A lot of things are happening in K-pop land lately. The most exciting, perhaps, is the announcement of IVE, a new K-pop girl group from Starship Entertainment that’s about to debut.
The last five years have been rife with disbandments of the most popular girl groups in the industry like 2NE1, which bid their farewell in 2016; Miss A, which exited in 2017; GFriend also shockingly left the spotlight earlier this year and many more. Most recently, Lovelyz also made their disbandment public, with all but one member, Baby Soul, leaving Woollim Entertainment.
This is just to say that Starship Entertainment’s IVE entering the K-pop arena is more than a welcome surprise. Curious about this new generation idol band? Keep reading to know more about IVE — from the meaning behind the group name to the speculated members.
What’s in the name IVE?
The newly released teaser for the new girl group doesn’t give us a lot but it did confirm the band’s name. First things first, let’s get one thing straight: IVE isn’t pronounced as “ay-vee” nor “i-veh” but “aiv”. It’s based on the abbreviation of the phrase “I have”. The name is chosen to signal the goal of the members to show what each of them has, according to a Naver article. IVE will reportedly also be a permanent six-member troupe and will not be an evolving girl band like J-pop’s AKB48 which routinely has “graduates” and adds new members regularly. So who’s gonna be in the group?
Rumoured member # 1: An Yu Jin
Unlike most aspiring idols who are just about to make their debut, 18-year-old YuJin already has fans and a following on social media. This is all thanks to her participation in Produce 48, a reality TV production by Mnet made in collaboration with AKB48. Talented youngsters who have ambitions to become an idol would compete with one other until there’s only 12members left. Those remaining contestants will then form a girl group but it’s the audience who will vote to choose the band concept, name and even the album. So surreal, right?
Because of her outstanding talent and “visual” (K-pop speak for how you come across on camera), YuJin was able to finish fifth and went on to become a member of the pseudo girl band Iz*One. The band’s debut album La Vie en Rose did well and they made hit songs until April this year when they officially “disbanded” as originally planned, much to the disappointment of eager fans who even held a fundraising event for the group to stay together. Supporters of Yujin are now excited for her “re-debut”.
Rumoured member # 2: Jang Won Young
Like Yujin, Wonyoung was also a part of the reality competition show Produce 48 where she finished first. How awesome! The then-14-year-old joined the same temporary girl group Iz*One as the main “visual” a.k.a the group’s “face” (think Yoona in SNSD). While she was still in the group, Wonyoung began her modelling career in Japan and made her runway debut at the 29th Tokyo Girls Collection 2019 Autumn/Winter. In just a few months of modelling, she already appeared in high-profile advertisements including for Italian designer brand MiuMiu (owned by Prada) and Elle Korea among others.
After Iz*One’s planned disbandment happened, Wonyoung returned to her trainee status and may just be ready to make her debut with IVE, according to reports.
IVE will be debuting under Sistar’s agency
Remember the oh-so-fun girl band Sistar? In their heyday, the quartet produced a good deal of catchy summer hits like Shake It, Loving U, Touch My Body, Shady Girl and So Cool. Their songs and performances garnered them recognition from some of the most prestigious award-giving organisations in South Korea like Mnet Asian Music Awards and Golden Disc Awards. Even their more soulful sub-group Sistar19 saw success with Ma Boy.
Their seven-year run ended in 2017 when members Hyorin, Bora, Soyou and Dasom decided to venture into other projects. To this day, the amiable and drama-free disbandment of the group is still considered to be one of the best band exits in K-pop history. Fans were treated to a goodbye song and a “goodbye stage”. Some credited the agency for handling Sistar’s finale well with a proper closure. This makes us more excited about Starship Entertainment’s new girl group, knowing that they’re in good hands and will probably make the same trajectory as Sistar from start to finish.
IVE’s debut is currently a developing story so stay tuned to this page for confirmations and updates.
(Cover photo from: IVE via YouTube)
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