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IST Entertainment's newest boy group has officially changed their name to ATBO, after receiving a lot of criticism for their original name.
The seven-member boy group is made of the winners of the idol survival show The Origin – A, B, Or What?. Produced by Kakao Entertainment and Sony Music Solutions, the group, originally called ABO, was unveiled on May 7. According to IST Entertainment, the name ABØ stood for "At the Beginning of Originality".
However, the internet had mostly negative feelings about the name.
IST Entertainment Boy group's naming controversy explained
In the final episode of The Origin – A, B, Or What?, which aired on May 7, the seven finalists, Jung Seunghwan, Oh Junseok, Seok Rakwon, Ryu Junmin, Bae Hyunjun, Yang Donghwa, and Kim Yeonkyu, were invited to join the boy group. Apart from the line-up, the final episode also revealed the group's cryptic name and its meaning.
Soon after the airing of the finale, the new name ABØ was met with severe concern from viewers. Many international viewers pointed out that the word itself is an offensive racial slur. In Australia, "Abo" is a racially charged term used for Aboriginal Australians. Many internet users compared the name to the "N-word," claiming that it is no better.
Other social media users also pointed out a very different, and equally inappropriate meaning of the word. According to some, ABO is an NSFW abbreviation for a genre of erotic fanfiction, especially on sites like Archive of Our Own (AO3). “ABO” is short for “Alpha, Beta, Omega.”
In light of these two meanings, many asked IST Entertainment to reconsider the name, and the agency has formally announced a new name for the boy group.
The new new for ABØ is ATBO
On June 2, the agency released an official statement announcing that the group will henceforth be called ATBO. While the meaning remains "At the Beginning of Originality", the acronym has been tweaked so as to not offend public sentiment.
They said,
"ABO, a rookie boy group that confirmed their debut through the survival audition show 'The Origin - A, B, Or What?' that aired on Kakao TV. MBN will change the name of their active team to ATBO.
We fully understand the international fans’ concerns over how the name ‘ABO’ may be mistaken for the wrong meaning in certain regions, and after internal discussions, we have decided to change the name of the team."
Surprisingly, ATBO also garnered mixed reactions. While a few were glad that IST Entertainment paid heed to constructive feedback and changed the name, many others felt that the new name could have been something that makes more sense than ATBO, for example The Origin.
Meanwhile, ATBO is the first boy group to debut under IST Entertainment since the launch of The Boyz in 2017. The rookie boy group is also IST Entertainment's first group following the agency's merger and consequent renaming in 2021. IST Entertainment is the product of a high-profile merger between THE BOYZ's label Cre.Ker Entertainment and Kakao Entertainment subsidiary Play M Entertainment.
The group will be debuting sometime in the second half of 2022.
Incidentally, the premiere of the show The Origin – A, B, Or What? was postponed after several participants tested positive for COVID-19.
