H.O.T.

Über H.O.T.

H.O.T. was a five-member boy group formed by SM Entertainment in 1996, the act that launched the modern K-pop idol system. Combining choreographed performance, coordinated fashion, and a managed fan base, they set the commercial template the industry still follows. They released a run of chart-dominating albums in the late 1990s before disbanding in 2001. They are remembered as the first generation of K-pop idols and the foundation for everything that came after.