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ATBO: Fans thankful as IST changes new boy group name from Australian racial slur

While ATBO's original name was stylized, fans pointed out that it was still clearly the racial slur

IST Entertainment announced that after the merger of The Boyz and Victon’s labels, they would be forming their first boy group from the survival show ‘The Origin - A, B, Or What?’ The show was star-studded as we had mentors like Minzy of 2NE1 fame, GOT7’s Jay B, and Infinite’s Sunggyu. We even got guest judges like Jay Park, Apink’s Bomi and Hayoung, and Victon’s Sejun and Subin. Well, the finale took place on May 7 and the winning group was formed. However, its name irked fans as it was similar to an Australian racial slur.

Over the years, we have had several ignorant K-pop idols being offensive, from saying the N-word to doing cultural appropriation. And there have been very few idols who have apologized. So many fans were resigned to accepting that IST’s new boy group would continue to be called ABØ. While the ‘O’ was stylized, fans pointed out that it was still clearly the racial slur originated from Aboriginals to insult Australian natives and the indigenous community. Thankfully, the boy group’s name has now been changed to ATBO.

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IST changes boy group name to ATBO

IST had initially claimed that the original name was short for ‘At the Beginning of Originality’. But after much uproar from fans, the label announced on June 3 that their new boy group would now be called ATBO. IST apologized and shared that they understood fans’ concerns about how the original name could be offensive in certain regions and had decided to change the group name. ATBO would still be in line with the original theme of the boy group – ‘At the Beginning of Originality’. With the new name, ATBO is currently preparing to debut in the second half of the year.

‘They actually listened’

Fans had a better idea as they had hoped the group’s name could be ‘Origin’ stemming from their survival show name. And in turn, the fandom could have been called ‘Originals’. And while they are joking, lamenting the missed opportunity, they are thankful that ISt listened to the fans and changed ATBO’s name. One fan tweeted, “If i had to be honest they should have choose the origin but i guess it's better than nothing my ATBO boys is going to debut.”

Another shared, “I'm so glad they actually listened and changed it.” One fan posted, “'THE ORIGIN' is still the best name for them but thank you for listening to fans' concern about the previous name. Looking forward to ATBO's debut~.” Another shared, “No, because I'm so happy they actually listened and changed the name out of respect! I'll be waiting my babies!! ATBO LETS GET IT!! T_T.”