~ ASTRO ~

Members from left to right (back, then front): Sanha, Cha Eunwoo, JinJin, Rocky, Moonbin and MJ.

 

Who is ASTRO?

Astro is a South-Korean boygroup composed of members JinJin, MJ, Cha Eunwoo, Moonbin, Rocky and Sanha. The group debuted on February 23rd, 2016 under Fantagio entertainment. They came back with their latest Korean album "All Yours" and its title track "One" on April 5, 2021. Their fandom is called "Aroha". Here are their official social media accounts: 

• Facebook: offclASTRO
• Twitter: @offclASTRO
• Twitter (Japan): @jp_offclASTRO
• Instagram: @official_astro
• Fan cafe: fantagio-boys
• YouTube: ASTRO channel
• V Live: Astro channel
• TikTok: @astro_official

 

Stage Name: JinJin

Birth Name: Park Jin Woo

Position: Leader, Main Rapper, Lead Dancer

Birthday: March 15, 1996

Birthplace: Ilsan, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Height: 169cm

Instagram: @ast_jinjin

Weibo: ASTRO_JINJIN

Fun facts: His nickname is "Angelic Smile", he graduated from Hanlim  multi arts high school, he can speak Korean, English and basic Chinese, if he wasn't a  singer he would've been a drummer, his role model is GDragon, and his ideal type is a girl with her own opinions and attitudes. 

  

 

Stage Name: MJ

Birth Name: Kim Myung Jun

Position: Main Vocalist

Birthday: March 5, 1994

Birthplace: Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Height: 175cm

Instagram: @mj_7.7.7

Weibo: ASTRO_MJ

Fun facts: His nickname is "The Happy Virus" because he's always laughing, he jokes a lot and is mischievous, his favourite superhero is Iron Man, if he wasn't a singer he would be an architectural designer, on August 22, 2020 MJ debuted in the trot idol group "Super Five", and his ideal type is a girl with a nice smile, a good sense of humour and who is similar to him. 

 

Stage Name: Cha Eunwoo

Birth Name: Lee Dong Min

Position: Vocalist, Visual, Face of the group

Birthday: March 30, 1997

Birthplace: Sabon District, Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Height: 183cm

Instagram: @eunwo.o_c

TikTok: @at_chaeunwoo

Weibo: ASTRO_车银优

Fun facts: He has a younger brother who is studying in China, JinJin and him are the best English speakers of the group, he is considered the smartest member, he can play the piano, guitar, flute and violin, he acted in several Kdramas ("The best hit" in 2017, "My ID is gangnam beauty" in 2018, “Rookie Historian Goo Hae-Ryung” in 2019, and "True Beauty" in 2020), he's close friends with Seventeen's Mingyu, BTS's Jungkook and GOT7's Yugyeom, if he wasn't singer, he would be a teacher, a doctor, or an anchor, and his ideal type is a girl that's wise, intelligent and curious.

Stage Name: Moonbin

Birth Name: Moon Bin

Position: Main dancer, lead vocalist, center

Birthday: January 26, 1998

Birthplace: Cheongju, Chungbuk , South Korea

Height: 182cm

Sub-unit: ASTRO MOONBIN & SANHA

Instagram: @moon_ko_ng

Weibo: ASTRO_文彬

Fun facts: He graduated from Hanlim Multi Arts High School in 2016, his favorite food is beef, he can play the piano, his childhood friends are iKon's Chanwoo, SF9's Chani, and GFriend's SinB, his favorite colour is black, he has a cat named Roa, his role model is Taeyang from Bigbang, he was on hiatus from November 2019 until February 2020 due to health issues, he acted in several Kdramas such as "Boys over flowers" (2009) and "Moments of 18" (2019), and his ideal type is a girl with a good sense of humour. 

Stage Name: Rocky

Birth Name: Park Min Hyuk

Position: Main Dancer, Lead Rapper, Vocalist

Birthday: February 25, 1999

Birthplace: Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea

Height: 176cm

Instagram: @minhyuk202523

Soundcloud: rockycl0ud

Weibo: ASTRO_ROCKY

Fun facts: He went to Hanlim Multi Arts High School, on July 14, 2011 he auditioned for TVN Korea’s Got Talent, he was a participant in “Hit the Stage”, he knows Taekwondo (black belt), he is a big eater, his favourite colour is red, he created the choreography for the Astro MVs “Fireworks” and “Wake up call”, if he wouldn’t be a singer he would be a dance teacher, his role model is G-Dragon from Bigbang, he's friends with Monsta X's Jooheon, Lee Suhyun of Akmu, SF9's Chani and Seventeen's Seungkwan and Dino, and his ideal type is a caring, cute, and nice girl. 

Stage Name: Sanha

Birth Name: Yoon San Ha

Position: Vocalist, Maknae

Birthday: March 21, 2000

Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea

Height: 184cm

Subunit: ASTRO Moonbin & Sanha

Instagram: @ddana_yoon

Weibo: ASTRO_尹产贺

Fun facts: He has two older brothers Junha and Jeha, he learned to play guitar from his dad and brothers, he attended a-sound music academy, he is allergic to seafood and can't drink coffee, his favorite colour is pink, if he wouldn’t be a Kpop singer he would most probably be a guitarist, he's friends with The Boyz's Eric and Sunwoo, Ab6ix's Daehwi and Golden Child's Bomin, and his ideal type is a girl who thinks about him a lot and asks him about his day. 

How I discovered them:

I was binge-watching some Kpop dance practices, and I remember watching a compilation of the most synchronised Kpop groups. At the time I really thought there was no competition for Seventeen, known as the kings of synchronisation, but Astro proved me wrong. Plus, they have really creative choreographies and formations, and the members are really good dancers (Rocky being my bias). The song that made me become a true fan was Always You. I thought this group had a certain level of notoriety but got shocked when I learned that they still didn't have their first music show win (they got it for "All night" later on in early 2019). I still stand on the fact that they are underrated and need more exposure and I am extremely disappointed that they are not part of the lineup for Mnet's "Kingdom".

Astro's discography:

Astro debuted with a very cute and fresh concept with their debut mini album "Spring Up" and the title track "Hide and Seek" out on February 23, 2016. The choreography is probably one of my favorite from them, although the song isn't really the type of song I usually listen to. They kept the cute and fresh concept for quite a long time. They did it with their second mini album "Summer vibe" and the title track "Breathless" in July 2016, with their third mini album "Autumn Story" and the title track "Confession" in November 2016 as well as with their fourth mini album "Dream part 01" and the title track "Baby" on May 2017. Their fifth mini album "Dream part 02" and the title track "Crazy Sexy Cool" was kind of a transition to me. The song is still fresh but not that "cute" anymore (which is maybe why I prefer this song to the previous ones I mentioned), and it is really catchy.

In my opinion, Astro's discography and career took a turn on July 24th, 2018, the day when their album "Rise Up" was released with the title track "Always You". This song could've brought them their first win, it's really a good song with amazing vocals (especially the high note in the bridge, I'm a sucker for high notes) and the MV shines through its editing and directing. The sets are simple yet the lighting game is really smart (there's this guy called PD who has a YouTube channel called Form of Therapy and he did a great analysis on the MV, you can check it out here).

Astro then released their first full album entitled "All light" with the title track "All night" on January 16, 2019. And it is with this song that Astro got their first music show win on SBS's The Show on January 29, 2019, 3 years after their debut. To be honest I liked this song less than Always You, but the MV definitely did its job. The visuals in this MV and the sets are gorgeous. 

On April 3, 2019 Astro made their Japanese debut with their 1st Japanese mini album "Venus" that included Japanese versions of previous title tracks such as Baby, Always You and All Night, but also original Japanese songs such as Hansake Mirai, Li Aishiteru and I'm on your side. I'm not familiar with their Japanese discography but it's always a plus for a group to market themselves outside Korea, especially in Japan since they have a lot in common when it comes to the music industry. 

On November 20, 2019, Astro came back with their 6th mini album "Blue Flame" with the Title track of the same name. For this era Moonbin was absent from all promotions due to health issues and this really affected the promotions in my opinion. Usually when a member's missing you feel its absence but the performance doesn't always loose its charm. Here, I definitely felt that the song and the performance were kind of empty. I'm not saying the song isn't good, it is and I absolutely love MJ's vocals (by the way MJ has been wrecking me ever since blue flame era). I like the latin feeling in the instruments at the very beginning of the song and in the verses. 

Astro then released their 7th mini-album "Gateway" and the title track "Knock" on May 4th, 2020. This song has to be, hands down, my favorite Astro title track. The song is amazing, the instrumental at the beginning reminds me a bit of "Always You", the choreography is original and the moves powerful (I love how  their isolations and the popping at some points of the dance), and the colour scheme in the MV is gorgeous (multiple shades of blue and a bit of pink with Rocky's hair). 

Finally, Astro came back with their second Korean full-album "All yours" and the title track song "One" on April 5, 2021. This song (and album) is very different from what I was used to. They totally rocked the outfits and the attitude on that one, however this album didn't hit me as hard as their previous ones. It's still a good album, and it's great that they wanted to try something new. I listen to "One" here and there, but that's it. And for me not to like any b-sides it's that the album really lacked something, but again that's my personal opinion. 

Content you should check out:

Rocky participated in the competition "Hit the stage" not long after Astro debuted, and performed on "Hey Pachuco" with the same attire as Jim Carrey in "The Mask". This performance was beyond impressive, Rocky's technique is really solid. However, the audience was really confused (and they probably didn't know what "The Mask" was), and this kind of dance isn't really popular so they really didn't give him enough credit for this performance. Watch it here.

Rocky also does choreographies from time to time on Astro's official YouTube channel, my favorite has to be Close to Me.

The dance practice for their debut title track "Hide and seek". As I previously mentioned, this choreography is one of my favorite because it's really funny, energetic and creative. Watch it here.

That's a wrap for Astro's presentation! I hope you just discovered a new group to stan, or at least that I tickled your curiosity. And if you're already an Aroha, you can comment down below your favorite Astro song/era! 

Take care, and I'll see you all soon. 

Love, Swan

 

Sources: Amazon, Kpopmap, Kprofiles, YouTube, Wikipedia