BtoB Blue

History

Before they officially debuted as a sub-unit, the members took part in a few televised singing contests. In 2014, they competed on Mnet's The Singer Game, where the theme was "a song you want to hear when you want to curse at your boss." Performing Urban Zakapa's "I Hate You" in front of a panel of 100 stressed office workers, they lost in the first round with a score of 69 to 31. Two years later, in 2016, they appeared on Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend with a rendition of "To My Love." The audience praised their performance for its sweet vocals, beautiful harmonies, and rich emotion. Veteran singers also admired the stage, noting that the four members blended their voices perfectly and complemented each other's unique tones. The group earned 427 points, beating out Hong Ji-min, Homme, Second Moon, and Lim Do-hyeok, and secured four consecutive wins to take the championship.

On September 12, 2016, BtoB's Twitter account posted a picture of the members crowded around a director's camera, captioned "Coming soon! 2016.09.19. 00:00(KST)." Shortly after, Cube Entertainment announced the debut of BtoB's first sub-unit, BtoB Blue, with the digital single "Stand By Me." The track was produced by Black Eyed Pilseung, known for hits by Sistar and Twice, and was described as a ballad showcasing the group's mature, sorrowful vocals. Member Peniel was directly involved in producing the music video. Upon release, the song charted well, reaching number one on Monkey 3, number three on Melon, and number two on Mnet. The group performed the song live for the first time on MBC's Show! Music Core on September 24.

On July 8, 2017, BtoB Blue returned to KBS's Immortal Songs 2 to perform The Blue's "Under the Sky." Although they lost to Homme, the original singer Kim Min-jong of The Blue said he was deeply impressed by their singing and beautiful melody, while Son Ji-chang remarked that the performance felt like a great source of strength for his future.