| “ |
Eyes on me! The moment we become one, please pay attention everyone! Hello, we are IZ*ONE! |
” |
| —IZ*ONE | ||
IZ*ONE (Korean: 아이즈원; Japanese: アイズワン; pronounced as "eyes one") is a twelve-member project girl group under Off The Record Entertainment. They were formed through Mnet's competition reality show Produce 48 and officially debuted on October 29, 2018 with mini album Color*IZ.
They will be active for two and a half years on a special contract before disbanding sometime in 2021.
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 in 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 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.[2][3]
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". Five days after the event, the group released the music video for the song and views on YouTube surpassed 5 million within a week. The single was officially released on February 6.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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.[4]
On June 26, the group released their second Japanese single "Buenos Aires". The single was certified Platinum by RIAJ in August.[5]
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.[6]
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.[7]
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.[8][9] 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.[10][11]
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.[12]
2020: Japanese label changes, resumption of activities
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.[13]
On January 23, Mnet released a statement confirming plans for IZ*ONE to resume activities in February.[14]
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.[15]
Members
| Name | Nationality | Position(s) | Color | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Korean | Japanese | |||
| Jang Won Young | 장원영 | ジャンウォンヨン | Korean | Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Center, Maknae | |
| Miyawaki Sakura | 미야와키 사쿠라 | 宮脇咲良 | Japanese | Vocalist, Visual | |
| Jo Yu Ri | 조유리 | チョユリ | Korean | Main Vocalist | |
| Choi Ye Na | 최예나 | チェイェナ | Korean | Main Rapper, Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer | |
| An Yu Jin | 안유진 | アンユジン | Korean | Lead Vocalist, Lead Dancer | |
| Yabuki Nako | 야부키 나코 | 矢吹奈子 | Japanese | Vocalist | |
| Kwon Eun Bi | 권은비 | クォンウンビ | Korean | Leader, Lead Vocalist, Main Dancer | |
| Kang Hye Won | 강혜원 | カンヘウォン | Korean | Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Visual | |
| Honda Hitomi | 혼다 히토미 | 本田仁美 | Japanese | Lead Dancer, Vocalist | |
| Kim Chae Won | 김채원 | キムチェウォン | Korean |
Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer |
|
| Kim Min Ju | 김민주 | キムミンジュ | Korean | Lead Rapper, Vocalist, Visual | |
| Lee Chae Yeon | 이채연 | イチェヨン | Korean | Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist, Rapper | |
Discography
Korean
Studio albums
- Bloom*IZ (2019)
Mini albums
Japanese
Singles
- "Suki to Iwasetai" (2019)
- "Buenos Aires" (2019)
- "Vampire" (2019)
English
Features
- Jonas Blue - "Rise" (2019)
Concerts
Fanmeetings
Filmography
Reality shows
- IZ*ONE CHU (Mnet, 2018)
- 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 CHU S2 (Mnet, 2019)
- IZ*ONE Arcade (Youtube, 2019)
Endorsements
- Overhit (2018)
- Salewa (2018)
- Skoolooks (2018)
- Gmarket (2019)
- Fever Basket (2019)
- Sudden Attack (2019)
Awards and nominations
- Main article: Awards and nominations received by IZ*ONE
Gallery
References
Official links
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