HallyuTones

All four members of 1VERSE stand together facing to the left leaning backwards. From left to right, Seok, Nathan, Aito and Kenny are all wearing shades.

[Interview] 1VERSE discuss new single ‘WABIF’ and the journey to their first world tour

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by

Tshego Matsha
in

Hello and welcome back to HallyuTones — always focused on sound, stage, and substance.

The 2025 debut of 1VERSE (pronounced “Universe”) quickly captured public attention through its unique background and artistic direction. The quintet, consisting of Hyuk, Seok, Nathan, Kenny, and Aito under Singing Beetle, stood out in the global scene as the first K-pop group to feature idols born in North Korea, Hyuk and Seok. This formation, which blends the lived experiences of the Korean peninsula with members from Japan and the United States, forms the foundation of the group’s identity.

After the pre-release of “MULTIVERSE” and the official debut with the single album THE 1ST VERSE in July 2025, the group established its foundation alongside their fandom, 5TARZ. Now, the release of ‘WABIF’ (Wide Awake Before I Fall) on January 21, 2026, introduces a “sexy drill” sound to their repertoire, deepening the ‘Shattered’ era. Co-written by Kenny and Nathan, the track utilizes the members’ real stories of resilience as a lyrical base, exploring the transition between a fragmented emotional state and the search for recovery.

The single focuses on a moment of vulnerability, describing the feeling of being awake just before a fall. During production, the members faced the challenge of conveying this emotion through a more complex vocal execution, which required mastering bending techniques and more precise English pronunciation to achieve the sound envisioned by CEO Michelle Cho. For the members, ‘WABIF’ is more than just a commercial comeback, it’s also an exercise in technical improvement and translating dark feelings into a solid artistic performance.

This return occurs simultaneously with preparations for the group’s first world tour, with confirmed stops in North America and Europe. HallyuTones had the opportunity to ask the members about the writing process for ‘WABIF’, the performance challenges, and their plans for international stages in 2026.

Note: Hyuk was unable to participate in this interview and the current release due to personal health reasons. Singing Beetle has stated that he is focusing on his recovery to rejoin the group for their upcoming activities.

Interview:

Q1. What were some key themes that came up with the concept of the new release?

Nathan: More than just a concept, we sought to draw from our personal experiences and stories to compose the lyrics.

Kenny: The writing process took place right after the ‘Shattered’ era, where we explored the feelings that follow a moment of rupture. If ‘Multiverse’ represented happiness and ‘Shattered’ a devastating phase, we wanted to understand the grief and anticipation that emerge after those experiences. I tried to translate, in a poetic way, the color and emotion of being “wide awake before the fall.”

Nathan: We all identified with this narrative, as each member has their own version of “falling moments” in their journey.

Kenny: Essentially, our individual experiences found a commonality in the emotion this state provokes. The lyrics reflect this shared trait, specifically describing the feeling of “falling wide awake.”

Q2. Which songs would you like to cover on tour?

Aito: If I had the opportunity to do a solo stage, I would love to perform either Jungkook’s “Standing Next to You” or Taemin’s “Criminal”.

Seok: I would like to sing a rock ballad if I could, something similar to WOODZ’s style.

Nathan: I would love to perform an R&B song during the tour to bring a different vibe. One of my favorite artists is DEAN, and he has a track called “I’m Not Sorry”. It is a very challenging song to sing, but I think if I can nail it, it would be a lot of fun to perform.

Kenny: Thinking about the group, I was considering “Internet Girl” by KATSEYE. I think it would be a cool cover to have a male version of that song. It feels relevant to us because we grew up with the internet, and our platform grew largely because of it.

Q3. If each member could describe their feelings about the journey ahead in one word, what would it be?

Nathan: Grateful. I feel very grateful for everything that has happened and what is to come. I truly could not have done it without the team and our fans, the 5TARZ, who are constantly lifting us up.

Kenny: Exploration. During our pre-debut and debut phase, our primary focus was simply opening the gates to the industry. Now that we are officially through, my focus has shifted to how we can continue to explore and expand our artistic boundaries.

Aito: Success. I am dreaming of the entire process of our upcoming tours in the U.S. and Europe going beautifully. My goal is for us to be able to look back and label the entire experience as a success.

Seok: Group. I chose this word because I know that in the coming months, we will experience a lot together. We will find many moments for growth and gain invaluable experience as a team, ultimately making us a much stronger group.

Q4. How was the songwriting process for ‘WABIF’ compared to your debut era, and were there any specific challenges or surprises during the sessions?

Nathan: My experience was quite distinct because I joined the session on only my second day after arriving in Korea, which was an intimidating experience. Being in a room with established songwriters like Adrian McKinnon felt overwhelming at first, but it was a great opportunity to share my own “falling moment”, specifically the time I spent auditioning for groups without ever receiving an answer. Those personal struggles eventually contributed to the emotional foundation of the song.

Kenny: For me, the process was actually one of the easier ones compared to other tracks I’ve written for the company. While everyone was sharing their stories, I was able to finish the chorus almost immediately just by listening to them. A fun fact is that ‘WABIF’ was actually written before ‘Shattered’. Since I put so much of my own experience into it, I am incredibly excited for it to finally be released after waiting nearly a year.

Q5. With the U.S. tour approaching, what is the main thing you want the fans (5TARZ) to look forward to?

Nathan: We will be ready to perform “Shattered”, so I am looking forward to that. Fans can anticipate a lot of energy as we are very locked in for this tour.

Aito: I want them to know that whatever they are expecting, we can do even better.

Seok: This is the first time we are going to demonstrate music that has our voice and our story in it. I feel like I am showing myself and who we are as a group to the fans. I am personally a little nervous and even scared that I might not be able to perform everything we prepared, but I am hopeful to bring something the fans have been waiting for.

Kenny: I expect to feel “shattered” as well. On a different note, I cannot wait to buy more vintage Funko Pops to show everyone on stage. I might even throw a couple at the audience because I consider myself a gift-giving performer.

Aito: I almost forgot to mention that this tour includes some things with my own drawings, so please be on the lookout for those.

Kenny: Yes, it includes his drawings and his designs for the photocards. He used the graphic design skills he learned in college, and I am very proud because they look really cool.

Q6. Your second single, “WABIF,” is being released more than six months after your debut. Besides songwriting, was there anything specific that required a long preparation period for this comeback?

Aito: There were many new elements in terms of artistic expression that I had to learn for this song. The track has a sad mood that reminds me of R&B, and it took time to truly connect with that emotion and express it correctly. In addition to the English pronunciation, it was a challenge that required a lot of focus to remember and tap into my own emotions to get into the right headspace.

Nathan: My experience was quite similar to Aito‘s. It was less about the songwriting and more about the vocal technique. The style is very different from “Multiverse” or “Shattered”, as there is a lot of bending on almost every word to convey the specific emotion of “WABIF”. Practicing that technique while preparing to sing it live was honestly quite challenging, but we prepared extensively and feel ready to show it.

Kenny: When I wrote the song, I expected to handle certain parts like the rifts or higher notes myself, or perhaps give them to Seok. However, Michelle decided to flip everything around and put everyone completely out of their comfort zones. We gave the members many difficult English parts, specifically words with “L” and “R” sounds which are technically difficult for Korean and Japanese speakers to pronounce. It is impressive how much they improved to get this song down.

Seok: The rhythm was very difficult for me to master. There is a lot of bending and emotional depth involved, and Michelle had to stop me many times during recording because she felt I had lost the emotion. Between that and the English pronunciation, this experience required a lot of development and growth on my side. After “Multiverse” and “Shattered”, Michelle noted there was still room for improvement, and I hope I was able to satisfy both her expectations and my own need for growth.

Q7. 2024/5 was a breakout year for many African artists like Tyla, Uncle Waffles and many more. Since exploration is one of the group’s themes for the year, are there any African artists or genres you would like to dive into or explore?

Seok: While I am not very familiar with specific names, I often search for African music on streaming platforms and listen to it in the morning. It has become a way for me to wake up and start my day, and I find the variety of styles within the genre very interesting.

Aito: From a dancer’s perspective, I am very interested in exploring African dance. I would be very open to collaborating with African dancers, whether they specialize in traditional dance or other modern styles, as it is something entirely new and fascinating to me.

Nathan: As a group, our goal is to tackle every genre without being limited to a specific one. We want to explore whatever fits our story and our lyrics. If the sound is good and complements our narrative, we are definitely open to bringing it to our music.

Kenny: K-pop is a global industry, and we have always collaborated with choreographers and creators from all over the world. I definitely see us moving into African music because of the beauty and influence those art forms have on modern music. I have always loved Afrobeats because I grew up with hip-hop dancers who used that music to teach us the foundations of dance. I would love to use those foundations to eventually create music with Afrobeats and perhaps collaborate with artists who specialize in those styles.

260128 @ 1VERSE North American Tour 2026 <Shattered>

Thank you to the 1VERSE members and Singing Beetle for this opportunity. 1VERSE truly offers something unique with their narrative and their evolving sound, and we wish all of the members success with their future releases!

To support 1VERSE, follow them at the links below:

Official SNS:

Stream their singles at the links below:

Disclaimer: All images of the members have been sourced directly from the 1VERSE/Singing Beetle official pages unless explicitly stated otherwise.

* A post-script note to say thank you to @danielealmeida2 from the HallyuTones team for assisting in co-ordinating and publishing this interview.

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