WINNER
Artist
WINNER (Korean: 위너) is a South Korean boy group formed in 2014 by YG Entertainment. The group originally consisted of five members, Kang Seungyoon, Song Minho, Lee Seunghoon, Kim Jinwoo and Nam Taehyun. After Taehyun’s departure in 2016, WINNER decided to continue as the current 4-member group.
The group was first introduced in the 2013 reality survival program WIN: Who is Next as “Team A.” Team A and their adversaries, Team B were both formed with trainees within YG Entertainment. They competed against each other for the chance to debut as the first YG boy group in eight years, since the debut of Big Bang. At the conclusion of the program, the name “WINNER” was given to Team A after they won all three rounds of public voting.
After several delays, the group made their Korean debut at the YG Family Concert on August 15, 2014. Their broadcast debut was on Inkigayo on August 17. On September 10, the group debuted in Japan. Their debut has been considered as one of the best K-pop debuts of 2014.
