| “ |
Hello, We are the win! We are FREE STAR! |
” |
| —FREE STAR | ||
FREE STAR (프리 스타; also stylized as Free Star, FREESTAR, and occasionally romanized as Pristar) was a South Korean girl group under Fly Music Entertainment. They debuted on July 28, 2010, with the digital single "Diss".
They first disbanded in 2013 when an attempt to reform the group led to their contracts being moved to a new company. For undisclosed reasons, all members re-debuted in the group YoYo Girls.
Later, in 2014, a new generation of the group was introduced;[1] however, they disbanded shortly after, presumably in late 2014, due to inactivity.
History[]
2010-2011: Debut with "Diss", first comeback & lineup changes[]
On July 25, 2010, Fly Music Entertainment announced that they would be debuting a girl group called FREE STAR, consisting of TK, Arim, CEO, and Dam Yoo.[citation needed] Three days later, on the 28th, they officially debuted with the digital single "Diss".
In November 2010, Seulah and Lee Ainsarang, were announced as new members.[2]
On December 7, 2010, they had their first comeback with the digital single "딱이야 딱!". However, only TK, Arim, Seulah, and Lee Ainsarang participated in promotions and album recording, as CEO and Dam Yoo were reportedly not suited for the concept.[3]
After releasing their second single, the group promoted actively throughout 2011.
On September 9, 2011, Lee Ainsarang posted on her blog about the production of "딱이야 딱!" and provided a lineup update, confirming that Arim and Dam Yoo had left and that Danbi had officially joined.[4][5]
On September 25, TK and Lee Ainsarang were absent from promotions, and two new members were seen, suggesting their departure.[6] Later, Korea Art Beauty Academy's blog post about a sponsorship featured the group as a five-member lineup, confirming TK's exit and noting Lee Ainsarang’s absence.[7]
2012: Lineup changes & comeback with "Stronger & Bester"[]
At the start of 2012, E-Room and NiU, who had been performing with the group since their unofficial addition on September 25, 2011, were officially introduced as new members.[citation needed] It was also noted that members Danbi and Lee Ainsarang had officially departed.[citation needed]
On April 3, 2012, Seulah debuted as a soloist with the digital single "Show U Exactly" featuring D.Kash from their labelmate group M.PEROR.
On April 27, 2012, they released their 3rd digital single "Stronger & Bester," with the lineup consisting of CEO, E-Room, NiU and Seulah.
2013: Reformation & initial disbandment[]
In early 2013, NiU was absent from performances, suggesting she had unofficially left the group.[8]
On September 13, member CEO posted new pictures on her Twitter account featuring Sujin and Hyosung.[9][10] The following day, on September 14, she confirmed that they were new members and announced that the group was undergoing a reformation.[11]
On September 26, new profile pictures of the group, featuring an additional new member, were published on the group's SNS.[12] However, a month later, on October 24, CEO announced on her Twitter that she had changed her stage name to Libby and introduced a new group, YoYo Girls. It was later revealed that the members of FREE STAR had transferred their contracts to a new company, E&T Company, and would re-debut in a completely different group,[13] signaling the unofficial disbandment of FREE STAR.
2014: Second generation & ultimate disbandment[]
On March 20, 2014, FREE STAR was revived with a second-generation lineup under Fly Music Entertainment. The group consisted of first-generation members CEO and Hyona, along with three new members: Sowon, Joel and Narin.[1] However, this iteration of FREE STAR was short-lived, as they presumably disbanded by late 2014 due to inactivity.
Aftermath[]
Following the disbandment of FREE STAR, all the members went their separate ways.
- Seulah joined the pre-debut girl group PLAIN under Fly Music Entertainment.
- Arim, using her birth name Minjung, joined Aurora and debuted with them in 2012 with Aurora+. She left the group later that year and re-debuted as a soloist in 2015.
- Lee Ainsarang transitioned into a full-solo career and later became the new CEO of FM Entertainment.
- CEO appeared to step away from the entertainment industry following the group's disbandment. Years later, she married her non-celebrity husband and later gave birth to a child.
The circumstances of the other members are still currently unknown.
Members[]
Due to a lack of information, some members may still be missing.
| Name | Position(s) | Generation(s) | Year(s) active |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dam Yoo (담유) | Vocalist | 1 | July 2010 - Early 2011 |
| TK (티케이) | Rapper, Dancer | 1 | July 2010 - Sep. 2011 |
| Arim (아림)[n 1] | Main Vocalist | 1 | July 2010 - Sep. 2011 |
| Lee Ainsarang (이아인사랑) | Vocalist | 1 | Nov. 2010 - Sep. 2011 |
| Danbi (단비) | Vocalist | 1 | Sep. 2011 - Early 2012[n 2] |
| NiU (니유) | N/A | 1 | Early 2012 - Early 2013[n 3] |
| E-Room (이름) | Main Vocalist | 1 | Early 2012 - June 2013[n 4] |
| Seulah (슬아) | Vocalist, Maknae (2010-2012) | 1 | Aug. 2010 - June 2013 |
| Sujin (수인) | N/A | 1 | Sep. 2013 - Oct. 2013 |
| Jiyoung (지영)[n 5] | N/A | 1 | Sep. 2013 - Oct. 2013 |
| Sowon (소원) | Rapper | 2 | 2014 |
| Joel (조엘) | Dancer | 2 | 2014 |
| Narin (나린) | Main Vocalist | 2 | 2014 |
| Hyona (효나)[n 6] | Vocalist | 1, 2 | Sep. 2013 - Oct. 2013; 2014 |
| CEO (시이오) | Leader, Rapper | 1, 2 | July 2010 - June 2013; 2014 |
Discography[]
Digital Singles[]
- "Diss" (2010)
- "딱이야 딱!"[n 7] (2010)
- "Stronger & Bester" (2012)
Trivia[]
- Lee Ainsarang gained attention pre-debut for selling kimbap at the subway to earn her training fees.[2]
- Seulah is a former ulzzang singer prior to joining the group.[2]
- Hyona was previously a member of the girl group YoYo Girls, where she promoted under the stage name Dai. She was later introduced as a member of FREE STAR using the stage name Hyosung.
- First-generation member CEO is also a former YoYo Girls member, where she performed under the stage name Livvi. Upon rejoining FREE STAR, she resumed using the name CEO.
- Lee Ainsarang is the founder of Fly Music Entertainment. However, during her time in the group, she was not involved in the label’s management.
Notes[]
- ↑ Arim occasionally promoted using her real name, Min Jeong, or a different stage name, Aroom.
- ↑ While she was only officially introduced in September, she had been actively performing with the group since April of the same year.
- ↑ NiU had been actively performing with the group since September 25, 2011, but was only introduced as an official member in early 2012.
- ↑ E-Room had been actively performing with the group since September 25, 2011, but was only introduced as an official member in early 2012.
- ↑ Despite not being properly introduced as a member, Jiyoung re-debuted in YoYo Girls months later, allowing her name to be revealed.
- ↑ When she was first introduced in 2013, her stage name was Hyosung.
- ↑ Lee Aisarang revealed that the song was originally recorded by the group's four original members before being re-recorded.
Gallery[]
.png "FREE STAR Diss promotional photo (2).png (1.23 MB)")
.png "FREE STAR Diss promotional photo (3).png (1.24 MB)")
.png "FREE STAR Diss promotional photo (4).png (977 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 (KR) DyNews1: "걸그룹 프리스타 2기 멤버들로 '재탄생'"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 (KR) Newsen: "‘김밥소녀’ 이아인사랑, 걸그룹 프리스타 합류..솔로활동과 병행"
- ↑ (KR) Daum: '김밥소녀' 이아인사랑, 걸그룹 프리스타 합류..솔로활동과 병행
- ↑ @tok1002 at Blog Naver: "프리스타 2번째 싱글앨범 '딱이야 딱' "
- ↑ (KR) Daum Newsen: "제2카라 생계형 프리스타 "전철, 렌트카 타고 활동" 하소연"
- ↑ @girl8249 on Youtube: "프리스타-DISS"
- ↑ (KR) Blog Naver @oasiscomm: "[현장실습]FM엔터테이먼트 신인가수 프리스타 (Free Star) [2011.09.25]"
- ↑ @freestar_ceo on Twitter (August 26, 2013)
- ↑ @freestar_ceo on Twitter (September 13, 2013)
- ↑ @freestar_ceo on Twitter (September 13, 2013)
- ↑ @freestar_ceo on Twitter (September 14, 2013)
- ↑ @freestar_ceo on Twitter (September 26, 2013)
- ↑ @freestar_ceo on Twitter (October 24, 2013)