THE9

THE9 was formed through the reality television show Youth with You 2, which aired from March 12 to May 30, 2020. It was the third season of the Idol Producer franchise. Out of 109 trainees from different companies, only the Top 9 most voted on trainees in the final episode got to debut in the final group.

On May 30, 2020, the final lineup was eventually announced. XIN Liu (Yuxin Liu) placed 1st, Esther Yu Shuxin came in 2nd, followed by Kiki Xu Jiaqi, Yu Yan, Shaking Chloe Xie Keyin, Babymonster An Qi, Zhao Xiaotang, Snow Kong Xue'er and K Lu Keran in 9th place respectively. Since having earned 1st place, XIN Liu (Yuxin Liu) was chosen as the center of the group.[2][3]

• Prior to THE9, XIN Liu (Yuxin Liu) has worked with AMG Entertainment as a solo singer. She released her solo album XIN in 2018. She is a former member of the disbanded girl group Ladybees.

• Yu Shuxin is an actress is best known for her role as Cai Minmin in the drama Find Yourself.

• Xu Jiaqi is an honored graduate of SNH48 Team SII and a member of the SNH48 sub-unit 7SENSES

• Yu Yan was previously on the show Girls, Fighting and she debuted as a solo artist and songwriter.

• Xie Keyin was also previously on the show Girls, Fighting and The Next Top Bang. She is a former member of the disbanded girl group Legal High and she also debuted as a solo artist and songwriter .

• An Qi is a member of the Chinese girl group Hickey.

• Kong Xue'er is a former member of the disbanded girl group Ladybees.

• Zhao Xiaotang was previously on the show The Best of Us.

• Lu Keran is a member of the Chinese - South Korean based girl group Fanxy Red.

During Youth With You 2, all members have released songs with fellow contestants during the third round. Yu Shuxin, Xu Jiaqi, Kong Xue'er, Xie Keyin, and Zhao Xiaotang released "Non-Daily Revelry", XIN Liu (Yuxin Liu) , An Qi and Yu Yan released "Lion" and Lu Keran released "No Company"

On May 31, the group started training together and filmed for various variety shows including "My Little Forest". On June 17, they participated in Hunan Television's 618 Super Night to perform "Yes! OK!" and "Hunt". This marks the group's first public performance after formation. On July 4, the official Weibo account for the group released a video of the members selecting their team leader, Babymonster An, their fandom name, fandom colors and their hand sign.

The group has also done many commercials as well as editorials for magazines and high-end fashion houses. Xu Jiaqi performed at SNH48's 7th Request Time Senbatsu General Elections as a guest where several Youth With You 2 contestants also attended. The group released their first EP Sphinx X Mystery (斯芬克斯X谜) and their lead single "SphinX" (斯芬克斯), along with "Not Me" on August 10. The EP sold over 150,000 units in less than 45 minutes. The music video for SphinX was released on August 15 via Weibo and Youtube. They promoted their EP through performances at variety shows and through music shows like 818 Super Night where they have performed before. The group then announced their first variety show called “Let’s Party 2020” that would be released on iQIYI.

The group released their first album MatriX (虚实X境) on December 25, featuring their lead single "Dumb Dumb Bomb" and nine solo tracks.