Can you believe it’s been over two years since IZ*ONE disbanded? The K-pop girl group was formed through a reality survival program, Produce 48, in 2018. So, why exactly did they disband?
Keep reading to uncover what the former members of IZ*ONE are up to now.
Who Are IZ*ONE? ‘Produce 48’ Show, Debut Details
IZ*ONE was a temporary K-pop group formed during the third season of South Korean channel Mnet’s Produce series, which previously formed girl group I.O.I. and boy group Wanna One.
IZ*ONE’s season was called Produce 48, which started off with 48 trainees, competing for a spot in the girl group.
The final lineup included members Sakura, Chaewon, Wonyoung, Yujin, Yena, Yuri, Eunbi, Hyewon, Chaeyeon, Minju, Nako Yabuki and Hitomi Honda. The 12-member band was active from 2018 to 2021.
“The name of the group was actually created by our fans, WIZ*ONE [pronounced weeze-One],” Eunbi explained during an interview with Billboard in 2019. “It refers to the moment that we, 12 stars, come together as IZ*ONE [pronounced Eyes-One] like the 12 astrological signs, which is why there’s a star.”
Chaeyeon told the outlet how working on the reality show made their bond even stronger.
“We started on Produce 48 and it wasn’t an easy path so therefore our bond is much deeper. Though our time period between the show and our first release wasn’t very long, our bond is very strong because we went through that experience together,” she explained.
The group was made up of both Korean singers and Japanese singers, which made it difficult for members to understand one another.
“At first, we had a lot of concerns and were worried because we couldn’t communicate verbally,” Chaewon explained. “We were worried about our teamwork because we can’t really speak to one another directly. But maybe because we can’t talk easily, we try harder to communicate and understand one another, and things have turned out better than we expected.”
Why Did IZ*ONE Disband?
Following the dissolution of IZ*ONE in April 2021, the members have gone on to do so much, from debuting in other K-pop groups to working on their separate solo careers! Click through our gallery to see what the members of IZ*ONE are doing now.
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