SEVENTEEN cultivated their steady rise to the top of South Korea's charts by providing fans with behind-the-scenes access to the supersized boy band's artistic process. In 2013, while being groomed by management firm Pledis Entertainment, SEVENTEEN first appeared in an online show that depicted the group’s 13 members—often divided into hip-hop, vocal, and performance subunits—rehearsing and performing largely self-written and -choreographed material. After Pledis officially took the group under its wing, the 2015 reality-TV series Seventeen Project: Big Debut Plan concluded with an hour-long live showcase on a major broadcast channel. The promotional event set the stage for their first EP, 17 Carat, which provided the SEVENTEEN fan community, Carats, with its name; outlasted every K-pop entry to date on American charts; and offered up an irresistible centerpiece, “Adore U.” The band easily fill their epic three-hour concerts with super-tight choreography, constantly unfolding stories about their members and material for every taste: Piano ballads ("Say Yes"), electro hip-hop ("Fronting"), and hard-hitting Auto-Tuned dance pop ("Hit) are all on tap. After topping South Korean charts with their first three albums, SEVENTEEN documented their 2019 Ode to You tour with Hit the Road, a YouTube documentary series that once again invited fans to their virtual backstage. Audience engagement is table stakes for K-pop success, and in 2020—after their EP Heng:garæ sold a million copies its first week—the incendiary single “Left & Right” yet again drew fans into SEVENTEEN’s process with a global TikTok dance challenge.