The group was announced on December 31st, 2018, and their debut EP The Vision was released on January 17, 2019. They made their live stage debut on Chinese show "All For One" on February 14th, 2019 performing their lead single "理所当然 (Regular)" and b-side "噩梦 (Come Back)". Following this, they appeared on Happy Camp, one of China's most watched TV shows, in March to promote themselves as rookie Chinese group.
During downtime between album promotions, WayV partook in a self-produced creative project called RainbowV in which the group, broken into sub-units, selected songs to cover and independently produce the arrangements, choreography, cinematic design, and more. Episodes detailing their creative process were released weekly on their Weibo and YouTube pages. TEN and WinWin's project, a dance cover of lovely by Billie Eilish feat. Khalid even received recognition and praise by Khalid on his twitter in April 2019.
On May 9th, Take Off was released digitally, with title track "无翼而飞 (Take Off)". The song was described as an urban dance genre track with powerful trap drum sounds and a catchy club bass line. This was paired with a visually powerful music video, shot in the Ukraine. The song was successful, peaking at #1 on QQmusic and iTunes worldwide charts. A physical release of the Take Off album occurred later that month.
During October, WayV member TEN made his American debut with SM's "k-pop supergroup" SuperM. He made history becoming the first Chinese & Thai artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 100.
In November, the full group came back with Take Over the Moon. For the first time, WayV promoted in Korea- having their debut special stage for the title track "天选之城 (Moonwalk)" on Show Champion, November 1st. Their physical album also released, with unique presses in China, Korea, and Thailand.
On November 5th, SM Entertainment released a special English version of the b-side track Love Talk, accompanied by a music video on QQmusic and Youtube. The single peaked at #1 on the QQmusic best seller daily chart, and has sold over 182,000 digital copies to date.
In December, WayV performed a mashup of Take Off and Moonwalk at the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) in Japan, where they also won the "Best New Asian Artist" award. They performed the same medley at the Zheijiang New Years Eve Party, broadcasted in China on December 31st, closing out WayV's explosively successful first year as a Chinese idol group.
In 2020, WayV was the second group from SM Entertainment to hold a live online concert, jointly organized by SM Entertainment and Naver as part of the world's first online-dedicated live concert series, Beyond LIVE. The live concert, which was WayV first-ever concert and titled WayV – Beyond the Vision, was held on May 3. The group performed songs from their prior albums, as well as a mashup of "Turn Back Time" and "Bad Alive", two tracks on their first studio album Awaken the World that was set for release five weeks later on June 9, 2020.
After many months of anticipation, WayV's first full length album Awaken the World was released on June 9th, 2020. The MV for the title track Turn Back Time premiered a few hours later on June 10th. A handful of tracks on the album feature songwriting credits for members Hendery and Yangyang, including Only Human, Electric Hearts, and also Stand By Me (for Hendery only). Upon its release, WayV earned their first top-three entry on Tencent Music's UNI Chart (previously known as Yo! Bang) and the Gaon Album Chart. The album also peaked at number nine on the Billboard World Albums chart, while "Turn Back Time" ranked at number twelve on the World Digital Song Sales chart. Awaken the World became the group's first release to chart on Japanese music charts, appearing on both Billboard Japan Hot Albums and Oricon Weekly Albums Chart. Subsequently, the group released a Korean version of "Turn Back Time" digitally accompanied with a similar music video. On July 29, an English version of the track "Bad Alive" was released as a digital single. The single ranked at number one on QQ Music's Daily Digital Sales chart and earned Gold certification within hours of its release. It peaked at number six on the platform's weekly chart.
WayV participated in NCT's project NCT 2020, which included members of WayV, the other NCT subunits, and two new members. The group released their album in two parts, with NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 1 released in October and NCT 2020 Resonance Pt. 2 in November, marking WayV's first official promotion as an NCT subunit and Xiaojun, Hendery, and Yangyang's official induction as NCT members. For the album, WayV recorded the song "月之迷 (Nectar)", which debuted at number twelve on the UNI Chart. By the end of the year, WayV received international awards from Mnet Asian Music Awards and Asia Artist Awards and ranked third on the UNI Chart Top 10 Groups of 2020 based on their achievements on the local chart.
On March 10, 2021, WayV released their third EP, Kick Back, with the lead single of the same name. It would also be the final NCT album to feature Lucas due to his hiatus and eventual departure in 2023. Member Winwin was absent during the promotion of the album given he were undergoing quarantine in China due to solo schedules. The album became the group's first number one album on the Gaon Album Chart and eventually earned the group their first certification for selling more than 250,000 copies in South Korea. On June 23, WayV released a new song "Everytime" as part of the soundtrack album for Chinese drama Falling Into Your Smile.
In June 2021, SM Entertainment formed the group's first sub-unit, WayV-KUN&XIAOJUN. The sub-unit debuted by releasing a pop-ballad single album titled "Back to You". In August 17, the second sub-unit, WayV-TEN&YANGYANG, debuted with the hip-hop single "Low Low". A third sub-unit, WayV – Lucas & Hendery, was scheduled to debut with a digital single titled "Jalapeño" on August 25, although the project was canceled due to controversy surrounding Lucas' private life.
WayV members participated in the promotion of NCT's third studio album Universe, released on December 14, 2021. The group recorded the English song "Miracle" for the album. Winwin did not participate in the album. Lucas was suspended from any promotional activities due to his cheating and gaslighting controversy, and Winwin had established a personal studio in China.
WayV announced the release of their fourth EP, Phantom, on December 9, 2022. The group later delayed the release to December 28 following the passing of former president of China, Jiang Zemin. Released almost two years from their previous EP, Phantom marks the group's first album release as a sextet. To support the album, WayV embarked on a six month long eponymous global fanmeeting tour, starting with two shows in Seoul on February 11, and spanning across various venues in Asia and Europe, ending in Macau on August 13th. WayV also subsequently held their first solo event in Japan titled "The First Vision" at Pia Arena MM in Kanagawa on May 6–7, 2023. Three days later, on May 10, 2023, SM Entertainment announced that Lucas would be departing from NCT and WayV to pursue his individual endeavors after being put on hiatus for nearly two years.
On June 14, 2023, WayV were announced to perform at KCON LA for the first time in their career for a performance on August 18th, 2023. It marked the group's first performance in North America. On July 25, 2023, it was announced on KWANGYA Club that WayV leader KUN would be unable to participate in the festival due to an ankle injury earlier in the year. The group performed their widely famous and popular song “Love Talk - English Version” as well as the English version of their song “Phantom” and the KCON official theme song, Poppia, as an opening.
On August 26, 2023, WayV participated in NCT's first full group concert, NCT Nation at Incheon Stadium in South Korea. With performances of Take Off, a rock version of Kick Back, Nectar, and an English version of Kun's Phantom remix, WayV members also performed several songs as members of various NCT U groups, including new tracks such as Kangaroo, PADO, The BAT, Call D, Alley Oop, Baggy Jeans, Interlude: Oasis, among other tracks. This marked WayV's first concert performance as a full group.
On November 1st, 2023, WayV released their highly anticipated second full album On My Youth in digital formats, with the albums physical release on November 8th. The album features ten songs, including the title track "On My Youth" and "On My Youth - English Version". The album topped iTunes charts in 17 countries across the globe on the day of its release, ranked first on the daily Hanteo Chart on the day of its release, rose to No. 1 on the digital album sales chart of QQ Music, China's largest music platform, within 5 minutes of its release, ranked No. 1 on the digital album sales charts of Kugou Music and Wang Yiwon Music, became a certified Platinum Album on QQ Music, and ranked first on Japan's Line Music real-time album top 100 chart. The album earned the group its highest first day sales with 170,000 copies, surpassing the groups first week sales for any release while also making the group million sellers. Within its first week, the album sold 337,000 copies, doubling that of previous releases Phantom and Kick Back. On My Youth became a Platinum certified album through KMCA Album certification in January 2024 for its sales achievements, making it the second album by the group to do so.
To support the album, WayV began an album showcase tour in Mainland China starting on November 1st throughout the month of November. Each of the six stops sold out almost instantly upon going up for sale.
In November, WayV won the Global Male Group of the Year Award at the SuperSonic Festival held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Take Off
WAYV Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Six, five, four, three, two, one
飞翔
Yeah 城市的雨在哽咽
霓紅的光在明滅
街燈照耀著天行者的背影
謎樣般的羽毛凌空盤旋不去
像傳說信者恆信 hey
我發現不明飛行物體
許多人凝視天空
卻又當作什麼也沒發生
Yeah yeah 有股煙硝的氣息
為何我聽見心跳讀秒的聲音
彷彿發射台已準備好
大地顫抖按下鈕
風切在狂嘯
Yeah 如果紀錄上從未被記載
Don't be sad with it
你的自由就無法犯規
像神秘的不存在的信號
在雷達上劃過一道燃燒
Can I be honest
I so hate to be controlled oh no no
飛行守則唯一條款
就是忘記所有條款
要爬升或者旋轉
只相信自由意志的羅盤
無翼而飛 I'm ready for take off take off
朝向天外之外 take off
無翼而飛 I'm ready for take off take off
朝向天外之外 take off
馳騁是你與生的野性
你有抗拒重力的野心
你是例外般的存在
So baby 朝向天外之外 Take off yeah
Oh oh 誰能馴服我飛上雲霄
Oh oh 無翼而飛 I'm ready for take off
3,2,1
Talkin' 'bout
物競天擇為何靈魂飢餓起來
DNA決定適者生存輸者成仁
也許我渴望的美麗
已在地表上消失無踪
我將目光眺望向天空之城
Yeah 用力跳躍聚焦雙臂舉高
揮舞再咆哮有了高度
Yeah 和世界
我理解我的不被理解
So 讓他們獵奇有人無須羽翼
Rock your world
燦爛的天體 Can be me and you
無翼而飛 I'm ready for take off take off
朝向天外之外 take off
無翼而飛 I'm ready for take off take off
朝向天外之外 take off
馳騁是你與生的野性
你有抗拒重力的野心
你是例外般的存在
So baby 朝向天外之外 Take off
飛翔
Take off 飛翔
Take off
Oh 俯瞰著地球
再征服身後宇宙 (宇宙）
倒數的節拍向平凡say goodbye
朝向深邃的未來我們飛走
無翼而飛 I'm ready for take off take off
朝向天外之外 take off
無翼而飛 I'm ready for take off take off
朝向天外之外 take off
以我心跳的節奏為名
這是不可思議的飛行
你是見證我的伙伴
So baby 朝向天外之外 Take off take off
Come on 朝向天外之外 Take off take off
帶著你所有的美好
Come on 朝向天外之外 Take off take off
帶著你所有的美好
Oh oh 誰能馴服我飛上雲霄
Oh oh 無翼而飛
Take take off 飛翔
The song "Take Off" by WAYV is about the desire for freedom and breaking free from limitations. The song begins with a countdown sequence, which creates a sense of anticipation and excitement. As the countdown ends, the lyrics describe the city rain choking and the neon lights flickering, setting the scene for the rest of the song.
The next section of the song talks about a mysterious flying object and how people are looking up at the sky, yet nothing really happens. The lyrics suggest a call to action, urging listeners to embrace their free will and compasses to fly towards the unknown. The theme of freedom is further highlighted in the chorus of the song, where the lyrics describe the feeling of flying without wings and heading towards the outer limits of the sky.
The bridge of the song talks about the survival of the fittest and how DNA determines our fate. However, the lyrics suggest that despite the odds, the desire for beauty and freedom will never disappear. The song ends with the lyrics "Take off," repeated twice, urging listeners to embrace their wild nature and fly towards the unknown.
Overall, "Take Off" is a powerful and inspiring song about breaking free from limitations and soaring towards greatness.
Line by Line Meaning
Admission sequence starts
The process of gaining entry into a new place or situation is about to begin.
Six, five, four, three, two, one
Countdown before launch.
飞翔
Fly.
Yeah 城市的雨在哽咽
The rain in the city is sobbing.
霓紅的光在明滅
The neon light is flashing.
街燈照耀著天行者的背影
The streetlights illuminate the silhouette of the skywalker.
謎樣般的羽毛凌空盤旋不去
Mysterious feathers hover in the air without leaving.
像傳說信者恆信 hey
Just like the faithful believers in legends.
我發現不明飛行物體
I found an unidentified flying object.
許多人凝視天空
Many people look at the sky.
卻又當作什麼也沒發生
But they act like nothing happened.
Yeah yeah 有股煙硝的氣息
There is a smell of gunpowder.
為何我聽見心跳讀秒的聲音
Why do I hear the sound of my heartbeat counting seconds?
彷彿發射台已準備好
As if the launch pad is ready.
大地顫抖按下鈕
The earth trembles as the button is pressed.
風切在狂嘯
The wind howls.
Yeah 如果紀錄上從未被記載
Yeah, if it has never been recorded in history.
Don't be sad with it
Don't be sad about it.
你的自由就無法犯規
Your freedom cannot be violated.
像神秘的不存在的信號
Like a mysterious non-existent signal.
在雷達上劃過一道燃燒
It blazes across the radar.
Can I be honest
Can I be truthful?
I so hate to be controlled oh no no
I really hate being controlled.
飛行守則唯一條款
The only rule of flying is to forget all the rules.
就是忘記所有條款
To forget all the rules.
要爬升或者旋轉
To climb or rotate.
只相信自由意志的羅盤
Only believe in the compass of free will.
無翼而飛 I'm ready for take off take off
Fly without wings, I'm ready for takeoff.
朝向天外之外 take off
Take off towards beyond the sky.
馳騁是你與生的野性
Gallop is your inherent wildness.
你有抗拒重力的野心
You have the ambition to resist gravity.
你是例外般的存在
You are an exceptional existence.
So baby 朝向天外之外 Take off yeah
Baby, take off towards beyond the sky, yeah!
Oh oh 誰能馴服我飛上雲霄
Oh oh, who can tame me to fly to the clouds?
無翼而飛 I'm ready for take off
Fly without wings, I'm ready for takeoff.
3,2,1
Countdown before launch.
Talkin' 'bout
Talking about.
物競天擇為何靈魂飢餓起來
Why does natural selection make the soul hungry?
DNA決定適者生存輸者成仁
DNA determines the survival of the fittest and the demise of the losers.
也許我渴望的美麗
Maybe the beauty I yearn for...
已在地表上消失無踪
...has disappeared from the surface of the earth without a trace.
我將目光眺望向天空之城
I gaze upon the city in the sky.
Yeah 用力跳躍聚焦雙臂舉高
Yeah, jump hard and raise both arms high.
揮舞再咆哮有了高度
Wave and roar again at a higher altitude.
Yeah 和世界
Yeah, with the world...
我理解我的不被理解
I understand my own incomprehensibility.
So 讓他們獵奇有人無須羽翼
So let them be curious, but some don't need wings.
Rock your world
Rock your world.
燦爛的天體 Can be me and you
Brilliant celestial bodies can be you and me.
So baby 朝向天外之外 Take off
Baby, take off towards beyond the sky.
飛翔
Fly.
Take off 飞翔
Take off, fly.
Oh 俯瞰著地球
Oh, overlooking the earth...
再征服身後宇宙 (宇宙）
...conquer the universe behind us (universe).
倒數的節拍向平凡say goodbye
The countdown beats say goodbye to the ordinary.
朝向深邃的未來我們飛走
We fly towards the deep future.
以我心跳的節奏為名
In the name of the rhythm of my heartbeat...
這是不可思議的飛行
...this is an incredible flight.
你是見證我的伙伴
You are the witness to my flight.
So baby 朝向天外之外 Take off take off
Baby, take off towards beyond the sky!
Come on 朝向天外之外 Take off take off
Come on, take off towards beyond the sky!
帶著你所有的美好
Bring all your beauty.
Oh oh 無翼而飛
Oh oh, fly without wings.
Take take off 飞翔
Take off, fly.
Contributed by Thomas I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@aurorapeluso
Screen time (for new WayZenNi) :))
0:11 Lucas
0:16 Yangyang
0:20 Ten
0:28 WinWin
0:30 Lucas
0:35 Yangyang
0:39 Hendery
0:44 WinWin
0:49 Xiao Jun
1:03 Kun
1:06 Ten
1:16 Yangyang
1:17 All + Lucas center
1:26 WinWin
1:31 Hendery
1:37 Ten
1:47 Kun
1:53 WinWin
1:56 YangYang
2:02 Hendery
2:05 Lucas
2:12 Yangyang
2:15 All + Lucas center
2:23 Xiao Jun
2:25 Kun
2:27 All + Ten center
2:33 Lucas
2:37 All + Ten center
2:53 Lucas
2:55 Xiao Jun
3:05 Hendery
3:14 All + Lucas center
3:20 Kun
3:23 Xiao Jun
3:25 WinWin
3:27 Lucas
3:30 Ten
3:32 All + Ten center
3:39 Hendery
3:43 Xiao Jun
3:48 All + Lucas center
Hope this helps! And no problem! :))
@leighmenia2434
Kun: HOT
Ten: VERY HOT
Xiaojun: HOT
Lucas: HOT
Hendery: HOT
Winwin: HOT Baby
Yangyang: still a cutie patootie little long-legged beanie to me 😂
@limonar9178
YAS
@amasenak
Omg so true😂😂😂
@_bloomoon_
YangYang is literally THE CUTEST
@leighmenia2434
@stan ATEEZ and SF9YASS, omg, you're an atiny too?
@_bloomoon_
@a cup of nctea and a john's banana please yess, I've been one since November/December
@azelaarcleeknows4097
WayV's voices: 🤬🔥😡😈☠️
Kun and Xiaojun: 🌸💗💓♥️🥺🥰
@azelaarcleeknows4097
Lol
@theycallmehendery
ten too 😭😭
@dorkhyun7150
Wayv won't be complete without Lucas and Winwin. Until the next comeback we'll be waiting for you together <3