From being fresh-faced debutants to bonafide performers with awards and brand endorsements to boast, BUS Because of you I shine has notched achievement after achievement – all within a year of debut.
The Sonray Music group will mark their first year – since emerging as the top 12 trainees in the idol survival show 789Survival – with a special anniversary concert.
The Happy BUS Day 1st Year Diary Concert will take place on 6 December – the date of their debut – at the newly-opened One Bangkok Forum. In the lead-up to their anniversary concert, BUS has also released สุขสันต์วันคิดถึง (Happily Missing You) on 4 December.
789SURVIVAL AND DEBUT
The members of BUS – Alan, AA, Copper, Heart, Jinwook, Jungt, Khunpol, Marckris, Nex, Peemwasu, Phutatchai and Thai – began as trainees on 789Survival, eventually emerging as the top 12 to form Sonray Music’s first boy group.
They burst into the scene with their first single, Because of You, I Shine, on the same day as their debut. The track, with its infectiously upbeat sound, hit one million views in three days after release.
The group later released their follow-up single in February this year – the equally danceable Watch Your Step, produced by prolific Thai producer Amp Achariya.
Watch Your Step, which hit its first million views four days after release, also birthed the catchy BUS Fan Chant, with its iconic line “B-U-S, BUS is Twelve”.
The group hit yet another milestone just a month later, picking up their first brand endorsement deal as presenters for Nestle’s Pure Life bottled water. As part of the campaign, BUS released a special single – Feeling Bab Wa Ooh! – which continued the cheery sound the group was known for.
The Nestle deal would be the first of several brand deals BUS would pick up: later in the year, they would front campaigns for telco AIS, make-up company 4U2, box manufacturer NPP Box, and more recently jelly brand Sunsu.
SUB-UNITS, AND A DIFFERENT SOUND
In April, BUS announced it would be embarking on a sub-unit project, which saw the 12 members split into two groups – BUS5 and BUS7.
On 1 May, BUS5 – comprising Marckris, Jungt, Jinwook, Phutatchai and Heart – released their first single แค่ไหนแค่นั้น (No Matter What), produced and written by Mirrr vocalist To. The introspective pop-rock sound was also a departure from the usual cheery tunes BUS had previously released.
Then a month later, BUS7 – made up of Alan, AA, Nex, Peemwasu, Thai, Copper and Khunpol – dropped their first single แค่น้องชาย (Brother zone), which was produced by The Toys.
BUS would also star in their first TV series, Bussing Thailand, a weekly travelogue programme where the group would head to six different provinces in southern Thailand to complete different missions.
In September, BUS announced their comeback single Liar, a darker, electro-dance track produced by Paper Planes frontman Hye.
In the same month, BUS kicked off their cross-country tour – BUS 1st Fancon Tour ‘Knock Knock Knock’ – which took them to five cities in Thailand. Tickets to the showcase sold out within hours of being released, underscoring the group’s growing fame.
The tour also coincided with the release of their sixth single Transformer, reflecting what they call a “cooler, fiercer and more mature” look. The single was record-breaking: in just under a day, its music video hit 1 million views – the first BUS MV to do so.
More importantly, even before they hit their first anniversary, BUS already has several key awards under their belt.
In March, barely three months after their debut, BUS would emerge one of the few big winners at the T-Pop of The Year Awards, winning two popular-vote awards for best male group and best performance.
At the Kazz Awards, BUS were named ‘Trending Artiste’; while at the Mint Awards in September, BUS won Rookie of the Year, while their Bussing Thailand show was honoured for Entertainment Program of the Year.
More recently, lifestyle publication GQ awarded the group with the Breakout Band of the Year award, noting their “outstanding” performance since debut.
A look-back video from the group underscores their outstanding performance for the year: from constantly trending on social media, to winning awards.
“Thank you for making us shine so much over the past year,” says BUS in the post.
