ILY:1 From Girls Planet 999 to Debuting as ILY:1
One of the groups whose members were contestants in a survival show is ILY:1. Four out of the six members of ILY:1 used to be contestants of Girls Planet 999, a survival show created by Mnet with the aim of debuting a nine-member girl group with trainees from China, Japan, and South Korea.
From those trainees that managed to debut through the survival show Girls Planet 999, they debuted as members of the group Kep1er, but those who didn’t make it into the debut lineup got a chance to debut in another group, namely ILY:1.
Before we take a closer look at ILY:1’s member profiles, let’s first check out the general information about ILY:1, including the group’s name meaning.
ILY:1 Group Name Meaning
ILY:1 is a girl group that debuted under FCENM Entertainment. The name ILY:1 also has additional meaning and it is an acronym for I Love You, which represents the group’s love for their fans. ILY:1 is pronounced eye-li-one.
ILY:1 Nayu Profile
Name: Kim Yewon
Stage Name: Nayu
Date of Birth: July 23rd, 2002
ILY:1 Nayu Facts
- Nayu was the first member to be revealed as an ILY:1 member on January 9th, 2022
- Nayu graduated from IB Music Academy
- Her dream to become a singer started when she was in high school, and she’s been singing since she was four years old
- Nayu is fluent in Korean and can speak English and Japanese
- Nayu auditioned for Girls Planet 999 but didn’t pass
- Nayu is able to play the guitar
- Nayu often listens to IU’s and SNSD’s songs
ILY:1 Hana Profile
Name: Hayase Hana
Stage Name: Hana
Date of Birth: February 27th, 2000
Height: 165 cm
MBTI: INFP
Instagram: @h.hana__0227_
ILY:1 Hana Facts
- Hana was born in Osaka, Japan
- Hana trained for four years before making her debut
- Hana joined Girls Planet 999 with a final rank J18 and she was eliminated in Episode 8
- Hana was a part of the Japanese girl group Orange Latte that later disbanded quietly
- Hana’s hobby is drawing
ILY:1 Ara Profile
Name: Lee Yoon Ji
Stage Name: Ara
Date of Birth: January 23rd, 2002
Height: 158 cm
MBTI: ENFP
Instagram: @ma_li_mo_0123
ILY:1 Ara Facts
- Ara graduated from the Seoul School of Performing Arts (SOPA)
- Ara is a former Cube trainee and she was supposed to debut in LIGHTSUM
- Ara participated in Girls Planet 999 and ranked K26, she was eliminated in Episode 5
- When she was a child, Ara dreamed of becoming a professional jump roper and she also wanted to work in the music industry
- Ara’s nickname is Yunkki Pink Princess Ara
- Ara knows how to play drums
- Ara has a talent for magic
- Ara is close with Stray Kids’ I.N and TREASURE’s Yedam, she is also friends with KEP1ER &CLC’s Yujin
ILY:1 Rona Profile
Name: Zhang Jing
Stage Name: Rona
Date of Birth: June 5th, 2002
Height: 165 cm
MBTI: ESTP
Instagram: @hellomila_0605
ILY:1 Rona Facts
- Rona was born in China and raised in Taiwan
- Rona joined the group TPE48, also known as AKB48 Team TP as a trainee in February 2018 but left a month after
- Rona is a former Yuehua Entertainment trainee
- Rona was in the debut team of EVERGLOW
- She joined FC ENM on October 16th, 2021
- Rona joined Girls Planet 999 and she ranked C23; she was eliminated in Episode 5
- Rona is fluent in Chinese, and she is also able to speak Korean and basic English
ILY:1 Ririka Profile
Name: Kishida Ririka
Stage Name: Ririka
Date of Birth: July 2nd, 2002
Height: 162 cm
MBTI: ENFP
Instagram: @noguririka
ILY:1 Ririka Facts
- Ririka was born in Hyogo, Japan
- Ririka participated in Nizi Project Season 1 in January 2020 but she was eliminated in the first round of eliminations
- In 2020, Ririka became a part of the Japanese-Korean group Orange Latte, but in early 2021 the group disbanded
- In 2021, Ririka joined Girls Planet 999 and was eliminated in the third round of eliminations with a final rank P21
- Ririka’s hobby is drawing
- Ririka used to learn ballet and her specialty is classical ballet
ILY:1 Elva Profile
Name: Lee Yonghwa
Stage Name: Elva
Date of Birth: May 5th, 2003
Instagram: @ew_0505
ILY:1’s Elva Facts
- Elva is the last member revealed as ILY:1’s member
- Elva was born in South Korea but she spent the majority of her life in Taiwan before she became a trainee
- Elva attended the Taipei Hwa Kang Arts School in Taiwan
- Since Elva’s family are speaking Taiwanese Mandarin, Elva was not able to speak Korean well
- Elva wants to be an idol because of IU
- She found IU’s songs give her a lot of comforts so she wishes she can do the same
ILY:1 Debut With Love in Bloom on April 4th, 2022
It was December 24th, 2021, when FC ENM announced that they are gonna debut a six-member girl group and four of the members were contestants of Girls Planet 999. In early 2022, FC ENM announced that the debut group’s name is ILY:1 and they are going to make their debut in March 2022.
Starting from January 10th, 2022, the members of ILY:1 were revealed each day following the announcement of the debut single album in February 2022. The single album of ILY:1 is titled Love in Bloom.
But the debut date that had been set was pushed back to April due to COVID-19. Along with the photo teaser released on March 18th, 2022, the debut date was revealed. ILY:1 made their debut on April 4th, 2022.
Check out the music video of “Love In Bloom”
Aside from the release of their music video, ILY:1 also promoted “Love In Bloom” in music shows. Let’s watch ILY:1 performing the song.
ILY:1 also showcased their live skills through a performance in It’s Live and arranged “Love in Bloom” into a band performance. Let’s enjoy their live performance.
ILY:1 are one of the girl groups that joined the K-pop world in 2022. As a group who just begun to spread their wings, their journey in the K-pop industry has just begun. So what do you think about “Love in Bloom”?
