The original seven. From L-R: Hyungwon, Jooheon, Kihyun, I.M, Wonho, Shownu, Minhyuk
Monsta X (Hangul: 몬스타엑스) is a six-member (formerly seven-member) Korean Pop Music Boy Band under Starship Entertainment. They were formed in 2015 through the survival show NO.MERCY, which pitted 12, later 13, Starship trainees against each other to decide who would be in the final group. About three months after the show concluded, they debuted in Korea with the EP Trespass in May 2015. They made their Japan debut with a Japanese version of Hero in May 2017.
So far, they've released ten mini albums, nine studio albums (four Korean, three Japanese and two English), and thirty-eight singles. They've also gone on two Asian tours, three world tours and held an online concert.
Members
Current members:
- Shownu (Son Hyunwoo, born June 18, 1992) — leader, main dancer
- Minhyuk (Lee Minhyuk, born November 3, 1993) — vocalist
- Kihyun (Yoo Kihyun, born November 22, 1993) — main vocalist
- Hyungwon (Chae Hyungwon, born January 15, 1994) — visual, dancer
- Jooheon (Lee Jooheonnote , born October 6, 1994) — main rapper
- I.M (Im Changkyun, born January 26, 1996) — rapper
Former members:
- Wonho (Shin Hoseoknote , born March 1, 1993) — vocalist
Discography
Korean Discography
Extended Plays:
- 2015 - Trespass
- 2015 - Rush
- Repackage: Hero
- 2016 - THE CLAN, Pt. 1 <LOST>
- 2016 - THE CLAN, Pt. 2 <GUILTY>
- 2017 - The Code
- 2018 - The Connect: Dejavu
- 2019 - Follow: Find You
- 2020 - Fantasia X
- 2021 - One of a Kind
- 2021 - No Limit
- 2017 - THE CLAN, Pt. 2.5: The Final Chapter
- Repackage: Shine Forever
- 2018 - Take 1: Are You There?
- 2019 - Take 2: We Are Here
- 2020 - Fatal Love
- 2016 - Ex Girl
- 2017 - Newton
- 2017 - Lonely Christmas
- 2021 - Kiss Or Death
Studio Albums
- 2018 - Piece
- 2019 - Phenomenon
- 2021 - Flavors of Love
- 2017 - Hero
- 2017 - Beautiful
- 2018 - Spotlight
- 2018 - Livin' It Up
- 2018 - Shoot Out
- 2019 - Alligator
- 2020 - Wish on the Same Sky
- 2020 - Love Killa
- 2021 - Wanted
- 2019 - X-Phenomenon
Studio Albums
- 2020 - All About Luv
- 2021 - The Dreaming
Wonho's solo discography
- 2020 - Love Synonym Pt. 1: Right For Me
- 2021 - Love Synonym Pt. 2: Right For Us
- 2021 - Blue Letter
Monsta X contains examples of:
Band and Member Tropes
- Animal Motifs: from Safari in Monbebe World.
- Shownu - Bear
- Wonho - Rabbit
- Minhyuk - Dog
- Kihyun - Hamster
- Hyungwon - Turtle
- Jooheon - Bee
- I.M - Wolf
- Ascended Extra: Shownu was a backup dancer for Lee Hyori with Madtown's Jota in 2013.
- The Baby of the Bunch: I.M
- Big Eater: Wonho can eat 8 bowls of rice in one sitting, and describes himself as having different stomachs for meals, dessert, and tangerines.
- Big Little Brother: Hyungwon is the third-youngest and the tallest.
- But Not Too Foreign: I.M was born in Gwangju, but lived in Boston for three years.
- Cowardly Lion: Jooheon, whose nickname is Chicken Man.
- Does Not Like Spam: Minhyuk hates cucumbers.
- Fanboy: Shownu for Rain, Wonho for Kanye West, and Kihyun for Michael Jackson.
- Fan Community Nickname: Monbebes.
- Heavy Sleeper: Hyungwon. There is no easy way to wake him up from sleep
. - The Leader: Shownu is the "levelheaded" type.
- Lethal Chef: Everyone except Kihyun, according to Kihyun.
- Mr. Fanservice: Wonho, so so much. Several concerts have had him take his shirt off and throw it into the audience.
- Neat Freak: Kihyun says he inherited this trait from his father.
- Older Than They Look: A lot of people thought Minhyuk was the youngest member when they first debuted.
- Opposites Attract: Minhyuk said that he and Shownu complement each other well because of their very different personalities.
- Power Trio: Hyungwon, Minhyuk, and Wonho are acknowledged as the visual trio of the band.
- Schedule Fanatic: I.M checks his schedule right after he wakes up.
- "Sesame Street" Cred:
- They guest-starred in the We Bare Bears episode "Panda's Birthday".
- In The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, they cameo as dancing zombies.
- Sixth Ranger: I.M, who joined NO.MERCY in the middle of the show.
- Soprano and Gravel: Contrast Kihyun's high notes with I.M or Jooheon's low voices.
- Stage Names: Shownu for Hyunwoo, Wonho for Hoseok, and I.M for Changkyun.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Hyungwon is 183cm (6'0") and the official visual.
- Teen Idol: I.M was 19 when Monsta X debuted.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: Various members in the Temptation of the Wife of Heirs over Flowers drama parody.
- Younger Than They Look: I.M's been referred to as "the oldest-looking youngest member."
Music and Music Video Tropes
- Fanservice: "Hero" has shirt-lifting as part of the choreography.
- Gratuitous English: "It's broken heart", "Girl I always by your side", "You're crazy virus", etc.
- Lighter and Softer: "Newton" compared to pretty much every other single they've released.
- Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Kihyun's goal in the Dramarama MV is to save Jooheon from dying in a car crash.
- Singer Namedrop: "Monsta X boys on the way man" in "Trespass", "Yeah, Monsta X" in "Spotlight".
- Solo Side Project:
- Jooheon and I.M have released solo mixtapes.
- Kihyun has also sung OSTs for several kdramas, a few featuring Jooheon and one with Seola of WJSN.
- Hyungwon is a DJ under the name DJ H.One.
- Time Travel: The plot of "Dramarama" revolves around the members doing this.
- This is also especially prominent in their music video of "Find You" in which Hyungwon seemingly experiences and travels to their other music videos such as Dramarama and Destroyer.
- Vocal Tag Team: 5 vocalists means that they do this a lot.
