Bebez (베베즈), also known as Blockberry_bebez and GGolmulz (꼬물즈), was a pre-debut girl group under BlockBerryCreative.
History[]
2021–2023: Pre-debut[]
In July 2021, BlockBerryCreative unveiled trainees Choi Yeyoung, Ryu Sion and Joung Min as upcoming contestants on the survival show Girls Planet 999. All three girls were eventually eliminated from the competition by late September and returned to their agency.[1]
On October 5, 2021, BlockBerryCreative opened an Instagram account for their then 'trainee group', Bebez, and revealed Yeyoung, Sion and Min as members of Bebez. Later, other trainees hinted only through emojis were suggested to also be members.
On May 28, 2022 a leak from DC Insider confirmed that the trainee group Bebez would be debuting as a girl group in the later half of 2022, sometime after August.[2]
However, in November 2022, it was reported that BlockBerryCreative faced a lawsuit against them, filed by nine members of LOONA over unfair contracts.[3] This was a result of member's Chuu's removal from the group who also had issues with the agency over the unfair contracts.[4][5][6] Following the release of these news to the public, BlockBerryCreative did not produce any updates on the status of Bebez and their SNS accounts became inactive. Their sole post since then was a new year with only members Yeyoung and Sion. Since Joung Min was absent, this suggests that she likely departed from the agency.[7][8] This later would only be formally confirmed on April 10, 2023, following the creation of Joung Min's Instagram account.[9]
Nonetheless, member updates with only Yeyoung and Sion resumed in March and went until June 2023, at which point, they became inactive again and this time a real disbandment was suspected.
The identities of the 'unrevealed' members only recognized by the emojis 🐶, 🐰, 🐢, 🐱 was unknown until after their disbandment.[n 1][n 2][n 3]
Aftermath[]
Later in December 2023, it was revealed that the exclusive contracts of the remaining members expired, at which point they left BlockBerryCreative and joined a new agency to debut. Under their new agency, HOMe (a collaborative venture between Sure Place and BlockBerryCreative), the members became the new upcoming girl group Geenius. Through the member reveals, it was known that Choi Yeyoung and Ryu Sion were added, while the remaining 3 members were Yu Dahyun, Choi Hayoung and Yeon Seungju - all whom were the hidden members of Bebez.
Geenius eventually made their debut on January 5, 2024 with the single album "Voyage".
Meanwhile, former member Min is focusing on her studies attending Dongduk Women's University with a major in acting. She is schoolmates with Yeyoung and Zoe. Moreover, she is currently unsigned.
Additionally, excluding the known and named members (Yeyoung, Sion, Min), there were four other hidden members (🐶, 🐰, 🐢, 🐱). Of the 4, only 3 were revealed to have became part of Geenius, suggesting that 1 unrevealed trainee did not join and went elsewhere. It likely will remain unknown who it was.
Members[]
| Name | Years active |
|---|---|
| Pre-debut | |
| Choi Yeyoung (최예영) | 2021–2023 |
| Ryu Sion (류시온) | 2021–2023 |
| Yu Dahyun (유다현)[n 4] | 2021–2023 |
| Choi Hayoung (최하영)[n 4] | 2021–2023 |
| Yeon Seungju (연승주)[n 4] | 2021–2023 |
| Unknown member[n 4] | 2021–2023 |
| Joung Min (정민)[n 5] | 2021–2022 |
Trivia[]
- Choi Yeyoung, Ryu Sion and Joung Min were contestants on Mnet's survival reality show Girls Planet 999.
Notes[]
- ↑ @blockberry_bebez on Instagram: Video by unrevealed member 🐶 (January 13, 2022)
- ↑ @blockberry_bebez on Instagram: Photos by unrevealed members 🐰 & 🐢 (March 5, 2022)
- ↑ @blockberry_bebez on Instagram: Video by unrevealed member 🐱 (February 25, 2022)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Dahyun, Hayoung, Seungju and Unknown member were only identified through emojis (🐶, 🐰, 🐢, 🐱) during their time in Bebez as they were unrevealed trainees.
- ↑ Joung Min was identified in several posts as the 'maknae', suggesting that out all the trainees (including unrevealed trainees) in Bebez, she was likely the youngest member (maknae).
References[]
- ↑ Girls Planet 999: Episodes 1-8
- ↑ Allkpop: BLOCKBERRY CREATIVE’s new girl group set to debut this year
- ↑ Soompi: "9 LOONA Members Reportedly File Injunctions To Suspend Contracts + BlockBerryCreative Denies"
- ↑ Soompi: "Breaking: LOONA’s Agency Announces Chuu’s Removal From Group"
- ↑ Soompi: "BlockBerryCreative Releases Additional Statement Regarding Chuu’s Removal From LOONA"
- ↑ Soompi: "Dispatch Shares Further Details On Conflict Between Chuu And LOONA’s Agency BlockBerryCreative"
- ↑ blockberry_bebez Instagram post (December 31, 2022): Choi Yeyoung new year's greetings
- ↑ blockberry_bebez Instagram post (December 31, 2022): Ryu Sion new year's greetings
- ↑ nugupromoter on Twitter (April 10, 2023)