Alpha Drive One (Korean: 알파드라이브원; stylized in all caps; abbreviated as ALD1) is a South Korean boy band formed through Mnet's reality competition show Boys II Planet. Managed by WakeOne, the group consists of eight members: Junseo, Arno, Leo, Geonwoo, Sangwon, Xinlong, Anxin, and Sanghyeon. They debuted on January 12, 2026, with the extended play (EP) Euphoria and will promote under a five-year contract.^[1]

The name is intended to represent the group's ambition: Alpha for striving toward excellence, Drive for passion and momentum, and One to signify unity as one team.^[2]

Alpha Drive One was formed through Mnet's reality competition series Boys II Planet, which aired through July 17 to September 25, 2025.^[1] During the live finale, host Kim Jae-joong announced the group name and the final lineup of eight members, which was determined through global voting across 223 countries and regions, tallying approximately 26.5 million votes.^[3] The group was reported to debut in early 2026 and promote under a five-year contract following their debut, with an additional "special activity" year to release an additional single and hold concerts.^[4][5]

Before appearing on the program, several members had already been active or preparing for activities in the entertainment industry. Xinlong made his debut in JYP Entertainment's Chinese boy group Boy Story on September 21, 2018.^[6] Anxin participated in the first season of the Chinese variety show Master Class in 2015 and was a child actor in the movies Bloody Destiny (2015) and Love in the Front (2017). In 2024, Arno and Anxin participated in the KBS2 reality competition show Make Mate 1, but both were eliminated in the final episode after ranking 10th and 14th, respectively. Junseo participated in the competition show Under Nineteen in 2018 and made the final lineup at 9th place.^[7] He subsequently promoted as part of the resulting group 1the9 from April 2019 until their disbandment in August 2020.^[8] Junseo debuted as a member of WEi under Oui Entertainment on October 5, 2020.^[9] In February 2025, Junseo made his acting debut in the Korean drama Secret Relationships.^[10] Leo and Sangwon were part of Big Hit Music's pre-debut group Trainee A, which promoted actively on social media platforms from 2021 to 2022, but the group ended up disbanding before their debut.^[11] After his departure from Trainee A, Leo signed with 131 Label and made his debut as a soloist on August 17, 2023.^[12]

Ahead of Alpha Drive One's debut, the group released their first official profile images, signaling the start of their debut promotions.^[13] They gained significant social media traction early on, surpassing one million followers on Instagram within a week of their account's launch.^[14] In September 2025, the group held a contest for fans to suggest and vote on the official fandom name, which was later revealed as 'Allyz' during an Instagram live in November.^[15][16] On October 16, 2025, the group premiered their first YouTube original content series titled One Dream Forever, aimed at showcasing the members' personalities and teamwork prior to their musical debut.^[17] On November 11, 2025, they launched a second reality series titled ALD1ary and documented the members' first experience living together in a shared dormitory, highlighting their multicultural chemistry through language exchange between Korean and Chinese members and domestic team-building activities.^[18] Alpha Drive One made their first official public appearance on November 28 at the 2025 MAMA Awards,^[19] where they performed their pre-release single "Formula".^[20]

Alpha Drive One released their first EP Euphoria on January 12, 2026, alongside its lead single "Freak Alarm",^[21][22] following the pre-release single "Formula" on December 3, 2025. On January 21, the group won their first music show trophy on Show Champion. The group then went on to win on KBS' Music Bank, MBC's Show! Music Core and SBS' Inkigayo, becoming the first boy group in nine years to achieve first-place wins on all three terrestrial music shows with a debut track.^[23][24]

On March 18, WakeOne confirmed that Alpha Drive One is scheduled to release a new album in May.^[25] On April 8, 2026, WakeOne announced that Geonwoo would halt all activities to "reflect on his mistakes". The hiatus followed online allegations of verbal abuse toward a staff member during a pre-debut variety show recording. The agency clarified that the incident involved a "hot mic" situation where Geonwoo used inappropriate language while unaware his microphone was active. As a result, the group will proceed as a seven-member lineup for their upcoming June fan concert and future promotions for the time being.^[26]