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ROVIX, VIXX's robotic mascot/logo.

VIXX (Korean: 빅스, Japanese: ヴィックス, acronym for Voice, Visual, Value in Excelsis) is a South Korean boy band that debuted on May 24, 2012 under Jellyfish Entertainment. Notably, rather than being assembled by their label as per the norm for Korean idol groups, the 6 members were chosen through a elimination-style reality TV show called MyDOL in which 10 trainees competed against each other, with results being based off viewer votes. Only the final 6 made the cut and were allowed to debut as VIXX.

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     Members 
Current:
  • N (born June 30, 1990) - leader, main dancer, lead vocalist
  • Leo note (born November 10, 1990) - main vocalist
  • Ken note  (born April 6, 1992) - main vocalist
  • Hyuk (born July 5, 1995) - maknae, supporting vocalist, lead dancer
Former:
  • Hongbin note  (born September 29, 1993) - visual, supporting vocalist, supporting rapper
  • Ravi note (born February 15, 1993) - main rapper, main dancer

Jellyfish Entertainment's first idol group, VIXX started out with a saccharine, generic boy band sound, and compared to other newcomers in 2012, their debut was rather lackluster. It wasn't until 2013 that they made a name for themselves with the single On and On, which marked a reinvention in image and artistic direction for the group. Soon after, they netted their first music show win with Voodoo Doll, and haven't looked back since. Though 2013 is considered their breakout year, the successes of Eternity and Error in 2014 solidified them as one of the industry's emerging boy groups, with a growing domestic and international fanbase.

They're known for their onstage charisma, superb choreography, and their willingness to embrace dark, disturbing, or otherwise unorthodox concepts and subject matter for their songs - ones that most boy bands wouldn't even dare to touch - and run with them; as a result, they're often referred to variably as "concept gangsters", "horror-dols", and "fantasy-dols" in Korea. VIXX also have a great deal of creative control over their work compared to most boy bands - in fact, members have written and composed album tracks, choreographed music videos, and come up with the concepts for their releases, among other things.

     Discography 
Korean Discography

Studio Albums:

  • Voodoo (2013)
  • Chained Up (2015)
  • 2016 Conception Ker (2016)
    Zelos
    Hades
    Kratos
  • EAU DE VIXX (2018)

Extended Plays:

  • Hyde (2013)
    • Jekyll (Repackage)
  • Error (2014)
  • Beautiful Liar (2015) - VIXX LR
  • Shangri-La (2017)
  • Whisper (2017) - VIXX LR

Singles:

  • Super Hero (2012)
  • Rock Ur Body (2012)
  • On and On (2013)
  • Eternity (2014)
  • Boys' Record (2015)
  • Zelos (2016)
  • Hades (2016)
  • Kratos (2016)
  • Parallel (2019)

Japanese Discography

Studio Albums:

  • Darkest Angels (2014)
  • Depend on Me (2016)
  • Hanakaze (2017)
  • Reincarnation (2018)

Singles:

  • Error (2014)
  • Can't Say (2015)

     Music Videos 


VIXX provides examples of the following tropes:

  • All There in the Manual: Apparently Leo is the DJ for VIXX TV.
  • Art: Hongbin loves and enjoys photography with a passion while Ken loves drawing/doodling.
  • Artistic License – Physics: On and On. Launching people to outer space will cause the G-forces to crush them. Unless if they're not humans at all.
  • Back to Front: The music video for G.R.8.U played out from the ending to the beginning and most of the scenes were done in reverse. In order to portray this trope well, VIXX had to learn and sing the song backwards.
  • Big Little Brother: Youngest member Hyuk - after his growth spurt, he's become the tallest member of the group.
  • Bloodier and Gorier: The Hyde music video is more violent and graphic compared to On and On, but the music video for Voodoo Doll makes both of them seem pleasant by comparison.
  • Blonde, Brunette, Redhead:
    • During the Rock Ur Body era Hyuk was blonde, while Ken was brunette and Ravi had red hair.
    • During the On and On era N had silver hair, while Ken was brunette and Leo had red hair.
    • During the Hyde era Ravi had white hair, while Ken was brunette and N had red hair.
    • During the G.R.8.U era Hyuk was Blonde, while Hongbin was brunette and N had fire engine red hair.
    • During the Love Equation era Ravi was blonde, while Hyuk was brunette and Hongbin had reddish pink hair although it tended to change frequently with various shades of pink and light brown.
  • Bowdlerise: The choreography for Voodoo Doll had to be changed for live performances because it was deemed too violent. The music video itself was deemed too horrific to broadcast, so a clean version without the questionable content was made.
  • Boy Band: A Korean Pop Music example.
  • Break-Up Song: Love Equation tells the story about 'youth' who move forward to the future and overcoming their breakup and even though it’s a breakup song, it sounds incredibly bright and upbeat.
  • Catchphrase: Everyone in the group (save Leo) has said "Wow!" at least three times, but Ken and N seem to be the worst offenders. Also, Ken and "Eotteokhaji?" ("What'll I do?") - in fact, he has a song for it, consisting of only that word. And then there's Hyuk and "Bum-babum-babum..."
  • Cloud Cuckoo Lander: All of them to a certain extent, but mostly Ken. Their Mnet Wide featurette caught Ravi and Hongbin on camera having an hour-long debate over how a bathtub worked. Hyuk had previously commented that the group's conversations were usually very strange.
  • Cool Shades: Ravi and Leo often sport these to add to the coolness effect.
  • Cover Version: Love Equation is a updated remake of South Korean rave music group Re.f's Farewell Formula from 1995, 20 years prior to VIXX's Love Equation.
  • The Cutie: Ken, who is prone to spontaneous aegyo and refers to himself as the "cutie main vocal".
  • Cyberpunk: Elements of cyberpunk were invoked with promotional images for Error which had members.
  • Cyborg: In their music video for Error the boys become rather depressed but handsome cyborgs.
  • Darker and Edgier: The music video for On and On is definitely quite dark compared to Super Hero and Rock Ur Body. It's been turned up to eleven with Hyde, and taken even further with Voodoo Doll, which was so much Darker and Edgier that it ended up getting a clean version to get past broadcast censors.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: Gender-inverted with the aloof Leo who seems to be ever so slowly warming up to cameras. Ever so slowly.
  • Designated Parents: N is often referred to as the mom, while Leo is sometimes mentioned as the dad.
    • The members straight up call N "Mom" instead of "Hyung" (older brother) at times, Hyuk more often than others.
  • Disguised in Drag: All of them (save Leo, who was injured and couldn't perform) as VIXX Girls. N in particular sells the look really well.
  • "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: The boys made their own theme song for season 2 of VIXX TV, with the process being shown in the first episode.
  • Even the Guys Want Him: Ravi is a fanboy magnet.
  • Eye Scream: Eye-related injuries happen all over the place in the Voodoo Doll MV.
  • Fanboy: Hongbin is a huge fan of the singer Park Hyo Shin. N's adoration of SNSD's Seohyun is also well-known.
  • Female Gaze: N and his butt is an example of being the attention of the female gaze. Hongbin also gets asked to flash his abs a lot on variety shows.
  • Friend to All Children: Evidence of Leo playing and interacting with kids shows just how much of a softie he is and that he has a natural way with children.
  • Genre Roulette: Masters of this trope. Voodoo alone had the dark industrial banger that is Voodoo Doll, the soft, dreamy electropop Someday, the guitar-infused R&B number Only U, the 90's throwback B.O.D.Y, and the sugary ballad Thank You For My Love, all in one album.
  • Good Wings, Evil Wings: They all sprout black wings at the end of the music video for Hyde.
  • Gratuitous English: Ravi is the biggest offender, as the Engrish-filled intros to almost all of their otherwise Korean title tracks are done by him; Error bucked the trend by not having one.
  • Guyliner: Wouldn't be K-pop without it, but rather than using it strictly for glamour they sometimes smudge it to make themselves look more deranged, most notably in On and On and Hyde.
  • Headphones Equal Isolation: Leo often listens to music in the car while the others talk during VIXX TV.
  • Heavy Sleeper: Ravi can sleep through anything.
  • Hell-Bent for Leather: The promotional outfits for Error were made out leather and used for the badass effect.
  • Hotter and Sexier: Their music video for Chained Up features the boys in deep-cut blazers with no shirts underneath and black leather chokers. There's also many body rolls incorporated into the choreography.
  • I Can't Dance: Ken at least started off like this as joined as a trainee with the aim of becoming a ballad singer, not a member of a dance-oriented boy band. That said, he keeps up pretty well.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: I Don't Want to Be an Idol is about a idol that falls in love with a girl, but can't do any of the things that normal couples can do without fangirls and paparazzi following them.
  • Inelegant Blubbering: Leo, of all people, was the biggest wreck following VIXX's first ever win at a music show, sitting down right on the stage and curling into a ball to cry. Ravi and N were also openly bawling.
  • Instant Awesome: Just Add Mecha!: How to complete a boyband and their music? Add a robot mascot - Rovix.
  • Kaleidoscope Hair: Everyone's hair changes every once in a while, but Ravi is notable for changing his hair color four times in a six month period.
  • Korean Drama: All members except Ravi have appeared in various Korean dramas.
    • N in The Family is Coming, Hotel King and Sassy Go Go
    • Hongbin in Glorious Day, The Heirs and Moorim School
    • Ken in Boarding House 24.
  • Let's Duet: Applies to Ravi and Hyuk's duet, Memory from their 2015 single album Boys' Record.
    • Leo and Ravi when they debuted as the duo sub-unit VIXX LR.
  • The Leader: "Hello, I am VIXX's leader N."
  • Lighter and Softer:
    • G.R.8.U was more light and pleasant compared to Hyde, as it represented the Jekyll half of their Jekyll and Hyde concept.
    • Their MV for Only U is softer than their predecessors. It was filmed while they were on their world tour, and basically consists of them walking around Stockholm in semi-formal clothing.
    • The Eternity music video counts for being the relatively tame, if melancholic, direct successor to Voodoo Doll.
    • Also played with through Lyrical Dissonance: Love Equation, albeit not their original song is still pretty upbeat and cheerful, but the lyrics are actually about break-up. G.R.8.U, when you think about is actually is about the Sanity Slippage before Hyde. They never go back completely happy and cheery after On and On, if their song sounds cheery and upbeat, don't be fooled, there HAS to be something creepy or sad in the lyric.
  • Lucky Charms Title: The official way to write the fan name is St★rlight.
  • Lyrical Dissonance: Love Equation and G.R.8.U like explained above, as well Sad Ending. The instrumental may sounds happy and cheerful, but the lyrics...The title should be your first clue.
  • Mad Love: Along with the Obsession Song, this is the theme for a lot of their title tracks, and several of their album tracks as well.
  • Manly Tears: VIXX has been driven to tears quite a few times, mostly when they win awards, and at concerts, where the reality of just how far they've come and just how many fans they have hits them hard. N, in particular, is rather in touch with his sensitive side and most prone to crying.
  • Marionette Motion: A lot of the choreography in Voodoo Doll utilizes this.
  • Mascot: Rovix, the robot head that appears on much of their clothing and accessories.
  • Meaningful Name: Some of the members' stage names have some meaning behind them.
    • N's name plays off his real name (Hakyeon) and inyeon, the Korean word for fate. Dropping the shared yeon of the latter left in, which he stylized as "N".
    • Ravi means "to be delighted with" or "enchanted by" in French.
    • Ken's stage name comes from the Street Fighter character of the same name, and also his resemblance to Japanese actor Ken Hirai.
    • Leo was named after the proverbial king of the jungle to symbolize the desire to dominate the music industry.
  • The Musical: Leo was in the Full House and Mata Hari musical and Ken was in Chess and Cinderella.
  • Not So Above It All: Leo. He may seem like the Straight Man to the rest of the band most of the time but he is every bit as mischievous as the rest of them. It shows especially in contests because Leo plays dirty.
    • This video. At first it seems that Leo is the only person taking it seriously while the rest of his groupmates goof around, but he's actually participating in their wacky antics too. He's just doing it very subtly and with a completely straight face. He's the one that pushed N in the beginning and later pulled Hongbin's arm, hit Ken, and pushed Ravi. He was also the reason Ravi started giggle during his rap because he grabbed his butt.
  • Odd Friendship: Leo and Hyuk. Hyuk, who joined the trainee group much later than the other 5, was actually so intimidated by Leo at first he considered quitting the group, but they've become good friends. Even if it's hard to tell with Leo.
    • They recently got into a rather adorable twitter war which was just basically them posting embarrassing photos of each other. It really shows how close they've become especially when you remember that Hyuk was too scared to even touch Leo when they first met.
  • Older Than They Look: Guys N's age are jealous of his youthful looks.
  • One Head Taller: VIXX are ranked within the top 10 of overall height among all-male groups in Korea, and are thus usually a head-taller than everyone they're around; in fact, a segment of their Mnet Wide featurette was dedicated to how they towered over poor EXO when promoting for Voodoo Doll. It's especially noticeable with Ken and his love interest in his drama Boarding House No. 24.
  • One-Letter Name: N.
  • People Puppets: Utilised in the music video for Voodoo Doll, which of course leads to its logical conclusion.
  • Perpetual Frowner: Leo's default facial expression.
  • Reality Show: They were made on one! VIXX TV and MTV Diary are the "day in the life" variety, and MyDOL is the competition variety.
  • Rock Me, Amadeus!: Fantasy samples Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata".
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: Compare VIXX's Ken with predebut Ken. It's pretty interesting what hair, make up and a removal of glasses can do.
  • Shirtless Scene:
    • A certain challenge for MyDOL had all 10 trainees shirtless and covered in mud.
    • Hongbin spent quite a bit of time with his chest and abs exposed in the Error MV.
  • Shout-Out:
    • In the video for their single Hyde, all six members sport some of the face paint options from Skyrim at one point or another.
    • The lyrics of Hyde are inspired by Jekyll & Hyde. Their mini album was also titled Hyde, with the repackage being titled Jekyll.
    • The Korean title of On and On is actually I'm Ready to Get Hurt and was included word for word in one line of the lyrics in Voodoo Doll.
    • Ravi's rap in My Light, a song in VIXX LR's mini album included the title of every title track that VIXX has released up till then. Some of the shout-outs are more subtle than others but it's all there.
  • Shrinking Violet: In one of their "Song For U" interviews, hosts Kangin and Amber find out that Leo absolutely doesn't do well when he's being complimented. When they try it out for themselves, normally stoic Leo turns into a fidgety, blushing mess who begs Kangin to stop because he can't take the attention anymore. He can't even look anyone in the eyes when it's done.
  • Singer Name Drop:
    • Ravi says or has his name dropped in their title songs before he raps. Always. To the point where "summoning Ravi" is a bit of a meme in the fandom.
    • VIXX in Super Hero
    Yeah, I wanna win this race
    VIXX haha
    Value in excelsis, Aoooowww
    Uh Brand Nu Boyz is in da buildin’
    Yes sir, Show we gonna make it rookie’s time
    Race is exciting
    VIXX, a hero for you, V.I.X.X.
    I’ll show you my secret power like a star
    Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
    • VIXX in Rock Ur Body
    Uh, let the games begin
    Check it out V. I. double X in da house
    • VIXX in On and On
    We back again now
    This is real fantasy (Attention)
    Cause I ain‘t playing around
    Now
    V-V-V-V-V I double X
  • Singer-Songwriter: All members are capable of singing and writing their own music, but it especially applies to Ravi and to a lesser extent, Leo who have contributed to many of VIXX's song credits.
    • Ravi really lets his songwriting skills shine with the Chained Up album, where he either wrote or co-wrote almost all the songs on it.
    • Every single song on VIXX LR's mini album Beautiful Liar was written or co-written by either Ravi or Leo.
  • Sleepyhead: Ravi apparently sleepy even when angry, and sleeps anywhere and everywhere and can't be woken up again afterwards. There have been montages of all the places he's managed to fall asleep in, and he's even managed to fall asleep in the middle of scolding someone.
  • Slice of Life: VIXX TV, the show-slash-vlog that N (and sometimes Ravi and Ken) host on their YouTube Channel, RealVIXX.
  • Split Personality: Someone holding two contrasting personalities is the main theme of Hyde.
  • Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Leo and Ken for singing, N and Ravi for dancing.
  • Stage Names: All of them except Hongbin.
    • Leo's real name is Jung Taekwoon.
    • N's real name is Cha Hakyeon.
    • Ken's real name is Lee Jaehwan.
    • Ravi's real name is Kim Wonshik.
    • Hyuk's real name is Han Sanghyuk.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Leo. He seems cold and unaffected to the outside eye but that's just because he's so very painfully shy, especially on camera. His dere side comes out in full force when confronted with a kid or an animal.
  • Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Every member in their darker concepts. Hyde and Voodoo Doll eras.
  • Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Our dear Leo, we love him so. Hyuk has grown into this, often dissing the older members.
  • Team Mom: N. Takes care of the team like his own children.
  • Teen Idol: Hongbin, Ravi and Hyuk all debuted in VIXX as teenagers.
  • Title Track: Super Hero, Rock Ur Body, On and On, Hyde, Eternity and Error.
  • Trademark Favorite Food:
    • N loves banana milk so much that he had nearly filled VIXX's shopping cart during their MyDOL days.
    • Hyuk and his gopchang. The others... are not as fond of it. Well, mostly N.
    • Leo loves coffee. He mentioned in Love Equation's ASK IN A BOX that he at most drinks up to 12 cups of coffee a week and that is favorite type of coffee is Lattes. To which Ravi said "I think you should cut down a little" For his love of coffee, he was named "A Latte Fairy".
  • Vocal Dissonance: Leo's speaking voice is high and extremely soft, in contrast to his strong singing voice and somewhat intimidating appearance.
  • Yandere: Leo in the Blossom Tears MV. Song lyrics such as the ones in their Japanese song Depend on Me also implies this tendency.
  • When She Smiles: Leo is already very good-looking but his face really lights up in those rare moments when he smiles.
  • Younger Than They Look: Ravi has commented that people are surprised when they find out how young he is. Also Hyuk, who despite being the youngest has become the tallest in the group.

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