Kep1er is one of a kind! The temporary K-pop girl group was formed through a survival competition in 2021 and will only be active until 2024! Keep reading for everything we know about the band, members, when they’re set to disband and more.
Who Are Kep1er?
Kep1er was formed in 2021 through reality competition Girls Planet 999, which pitted 99 contestants against each other till the final nine debuted as a girl group.
Kep1er’s final lineup includes members Yujin, Xiaoting, Mashiro, Chaehyun, Dayeon, Hikaru, Huening Bahiyyih, Youngeun and Yeseo. The band is currently managed by South Korean music companies Swing Entertainment and WakeOne.
Multiple members of Kep1er had already debuted in past K-pop groups, such as Yujin, who made her debut at Cube Entertainment with CLC in 2015. Yeseo also has a K-pop history, as she was a member of the girl group CutieL before joining Busters from 2019 to 2020.
“Initially when we debuted, we had a lot of unique characters coming together,” leader Yujin told Why Now in April 2023. “But over time we’ve become great at teamwork.”
Xiaoting explained how the girls communicated at first, as they all speak different languages, during an interview with Just Jared Jr. in 2022.
“At first, we communicated through English and body language, but as we lived together at the dorm, we naturally learned each other’s’ languages,” she revealed. “We also took the time to study the languages.”
The girls officially made their official debut as Kep1er on January 3, 2022, with the EP First Impact.
“So, on our debut album, we wanted to show to fans our true colors in terms of Kep1er,” Chaehyun told Rolling Stone. “We believe that this mini-album shows fragments of Kep1er’s worldview. So [even] with upcoming Kep1er albums, we are ready to show our [other] colorful charms.”
When Is Kep1er Disbanding?
Kep1er is a temporary K-pop group, as it was formed via reality show. Initially, they’re supposed to be active for only two years and six months before disbanding, leading the group to break up around mid 2024.
However, it was reported in September 2023, that WakeOne is discussing the possibilities to extend the group’s contracts with the members’ respective agencies.
“It is true that we preemptively held a meeting to establish a roadmap and strategy for the artists’ long-term activities as the Kep1er project has passed its halfway mark, and we made the same proposals to all agencies,” WakeOne’s statement wrote, as translated by Soompi.
“Although we did our best to reach agreements with all the agencies, it did not work out this time,” WAKEONE added. “As there is still some time left [for the project group’s] promotional period, we will continue to coordinate with each other.”
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