Category: K-POP ARTISTS

When we talk about entire groups leaving their parent company, we would most likely think about Shinhwa, which decided to leave SM Entertainment after the company didn’t feel like re-signing Dongwan and Beast. The group, except for member Hyunseung, also left their agency Cube in 2016 to establish their own company and rebrand themselves as Highlight. But SM and Cube are quite renowned for their not-so-nice treatment of their idol groups – and fans usually comment that they may have deserved their talents quitting on them.

On the other hand, JYP Entertainment, which had the reputation of being the most “humane” company out of the Big 3 agencies (at the time when NigHit/HYBE was still a struggling agency) had another thing coming when all seven members of their group GOT7 quit them and reunited elsewhere. 

While it was true that JYPE isn’t really known for gross maltreatment of their idols as say, SM, Cube, or Pledis are (not to mention YG which has the reputation of putting talents in their dungeon for years before being given a comeback), JYP through the years also had reputation of conducting “micro aggressive” behavior towards their idols.

Through the years, it has been blatant that JYPE favors their female groups over their male ones although the latter has also contributed a lot to the company’s profile (Wonder Girls, Miss A, TWICE, and ITZY over 2AM, 2PM, GOT7, and Stray Kids). As mentioned earlier, there was that awkward handling of the Jay Park incident. Then, there’s preferential treatment of “star” members like Sunmi and Suzy over the other members. Then, there was GOT7.  Here are some talents that may have proven that JYP Entertainment isn’t the most wholesome entertainment agency it has made itself to be through the years. 

Jay Park 

Here’s one of those K-pop stories with a ton of contradicting accounts: Was he removed? Was he forced to resign? Did his members kick him out? Even before a similar incident was going to happen to Girls’ Generation Jessica years later, the original idol who was subject to such divisiveness was Jay Park aka Jaebeom when he was still with 2PM. 

Jay Park started in the industry with a high profile as he won Mnet’s Hot Blood Men, a documentary-style reality program that showed the future members of One Day, split as idol groups 2AM and 2PM, in training. Being the winner of the program allowed him to become the leader of 2PM. In 2008, 2PM debuted with the song 10 Out of 10 (Ship Jeom Manjeome Ship Jeom) on the music program M! Countdown after the release of their first mini-album, Hottest Time of the Day, a few days prior. With a healthy mix of activities with the group that he led and solo ventures, he quickly became one of the most popular idols in the industry, not just among the talents of JYP Entertainment. 

Things started going south when on September 4, 2009, unfavorable comments towards Korea were found on Park’s personal Myspace account from 2005. The comments, written in English to a friend, were translated by Korean media, quickly spreading across hundreds of news articles. Park expressed deep remorse and shame over his forgotten words and issued an official apology. He explained the unhappiness he experienced during his early days as a trainee in an unfamiliar country where he lacked family, the ability to easily communicate, and an understanding of the culture.

Although there was a strong outcry among Korean fans, who demanded that Park should be removed from 2PM, JYP Entertainment’s CEO, Park Jinyoung, stated on September 7, 2009, that he was going to continue as a part of the group. However, the next day, Jay announced on his official fan cafe that he would be leaving the group to calm the situation and return to his hometown, Seattle, Washington. He also apologized to the other 2PM members, and promised that he would “come back a better person”. JYP then confirmed that 2PM would continue as a six-member group. Additionally, due to the sensitive topic of Park’s departure, all 2PM members were withdrawn from their regular appearances on variety shows, and the final episode of their reality show, Wild Bunny, was postponed indefinitely. Jay’s vocals would not be removed from the older songs he promoted with 2PM, but he would be absent from the newer tracks, and the remaining six members of 2PM re-filmed their music video for Heartbeat without him in October.

2PM‘s first official album was titled 1:59PM, to symbolize Jay’s absence, according to the six remaining members. Through their acceptance speeches at end-of-year award shows for Again & Again, the members thanked him and reiterated their wish for his return. At the Mnet Asian Music Awards, the group paid homage to him during their performance of the song with a spotlight shown over his usual position in the dance formation and his lines left unsung.

With the new year of 2010, the Korean public’s perception of the events gradually shifted as they became more understanding of Jay’s plight during his teenage years as a trainee, igniting public demand this time for his return to the 2PM lineup. However, on February 25, while people thought that Jay would likely return, JYPE suddenly announced that Jay Park’s contract with them had been terminated, citing a separate “personal mistake” that Park had made in 2009. JYP would make reference to this unknown event several times in 2010, but would never elaborate on any details. This termination had been agreed upon by all six members of 2PM, which then led to fan boycotts on 2PM-endorsed products. Protests for Park’s return to the group began to take place, not only in South Korea but internationally as well.

The rest as they say is history. Jay Park returned to Korea and rose from the ashes like a phoenix to not only launch a successful career as a solo R&B artist but also establish a number of record labels. 2PM has continued on to become one of K-pop’s iconic boy groups. What other mistake in 2009 did Jay Park commit to prompt JYP to unilaterally terminate his contract with the company? Your guess is as good as mine. 

But then there’s this long-standing speculation that Jaebeom signed a contract with a company in the States while JYPE just expected him to wait out and let the situation settle and calm down before his glorious return to Korea. But apparently, Jay’s talents cannot be denied, with him allegedly getting signed within days after his return to the US. No wonder JYP suddenly turned cold towards him.   

The Entire GOT7

Throughout their stay in JYPE, the boys didn’t really hide the fact that they felt they got the shorter end of the stick when it came to the company’s attention. At that time when Wonder Girls was already on the brink of disbandment and Miss A was on hiatus, it was expected that a lot of the company’s attention would shift to catering to GOT7’s needs. But what happened was, TWICE got all the attention to the point that the company established an independent subsidiary dedicated to TWICE and TWICE only, with the rest of the company’s resources to be divided between 2PM (which was still bringing a ton of money to JYPE with their concerts) and Suzy’s solo releases. Which left crumbs to GOT7. 

And there’s also the issue of the boys not passing JYP (as in Park Jinyoung, the company’s founder and former CEO) standards. As with the expected progression of all K-pop groups, they build skills and confidence to compose and produce their own songs as they get older in the music industry. This is particularly applicable to the group’s leader JayB who was reported to have submitted countless songs for JYP’s approval, only to be met with rejection after rejection. 

In reacting to one song, JYP stops after browsing through it for only ten seconds. He claimed that the song was much too basic and wasn’t very memorable, saying it was musically fun but just not good to listen to. He criticized another song for being too “foreign”. This is not mere gossip or speculation, as this was properly documented on TV, particularly in an episode of Hyena on the Keyboard in 2020. 

 The poor treatment of Got7 after the Flight Log era became apparent when the boys were not given enough pre-release activities, only a few days between the comeback announcement and the actual release date, and the limited comeback promotion schedule. 

But then, everything worked out in the end as even though all members are on different agencies already, they got to release a reunion EP aptly called Got7 (thank goodness, JYPE didn’t fight them in some copyright issue over their name). To top it off, JayB signed with H1gher Music and Yugyeom signed with AOMG after leaving JYPE. And those two agencies are founded by no other than our subject earlier, Jay Park. Talk about giving JYP(E) a huge middle finger!

But then, as we’ve also explored in our previous articles, Sunmi formerly of the Wonder Girls, Suzy formerly of Miss A, and Somi formerly of IOI who was supposed to be the fifth ITZY member also left JYP Entertainment despite circumstances then being very much to their favor.  So, yes, we can safely conclude that leaving one’s agency is both a personal and career decision for all idols, and is not really just a matter of prioritizing one factor over another. 

Featured Image Credit: GOT7 Official Twitter

Feeling nostalgic? Wondering where your favorite idols of disbanded second gen Kpop girl groups are right now? We’ve got you covered. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and see what these idols have been up to since their groups stopped being active.

SISTAR

The (eternal) summer queens of k-pop, Sistar was (and is still) known for two things: Having summer releases that consistently ranked at the top of the charts and having all their title tracks peak at number 1 in the said charts. Sistar disbanded in 2017, much to the heartbreak of the fans, and they are one of the very few groups that had proper disbandment, complete with the company’s (Starship Entertainment) official statement, a proper final send-off single, and a tour of music shows for their final stages. As there was nothing onerous or hateful about the group’s disbandment, either among the members or between the company and the members, fans still hold out some hope that a reunion will happen in the near future. In fact, Hyolyn and Dasom released a collaboration single in the summer of 2021, aptly titled Summer or Summer.

So, what are the four queens of summer up to now?

Hyolyn – SISTAR’s main vocal has not had a day of rest since the group’s disbandment, releasing solar material every year, including the controversial hit Dally (which she performed in the 2018 KBS Drama Awards, and audiences claimed she was “butt naked), Say My Name, and her latest No Thanks. She has also entered reality competitions one after another, in 2021’s Double Trouble, which she won, and the second season of Queendom, where she also started out strong but eventually ended up in fourth place. She manages her own career under her one-woman agency Bridz. 

Bora – Ever the relatable personality, SISTAR’s main rapper had an eventful career after the group’s disbandment. She has continued to appear in variety shows such as Produce 48, where she appeared as a Special MC, Unnie’s Beauty Carpool which she co-hosted with SNSD’s Hyoyeon, Happy Beauty Day, and this year’s Sisters Run – Witch Fitness Basketball Club. She debuted in film in 2019’s Sunkist Family and also continued to act on the small screen, notably in Doctor Romantic 2, Only One Person, and Hit Up! Hit Up! Bora has been under two agencies since leaving Starship – Hook immediately after Sistar’s disbandment and KeyEast since 2020.

Soyou – Sistar’s other main vocal has also managed to remain in the spotlight since her group’s disbandment. She was the last member to stay in Starship, debuting as a solo artist under the label in 2017. She has since then released three EPs: Re:Born, Re:Fresh, and Day & Night, the latter released under her new label BPM (home to Viviz, Huh Gak, Ha Sungwon, and Lee Mujin, among others), where she transferred after opting not to renew her Starship contract in September 2021. Her TV career has also been active, having appeared as a mentor in the last two Produce 101 seasons and hosted various variety shows. 

Dasom – Sistar’s maknae has always been the actress of the group and her acting career has continued after Sistar’s disbandment. She has appeared in the dramas Band of Sisters, he is Psychometric, an episode in KBS Drama Special, and Was It Love? Since Sistar’s disbandment, her career has been managed by King Kong, which is still a Starship subsidiary. In June 2021, she decided not to renew with the agency and signed with a new agency, Story J Company (the agency of Seo Inguk, Go Jun, and Kim Taehee, aka Rain’s wife) a couple of months later.  

Jewelry

Jewelry is one of those groups that gradually disintegrated as the members left the company (in this case, the notorious Star Empire) one by one. In 2014, it was revealed that Eunjung’s contract had expired and she would be leaving the group. Before the year ended, Baby J also revealed that she will be leaving Jewelry as her contract expired last August. It was also revealed that Semi would not renew her contract after it expired in November. Finally, on January 7, 2015, the group was officially confirmed as disbanded by Star Empire Entertainment.

Jungah – Jungah has continued with her career in acting after leaving Star Empire in 2013. She has appeared in dramas such as Leverage and The Secret of My Love after signing with Jellyfish Entertainment.  She also got married in 2016 and gave birth to her first child after two years. 

Minah – Minah has been living the life of a “normal” private citizen for quite some time now. While she used to appear in television dramas in the mid-2010s, her public appearances have been confined to a few guest appearances on talk shows and variety programs since then. She married her boyfriend, a CEO of a fitness center, who is 6 years older than her in 2020. She was also pregnant at that time and finally gave birth in 2021. Her SNS post about suffering from hyperventilation and falling to the ground in their house a few months ago had people speculating whether she is suffering from abuse. 

Inyoung – Otherwise known as Elly, Inyoung continued her career in music even after leaving Star Empire. In fact, she returned to the agency four years after leaving it and released more music with them. These days, she is more active in variety shows, where she has made appearances in programs such as Call Center of Love, Mama the Idol, and We are a Family. 

Eunjung – Early this year, Eunjung got married to music producer Kei Lim. Jungah, Inyoung, and Baby G were witnesses to the event. 

Baby G – After leaving Star Empire in 2014, Baby G continued activities in various projects, such as Mnet‘s Show Me The Money 5 and Unpretty Rapstar 3. However, she confessed that she hasn’t been able to obtain any jobs in entertainment since then, so she’s been working at a café for minimum wage. She has been regularly updating her Instagram account (@__juyunhaaaa) but there haven’t been a lot of singing activities documented. 

Semi – After her contract expired with Star Emire Semi reverted to her birth name Yoon Jinsol and appeared in numerous TV dramas such as Radio Romance, Welcome to Waikiki, and Witch’s Love. She was also reported to have signed with Kings Entertainment in 2019, but there hasn’t been much news about her activities until this year when she participated in the youth-oriented drama Dear.M. 

Yewon – Yewon signed to Jellyfish Entertainment since leaving Stra Empire in 2016. Since then, she has appeared in TV dramas like What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, Feel Good to Die, Class of Lies, and She Knows Everything. She transferred to a new agency, Andmarq (agency of Park Jinjoo and Lee Joobeen, among others) in May of 2022. 

Kara

Here is one group that was ubiquitous during its peak and had a tinge of tragedy after its disbandment. The cracks in the group started showing in 2014 when Nicole and  Jiyoung decided not to renew their contracts with DSP Media thus leaving the group to pursue their own endeavors. Following their departures, a reality show titled Kara Project was aired on TV to select members to join the group. Seven trainees from DSP Media took part in the program. The winner of the competition was Heo Youngji who became the latest and eventually the last member to join the group.

On January 15, 2016, Kara disbanded after DSP Media announced that the contracts with Gyuri, Seungyeon, and Hara expired and they decided not to renew their contracts. Although members Gyuri and Youngji have mentioned the possibility of a reunion, no further updates have been released. Also, Hara’s demise in 2019 has quashed any possibility of a reunion with all members. Although, on June 11, 2022, former Kara members Gyuri, Seungyeon, Nicole, Jiyoung and Youngji reunited for a group photoshoot which was shared on each of their Instagram accounts. This sparked rumors of a comeback, however, no announcement was made. They may lack one member forever, but then we should be okay with anything we can get, eh?

Nicole – The erstwhile main rival of Tiffany when it comes to the title Korea’s American Girlfriend, Nicole was Kara’s maknae who opted not to renew her contract with DSP Entertainment at the start of 2014. She eventually debuted as a solo artist in both Korea and Japan in 2014 and 2016, respectively. She is set to have a comeback in Korea via a single entitled You.F.O under her new entertainment label JWK Entertainment. She was signed under B2M after deciding not to renew with DSP until the company’s closure in 2017. 

Gyuri – Since Kara’s disbandment in 2016, Gyuri has mostly focused on an acting career. She has also been in the news for other reasons such as her high-profile romance with an heir to a construction industry company, which ended in 2021. 

Seungyeon – On the music front, Seungyeon has been more active in Japan, releasing EPs there since 2017. She has also sung in k-drama OSTs, though, which is the extent of her activities in the Korean music industry. She has been more active on television, as she signed to Inyeon Entertainment in 2018 and was cast in the fantasy romance drama About Time. She then took on the leading role in travel romance drama Twelve Nights the same year. A couple of years later, she switched to a new agency,  YGX Entertainment. In 2021, Han appeared in comedy horror film Show Me the Ghost as Yeji. She won Fantastic Actor Jury’s Special Mention Award for her performance at 25th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival.

Jiyoung – After leaving Kara, Jiyoung focused on expanding both her music and acting careers in Japan with the agency Sweet Power. She made her first appearance in the 19th Tokyo Girls Collection fashion show in the Saitama Super Arena. Her first acting job was the live-action of Hell Teacher Nube, where she played the heroine, Yukime. She has also released a number of EPs in Nihongo. Her activities in Korea were mostly acting projects as she participated in movies and TV dramas. She has also switched agencies from KeyEast to ELRIS Entertainment only this year. 

Youngji – Youngji is the only Kara member who has stayed with DSP even after all other members have signed on to other agencies. In fact, she renewed her contract with the company again in April. Since her group’s “hiatus”, Youngji has released solo material, acted in a couple of TV dramas, and hosted a number of variety programs and web shows as well. 

Has our roundup of idol updates satisfied you or are you pining for more updates on other idols? Stay tuned for more updates in the future!

Featured image: Queens of K-pop summer, SISTAR, performs their iconic song “Touch My Body.” Source: @STARSHIP_official; YouTube.

So, after months of speculation, the moment Pink Pandas have long feared finally happened – Naeun has officially bid farewell to her group for more than 10 years, Apink. After deciding to not renew her contract with Play M Entertainment (now IST) in April last year and signing to YG Entertainment as an actress, many opined that it wouldn’t be long before the group’s visual center would also leave her group.  Naeun silenced the naysayers, saying she would still be promoting with her groupmates in Apink even if she started focusing more on her career as an actress. However, the schedules clashed, and Apink had to, unfortunately, take a pause in their 10th-anniversary activities following the involvement of the group’s leader, Chorong, in a bullying scandal. 

When the air was finally cleared and the group was about to promote their much-delayed special anniversary album, Horn, Naeun had to sit it out. She was allegedly busy with a new drama program, although she was part of recording the album and the music video. When this sequence of events unfolded, the Pandas braced themselves as they felt Naeun’s departure was inevitable. On April 8, eleven days before the group’s 11th anniversary, Naeun and IST made her departure official.   

But this departure is not actually the first time the group experienced losing a member. In 2013, two years after their debut and before releasing what was to be their breakout success, Apink lost Yookyung, who wanted to pursue a university education. Yookyung’s departure was quite amicable and was not considered a major loss. This was due to the fact the group had then yet to score mainstream success and the lineup was still not fixed in the public consciousness. 

On the other hand, Naeun’s departure became controversial because of the surrounding circumstances that may have contributed to her decision, including the delayed comeback, her change of management agency, and her personality in general. Naeun, with her more reserved personality, may not have been a perfect match with the outgoing and extroverted personalities of the group. Be that as it may, they did work on their relationship throughout their decade, and while it was obvious that there are times that Naeun can suddenly go quiet on their backstage behind-the-scene videos and their reality shows, Pandas and even casual viewers never saw the girls ostracizing or “bullying” Naeun. 

Could this be the same for other groups, though? Here’s a list of some idols who departed from their groups with a lot of noise and intrigue. 

Left or Kicked Out? Jessica from SNSD

September 30, 2014, is a day that will live in infamy, at least in the world of SONEs and pretty much the entire Korean pop music community. It was on this day that Jessica, on her Weibo account, told the world that she had been “forced out” of her group, Girls’ Generation. According to insiders, what happened was,  after the release of Catch Me If You Can and their Tokyo Dome concert, Jessica was supposed to put her singing career on hiatus so that she can focus on her other endeavors, particularly as the owner of her fashion company, Blanc Group. With Catch Me If You Can and its music video recorded and the send-off for Sica already planned and ready for execution, the Ice Princess allegedly changed her mind and told the group and SM that she wants to continue to be an SNSD member while running her business. It was reported that the company asked the eight girls to take a vote on whether Jessica will stay or not, and in the end, the NOs won.

Whether this is true or not still remains to be seen, as both parties have been skirting around the issue even after eight years. It is also important to note that as of today, Seohyun, Tiffany, and  Sooyoung have also left SM, but are still pretty much chummy with the members who opted to stay with the company. When the entire group was interviewed last year on Yoo Quiz on the Block, all eight are still very much open to a reunion project, which shows that there seems to be no bad blood among them and the company. While it has been reported that some members still keep in touch with Sica, it is quite a foregone conclusion that there will never be an SNSD reunion project that will include her. Well, never say never, eh?     

Bullying and Continuous Harassment: Jimin from AOA

Here is a story of a group that turned very ugly. To set the records straight, before the Jimin-Mina issue exploded, AOA already lost two members – Youkyung of the subunit AOA Black in October 2016 and their main vocalist ChoA in June 2017. There was not a lot of talk about Youkyung’s departure as she wasn’t really considered a member of the core group that has hits such as Like a Cat, Miniskirt, Short Hair, and Heart Attack, but ChoA’s departure due to “health issues” became the subject of much speculation. But then, since ChoA didn’t allude to any bad feelings towards her group, people didn’t really consider her departure as a red flag. 

Then, Mina decided not to renew her contract with FNC Entertainment in May 2019 to focus on her acting career. This left the group with five members – Jimin, Seolhyun, Yuna, Hyejeong, and Chanmi. But the group’s career got a second wind after Queendom, as it renewed public interest for the group as they proved that they have hidden aces even as they already lost their main vocalist ChoA. You can say that thanks to Queendom, the public fell in love with the group again, despite their depleted line-up and other incidents that have put them in an unfavorable light (e.g., Seolhyun and Jimin getting a lot of flak after failing to identify a famous Korean historical figure in one of the episodes of their reality show). To be fair to the girls, they killed most of their performances on Queendom, and their EP and song they released after the show, New Moon and Come See Me, respectively, still managed to chart.  

The COVID-19 came and Mina for some reason had a very public meltdown on Instagram. We cannot really chronicle the number of times Mina has opened, closed, deactivated, and reactivated her Instagram account, because that sequence of events merits its own article. But what is related to AOA were her first “revelations” where she pointed out that even since their days as a trainee, Jimin (who eventually went on to be the leader of AOA) already bullied her by picking on her and other trainees and eventually members. She went on to enumerate the incidents when Jimin bullied her, including the time when she was not allowed to mourn the death of her father (who later she revealed to be abusive towards her and her mom), and the various times she was verbally and physically abused (punching and slapping) by their leader. She also involved the group’s center Seolhyun, claiming that she was Jimin’s henchwoman and in most instances would just sit back and witness the abuse instead of stopping Jimin. 

Eventually, Mina posted a picture of her bloodied wrist that has a slash wound and captioned it with a revelation that she attempted suicide during her time with AOA because of the bullying she got from Jimin and Seolhyun. But then, days later it was revealed that she was embroiled in a cheating scandal, and his ex’s affairs, while they were still a couple, were what pushed her to end her life. She also stated that Jimin and she actually reconciled when it was the rapper’s dad who died and it was her turn to comfort her. But as soon as the first Instagram posts were released, Jimin was quick to act, resigning from her position in the group and retiring from the entertainment industry altogether while issuing an apology to Mina. 

But as mentioned earlier, this did not stop Mina from conducting various dramatic revelations on Instagram, after which she decides to announce that she will be quitting SNS, but only to return a few weeks later. She has revealed everything from the first time she was sexually abused to posting a picture of her smoking in a non-smoking hotel room having everybody seriously advising her to stay away from social media altogether and seek help for her unstable mental condition. Also, much of the online chatroom conversations among AOA members have been revealed, with Jimin apologizing as early as 2019, before the pandemic which Mina took as an opportunity for her various expose. Even after Jimin already left the group and thus, the chatroom, it was revealed that Mina continually harassed her and her family. It has also been revealed that Mina uses FNC’s resources for her personal errands, such as setting up appointments for her mom.    

On the other hand, it seems that Jimin couldn’t stay away from the limelight that long because as of January 2022, she released a new song with a music video on her birthday. While she has also returned to Instagram, still has not returned to AOA yet. 

High-Profile Mass Exodus: Yeonwoo, Taeha, and Daisy from Momoland

When it comes to groups losing so many members at one time, this may be a common occurrence when it is time to the members to renew their contracts with the companies that created the groups. Such was the case with After School, where all except one, Nana, has opted to stay with the company, while eleven (yes, 11) have opted to not continue their careers under Pledis Entertainment. The agency claimed this is actually in sync with the group’s original “graduation” concept, where the members would have to leave the group after some time. That same is true with Lovelyz, where only leader Baby Soul decided to renew her contract with Woolim while the other seven chose to join other companies; although there was no word on whether the group has permanently disbanded. 

However, things are a bit different with the group Momoland, which only debuted in 2016 and experienced massive success with their 2018 release Bboom Bboom. The follow-up singles Baam and I’m So Hot were still successful, but unfortunately did not rise to the level of Bboom Bbom’s popularity. But then, trouble erupted when in November 2019, MLD Entertainment (then Duble Kick Company but was renamed after the group’s phenomenal success) announced the departure of Yeonwoo and Taeha from the group, and stated that they were in discussions with Daisy about her future in the group. Thus, when 2019 ended with the group’s release Thumbs Up, they were officially three members down, although it is important to note that Daisy and Taeha were already not part of the previous MMLD comeback I’m So Hot in March 2019. 

In January 2020, Daisy stated that the show Finding Momoland was fraudulent and had deceived viewers by manipulating the votes. She claimed that after her elimination, she was contacted by the agency with an offer to join the group. MLD Entertainment denied the claims, and stated they would be taking legal action against Daisy. But it wasn’t until May 13, 2020 when it was announced that Daisy had left the group.

So, what caused these fallouts with the company years before their contract renewal and pretty much only recently after their success?

First, let’s start with Yeonwoo. When she quit, MLD Entertainment released a statement on Momoland’s fancafe saying, “While Yeonwoo has had deep affection for her Momoland activities, she has decided that continuing together with her actress activities would be too much strain for both her team and herself so to leave the team and concentrate on her career as our actress [under MLD Entertainment].“

Then, months later, Yeon-woo in her SNS posts, “Everyone. How many people are brave enough to give up their youth for a new start? I don’t have that kind of boldness. I don’t even have the will to do that.” “I endured it, I endured it, I endured it, but there was no use. I didn’t betray you because I wanted to do something else.”

So, does that sound like the company heavily suggested (aka eased her out) for her to leave Momoland? I guess what happened after was indicative of what Yeonwoo really wanted for her career, because on January 19, it was confirmed that Yeonwoo signed an exclusive contract with 9ato Entertainment, which also happens to be the agency of star of the moment Han Sohee.

Taeha left the group together with Yeonwoo in 2019. However, it wasn’t until October 2020 when Taeha posted a video on her YouTube channel, revealing her reasons for leaving Momoland: So that she could express herself in her own voice. She also shared that she doesn’t keep in touch with the Momoland members as much as she would like to, as their busy schedules make it difficult. However, she did reveal that she hangs out with Daisy from time to time.

Finally, we have Daisy who already had a lot of beef with her company even before she official parted ways with them in 2020. As mentioned earlier, she spilled a lot of tea even when she was still technically with the company, claiming that the reality competition that created Momoland is rigged. Since then, lawsuits from both parties have been filed, which Daisy actually won, though the company has filed an appeal. Daisy has continued her university education and keeps in touch ith fans through her SNS and YouTube videos. 

Now, if you think the case of female idols getting kicked out of or leaving their groups is common, wait until we refresh your memory of male idols and their groups! Stay tuned for this list.   

Featured Image: Apink Official Twitter

These days, with “monster rookies” making their debut songs top the charts like it was the easiest thing, we look back at a number of groups whose debut songs ushered their “arrival” in the K-pop scene. Take note that these songs were released at a time when groups are not commonly a product of reality shows that package idols to instant popularity even before their debut –  so having “monster rookies” wasn’t yet an expected occurrence as they are nowadays. But then, despite the challenges, these debut songs caught the public’s attention and went on to make legends out of the groups that sang them. 

1. Girls’ Generation — “Into The New World”

Girls’ Generation’s legendary debut song is still holding strong and is a favorite more than a decade after its release. The song is basically the standard all other debut songs are compared to- for girl and boy groups.

The song itself was quite memorable as it showcased the girls’ impressive vocals and dancing skills in the music video, as girl groups then were not really known to have elaborate dance moves and choreography, unlike their male counterparts.  Moreover, during the time of GG aka the second generation, it wasn’t that common for groups during that time to gain a lot of recognition to the point of winning music shows with only their debut song. But Into the New World did exactly just that to SNSD, as the group won their first music show trophy on M Countdown more than two months after debuting.

The song, a testament to sweet and young love, and the accompanying music video, which featured the girls pursuing various interests, were devoured by the Korean public. They instantly fell in love with the nine-girl lineup. Years later, somehow, the song was adapted by protestors rallying for various social causes in Korea, including the eventual impeachment of President Park Geun-hye in 2017. 

2. 2NE1 – “Fire“

A couple of years after Girls’ Generation made their impressive debut and encountered credible competition from only Kara and Wonder Girls, YG Entertainment took it upon themselves to join the SM Entertainment-dominated niche by introducing the girl version of their highly successful boy group BIG BANG – 2NE1. While the group was initially introduced to the public via a collaboration single with their brother group entitled Lollipop (which became all the more popular because it was used as a promotional jingle for the LG Cyon phone), it was not until a couple of months later that CL, Bom, Dara, and Minzy officially debuted via Fire. 

Fire’s release was highly anticipated – it was filled with fanfare and hype as only YG Entertainment can muster. Two music videos to support the song’s release were premiered on the same day – a “space” and “street” version, which exceeded a million views on YouTube within a day of its release.  And then, the girls performed their song for the first time live in Inkigayo. Who can forget that staging with the girls getting introduced one by one as an elevator stops on each floor of a building? Of course, when the lift finally arrived on the 21st floor, all hell broke loose, and the girls performed their debut song like they have been doing it for years. Both the music videos and their debut stage were featured in American blogger Perez Hilton’s blog, which earned the group an instant international following. Finally, Korean pop music had its first group that embodied the “girl crush” concept. And in an industry where girl groups would usually be either cute and innocent or downright provocative and sexy, the fierce image that 2NE1 exuded was still uncommon and fresh. No wonder the girls won their first music show trophy only a month after Fire was released, which slashed SNSD’s previous record by half. 

And we haven’t even talked about Dara’s palm tree hair. 

3. miss A – “Bad Girl, Good Girl“

After SM and YG’s explosive girl group revelations (with SM doing it the second time in 2009 with the introduction of the highly experimental f(x)), the ball was back to JYP’s court. Although JYP had a fierce rivalry with SM via the Wonder Girls – SNSD match-up, they kinda lost steam with their push for WG to make a splash internationally. And with Girls’ Generation, f(x), Kara, 2NE1, and then-monster rookies Sistar dominating the charts while Wonder Girls were still somehow pushed in the US, JYP had no choice but to debut a new group with miss A.  And what a solid move it was! 

miss A met immediate success with their debut single Bad Girl, Good Girl, which featured a novel concept for girl groups in K-pop – sexy but not overt as Sistar, fierce but not as in-your-face as 2NE1, which ultimately worked for JYP’s new girl group then. The song was and still is hella catchy. After all, this was produced during the time when JYP still had that magic (come to think of it, he still does, but it comes and goes these days, which may explain how he has been inconsistent with ITZY and NMIXX). Alas, that choreography to match the rather haughty lyrics of the song has been what has made it memorable after all these years. All those pointing and kicking when the girls are down to the ground, lying on their stomachs are still pretty much remembered up to this day when idols dance to the song on variety shows. Along with the choreography of Hush, which has Fei, Jia, Min, and Suzy holding on to a horizontal curtain rod, Bad Girl Good Girl tops miss A’s list of memorable songs mainly because of the iconic choreography. BGGG also broke 2NE1’s record by winning for miss A their first music show trophy 21 days after their debut. Too bad the girls had to succumb to the 7-year K-pop curse.   

4 & 5. Blackpink – “Boombayah” and “Whistle“

Remember the move YG made when they debuted 2NE1 with not just one, but two music videos for their first release Fire? YG revived this tactic with their second girl group, Blackpink, when they debuted the group in 2016. Only this time, YGE did not just release one song with two music videos but actually released two different songs – Boombayah and Whistle on the same day, August 8, 2016.  By that time, the anticipation for the new YG girl group was at its fever pitch since the company’s banner girl group, 2NE1, was on a hiatus following the involvement of Park Bom in a scandal. Thus, by the time August 8, 2016 came, people were just all too ready to gobble up anything Blackpink released. 

Alas, fans were blessed with this selection which was a bit different from one another. For those who prefer a steadier, more mellow beat, Whistle was for them, while for those who wanted a high energy track from the first note up to the last, Boombayah was perfect. Whistle is haunting with its minimal beat which remains steady throughout the song, so there’s really no beat drop or any explosive parts of the song. In contrast, Boombayah has all the ingredients of a “typical” YG song, with earworm portions that will stick in your head for weeks, unique choreography for the live performances, and catchy lyrics that fans will sing in the years to come. While Whistle had the repetitive “Make’ em whistle like a missile bomb, bomb”, Boombayah has the iconic line that has become a trademark of Blackpink up to this day – that line about them being in your area. Boombayah also has that line that has made a legend out of Girls’ Planet 101 participant and later Kep1er member Hikaru – the line that goes “I’m gonna go brrrr… Rambo.” 

And of course, that Rosé was sliding on the floor on her back below the three girls while singing is the stuff of legends. While they didn’t do this every time they performed the song live, you can just imagine how difficult it was for our main vocal to shoot that scene on the music video, considering that she has to do it without making it look difficult. Rosé has admitted that it was tough for her to film that section of the music video, since her leather attire also caused friction between her and the floor, so it was not easy for her to “slide through” the girls’ legs at all as her own legs had to do a lot of work so it would look like she is “sliding” across the floor. That has also got to result in a lot of skin chaffing, which she did confirm in interviews. Truly iconic. 

Legendary Debut Songs Versus Monster Rookies: A Postscript

A lot of new groups these days may achieve instant (or in some points of view, automatic) fame because of the popularity of some of their members. For example, aespa was already popular when it debuted because of the massive SM campaign machinery behind the group. G-Idle, Everglow, IVE, Kep1er, and Le Sserrafim have instant public recognition because they have  members that are reality idol contest alumnae – Soyeon, Yiren, Wonyoung, Yujin, and Sakura, Chaewon, and Yunjin, respectively. Even STAYC, which people argue does not have former idol contestants, has Sieun and Saeun, who had already established acting careers prior to debuting as idols.  

But then, we can argue that even if these groups have achieved enormous popularity since debuting, their debut songs may not have really served them well. Next Level was what brought aespa to, (pun intended) the next level and not really Black Mamba, which only peaked at #49 in the national charts. Bon Bon Chocolat did a good job in introducing Everglow to the world, but Adios was the group’s breakthrough hit. Eleven was good, but Love Dive is arguably the iconic IVE song. Thus, with the monster rookies we’ve mentioned, only G-Idle (with Latata), Le Sserafim (with Fearless), and Kep1er (with Wadada) are the ones with debut songs that have so far served them really well. And by the looks of it, it seems that Attention is on its way to making New Jeans not just a monster rookie, but a rookie legend.  

Featured Image: Youtube Screenshot from Blackpink’s “Boombayah“