VIXX ( pronounced "vicks"; acronym for "voice, visual, value in excelsis") is a South Korean boy band formed by Jellyfish Entertainment through the 2012 reality show MyDOL. Originally a sextet, the group is presently composed of four members: N, Leo, Ken and Hyuk—former vocalist Hongbin and rapper Ravi left the group and the agency in August 2020 and April 2023, respectively. They are predominantly known as a "concept or performance group" whose music, lyrics, choreography, and overall stage performances are crafted together to tell a story or concept.
History
2012–2013: MyDOL, debut, Hyde and Voodoo
Prior to their debut, the original six group members were contestants on the Mnet survival reality show MyDOL. The members made several guest appearances in the music videos of fellow artists under Jellyfish Entertainment. N, Leo, Hongbin, and Ravi featured in the music videos for Brian Joo's song "Let This Die"; N, Leo, and Ravi featured in Seo In-guk's "Shake It Up"; Hongbin featured in Seo's "Tease Me".
VIXX debuted with their first single, "Super Hero" on May 24, 2012, on M Countdown. Their first overseas performance was at the Otakon convention in Baltimore, Maryland on July 27. On August 14, VIXX released their second single album with the song "Rock Ur Body", where Sistar's Dasom appeared in the music video.
VIXX was part of Jellyfish Entertainment's first live concert Jellyfish Live at Tokyo's Zepp Diver City in Japan on September 12, 2012. The group also attended KCON 2012 on October 13. VIXX participated in Jellyfish Entertainment's winter project, Jelly Christmas 2012 Heart Project, with their label mates Lee Seok-hoon, Park Hyo-shin, Seo In-guk, and Sung Si-kyung. The lead single, "Because It's Christmas" was released digitally on December 5, 2012.
On January 6, 2013, VIXX pre-released the single, "Don't Want to Be an Idol", from their third single album On and On. The title track "On and On" was released alongside the album on January 17. Their first mini album Hyde, and its lead single of the same name, was released on May 20. A repackaged album titled Jekyll was later released along with the lead single "G.R.8.U", on July 31. In the months of October and November, VIXX held their first global showcase tour, The Milky Way Global Showcase, which was held in South Korea, Japan, Italy, Sweden, Malaysia, and America.
On November 8, 2013, VIXX pre-released the single "Only U", from their upcoming full-length album Voodoo, and an accompanying music video. The title track "Voodoo Doll" was released on November 20, followed by the album on November 25. On December 6, VIXX earned the top spot on that week's episode of Music Bank with "Voodoo Doll", marking their first music show win since debut. VIXX, along with the artists of Jellyfish Entertainment, released their annual Christmas song on December 10, titled "Winter Confession" for 겨울 고백 (Jelly Christmas 2013). The song topped the Instiz chart for two consecutive weeks, the Billboard K-Pop 100, and two Gaon charts.
2014–2015: Darkest Angels, Error, Boys' Record, VIXX LR and Chained Up
On March 5, 2014, Jellyfish Entertainment announced that VIXX would be having a comeback in mid-April or early May. On May 18, the title of VIXX's fourth single album Eternity, was revealed through the group's official fancafe, where the music video teaser was released on May 22. On May 27, the music video for "Eternity" was released along with the album itself.
On May 19, Jellyfish revealed that VIXX will be making their official debut in Japan with a full-length compilation album, Darkest Angels, on July 2. The album charted at number 10 for five consecutive weeks on the Oricon chart and sold 12,332 copies. On June 20, it was announced that VIXX will be attending KCON from August 9 to August 10, this being their second year attending the festival since the first in 2012. They received awards that were voted by their fanclub, such as Best Visual and Best Actor. From July to September, VIXX held their first VIXX Live Fantasia tour Hex Sign visiting Japan and several countries in Europe. On September 25, 2014, Jellyfish Entertainment confirmed that VIXX will be having a comeback on October 14. On October 4, the title song and track list of VIXX's second mini album were revealed via their official website. On October 10, VIXX released the music video teaser for "Error," with the music video later released along with the mini album, Error on October 14. On December 10, VIXX released the Japanese version of "Error" along with the Japanese version of "Youth Hurts".