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Eyes on me! The moment we become one, everyone pays attention! Hello, we are IZ*ONE! |
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—IZ*ONE |
IZ*ONE (Korean: 아이즈원; Japanese: アイズワン; pronounced as "eyes one") was a 12-member project girl group under Off The Record Entertainment and Swing Entertainment. Formed through Mnet's competition reality show Produce 48, they officially debuted on October 29, 2018 with their first mini album COLOR*IZ.
They were active for two and a half years on a special contract before officially disbanding on April 29, 2021, where the group's exclusive contract ended.[2][3]
History[]
Pre-debut: Produce 48[]
In early 2018, Mnet announced the third installment to their Produce 101 franchise which aimed to bring together 48 Korean trainees from several entertainment companies and 48 Japanese idols from the J-pop idol group AKB48 and their sister groups to form a girl group with 12 members chosen by the viewers.
Produce 48 premiered on June 15, 2018 and the live finale was broadcast on August 31, 2018, with the top 12 winners becoming a girl group named IZ*ONE. Of the top 12 winners, Miyawaki Sakura and Yabuki Nako had already debuted in HKT48, Honda Hitomi who debuted in AKB48, while Kwon Eun Bi was previously in girl group Ye-A under the stage name Kazoo but left the group in late 2014, Jo Yuri is a former contestant of another Mnet survival show Idol School which created the girl group fromis 9, while the final winner Lee Chae Yeon was a well-known contestant in another competition show called SIXTEEN which created the girl group TWICE.
2018: Off The Record Entertainment and Color*IZ[]
On September 21, 2018, along with Mnet's Idol School's final group fromis 9, it was announced the group had switch agencies and would now be managed by Off The Record Entertainment in Korea.[4][5]
IZ*ONE was announced to be preparing for a full debut on October 29, 2018 with their debut mini album, COLOR*IZ.
2019 (1): "Suki to Iwasetai", Heart*IZ, Eyes On Me and "Buenos Aires"[]
On January 20, IZ*ONE held their Japanese debut show-con in Tokyo Dome City Hall to promote their first Japanese single "Suki to Iwasetai".[6] Five days after the event, the group released the music video for the song and views on YouTube surpassed 5 million within a week.[7] The single was officially released on February 6.
On March 9, English DJ and producer Jonas Blue released a new version of his 2018 single "Rise", featuring the vocals of IZ*ONE. On April 1, the group released their second mini album, HEART*IZ, with "Violeta" as the album's title track. The album sold 132,109 copies in the first week which is a new record for girl groups at the time.[8]
On May 2 and 3, IZ*ONE hold their first fanmeeting at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. From June 7 to 9, the group held their first solo concert titled [Eyes On Me] at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul. After all tickets for the initial two concerts were sold out, Off The Record added one additional concert date on June 7.[9]
On June 26, the group released their second Japanese single "Buenos Aires". The single was certified Platinum by RIAJ in August.[10]
2019 (2): "Vampire", BLOOM*IZ, vote-rigging controversy and hiatus[]
IZ*ONE released their third Japanese single "Vampire" on September 25. The single was certified Gold two weeks later.[11]
Following the conclusion of Produce X 101, vote rigging allegations surfaced after viewers noticed irregularities in the number of votes counted, which series PD Ahn Joon Young later admitted were rigged, as well as the votes for the other Produce 101 seasons, including Produce 48.[12]
On October 30, the group released a concept trailer for their upcoming Korean comeback titled "When IZ your BLOOMing moment?", followed by the members and group concept photos.[13][14] Their first full-length album titled BLOOM*IZ, was scheduled to be released on November 11 but has been postponed due to the severity of the events mentioned above, leaving the group on a hiatus.[15][16]
On December 30, CJ ENM's CEO Heo Min Heoi held a press conference to make a formal apology regarding the manipulation controversy surrounding the Produce 101 series. He explained that CJ ENM will be compensating everyone harmed due to the incident. Regarding IZ*ONE and X1, he shared that they are working on plans for the groups to resume activities, and Mnet will give up all resulting profits towards a fund.[17]
2020: Japanese label changes, resumption of activities, Bloom*IZ, co-managing of Swing Ent., Oneiric Diary, Twelve, One-reeler / Act IV[]
On January 20, it was announced that Japanese management agency AKS would change up the company's name and divide up the management of its artists. From now on, the company will be operating under the name "Vernalossom" and will exclusively manage only IZ*ONE's Japanese activities, as well as the activities of any new artists and businesses. The agency's former artists including AKB48, HKT48 and NGT48 will establish a separate agency with a new name in order to continue their promotions.[18]
On January 23, Mnet released a statement confirming plans for IZ*ONE to resume activities in February.[19]
On February 3, the group released the cover image for Bloom*IZ on their SNS and confirmed their comeback date to be on February 17.[20] The release of Bloom*IZ broke the K-pop girl group record for first-week album sales with 356,313 copies sold.[21]
On March 9, Pledis Entertainment's CEO Han Sung Soo announced that he would be stepping down from his position as the general producer of IZ*ONE's releases. He had worked with them from the debut to the last album Bloom*IZ. Following this, it was announced on March 10 that Swing Entertainment would become involved in co-managing the girl group with Off The Record Entertainment.[22]
A teaser image posted on September 17 via the group's Twitter account announced the release of IZ*ONE's first Japanese studio album, Twelve, which was released on October 21.[23]
On November 22, it was announced via the group's Twitter account that they would be making a comeback with their fourth mini album One-reeler / Act IV, which was released on December 7.[24]
2021: "D-D-Dance", "Zero:Attitude", One, The Story, disbandment[]
On January 12, it was reported that there were talks with CJ ENM on possible contract extensions.[25]
On January 17, the platform UNIVERSE revealed a teaser schedule for a new release from the group, titled "D-D-Dance", to be released on January 26, and the music video on January 28. IZ*ONE will be the first artist from the platform to released a song in their project.[26][27]
On February 10, Off The Record announced that IZ*ONE would be holding their second and final online concert, One, The Story, on March 13 and 14.[28]
On February 15, the group (featuring members Eunbi, Sakura, Minju, Yuri and Wonyoung) collaborated with Soyou in the promotional single "Zero:Attitude" as part of the 2021 Pepsi X Starship K-Pop Campaign.
On March 10, Mnet confirmed that IZ*ONE would officially disband in April 2021 as scheduled following discussions with members' agencies.[29] The group officially concluded activities on April 29, 2021.[3] Prior to their disbandment, their fanbase, WIZ*ONE, started an initiative, "Parallel Universe", to prevent the group from disbanding. The initiative raised 1,000,000,000 won, however, the initiative failed and IZ*ONE disbanded as planned.
Aftermath[]
On August 5, 2021, Star News reported that Eunbi would be releasing her first solo album on August 24, which was later confirmed by Woollim Entertainment. On August 24, 2021, Eunbi officially debuted as a solo artist with her first mini album Open.
On May 15, 2021, shortly after returning to Japan, Sakura announced her graduation from HKT48. Her graduation concert, Bouquet, was held at Marine Messe Fukuoka on June 19. Her send-off party was held on June 27 at the HKT48 Theater, making it her final theater performance. On November 1, Vernalossom revealed that Sakura's contract with them has ended.[30]
Rumors began to surface in August 2021 that Sakura and Chaewon would be recruited into Source Music's new girl group. Later on HYBE released a brief statement in response to the claims, stating that they "cannot help verify information regarding our artist contracts. We ask for your understanding.”[31] On August 27, Sakura returned to Korea to discuss a new contract with HYBE.[32] On September 23, it was reported that Sakura had signed an exclusive contract with Source Music.[33] On March 14, 2022, it was announced that Sakura and Chaewon had officially signed to Source Music and would be debuting together in their upcoming girl group LE SSERAFIM in May.[34][35] It was later announced that they would be debuting on May 2, 2022 with the mini album, Fearless.[36]
In July 2021, rumors started surfacing stating that Hyewon would be making her acting debut in the third season of the KOK TV web series Best Mistake. On September 6, 2021, 8D Entertainment officially confirmed that Hyewon will be appearing in the series, thus also making her acting debut through the appearance.[37] She then released her first solo winter special album W on December 22, 2021.
Star News reported that Yena would be making her solo debut during the second half of 2021, with an official source from Yue Hua Entertainment responding stating the following: "Nothing is confirmed yet," and adding that, "discussions are currently ongoing regarding Choi Ye Na’s debut."[38] However, on October 6, Star News revealed that Yena's solo debut had unfortunately been postponed and it would now be taking place during the first half of the following year.[39] On October 7, Yue Hua Entertainment announced that Yena would be making her acting debut in the second season of Naver TV Cast's The World of My 17. On January 2, 2022, it was announced that she would be making her solo debut on January 17 with the mini album Smiley of the same year.[40]
On August 24, 2021, Chaeyeon made her first public appearance since the conclusion of IZ*ONE's activities as a contestant on Mnet's dance survival show Street Woman Fighter. She and the rest of her dance crew, collectively known as 'WANT', were unfortunately eliminated during the 6th episode, placing 7th overall in the show. In September 2022, there were reports that she would be making her solo debut in the near future.[41] On September 15, WM Entertainment confirmed the rumors and stated that Chaeyeon will be making her solo debut sometime in October.[42][43] On September 21, a teaser announced her first mini album Hush Rush, which would be released on October 12.[44]
In August 2021, rumors started to surface speculating that Minju had also received an offer from Source Music to be in their upcoming girl group.[45] Later it was revealed that Minju had declined their offer and will instead be focusing on acting.[46]
In April 2021, Nako and Hitomi returned to Japan in order to continue their activities with their respective groups AKB48 and HKT48, where they had previously debuted prior to being in IZ*ONE. On September 29, 2021, Hitomi had her first release with AKB48 since her return with the group's fifty-eighth single "Nemohamo Rumor". On December 1, 2021, Nako had her first release with HKT48 since her return with the group's second album "Outstanding", with the title track "Totsuzen Do love me!" having Nako as the song's center.
On September 24, 2021, it was announced that Yuri would be making her solo on October 7 of that same year. On this date, she made her solo debut with her first single album "Glassy".
Starship Entertainment's Yujin and Wonyoung were reported by Star News to be debuting in Starship's upcoming girl group in the second half of 2021, with Starship relaying that they "are preparing to launch a new girl group in the second half of this year.", but leaving out whether or not the pair will be included.[47] On November 1, the label's new girl group IVE was officially announced; the following day, Yujin and Wonyoung were confirmed through a Naver article to be members of the group.[48] The group debuted on December 1, 2021 with the single album "Eleven".
Members[]
Rank | Name | Nationality | Position(s) | Agency | Color | ||
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English | Korean | Japanese | |||||
7 | Kwon Eun Bi | 권은비 | クォンウンビ | Korean | Leader, Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist | Woollim Entertainment | |
2 | Miyawaki Sakura | 미야와키 사쿠라 | 宮脇 咲良 | Japanese | Vocalist, Rapper, Visual | HKT48 | |
8 | Kang Hye Won | 강혜원 | カンヘウォン | Korean | Lead Rapper, Vocalist, Visual | 8D Entertainment | |
4 | Choi Ye Na | 최예나 | チェイェナ | Korean | Main Rapper, Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer | Yuehua Entertainment | |
12 | Lee Chae Yeon | 이채연 | イチェヨン | Korean | Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper | WM Entertainment | |
10 | Kim Chae Won | 김채원 | キムチェウォン | Korean | Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer | Woollim Entertainment | |
11 | Kim Min Ju | 김민주 | キムミンジュ | Korean | Lead Rapper, Vocalist, Visual | Urban Works Entertainment | |
6 | Yabuki Nako | 야부키 나코 | 矢吹 奈子 | Japanese | Vocalist | HKT48 | |
9 | Honda Hitomi | 혼다 히토미 | 本田 仁美 | Japanese | Lead Dancer, Vocalist, Rapper | AKB48 | |
3 | Jo Yu Ri | 조유리 | チョユリ | Korean | Main Vocalist | Stone Music Entertainment | |
5 | An Yu Jin | 안유진 | アンユジン | Korean | Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer | Starship Entertainment | |
1 | Jang Won Young | 장원영 | ジャンウォンヨン | Korean | Lead Dancer, Vocalist, Rapper, Center, Maknae | Starship Entertainment |
Discography[]
Korean[]Studio albums[]
Mini albums[]
Digital singles[]
Promotional singles[]
Participation releases[]
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Japanese[]Studio albums[]
Singles[]
English[]Features[]
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Filmography[]
Films[]
- Eyes On Me: The Movie (2020)
Reality shows[]
- IZ*ONE Cu (Mnet, 2018–2020)
- ENOZI Cam (YouTube-V Live, 2018–2019)
- IZ*ONE's First Steps in Japan (Abema TV, 2019)
- IZ*ONE City (MOBIDIC-SBS, 2019)
- IZ*ONE Arcade (Youtube, 2019)
Concerts[]
Online concerts[]
- Oneiric Theater (2020)
- One, The Story (2021)
Fanmeetings[]
Endorsements[]
- Overhit (2018)
- Salewa (2018)
- Skoolooks (2018)
- Gmarket (2019)
- Fever Basket (2019)
- Sudden Attack (2019)
Awards and nominations[]
- Main article: Lits of awards and nominations received by IZ*ONE
Gallery[]
- Main article: IZ*ONE/Gallery
References[]
Official links[]
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