BOYNEXTDOOR: Exclusive Photos of the October 2024 K-Pop Rookie of the Month

With less than a year and a half since BOYNEXTDOOR’s debut, Billboard’s K-Pop Rookie of the Month for October 2024 is seeing its message reaching audiences worldwide. 19.99 scored BOYNEXTDOOR its first entry to hit No. 1 on Billboard’s World Albums chart and land inside the top 40 of the Billboard 200, while the group has performed on festival stages in South Korea, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong and the United States. The sextet has modeled for Korea’s most prominent brand, Samsung, but is also the face of Japan’s popular casual clothing brand, WEGO, and has competed for best new artist recognitions at the MAMA Awards, iHeartRadio Music Awards, Asian Pop Music Awards and beyond.

During a weekend morning interview and photoshoot with Billboard in Seoul, any understandable tiredness from BND takes a back seat as members Jaehyun, Sungho, Taesan, Riwoo, Leehan and Woonhak excitedly emphasize their desire to connect with audiences through authenticity rather than just chart placements and awards.

“Rankings aren’t everything,” Taesan says. “Our priority is really talking about what we want to and conveying that to the audience in a very free kind of way. So, that’s what we try to do and I’m happy that is actually connecting with a lot of people out there. It makes us really proud.”

With BOYNEXTDOOR’s first tour on the horizon and a growing global fanbase awaiting the group’s next steps, the “Nice Guy” singers remain ambitious to make Seoul — and every other city — their own by doing it their way. Read more on BOYNEXTDOOR’s story and why they’re the next group to watch as Billboard’s K-Pop Rookie of the Month for October 2024.

Get to know the rookies more with exclusive photos by Billboard Korea and fun questions below.