Xdinary Heroes are a six member boy band that debuted on December 6, 2021 under JYP Entertainment. They are known as Gen Z’s representative band with their strong rock sound and the rebellious messages embedded in the lyrics, drawing in many fans. Even the concept behind the band appeals widely to a young audience. The name ‘Xdinary Heroes’ is short for ‘Extraordinary Heroes’, denoting the possibility of everyone becoming heroes in their own lives. Their slogan, ‘We Are All Heroes’, reinforces this notion.

As extraordinary heroes, each of the Xdinary Heroes members have their own individual story of being ordinary young boys to becoming heroes in what they do as musicians. 

GunIl

The leader and drummer of the band, GunIl has been playing the drums since his mid-teen years. He moved to the US in 6th grade and experienced loneliness being in a completely new environment. He began playing the drums when he was 15 years old because he thought it was cool when someone he knew at church was playing the drums. He began to learn from him and at 18, he took up lessons. His parents were highly supportive of his interest, even moving homes so that he could freely play the drums since they were living in an apartment at the time. 

He also learned to play the guitar during his school days which he actually revealed during an Instagram Live was to impress his crush. So far as a member of Xdinary Heroes, he has shown off his impressive guitar skills multiple times to his fans.

After completing high school, he was admitted into Berklee College of Music as a scholarship student and became a drum major. While he was studying, he ran a YouTube channel where he uploaded videos of himself playing the drums. The channel is no longer publicly available. It was through his YouTube channel that he was discovered by JYP Entertainment and was accepted into the company. Interestingly, member GaOn was actually a subscriber of his channel and was a fan of his. 

JungSu

JungSu is the main vocalist and keyboardist of the band. He has been a musical person since childhood with his incredible skills as a pianist. As a young child, he won piano competitions and dreamt of becoming a pianist. He then began to dream of becoming a singer and that has been his dream ever since. 

Xdinary Heroes Begins

His dream of becoming a singer was ignited when he first watched the drama, “Dream High”. As it happens, “Dream High” was co-produced by Park JinYoung himself and he even starred in it so it was almost meant to be that JungSu is now a member of a JYP Entertainment band.

He originally trained to be a dance idol but was suggested by the company to train to be part of a band. It was difficult for him to go against all the time and effort he had put into dancing and switch to being a band member. However, he began learning the keyboard in preparation to debut in a band and, over time, he grew to love the idea of being in a band. Now as the main vocalist and keyboardist of Xdinary Heroes, he has combined his childhood passion of playing the piano with his long-term dream of becoming a singer.

GaOn

GaOn is Xdinary Heroes’ guitarist, rapper and vocalist. Although he has had a musical background before joining JYP Entertainment, he also had and still has a passion for STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). During his school days, he was a STEM whiz who dreamt of a future as an IoT (Internet of Things) developer. With his friends, he participated in science contests and projects in school where he grew automated crops using a program called Arduino. 

Xdinary Heroes Begins

He even mentioned that he once built his own computer in middle school because he wanted to play games but couldn’t buy a computer. Borrowing some computer parts from people he knew and with a lot of trial and error, he attempted making his own computer.

He was deeply interested in all things science and technology but all the while, he was also part of a band in school as a guitarist. He participated in school performances and planned to continue being in a band no matter how his future unfolded.

He has a profound passion for guitar and it shows through his raw excitement. In Xdinary Heroes Begins, he browsed a guitar store with JunHan and he could not hide his elation when he was trying out different guitars.

Xdinary Heroes

O.de

Unlike the other members’ journeys, O.de did not have a musical background and, growing up, he didn’t envision being involved in music. He originally trained as a cross-country ski athlete from his first year of middle school until his first year of high school. However, he had trouble seeing a stable future in the sport and also injured his knees so he was at a point where he was looking around trying to find another direction in life. He even considered becoming a model but the life of a model did not appeal to him. 

When he was first offered an audition by the casting director of JYP Entertainment, he initially was reluctant to accept but he auditioned and was accepted into the company. He trained to be a dance idol alongside JungSu but the rookie development team at the company suggested that he learn to play an instrument. Being thrown off his initial track, O.de was reluctant to take up their suggestion but with their persuasion, he agreed. He began learning to play the synthesiser but his heart wasn’t in it until he watched videos of their company senior, Day6. He then began to realise the charm of bands and developed a desire to belong in one himself.

Xdinary Heroes Begins

Xdinary Heroes Begins

Xdinary Heroes Begins

JunHan

JunHan is the guitarist of the band whose musical epiphany came one emotional night. He had always enjoyed music but for many years, he had been constantly thinking about what he should do with his life. He came to the realisation that pursuing music would make him happy when he heard a song to which the lyrics were, ‘I’m doing music but I’m playing, I’m working but I’m enjoying it’. Crying, he called up his mother at midnight telling her that he wanted to do music. His parents were really supportive of their son’s passion and enrolled him into a music academy. It was an emotional moment having found the answer to a question he had pondered for years. Since then, he has been highly dedicated to refining his skills as a guitarist and always speaks of his instrument with strong passion.

As a quiet and timid person who got accepted into a big entertainment company, he wasn’t used to being in front of cameras and receiving attention. However, he is now hungry for the spotlight and is eager to express himself through the guitar. His goal now is to interact with the public, gain recognition and also be acknowledged amongst musicians.

JooYeon

Bassist and main vocalist JooYeon has been a musical person growing up as well. Like GaOn, he was also in a band during his school days as a guitarist and vocalist. With the band, he participated in school performances and really enjoyed himself. Despite his love for music, his mother was worried about him pursuing singing but told him that he could if ever an opportunity arose. Aside from his interest in music, he also had a dream of becoming a PE instructor and was an active person, playing soccer and basketball as he grew up.

He only began learning to play the bass when he joined JYP Entertainment so it has only been about three years. However, in these short three years, he has proven to be a proficient bassist with potential to flourish even further in the future.

Xdinary Heroes Begins

During his time as an Xdinary Heroes member so far, his strong and steady vocals have impressed both fans and respected figures within the entertainment industry. His dream now is to become a distinctive, top vocalist like his vocal role models; Imagine Dragons and Luke Hemmings from 5 Seconds of Summer. 

On Apr. 26, Xdinary Heroes made a comeback with their 3rd mini album, “Deadlock”, and their title song, ‘Freakin’ Bad’. Check out the music video for ‘Freakin’ Bad’ below.