Pochette officielle — BOYNEXTDOOR, HYBE Labels / KOZ Entertainment
South Korean boy band BOYNEXTDOOR made a serious statement this weekend. On September 28, the group released the repackaged edition of its debut studio album, titled HOME: DELUXE, led by the single ANIMAL, their first venture into electro-funk. The release cements the sextet’s status as one of the rising acts of K-pop’s new generation, just months after a first volume that was already a commercial triumph.
A repackage built as an escalation
HOME: DELUXE carries over the entire debut album HOME, released in June, and adds four new tracks, including the Korean-language versions of two singles previously available only in Japanese, Count to Love and Boom Boom Boom. The record comes in three physical editions, HAZE, OVERDRIVE and SPARK, the kind of multi-version rollout that has become standard practice for K-pop groups looking to multiply collectible formats around a single release.
The real statement is the title track, ANIMAL. The song marks the group’s first foray into electro-funk, a darker and more physical register than their earlier pop-rock singles. The video’s concept, built around characters who see themselves as animals rather than humans, matches that sonic shift. Production credits go to ZICO, the central figure at their label KOZ Entertainment and already behind several of the group’s biggest hits, alongside the production teams Pop Time and kako.
A steady climb since HOME
This repackage is no mere end-of-cycle commercial gesture. It builds on an already striking trajectory. HOME, the original release, took the group to No. 16 on the Billboard 200, their best result yet in the United States, while also becoming a fourth consecutive platinum-certified release in South Korea, with more than a million copies sold in its first week alone.
Those numbers place BOYNEXTDOOR among the small circle of “fifth generation” K-pop acts able to turn domestic success into lasting international traction. Since debuting in 2023 under ZICO’s guidance, the six members built their identity around edgy pop-rock before gradually widening their range, culminating in this electro-funk turn that opens a new chapter in their catalogue.
ZICO’s presence on production is no small detail. The rapper-producer turned label boss built KOZ Entertainment around the group he formed and still closely oversees, down to writing on flagship tracks. That direct link between an established artist and an independent agency stands out in an industry largely dominated by giant conglomerates, and helps explain why BOYNEXTDOOR has kept a less predictable musical identity than most of their direct competitors, moving between pop-rock, ballads and now electro-funk.
A carefully staged rollout, a massive launch
The release followed the now-familiar Korean industry playbook: a first teaser dropped a week earlier on the HYBE LABELS YouTube channel, packing snippets of all five repackage tracks into a few seconds, followed by the full video on release day. The payoff was immediate: the official ANIMAL video passed 6.8 million views within 24 hours, confirming the international fanbase the group has already built.
Whether ANIMAL can hold its ground on Western charts remains to be seen, given how crowded this fall’s fifth-generation K-pop field already is. But for a group not yet four years into its career, this repackage mostly serves as proof of consistency: every release since their debut has pushed their standing forward rather than simply maintaining it.
The timing also matters. Repackages have become one of the industry’s main tools to extend a title’s chart life well past its original release window, feeding fresh promotional cycles, new physical variants and additional broadcast appearances without waiting for a full new album. By choosing to push into a new genre for the lead single rather than simply repeating what already worked on HOME, BOYNEXTDOOR is betting that listeners will follow them into unfamiliar territory instead of just replaying a proven formula.
