debut new boy band in second half of 2025: Source". The Straits Times. January 16, 2025.
  24. ^ Kim, Jae-heun (January 15, 2025). "[Exclusive] SM Entertainment will debut new boy band in second half of this year: source". The Korea Herald.
  25. ^ Kim, Jae-heun (2025-06-17). "Chaebol heiress, former Hybe trainee and prodigy rapper: Why Allday Project is going viral". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2025-06-24.
  26. ^ Jamal, Shyra (October 30, 2025). "Everything to know about Cortis, the spunky K-pop group disrupting the status quo". Vogue Singapore.
  27. ^ Chan, Oliver (April 18, 2025). "Meet The Five Members Of BigHit Music's Rookie Boy Band, Cortis". Grazia.
  28. ^ "첫방 '보플2', '빅히트 데뷔조' 이상원 "그만하고 싶었다"..'데뷔무산' 심경[핫피플]". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). July 18, 2025.
  29. ^ Han, Soo-jin (September 26, 2025). "'보플2' 최종 멤버는 이상원·조우안신·허씬롱·김건우·장지아하오·이리오·정상현·김준서, 알파드라이브원으로 데뷔". iZE (in Korean).
  30. ^ Lee, So-jung (January 15, 2026). "'빅히트 출신' 유명 아이돌, 이상원·이리오와 데뷔 무산 됐다더니…파우로 새해 첫 컴백". Ten Asia (in Korean).
  31. ^ "이상원 '보이즈 2 플래닛' 1위 비하인드! 트레이니 A 시절부터 알파드라이브원 데뷔까지 TMI 10". Cosmopolitan Korea (in Korean). October 10, 2025.
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