Legendary Girl Groups You Wish Hadn’t Disbanded!
In this article, Byeol Korea will tell you all about several K-pop girl-groups that have been disbanded. They are all groups that have debuted since 2009, but after a number of years of working together and receiving many awards for their achievements, some of these groups decided to disband and not renew their contracts with their respective agencies. They decided to focus on their own individual careers. Even so, members of some of the groups still communicate and spend time together when they can. Want to know more about it? Check this out!
2NE1
2NE1 is one of the most famous girl-groups, internationally as well as domestically. The group debuted in 2009 under YG Entertainment and was the first girl-group formed by the agency. 2NE1 had a different concept from other girl-groups at the time, which made the public come to know about them very quickly. They sold 66.5 million records and are one of the best selling girl-groups of all time. Billboard magazine ranked 2NE1 as one of the best K-pop girl-groups of the past decade.
The members of 2NE1 were CL, Bom, Minzy, and Dara. Each of them had their own aura but they combined into something new in the K-pop world. Unfortunately, YG Entertainment dissolved the group in 2017. In 2016 Minzy left 2NE1, and although CL and Dara remain signed to YG Entertainment, Bom’s contract was not renewed. Their final single, Good Bye, was released on January 21, 2017. Here is the official statement from YG:
“The 2NE’s exclusive contract expired in May ,2016, and with Minzy leaving 2NE1, we have come to the decision to be officially disband after extensive discussion with the remaining members. As 2NE1 was YG’s official girl-group for seven years, we cannot begin to express how we feel, but we determined that it was too difficult to continue. Rather than waiting for an unknown amount of time for 2NE’s next promotions, we have decided to focus on the members’ solo activities. We sincerely thank all the fans both in Korea and abroad that have loved the group and their music for all this time. We would like to announce that after last May, we resigned with CL and Sandara Park. However, unfortunately, there is no new contract with Park Bom.”
After 2NE1 was declared disbanded, CL, Dara, Bom, and Minzy decided to focus on their individual activities as soloists. CL focuses on her solo career. CL has always dreamed of breaking into the American music scene and has made her first debut in 2016 when she released the English-language song “Lifted”, which she got to perform on the ‘Late Late Show with James Corden.’ CL is definitely on the way to conquering. US! TIME Magazine recently ran a feature about her and considers her as the ‘future of K-pop in America.’
Dara has had quite a successful solo career. She starred in two successful web dramas, one even earned her a best actress award. She has been busy with all kinds of activities and engagements both in and out of South Korea
Park Bom has been out of the limelight for quite some time now. but recently she confirmed via Twitter that 2NE1’s disbandment is not the end of her career. Known for her unique vocals, it would be a shame if she quit singing.
Minzy had plans on releasing new music by 2017 via live broadcast on V and lately, she has posted an image of herself with music producer Steve Barakatt in his studio on her Instagram account. The caption read “It was EPIC.” According to Koreaboo, Steve Barakatt also posted an image of their time together.
4MINUTE
4Minute is also one of the most famous girl-groups in South Korea. They debuted in 2009 and were formed by CUBE Entertainment. 4Minute was the first girl-group to be debuted by CUBE Entertainment and received a good response from the public because they had a different concept with other girl-groups.
The members of the group were Nam Ji-hyun, Heo Ga-yoon, Jeon Ji-yoon, Kim Hyun-a, and Kwon So-hyun. The group was known for its edgy dance-pop style and “girl crush” image that attracted a large female fan base. 4Minute debuted in June, 2009, with the single Hot Issue. They received several major awards, including the Rookie Award at the 2009 Golden Disc Awards, the K-pop New Artist Award at the 2010 Billboard Japan Music Awards, and the Bonsang Award at the 2011, 2012, and 2014 Seoul Music Awards.
Unfortunately, in 2016, 4Minute was declared disbanded. A representative for the group explained the situation, saying “As the contract end date approaches, the members have been discussing for renewal, but we have ended up accepting the decision by the five members that they will not continue as a group. Due to the different opinions of the members, for all intents and purposes, the group will be a disband.”
Fortunately for Gayoon, Jihyun, Jiyoon, and Sohyun, they were well-known enough in the industry to find another agency to work for. Gayoon and Jihyun are looking into acting careers, while Jiyoon wants to continue singing and also do producing. Sohyun is probably the one who is best-off, as she is part of the fixed cast for My Pet Laboratory on SkyTV. As for Hyuna’s next solo career project, nothing has been announced, but it will most likely drop before the end of the year.
