Ninety One or 91 (, Toqsan bır, Korean: 나인티원) is a Kazakh boy group formed by JUZ Entertainment in 2015. The band consists of four members: Alem, Ace, Zaq, and Bala. Once a five-member group, former member A.Z. left in 2020. Ninety One is the pioneer act of Q-pop (Qazaq-pop), a Kazakh genre which is inspired by Western pop music and K-pop with some Kazakh influences as well. The group was produced by Erbolat Bedelhan, a member of the Kazakh music unit "Orda".
History 2014: KTI-boys The group was founded in 2014, formed from the "K-Top Idols" project, the main goal of which was creating Kazakhstan's first idol group. A.Z. and ZaQ were the winners of this project. BALA and ALEM were cast via a separate audition. ACE joined the group after having trained at South Korean talent agency SM Entertainment from 2011 to 2015.
Q-pop The term "Q-pop" was first coined in 2015 by the fanbase of Ninety One - "Eaglez". Fans pointed out the differences they saw in a newly founded Asian pop genre compared to other countries pop music. The letter "Q" originates from the way country's name, "Qazaqstan", should be written according to the Latin script of Kazakh. The prefix ‘Q’ has a particular ideological connotation. Putting ‘Q’ as the prefix is a trendy way of representing new Kazakhstan. The new idea of ‘Q’ for resembling Kazakhstan has broad acceptance among the population.
Debut and hostility towards the group (2015–2016) After a year and a half, the band decided to change their name from "KTI-boys" to "Ninety One". The new name references the year 1991, when Kazakhstan won its independence from the former Soviet Union. The name "91" carries the meaning of independence and creative freedom.
On 1 September 2015 Ninety One released their debut single Aiyptama! (Айыптама, ). The music video for the song was released on October 8, 2015. Aiyptama led the charts of Kazakhstan's music channels for 20 weeks.
On December 1, 2015, they released their first EP, also called Aıyptama. This mini-album consists of 6 songs.
On June 2, 2016, they released a music video for the song "Qaitadan" ().
Music video for "Qalay Qaraisyn" (Qalai Qaraisyñ, English: How do you feel about that?), their third song, came out on December 11, 2016. Song was included into the soundtrack of the movie "Гламұр для дур" directed by Askar Uzabaev. The song lasted 20 weeks on the 1st place of the Gákký chart.
Public's response Ninety One, despite quickly developing a large, mostly teenage female fanbase, were met with a huge wave of hostility from the mainstream public. A lot of local celebrities openly bashed and humiliated them, going as far as to say Ninety One were corrupting their youth. Make-up, earrings and dyed hair on men ran counter to traditional gender roles in Kazakhstan, and the group's style was considered to be counter to Kazakh culture. Apart from receiving various insults and death threats, Ninety One also had to physically defend themselves from some overzealous anti-fans.
First Tour "#91" On June 21, 2016, Ninety One held their first solo concert in the city of Karaganda as a part of their "#91" tour. Some of the group's previous planned concerts were cancelled due to public outrage. Protests were held against the group so that staff members and even Ninety One themselves couldn't enter their concert venues.
From July 23 to August 5, Ninety One and Orda — their manager, Erbolat Bedelhan's group — toured China. They gave an interview for a Kazakh magazine "Xalhar".
JUZ Tour 2k17 (2017) On July 2, 2017, JUZ Entertainment announced Ninety One's second tour. JUZ Tour 2k17 was bigger and included even more cities. Tour was successful with no major interferences from anti-fans.
"Mooz" and the movie "91" "Mūz" (English: Ice/cold) came out on August 21, 2017. "Mooz" is an official OST to Ninety One's biographical movie "91".
On August 24, the film "91" was released. The movie was the members' acting debut, all playing themselves. "91" showcases the difficulties group has experienced: Ninety one's pre-debut and early debut days were marked by the huge backlash they've received from anti-fans and general public.
On its premiere weekend, "91" grossed 32,672,000 tenge.
"Dopamine" album and documentary (2018–2019) On June 25, 2018 Ninety One released "E.Yeah", the lead single from their album "Dopamine", quickly followed by "All I need" released on August 8.
The third song of the album - "Boyman", came out on October 24, 2018. "Boyman" said to be a tribute to a famous Kazakhstani figure skater Denis Ten, whose death has deeply affected Ninety One members, as well as the whole of Kazakhstan.
International expansion
On March 15, 2019, the South Korean TV channel MNET released an episode of the musical game show "I can see your voice" in which Ninety One made a guest appearance. The group ended up winning the show and got to perform with K-pop group Mamamoo. At the end of the show, they also performed their debut song "Aiyptama". After the show aired, Ninety One released their song "Aiyptama" as an exclusive digital single on Korean musical streaming platforms.
Documentary "Петь свои песни" Documentary film by Katherine Suvorova "Петь свои песни" (Kazakh name: Men sen emes), looks into the reasons behind protests against the group and cancellations of their concerts. These events reveal a huge layer of social and cultural conflicts inside the Kazakhstani society - conflict between the urban and rural life, between traditionalism and globalization, between the vertical line of political authority and personal freedom. Film explores these themes through conversations with the band members themselves, their opponents and supporters. Kazakhstani political and cultural scientists, media experts and art historians also explain why do people of Kazakhstan protest against Q-pop.
Social impact Ninety One has made a huge impact on the Kazakh language. Despite receiving multiple recommendations to switch to English or Russian, members of Ninety One are certain that their actions help in popularizing their country's culture and language.
On March 29, 2018, member ZAQ, who is a part of the youth party Жас Отан ("Zhas Otan"), gave a speech on the IV Congress of Zhas Otan.
Apart from the effects on the language, Ninety One and their producer, Erbolat Bedelhan, have made a major impact on Kazakh culture. Q-pop is considered to be one of the most major music genres by youth in Kazakhstan.
Projects
Erbolat Bedelhan, with the help of a Kazakh TV channel , decided to create Kazakhstan's first rap show.
On May 25, 2018 came out the promotional video for "Qara beri". Two members of Ninety One - Zaq and A.Z were mentors on the show. As Yerbolat Bedelkhan said in his interview for NTK:
"- The main goal of the project is to show people of Kazakhstan that we do have hip-hop! That our youth can and wants to write rap in Kazakh. In the 21st century we need to prove that our language can be modern."
Rapper "Ne1tron", winner of the show, signed his contract with Juz Entertainment on 21 February.
On 1 May 2019, Yerbolat Bedelkhan together with Salem social media announced a casting for the show "Project X".
"Project X" is a new reality survival show, main goal of which is to create the next boy group of Juz Entertainment. A new group should give a healthy competition in the genre of Q-Pop. The show would go on to form the boy group Alpha.
Members
Current Alem (Batyrhan Abaiūly Mälıkov; Kazakh: Батырхан Абайұлы Мәлікoв, born 18 February 1993) – main vocalist, composer Ace (Azamat Qairatūly Aşmaqyn; Kazakh: Азамат Қайратұлы Ашмақын, born 29 August 1993) – leader, vocalist, lead dancer, composer, visual Zaq (Dulat Bolatūly Mūhametqali; Kazakh: Дулат Болатұлы Мұхаметқали, born 8 February 1996) – main rapper, main dancer, choreographer, lyricist Bala (Daniar Aqylbaiūly Qūlymşin; Kazakh: Данияр Ақылбайұлы Құлымшин, born 19 February 1998) – lead vocalist, kenzhe (youngest), composer
Former A.Z. (Azamat Baibulatūly Zenkaev; Kazakh: Азамат Байбyлатұлы Зенкаев, born 28 September 1993) – leader, lead rapper, lyricist
Discography Studio albums Title Details TracklistQarangy Zharyq 2k17 Released: 5 May 2017 Language: Kazakh Label: JUZ Entertainment Formats: Digital download, CD, streaming Ah! Yah! Mah! Bayau Bungingi Kunnen MBBABBD Mooz Lya O_o Sau Su Asty Yeski Taspa Bii'
Extended plays Title Details TracklistAiyptama (Айыптама) Released: 1 December 2015 Language: Kazakh Label: JUZ Entertainment Formats: Digital download, CD, streaming Qalai Qaraisyn? Ayiptama Qaitadan Umytpa Qayirli TunDopamine Released: 10 January 2019 Language: Kazakh Label: JUZ Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming E.YEAH ALL I NEED BOYMAN WHY'MMen Emes Released: 20 August 2019 Language: Kazakh Label: JUZ Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streaming Men Emes Bári Biled Køılek Olar91Released: 6 October 2020 Language: Kazakh Label: JUZ Entertainment Formats: Digital download, streamingOinamaqo Señorita - Tekketekke Shyda Nice Weather Taboo (ft. Irina Kairatovna)
Singles Title Release date AlbumАйыптама (Aiyptama)1 September 2015Қайтадан (Qaitadan)26 January 2016Қалай қарайсың? (Qalai Qaraisyń?)10 February 2016Ұмытпа (Umytpa)18 March 2016Su Asty1 May 2017Yeski Taspa Bii'5 June 2017Bayau10 July 2017Mooz21 August 2017Ah!Yah!Mah!24 December 2017E.YEAH25 June 2018ALL I NEED29 July 2018BOYMAN31 July 2018Why'm1 January 2019Lady8 March 2019Ayiptama (Remastered ver.)16 March 2019Men Emes28 July 2019Bári Biled5 August 2019Køılek13 August 2019Olar20 August 2019Lie1 May 2020Qiyalman9 April 2021T'nda30 May 2021ABUSEJune 2021Don't Dig It19 June 2021The WingsIt was later edited to DARN.July 2021DARN21 November 2021Jurek1 January 2022Intro30 December 2021Bópe27 January 20221Dei6 February 2022Qooma14 February 2022R (Outro)19 February 2022Bata1 June 2022Suraqtar20 July 2022Bope29 August 2022
Videography Music videos TitleRelease datesAiyptama8 October 2015Qaitadan2 June 2016Qalai Qaraisyn?12 December 2016Su Asty1 May 2017Yeski Taspa Bii'5 June 2017Bayau10 July 2017Mooz21 August 2017Ah!Yah!Mah!31 December 2017E.YEAH25 June 2018ALL I NEED8 August 2018Why'm1 January 2019Men Emes1 August 2019Bári Biled8 August 2019Señorita - Tekketekke22 October 2020Oinamaqo21 December 2020Taboo (ft. Irina Kairatovna)25 December 2020Qiyalman16 April 2021DARN25 November 2021Bata1 June 2022
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