All-Filipino group HORI7ON just debuted in South Korea
Filipino artists have been making waves globally, and it looks like they’re not stopping anytime soon. Exhibit A: An all-Filipino idol group just debuted in South Korea.
Meet HORI7ON, whose members Vinci Malizon, Kim Ng, Kyler Chua, Reyster Yton, Winston Pineda, Jeromy Batac, and Marcus Cabias flew to Seoul and released their first full-length album on July 24, Monday. The debut record is entitled “Friend-SHIP,” which reflects the group’s “first sail towards the horizon,” as told by their leader Vinci in an Inquirer Entertainment report.
The septet, who went through around 100 days of “K-training,” is under South Korean agency MLD Entertainment, which also manages girl groups Lapillus and Momoland, among others.
“I’m happy today because we were able to debut successfully. I thank the anchors who came and cheered for us during the performance. I’m also thankful to those who joined us even from [far away]. Our journey does not end here, we have many more performances to give you,” said Kyler on Twitter.
The rest of the members also expressed their disbelief and gratefulness on the platform, with Winston even mentioning that remembering HORI7ON’s progress pushed him to the verge of tears.
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HORI7ON’s latest milestone-slash-gift to Anchors (a.k.a their fanbase) is “Friend-SHIP.” The album boasts 21 tracks that showcase the talents of each member. It’s also packed with featured collaborations with Noa and Leo of group TFN; Jom, Macky, Wilson, and Josh.L of new:ID, and Haeun of Lapillus.
HORI7ON
THE 1ST ALBUM <Friend-SHIP>
Track List 🎶#VINCI #빈치 #KIM #킴 #KYLER #카일러 #REYSTER #레이스터#WINSTON #윈스턴 #JEROMY #제로미 #MARCUS #마커스✨2023.07.24 5PM (PHT) / 6PM (KST) RELEASE#HORI7ON #호라이즌#FriendSHIP pic.twitter.com/x3OWHRjWJx
— HORI7ONofficial (@HORI7ONofficial) July 12, 2023
The groovy beats of HORI7ON
Most of the tracks burst with jubilant tunes, groovy rhythms, a dash of angst, and an overall welcoming atmosphere. It’s almost like arriving at a party mid-program, perfect for the mood of the group’s spectacular debut. If you need a more specific visual representation of that, it might be best to watch their newly released music video for “SIX7EEN”.
If singing along with it isn’t enough, Anchors can also express their excitement through an available peek into their dance practice.
A few more emotional tracks are sandwiched in between these high-energy compositions, like the ones written in Filipino. There’s pre-release song “Salamat,” which shows their appreciation for the Anchors, and “Mama,” a heartfelt acoustic ballad-slash-open letter to mothers’ unconditional love.
Speaking of Filipino elements, the boys also make it a point to update their fans during their downtime. Reyster, Kim, and Jeromy shared how happy they were to gobble up a Filipino combination meal while in SoKor.
Meanwhile, Marcus and Kyler made it obvious what their favorites were (spoiler: lumpia and leche flan, respectively). For the other side of idol group updates (like concept photos), head to MLD Entertainment’s page for official announcements.
The members of HORI7ON came together after being the chosen finalists in “Dream Maker.” It is a Filipino-South Korean survival reality series produced by ABS-CBN Entertainment, MLD Entertainment, and Kamp Global.
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