On January 10, 2016
CJ E&M announced that they were investing 25 billion won ($20.6 million) over the next three years in a new
boy band to perform throughout the year at a permanent venue. CJ E&M had named the boy band and project name "Boys24", to air the whole process from selecting members to performing in front of audiences.
Concept of Boys24 First, Ahn Seok-joon set the stage of 'Boys24' as four stages, the first being 'excavation'. Of the total of 5500 applicants, 49 were selected by Mnet.com as untreated gemstones. The second stage was 'competition'. The unfinished 49 people formed a total of seven unit teams, where they would vividly confirm their intense competition. The third stage was 'growth', a process of the birth of a 24-member Boys24, which would be confirmed in the theater. The final stage was 'evolution'. It could be said that they had evolved to become a crystal, and among the 24 people, a few select members who had the highest level in all aspects would make their debut as an idol group. They would enter the world of 'pro' and start full-scale activity.
January 2016 – August 2017 The auditions were held from January 18 to February 19. However, due to the large number of applicants, which was more than 4000, the final date of the audition was shifted to March 11. Forty-nine participants who passed the audition competed in a survival show which began airing on 18 June 2016. On August 25, 2016 the group made a special appearance at
M! Countdown performing their song "Rising Star". In September 2016, Yellow Unit from the group were chosen as the models for 새싹보리 a barley drink, sold by CJ Health Care. On September 10, 2016, Unit Yellow and Unit Sky from the group held their first fan meeting in Hong Kong. On September 27 and 28, 2016, the group held "Boys24 Live Preview" press call at their own hall to promote their own concert. On November 2, 2016, Unit Yellow's music video for "E" was released as an award for the unit for being MVP Unit. The track also released on music sites and charted No.1 on Mnet's music chart. On November 3, 2016, Unit Yellow and Unit Sky made a special appearance at
M! Countdown performing their song "E". A week later all units from the group made a special appearance again on
M! Countdown performing "E". On December 1, 2016, the group announced that they would collaborate with DIA TV as part of Monthly Idol project broadcasting with various creators from DIA TV. On December 7, 2016, the group released two versions of their first live album from their concert BOYS24 LIVE in CD format. The first version of the album was recorded by Unit White and Unit Green while the second version of the album was recorded by Unit Sky and Unit Yellow. On February 14, 2017, Lee Hwayoung was removed from the group and his contract was cancelled following his leaked audio controversy for making offensive comments about fans. On March 5, 2017, the group held 'BOYS24 The 1st Semi-Final' concert at the Hall of Peace at
Kyung Hee University in
Dongdaemun,
Seoul. The concert was broadcast live on
Mnet and M2. Through the concert Park Doha, Jin Sungho, Hwang Inho, Oh Jinseok, Kim Sunghyun, Kim Yonghyun, Jung Yeontae, Yoo Youngdoo and Han Hyunuk were selected to promote as promotional unit for three months. The promotional unit would perform on
KCON Japan,
music programs, and entertainment shows. On March 10, 2017, CJ E&M and Liveworks announced that Jin Sungho to leave his position as part of the first promotional unit but still remain in the group following controversies about his past actions in junior high school. The first promotional unit would move forward as an eight-member group. On March 23, 2017, the group announced that the first promotional unit official name was
Unit Black. The name was voted by fans through a team naming event that was announced on the group's official fan cafe. On April 11, 2017, the unit released their first single album,
Steal Your Heart on
Mnet's
M! Countdown with their song "Steal Your Heart". On August 12, 2017, the group held 'BOYS24 The Final' concert at
Olympic Park Olympic Hall,
Seoul, marking the end of Boys24 survival project after 1 year and 6 months. The concert was broadcast live through
V Live. Hwang Inho, Jung Yeontae, Kim Jinsub, Kim Sunghyun, Yoo Youngdoo, Isaac Voo, and Jin Sungho were announced as final group members by fans vote, while Lee Inpyo and Han Hyunuk were selected as Wild Card directly by company, completing final line-up as nine-member group. The final group would start their overseas promotions right away, starting with visiting Japan on August 26 followed by
Korea Tourism Organization invitation to Kazakhstan in September. On August 14, 2017, MMO Entertainment, who manage the debut team, announced that Jin Sungho to had left the team due to differing musical point of view. == Survival show ==