The9 (stylized as THE9 or THE NINE) was a Chinese
girl group formed through the
IQIYI
iQIYI (, pronounced in English as ), formerly Qiyi (), is a Chinese subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Baidu. Headquartered in Beijing, iQIYI primarily produces and distributes films and television series.
i ...
survival show
''Youth With You 2''. The group consisted of
Liu Yuxin,
Yu Shuxin,
Xu Jiaqi,
Yu Yan,
Xie Keyin
Xie Keyin (; ; born Xie Xue []; January 4, 1997) is a Chinese actress, rapper and songwriter. She is best known for finishing 5th in the survival show ''Youth With You (season 2), Youth with You 2'', making her a member of The9 (group), The9. Th ...
, An Qi, Zhao Xiaotang,
Kong Xueer and
Lu Keran.
The9 was formed on May 30, 2020, and officially debuted on August 10, 2020. It was managed by Idol Youth Entertainment of iQIYI. The group was supposed to disband on November 30, 2021, but they disbanded on December 5, 2021.
History
Pre-debut: Youth With You 2
The9 was formed through the reality television show ''
Youth with You 2'', which aired from March 12 to May 30, 2020. It was the third season of the ''
Idol Producer
''Idol Producer'' (), is a 2018 Chinese reality boy group survival show, which premiered on January 19, 2018, on iQIYI. It is presented by Lay Zhang with Li Ronghao, Jackson Wang, MC Jin, Cheng Xiao and Zhou Jieqiong serving as mentors. On April ...
'' franchise. Out of 109 trainees from different companies, only the top 9 most voted trainees in the final episode got to debut in the final group.
On May 30, 2020, the final lineup was eventually announced.
Liu Yuxin placed 1st, Esther
Yu Shuxin came in 2nd, followed by Kiki
Xu Jiaqi,
Yu Yan, Shaking Chloe
Xie Keyin
Xie Keyin (; ; born Xie Xue []; January 4, 1997) is a Chinese actress, rapper and songwriter. She is best known for finishing 5th in the survival show ''Youth With You (season 2), Youth with You 2'', making her a member of The9 (group), The9. Th ...
, Babymonster An Qi, Zhao Xiaotang,
Snow Kong Xue'er, and
K Lu Keran in 9th place respectively. Since having earned 1st place, XIN
Liu Yuxin was chosen as the center of the group.
2020: Beginning of promotions, debut with ''Sphinx X Mystery'' and ''MatriX''
On May 30, 2020, The9 was formed following the finale of ''Youth with You Season 2'' and their training began the day after. Apart from training, they also filmed for several variety shows such as "My Little Forest". On June 17, 2020, they participated in Hunan Television's ''618 Super Night'' to perform "Yes! OK!" and "Hunt", marking The9's first public performance. On July 4, 2020, the official
Weibo account for the group released a video of the members selecting their team leader, revealing to be Babymonster An. They also revealed other details such as their
fandom name, fandom colors as well as their hand sign.
On July 10, 2020, the group attended the "Current Business Conference" and announced their appointment as "Advance Officer for Edge Art."
The group has also done many commercials as well as editorials for magazines and high-end fashion houses.
Xu Jiaqi, a former member of Chinese girl group
SNH48's Team SII as well as a current member of the SNH48 sub-unit
7Senses, performed at SNH48's 7th Request Time Senbatsu General Elections as a guest.
The group released their first
extended play
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
, ''Sphinx X Mystery'' (斯芬克斯X谜), on August 10, 2020. The EP consists of the lead single "SphinX" (斯芬克斯) as well as another song titled "Not Me". The EP sold over 150,000 units in less than 45 minutes; it also won the "Double Platinum" rating. The music video for ''SphinX'' was released on August 15 via Weibo and YouTube. They promoted their EP through performances at variety shows and through music shows such as 818 Super Night. The group then announced their first variety show called "Let’s Party 2020" which would be released on iQIYI. The group released their debut studio album ''MatriX'' (虚实X境) on December 25, 2020 which features the lead single "Dumb Dumb Bomb" and nine solo tracks.
On December 31, The9 participated in the 2021 Jiangsu Satellite TV New Year's Eve concert.
2021: ''RefleXtion'', ''THE NINE'' and disbandment
From March 26–27, 2021, The9 held their first online concert titled "X-CITY," which garnered tens of thousands of viewers. The concert utilized XR technology to create realistic stage backgrounds.
On June 9, 2021, the group released their first anniversary EP entitled ''RefleXtion.'' The EP consists of two tracks: "Hello" and "Xenogeneic". The group officially disbanded on December 5, 2021. Though the group had plans to hold a graduation concert, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these shows have been indefinitely halted.
2022–2023: Reunion concerts
On August 19–20, 2022, The9 held their first reunion concert since disbandment at the
Harbin International Convention Exhibition and Sports Center.
On October 27–28, 2023, the group held their second reunion concert at the
Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park.
Members
*
Liu Yuxin / XIN Liu (刘雨昕) - Center
*
Yu Shuxin / Esther Yu (虞书欣)
*
Xu Jiaqi / Kiki Xu (许佳琪)
*
Yu Yan (喻言)
*
Xie Keyin
Xie Keyin (; ; born Xie Xue []; January 4, 1997) is a Chinese actress, rapper and songwriter. She is best known for finishing 5th in the survival show ''Youth With You (season 2), Youth with You 2'', making her a member of The9 (group), The9. Th ...
/ Shaking (谢可寅)
* An Qi / Babymonster An (安崎) – leader
* Zhao Xiaotang (赵小棠)
* Kong Xue'er / Snow Kong (孔雪儿)
*
Lu Keran / K Lu (陆柯燃)
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Songs
Promotional singles
Videography
Music videos
Filmography
Variety Shows
Concert
Awards
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Youth With You
Chinese girl groups
Musical groups established in 2020
2020 establishments in China
Musical groups disestablished in 2021
2021 disestablishments in China