xikers drop 8th mini album 'ROUTE ZERO : The CALLING' alongside labelmates ATEEZ
xikers' 8th mini album arrived Nov. 2, same day as labelmate ATEEZ's release. The group showcased the project at Myeonghwa Live Hall in Seoul.
xikers dropped their eighth mini album, ROUTE ZERO : The CALLING, on November 2 at 6 PM. That same day, the group held a media showcase at Myeonghwa Live Hall in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.
Six tracks, one title about breaking order
The album has six tracks: title track DIENAMITE, Go, Mask off, One, DUMB, and Sanctuary. DIENAMITE depicts xikers stepping off an established path onto a new one — the moment when growing desire tips into precarious tension right before it explodes, according to the group.
Member Yujun flagged that the choreography for DIENAMITE has a distinctive character. The group is planning a simplified version for music broadcast stages with a challenge format in mind.
Competing with their own seniors
The comeback lands at the same time as fellow KQ Entertainment group ATEEZ. The members addressed this pressure test directly at the showcase. Yujun said ATEEZ's Wooyoung regularly treats the group to meals and reached out again this cycle: "I always watch you. Fighting this time too."
Member Jeonghun, who has tracked ATEEZ since his trainee days, put it plainly: "I wanted to show our own charm, so we prepared this album hard."
(Ten members — Minjae, Junmin, Sumin, Jinsik, Hyunwoo, Jeonghun, Seeun, Yujun, Hunter, Yechan — all on stage for the showcase.)
Cheer the story
