Popular Group Suffer 80% Drop In Album Sales After Multiple Members Leave 

Since their debut, ZEROBASEONE had built one of the most consistent sales records in K-Pop history. Almost every album they released as a nine-member group sold over one million copies on the first day.

So when their new five-member lineup dropped Ascend, fans were watching the numbers closely. The result? 198,045 copies on day one.

[HT] ZEROBASEONE (@ZB1_official) 6th Mini Album <Ascend->

DAY 1: 198,045

TOTAL: 198,045#ZEROBASEONE #ZB1    #제로베이스원 pic.twitter.com/9ll3mGHZy0

— KOREAN SALES (@koreansales_twt) May 18, 2026

It was a massive shock. Their previous lowest first-day figure was Blue Paradise at 1,013,921, which means Ascend sold roughly 80% fewer copies than their last release as a 9-member group. Even the most cautious fans had expected at least 500,000.

[HT] #ZEROBASEONE (@ZB1_official) 1st Day Sales

MELTING POINT ㅡ 1,458,089
YOUTH IN THE SHADE ㅡ 1,240,700
NEVER SAY NEVER ㅡ 1,102,096
BLUE PARADISE ㅡ 1,013,921
You had me at HELLO ㅡ 1,008,829
CINEMA PARADISE ㅡ 870,206
Ascend- ㅡ 198,045 🆕️
RE-FLOW ㅡ 69,378

— KOREAN SALES (@koreansales_twt) May 18, 2026

The group reorganized earlier this year after Zhang Hao, Ricky, Kim Gyuvin, and Han Yujin all departed when their contracts expired in March 2026.

WAKEONE Announces Four Members To Leave ZEROBASEONE

The five remaining members, Sung Hanbin, Kim Jiwoong, Seok Matthew, Kim Taerae, and Park Gunwook, chose to continue under the ZEROBASEONE name.

And now, with numbers like these, netizens are split on what actually caused the drop: the loss of four members and their fanbases, or simply a logistics issue with pre-orders not being processed in time.

• “I thought it would sell at least 500k, looks tough”
• “My pre-order hasn’t even had a tracking number printed yet.”
• “Wow, did all the international fans leave?”
• “The basic version tracking numbers haven’t all been processed yet. 150,000 of those counted are just the digipak mini version stock. Please hurry up and send the tracking numbers… mine hasn’t shown up yet”
• “Weren’t there supposed to be 4 versions?”