“Literal legend”: ZEROBASEONE Zhang Hao’s Chinese fans break all-time K-pop idol group first day pre-order record in China

Fans of ZEROBASEONE’s center and number one rank holder Zhang Hao achieved an incredible feat after they broke the highest first-day pre-order record of any K-pop idol group in China. Often shortened to ZB1, the nine-member group impressed viewers worldwide throughout their journey on the popular survival show, Boys Planet.

The nine-member project group, which is yet to debut, already amassed an impressively huge fandom that is helping them break records. The latest record broken by ZEROBASEONE is by Chinese member Zhang Hao’s China bar or a Baidu Bar (huge fan bases that organize large-scale events, help with album sales, streaming, etc.)

The center idol’s astonishing popularity made the yet-to-debut K-pop group break the first-day pre-orders record by any K-pop group till date in China. Thanks to his C-bar, the Boys Planet group crossed 100,000 pre-orders in less than 24 hours on June 23, 2023.

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Zhang Hao’s insane popularity leads to ZEROBASEONE setting a new record in K-pop’s history in China

ZEROBASEONE, an upcoming project idol group created from Boys Planet, had amassed an incredible popularity that has rarely been seen before in the K-pop industry. From South Korean outlets calling their inevitable debut as the start of fifth-generation K-pop to the hordes of fans crowding the airport for one glimpse of the trainees, the Boys Planet group seems to be gearing up for an explosive start.

While many of its members enjoy great attention, Chinese trainee Zhang Hao, is arguably the most popular of them all. He had already created a never-seen-before record by becoming the first Chinese trainee to be selected as a K-pop idol group’s center position and ranked at the top of a K-pop idol survival show.

On June 23, 2023, fanbases of ZEROBASEONE reported that the China bar of Zhang Hao had bought 100,000 copies of the group’s debut mini-album, YOUTH IN THE SHADE, within 24 hours of its pre-order opening.

According to the fan base account, this was the highest number of sales that a K-pop idol or a K-pop idol group managed to sell in China.

Fans celebrated the news and thanked Zhang Hao’s C-bar fans for helping the group make waves across the world even before their official debut. Many commented on the growing popularity of ZEROBASEONE while others couldn’t stop praising the Chinese trainee for his selling power in his home country.

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Meanwhile, the group is made up of Kim Ji-woong, Zhang Hao, Sung Han-bin, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae-rae, Ricky, Kim Gyu-vin, Park Gun-wook, and Han Yu-jin. They are managed by WAKEONE Entertainment, the same company that manages Kep1er.

While Kep1er was a result of the survival competition Girls Planet 999, ZEROBASEONE was created by its successor, Boys Planet.

The nine-member group will debut with YOUTH IN THE SHADE on July 10 at 6 pm KST.

With the group already making waves regarding its sales and popularity in China and across the world, it remains to be seen how many more records ZEROBASEONE sets once it debuts.