Before their debut, the four members participated in the survival program from FNC Entertainment under the name Mnet’s DOB (Dance or Band), where they were in the band team. But, unfortunately, in the final round, the band team had to admit the excellence of the dance team which has now debuted under the name SF9. Alas, the band finally made their debut on May 17th, 2017, with their first single album Like You. Unfortunately, after two years of being a Korean acoustic band, HONEYST officially decided to disband on April 26th, 2019. It was reported that they disbanded due to differences in opinion between the members and their management. But, even though the group decided to disband now, they still remain one of the great K-bands. So, are you still curious about this band? If so, scroll down this article below to find out more about them!
HONEYST’s Profile
Group Name: HONEYST (허니 스트) Label: FNC Entertainment Number of Members: Four: Oh Seung-seok as a drummer, Kim Chul-min as a keyboardist/guitarist, Seo Dong-sung as a vocalist/bassist, and Kim Hwan as a vocalist/maknae. Debut: May 17th, 2017 Debut Song: “Like You” Official sites:
Fancafé Facebook Instagram Twitter Weibo YouTube Channel
Music Video & Concept
Described as an acoustic band, HONEYST introduced themselves through a sweet melody song that tells the story of falling in love, “Like You,” released on May 17, 2017. Ever since the first, they have established their music style with easy lyrics and light musical instruments, with a bit of rock styled music. Already, the first lyrics have, “Falling for you, falling for you, falling for you, Falling for you, falling for you, falling for you,” in it and it gets better after, pulling us into the feelings of being in love. Like their sweet lyrics and music beat, they also display a flower-boy concept in their costumes, with them wearing a simple t-shirt but still successfully standing out. The MV’s color palette is light and colorful, exactly like the feeling that they’re trying to build through their songs. A lot of things are happening in the background as we follow their singing until the chorus takes us to the members’ playing each of their instruments.
Their debut received a warm response in their YouTube comment section: “Emo hours. I never stanned but this band was great Thank you, HONEYST,” one user wrote. “I’m so happy FNC kept their promise!!! After Dance or Band, I kinda lost hope and expected FNC to not keep their word but they did and earlier than expected as well!! So happy this talent is finally being seen 🙌🏼 Honeyst is such a breath of fresh air,” another user wrote. “The intro music though, I thought I was in some pokémon game about to bike through some long grass,” added another user. “In case some people didn’t know, this is a self-composed HONEYST song 💕,” another user added. In their other track released later within the same year, “Someone to Love,” they are still playing the same concept and singing about the feeling of being in love, but this time the MV proposes a storyline instead of just a performance MV and displays the members’ acting.
While in “Don’t Remember,” released on March 18th, 2020, the MV once again displays a simple storyline that will entertain us as we listen to their song.
Check out all three MVs!
Stage Performances
Like other usual bands, HONEYST have always been performing their music live. They sing live, play their instruments live, and even give an adlib live sometimes. Be it their own songs or other groups’ songs, they have always delivered their 100% energy. It proves that they’re really talented!
Mnet’s Dance or Band
Prior to their official debut, the rumors about FNC Entertainment debuting a new band was already spread since 2016. FNC Entertainment even confirmed the rumor, saying that Seo Dong-sung, Oh Seung-seok, Kim Chul-min, and Kim Hwan will debut as members of the group named NEOZ band. This announcement was released on May 2nd, 2016, by FNC Entertainment. Through the next days, the introduction videos of this new-soon-to-debut group were released through FNC’s NEO School YouTube Channel. Later that year, it turned out that the group had to participate in a Mnet and FNC survival show competition, D.O.B (Dance or Band). The show was aired from May 11th, 2016, where two groups under NEOZ School (NEOZ Band and NEOZ Dance) competed against each other to decide which team will debut first.
Although HONEYST attracted a lot of attention for their fresh take of K-pop pop hit songs such as AOA’s “Heart Attack” and Zion T.’s “Yanghwa Bridge,” the group had to lose against the NEOZ dance team that won the public vote. The NEOZ dance band won the prize of debuting first and later got to be known as the group SF9. The show’s final episode was aired on June 29th, 2016, with the group performing their self-composed song titled “Perfume.”
Official Disbandment
After HONEYST officially disbanded, all the members got busy with their respective activities. Although many fans were disappointed, FNC Entertainment as the management that oversees HONEYST still released a statement regarding the disbandment of the band, which consists of four members. FNC Entertainment stated that after a long and extensive mediation, HONEYST decided to disband because they were no match for each other, and each person wanted to focus on their respective careers, both in acting and in the world of singing. However, HONEYST thanked all the fans that supported and gave attention to them and asked that fans continue to provide support for each member to be even more successful in the future. Read the full statement of FNC Entertainment, below: Though the members of HONEYST searched for various ways to carry out activities, there were differences in opinion between the members and on how to manage the team. After a long discussion, the decision has been made for the group to officially disband. From now on, Seo Dongsung, Kim Chulmin, Kim Hwan, and Oh Seungseok will no longer be active as members of HONEYST, but will instead be active as individuals in various fields such as music and acting. We respect each member’s decision and we plan to work with each member on their future plans. We are sorry to be bringing such news to all those who have cared for HONEYST. We sincerely thank you for the affection and interest you have shown HONEYST, and we hope you will continue to support their individual activities. In early September 2020, it was reported that one of the former HONEYST members, Seo Dong-sung, was confirmed to join the band N.Flying which was also under FNC Entertainment. The news was conveyed directly by the FNC Entertainment agency. Seo Dong-sung was chosen to be the bass player of N.Flaying to replace Kwangjin, who officially resigned last year. FNC Entertainment released an official statement regarding this news that read as follows: The news was also confirmed by N.Flying’s Seunghyub through his fan café. Seo Dong Sung, who has been promoting as a guest member with N.Flying as a bassist, will officially be joining the group as a member starting today. Seo Dong Sung will begin participating with the group starting in the first half of the year, including events such as their solo concert. He and the band will be doing their best to greet fans through wonderful music. We ask for your love and support. Thank you. Since his previous success with HONEYST, Dong-sung is known to be good at playing guitar musical instruments. Fans who heard this news got really excited to see the former HONEYST bassist come back to the music industry. Well, we are excited too! Can’t wait to hear some news from other former HONEYST members! So, those are all the things that you need to know regarding one of FNC’s bands, HONEYST! What do you think about them? Do you miss them? Let’s chat about them in the comment section below!
