After a history-making past year, SEVENTEEN announced a greatest hits album, 17 IS RIGHT HERE, dropping just ahead of their ninth anniversary.
Revealed after SEVENTEEN’s two stadium concerts this past weekend in Incheon, South Korea’s Asiad Main Stadium, as part of their ‘Follow’ Tour, the two-disc compilation scheduled for late April promises to be a nostalgic journey through an extraordinary career of one of K-pop’s most beloved acts.
Accompanying the best-of album announcement is the animated “Concept Teaser” video, serving as a visual homage to SEVENTEEN’s past albums and music videos. Information about the physical album was also shared where SEVENTEEN fans—affectionately known as CARATs—can choose between two versions: the “Here” and “Hear” editions, each adorned with its own unique cover and accompanied by collectibles including photocards, booklets and posters.
2023 was undoubtedly one for the history books for SEVENTEEN and Korean music. Alongside their inaugural Asia stadium tour, the group sold a staggering 16 million albums worldwide, largely thanks to two new EPs. SEVENTEEN’s respective 10th and 11th mini albums, FML and SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN, released in April and October 2023, stand as the top two best-selling albums ever in K-pop history, according to Korea’s locally recognized Circle Chart. As of February 2024, FML has sold more than 6.3 million copies worldwide (the largest-selling album in Korean recorded-music history), while HEAVEN has 5.6 million units sold. FML also topped the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Global Albums Chart as the No. 1-selling album of 2023, and SEVENTEEN was at No. 2 only behind Taylor Swift on IFPI’s Global Artist Chart.
Following the release of 17 IS RIGHT HERE, the band will continue their worldwide domination across Europe with highly anticipated performances at Glastonbury Festival and Lollapalooza Berlin.
Since their debut in May 2015 with the instantly catchy “Adore U,” SEVENTEEN has defied expectations after initially considered a longshot for K-pop success. Propelled by an innovative approach to music production and performance, the 13 members’ emphasis on self-production has distinguished them as new trendsetters within the industry, quickly earning accolades and chart-topping success within their first year as underdog breakouts.
With new songs inevitably accompanying 17 IS RIGHT HERE, the largest mystery remaining might be which SEVENTEEN hits will make the tracklist cut. Two discs may be just enough to feature all 21 of the group’s K-pop singles so far—including their latest, “God of Music,” which marked their first No. 1 on Korea’s Circle Digital Chart—and maybe English single “Darl+ing,” beloved songs attached to different television soundtracks like “A-Teen” and “19-Teen” and other special B-side tracks. But no matter what songs are featured, with 17 IS RIGHT HERE and more music promised from the guys in 2024, SEVENTEEN’s reign shows no signs of waning.
17 IS RIGHT HERE will be released on April 29, 2024. Pre-orders for the album begin at 11:00 AM on April 1, 2024 local time in Korea.