SuperM, a South Korean-Chinese boy band boy band is the result of a partnership between Capitol Music Group and its independent label service Caroline from Los Angeles and SM Entertainment, one of the top agencies in the Korean Pop Music industry.
Dubbed as "The Avengers of K-Pop", the group is made up of seven established superstars who have already debuted previously in powerhouse groups SHINee, EXO, and NCT. The team is set to make their debut on the American music scene in October 2019 after the release of daily teasers starting on September 1 of the same year.
The formation of the group was faced with backlash due to essentially "re-debuting" its members, who are already distinguished artists both as a member of their respective groups and as solo artists, but SM Entertainment assures fans that they're "maintaining their groups, their solo careers, and on top of this we have this 'Avengers' group to pull them together." and that they "want to create a synergy between their groups, them as solo acts, and the Super M group to create a big wave in this K-pop industry."
Though it was teased on January 1, 2023, that SuperM would have a comeback in 2023, it's unlikely to happen given Kai's military enlistment and Lucas' departure from NCT and WayV. After the departure of Lee Soo-man from the company in February 2023, the future of the group remains in limbo.
For tropes pertaining to the members and their works outside of SuperM, please see their original groups' respective pages: SHINee, EXO, and NCT.
The members of SuperM include:
- Baekhyun (Byun Baekhyun, born May 6, 1992, part of EXO and EXO-CBX) - Leader, Main Vocalist
- Taemin (Lee Taemin, born July 18, 1993, part of SHINee) - Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist
- Kai (Kim Jongin, born January 14, 1994, part of EXO) - Main Dancer, Vocalist, Rapper
- Taeyong (Lee Taeyong, born July 1, 1995, part of NCT and NCT 127) - Rapper, Dancer, Vocalist
- Ten (Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul, born February 27, 1996, part of NCT and WayV) - Dancer, Rapper, Vocalist
- Lucas (Wong Yukhei, born January 25, 1999, part of NCT and WayV) - Rapper, Vocalist, Dancer
- Mark (Mark Lee, born August 2, 1999, part of NCT and NCT 127) - Rapper, Vocalist, Maknae
Discography:
- [SuperM] - The First Mini Album - October 2019
- Super One - September 2020
SuperM provides examples of the following tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Kai writes the group name as sperm in one of their signing events.
- Affectionate Nickname: Mark is fond of calling Baekhyun "B. A. E. K. Hyun".
- Big Word Shout: In both "Jopping" and "100": YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!
- Boastful Rap: "Jopping" is chock-full of awesome ones, although in general this is Mark Lee's specialty. (Mostly self-written, no less.)Mark: Oh, you think ya big, boy, throwing three stacks? (Bet)
I'ma show you how to ball, you a mismatch (What?)
Opinionated, but I'm always spitting straight facts (True)
Throw it back, I might throw this on an eight-track (Oh)- He gets another one with Taeyong in "100":
Taeyong: We roll deep like we goin' to war
We comin' at you like the eye of the storm
Mark: (Sege!) My crowd
Let's give them something they be talking about, I said
(Sege!) Are you with me?
You might be a boss, but we run this city - Boy Band: A particularly stand-out example, as its members are already members of other active boy bands while promoting with the permanent group SuperM, unlike previous collaboration groups such as S.M. The Performance.
- Family Theme Naming: Super Junior from the same company. It doesn't help that the group also has a sub-unit called Super Junior-M.
- Fun Personified: Baekhyun frequently has the other members in stitches. The only one that is less affected is Kai, but only because they're from the same group so he got used to it.Kai: He's always like this. He's been like this for seven years.
- Incredibly Long Note: Baekhyun, who is both the leader and main vocalist of the group, is in charge of these. Stand-out examples include his high notes in "Jopping" and "100".
- Multinational Team: The group is formed of members with different nationalities: Baekhyun, Taemin, Kai, and Taeyong are Korean; Ten is ethnically Chinese but is of Thai nationality; Lucas is from Hong Kong and is half-Thai; and Mark is Korean but is of Canadian nationality.
- New Work, Recycled Graphics: Fans of Super Junior have pointed out that the SuperM logo
seems to be a rework of the Super Junior logo. - Perfectly Cromulent Word: We jopping. We just are.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: In the beginning of the "100" music video, the members sport glowing red eyes.
- Stage Names: Kai for Kim Jongin.
- Supergroup: The members of SuperM are already popular from their previous/other Boy Band endeavors.
- Team Dad: Baekhyun, as both the leader and the eldest member of the group, but that doesn't stop him from being a Manchild though.
- Team Mom: Taemin, at least according to Taeyong.
- Teleportation: Kai is seen teleporting in the beginning of the "Jopping" MV, referencing the fact that he has the same superpower in EXO.
- Truck Driver's Gear Change: "One (Monster and Infinity)" has its verses in D minor, shifting up to G minor for the choruses and the bridge.
