AEN (; acronym for A New Era of Now) is a South Korean-Japanese boy group formed by Starship Entertainment. The group consists of seven members: Bomin, Jiyong, Kyuhyun, Haru, Haruto, Junseo, and Kaira. They debuted on August 5, 2026, with the extended play (EP) A New Era of Now.
Name The group's name, 'AEN'—short for A New Era of Now, signifies "a new generation that redefines and shapes the present moment". The group name also includes the Japanese meaning of 'eternity', reflecting the group's determination to continuously evolve and grow.
Career
Pre-debut, participation in Debut's Plan, and formation
In 2025, Starship Entertainment aired their reality competition Debut's Plan, which aired from March 14 to May 4, 2025. The show had 33 Starship Entertainment trainees compete to debut in their newest boy group since Cravity. At the show's conclusion, eight contestants were selected for the final lineup of Idid, who debuted on September 15. Two members of AEN made it to the Top 12 of the show's finale but were unable to debut in the final lineup, which included Kyuhyun and Jiyong, who placed 9th and 11th respectively. The remaining members who would make up the group are Bomin, Haru, Junseo, and Kaira who were eliminated in the semi-final round of the show, placing 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th, respectively, and a new member, Haruto, who was not present in Debut's Plan.
Later, on June 1, Starship Entertainment announced through SNS that six eliminated contestants from the show alongside one new member would debut under the agency in the second half of 2026.
The group's lineup includes several members with extensive training from Starship Entertainment, including Jiyong who trained for more than five years prior to the show, and Bomin who trained for more than three years.
2026–present: Debut with A New Era of Now On June 1, 2026, Starship Entertainment released AEN's profiles on social media. On June 24, it was revealed that AEN would make their debut on August 5, with the EP A New Era of Now alongside its lead single "X to Z (Next to Me)" in both Korean and Japanese.
Members
Bomin () Jiyong () Kyuhyun () Haru () Haruto () Junseo () Kaira ()
Timeline
Discography
Extended plays + List of extended plays, showing selected details, selected chart positions, and sales figures Title Details Peak chart positions Sales KOR JPN A New Era of Now Released: August 5, 2026 Label: Starship Formats: CD, digital download, streaming 5 7 KOR: 62,868 JPN: 13,419
Singles +List of singles, showing year released, selected chart positions, and name of the album Title Year Peak chart positions Album KORDLPeak chart positions on the Circle Download Chart: Songs from A New Era of Now: "X to Z (Next to Me)" (Korean ver.) 2026 165 A New Era of Now "Clockwise" (Japanese ver.) 177 "X to Z (Next to Me)" (Japanese ver.) 183 "Focus on Me" (Japanese ver.) 174
Other charted songs + List of other charted songs, showing year released, selected chart positions, and name of the album Title Year Peak chart positions Album KORDL "Clockwise" (Korean ver.) 2026 171 A New Era of Now "Focus on Me" (Korean ver.) 170 "Chills" (Korean ver.) 172 "Highfive" (Korean ver.) 179 "Chills" (Japanese ver.) 181 "Highfive" (Japanese ver.) 176
Videography
Music videos Title Year Director(s) "X to Z (Next to Me)" (Japanese ver.) 2026 Lafic
Other videos Title Year Director(s) Notes "X to Z (Next to Me)" (Korean ver.) 2026 — Performance film "Clockwise" (Japanese ver.) Sunny Inspires"X to Z (Next to Me)" (Japanese ver.) — Performance video "Focus on Me" (Japanese ver.) Sunny Inspires Performance film
Live performances
Music festivals EventDateLocationPerformed song(s) Inkigayo Live in Tokyo 2026 September 23, 2026 Belluna Dome, Saitama, JapanRakuten Girls Award 2026 A/W September 26, 2026 Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan
Awards shows EventDateVenuePerformed song(s)2026 Korea Grand Music AwardsNovember 8, 2026Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul, South Korea
Notes
References