The band consists of four members: Yoon Doo-joon, Yang Yo-seob, Lee Gi-kwang, and Son Dong-woon.

In 2011, they released their first studio album, Fiction and Fact, and made their Japanese debut with the single, "Shock".

Beast initially received attention for the lack of industry success previously experienced by its members, with media outlets referring to them as a "recycled group".

The group consisted of Yoon Doo-joon, who previously competed on another series to be member of 2PM or 2AM; Jang Hyun-seung, who had competed on a series to be a member of Big Bang; Lee Gi-kwang, who previously debuted as a solo artist under the name AJ; Yang Yo-seob; Yong Jun-hyung; and Son Dong-woon.

[9] They began promotions that day for the album and its lead single, "Bad Girl", by holding a live showcase and performing on KBS Music Bank.

[10] The EP sold over 10,000 copes in its first week of release[11] and went on to sell 40,000 copies by early 2010, an unusual feat for a Korean rookie group at the time.

[12] In December, Beast won the Rookie of the Month award from South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

[16] Later that month, the group achieved their first music show number-one win on Mnet's M Countdown with the album's lead single "Shock".

[20] In August, Beast received the Golden Disk Award from their international label, Universal Music, in recognition of the group's album sales in Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

[22] One week later, the group claimed first place on KBS Music Bank with the album's lead single, "Breath".

[26][27] Cumulative sales of Shock of the New Era, Mastermind and Lights Go On Again exceeded 107,000 copies by mid-December, making Beast the only South Korean rookie group to sell over 100,000 albums in 2010.

[29] Three days later, they held their first solo concert, "Welcome to Beast Airline", at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul to an audience of 10,000.

[30] At the concert, the group debuted three duets that they subsequently released online starting on December 21 as part of the digital EP, My Story.

[47] Beast embarked on their "Beautiful Show" international tour in February 2012, in which the group performed in cities throughout Asia, Europe, and North America.

[68] On April 19, 2016, Cube Entertainment released a statement confirming Jang Hyun-seung's departure from the group.

On March 13, 2019, Junhyung announced his departure from Highlight after he admitted to watching illegal videos sent to him by singer Jung Joon-young, who is under investigation for secretly filming women during sex.

Following a two-and-a-half year hiatus, Highlight made their first comeback as a four-member group on May 3, 2021, with their third EP, The Blowing.

[89] After the promotions for Daydream ended, it was announced that Highlight would be holding a three-day concert, INTRO, at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium from March 20–22.

[92] On the second day, Highlight announced their comeback by playing a short clip during the concert end credits.

In January 2024, Around Us announced that Highlight would be releasing their fifth EP, Switch On and its lead single "Body" on March 11, 2024.

[99] Beast became the protagonists of the variety show Idol Maid running on a weekly basis from July 21 – October 13, 2010.

[101] Beast was selected as a PR envoy to promote the audition program Global Super Idol, which aired in November, 2011.

They also attended the preliminaries in Korea, Thailand, and China to encourage the contestants and give advice.

For this collection, MCM's Heritage and Patricia Field worked together to show off a modern New Yorker style with a trendy shopper bag, backpack, clutch, and more items and any money earned from it will be donated to the 'Korea Disaster Relief' to benefit the civilians left homeless from the Yeonpyeong incident.