The K-pop group’s first music as a five-member unit shows off R&B influences. The nine-member group that came out of 2023’s Boys Planet split into two groups in early 2026. Sung Han-bin, Kim Ji-woong, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae-rae, and Park Gun-wook remained as a five-member version of ZEROBASEONE, while Zhang Hao, Ricky, Kim Gyu-vin, and Han Yu-jin reformed as a group called AND2BLE alongside former EVNNE member Yoo Seungeon. Because of this, Ascend- isn’t just another ZEROBASEONE mini album; it’s the group’s first music as a five-member unit. In this context, the title of lead single “TOP 5”—a groovy hip-hop track about a lover’s best qualities—takes on additional, scrappy subtext. The EP’s R&B influences are even more prominent on “V for Vision,” a track about the group’s unwavering ambition, and the soulful love song “Changes.” Upbeat tracks “Customize” (which was co-composed, written, and produced by member Gun-wook) and “Exotic” are Ascend- at its most conventionally K-pop. But broadly, the seven-track EP embraces a more subdued sound for a new, five-member era of ZEROBASEONE.