Draft:Nine.i

NINE.i (Korean: 나인아이; RR: Na-in-a-i) is a South Korean boy band under the company FirstOne Entertainment. The group is composed of 9 members: Jewon, Eden, Minjun, Vahn, Vari, Seowon, Taehun, Joohyoung, and Jiho. Winnie left the group on January 28, 2024. They debuted on March 30, 2022 with the EP New World.

Name
The name NINE.i means "EVERYDAY NEW i". The name of their fans, i.ENIN, is the band's name in reverse, meaning that "Fans and NINE.i will connect through the parallel world."

Pre-debut activities
Multiple members participated in competition shows before debuting in NINE.i. Jewon was on Produce X 101 in 2019, finishing in 54th. He was also a background dancer for the group BTS. From late 2018 to early 2019, Vahn participated in Under Nineteen, finishing in 26th. In 2021, Minjun was a contestant on Wild Idol and was eliminated in the third episode.

2022: Debut, New World, I (Part.1), and member hiatuses
On March 8, FirstOne Entertainment announced that they would be debuting a new group later that month. Then, on March 30, NINE.i debuted with their 5-track EP New World. There was controversy surrounding their debut as one of the released teasers contained videos and pictures from the Holocaust, the Civil Rights Movement, and other historical events. The teaser was removed from YouTube, a new one without the footage was uploaded, and FirstOne released an apology statement.

Their first comeback, with the mini-album I (Part.1), was announced on October 19, and was released on November 8.

On December 9, FirstOne announced that members Winnie, Seowon, and Jiho would be going on hiatus due to "personal schedules". On December 29, profiles for those three members were posted by the reality competition show Boys Planet's official Twitter account , confirming their participation on the show, which would start airing in February of 2023.

2023: Boys Planet, KCON Japan, Winnie hiatus, and NEW MIND
Winnie and Jiho were both eliminated from Boys Planet in episode 5, and Seowon in episode 11. After their eliminations, all three members came out of hiatus and returned to the group.

On April 17, it was announced that NINE.i will be present at KCON Japan, which took place from May 12 to May 14.

On July 16, the group announced their second comeback NEW MIND, a mini-album, would be coming out on August 3. Member Winnie did not participate in this comeback due to health reasons.