Even if you only became a K-Pop fan after 2021, you may have heard of IZ*ONE. The girl group, which was founded by the survival show Produce 48, was only active for two and a half years - 2018 to 2021 - but was extremely popular and successful. So much so that fans still miss them today and are happy about every interaction between the former members. They continue to meet up every now and then and sometimes even film shows together!
The former members have now made their solo debuts or are part of new successful groups such as IVE and LE SSERAFIM .
Because IZ*ONE will certainly not be forgotten so quickly in the future, we would like to introduce you to the girl group and their story:
- Produce 48
- The members
- Debut as IZ*ONE
- Mnet election manipulation
- Further albums and successes
- Resolution and Parallel Universe Petition
- Where are the members now?
Produce 48
Produce 48 is a survival show in which 96 female trainees from Korea and Japan competed in several rounds for a place in a twelve-member project girl group. This was supposed to debut after the show and be active together for two and a half years.
Produce 48 is the third of four seasons of the Produce series, which were broadcast annually from 2016 to 2019. In each season, around 90 candidates - trainees from various agencies - compete for a place in a new project group . In the first season the girl group I.O.I was created, in the second the boy group Wanna One, in the third the girl group IZ*ONE and in the fourth the boy group X1.
The Produce series stood out because, in contrast to the usual survival shows, the audience decided which trainees would ultimately make their debut in the project group. Each round they could vote for their favorites and those with the most votes moved on.
Produce 48 differed from the other seasons in several aspects. This time not only Korean trainees competed, but also members of the Japanese girl group AKB48.
The AKB48 Group consists of the girl group AKB48, which alone has over 70 members and currently 11 sister groups that are active all over Asia. These are called, for example, SKE48, NMB48, HKT48 and so on. IZ*ONE was supposed to be a Korean-Japanese girl group that would not only be active in Korea, but also in Japan.
Produce 48 also surprised in the first episode by announcing that the new project group would have 12 members this time, instead of 11 as in the previous seasons. There were 11 winners again in the fourth season, so IZ*ONE is the only Produce group with 12 members. Produce 48 consists of 12 episodes that aired from June 2018 to the end of August 2028. In the episodes, the trainees worked together in teams and performed both covers and, towards the end, original songs to demonstrate their skills.
Of course there were also many emotional moments and tears. Throughout the season, the trainees with the fewest votes were eliminated until there were only 20 of them left in the finale.
In the finale it was announced that the new group would be called IZ*ONE; the name was suggested by viewers on the show's official website. “IZ” symbolizes the number 12 and stands for the number of members. “ONE” is the English word for the number 1. IZ*ONE means that the 12 members together as a group will be one.
After the final 20 candidates performed three original songs - two in groups of 10 and one all together - the 12 winners were announced one by one at the end of the finale:
The members of IZ*ONE
| Name | Birthday | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Jang Wonyoung | 31.08.2004 | Korea |
| Miyawaki Sakura | 19.03.1998 | Japan |
| Jo Yuri | 22.10.2001 | Korea |
| Choi Yena | 29.09.1999 | Korea |
| An Yujin | 01.09.2003 | Korea |
| Yabuki Nako | 18.06.2001 | Japan |
| Kwon Eunbi (Leader) | 27.09.1995 | Korea |
| Kang Hyewon | 05.07.1999 | Korea |
| Honda Hitomi | 06.10.2001 | Japan |
| Kim Chaewon | 01.08.2000 | Korea |
| Kim Minju | 05.02.2001 | Korea |
| Lee Chaeyeon | 11.01.2000 | Korea |
Eight of the members were already getting noticed before Produce 48! The three Japanese women Honda Hitomi, Miyawaki Sakura and Yabuki Nako were part of the AKB48 Group years before. Sakura debuted back in 2011 in HKT48, followed by Nako in 2013. Hitomi made her debut in AKB48 in 2014. Over the years, the three of course have appeared in a few shows and have been involved in a number of singles and albums.
Kwon Eunbi debuted in a girl group called Ye-A in 2014, but they disbanded a short time later.
Lee Chaeyeon previously appeared alongside her sister Chaeryeong (ITZY) in two other survival shows: K-Pop Star 3 (2013) & Sixteen (2015).
Jo Yuri took 15th place in the survival show Idol School (2017), in which the nine-member girl group fromis_9 was formed.
Minju has appeared as an actress in a few music videos and the K-drama “Tempted”.
An Yujin also appeared in music videos and was particularly known for a contact lens commercial.
Debut as IZ*ONE
In Produce 48 it was decided that IZ*ONE would be active together for two and a half years. Members should then return to their respective agencies.
On October 28, 2019, two months after the finale of Produce 48, IZ*ONE debuted their first album Color*iz including the title song “La Vien Rose”!
In addition to La Vien Rose, the album also contains new IZ*ONE versions of the three original songs from the finale of Produce 48 - “We Together”, “You’re in Love, Right?” & “As We Dream” - and a new version of “Pick Me,” the Produce 48 theme song.
With their debut, IZ*ONE broke a whole series of records and showed right from the start how much potential the group has. For example, La Vien Rose topped three major Korean charts and earned the girl group their first music show win just ten days after their debut, faster than any other K-pop girl group's debut song before!
The album itself topped the Japanese Oricon Charts and ranked number 2 on the Korean Gaon Album Charts. It also sold over 34,000 copies on its first day, more than any K-pop girl group's debut album before. These and other successes led to IZ*ONE winning the “Best New Artists” award in several award shows at the end of the year!
In December, Sakura and Nako took part in a HKT48 concert to mark the eighth anniversary. This was the Japanese members' last activity as part of HKT48 or AKB48 for the time being, as they worked exclusively with IZ*ONE for the following two and a half years.
The year 2020 began for IZ*ONE with the official Japan debut. The music video for the first Japanese single “Suki to Iwasetai” was released on January 25th. The single sold over 200,000 copies in its first week!
On April 1st, IZ*ONE presented their second album Heart*iz , which topped both the Korean Gaon Album Charts and the Japanese Oricon Charts. The girl group also set a new record with this album, as it sold over 130,000 copies in its first week! No K-pop girl group had ever achieved this before!
In June, IZ*ONE held several concerts as part of their first tour “Eyes On Me” and presented two previously unknown Korean songs called “Ayayaya” and “So Curious”. But it still took a while until they were finally officially released on an album. After the tour, two Japanese singles were released: “Buenos Aires” on June 26th and “Vampire” on September 25th. Like the debut single, both were very successful and topped several Japanese charts!
A third Korean album was supposed to be released in November, but that was postponed due to the Mnet election manipulation scandal.
Mnet election manipulation
On October 16, police began an investigation to determine whether Mnet producers manipulated viewers' votes. She found that Mnet actually manipulated the votes in all four seasons of the Produce series! At that point, the fourth season, “Produce X 101,” which followed Produce 48, had already ended and the winning boy band X1 had just released their first album.
When the scandal came to light, IZ*ONE went on hiatus and postponed the planned album indefinitely. In addition, various events and performances were canceled.
The producers of Produce 101 often swapped the rankings on the show and decided before the finale of Produce 48 and Produce Given that the two finalists Lee Kaeun and Han Chowon actually won a place in IZ*ONE, but were eliminated due to vote manipulation.
We can also assume that the rankings of the 12 members who actually won were also swapped. It is still unclear which two members would actually have been eliminated instead of Kaeun and Chowon. The police decided not to release the names because the participants themselves could not do anything about it and should not become the target of hostilities.
Lee Kaeun decided that she no longer wanted to be an idol and is instead focusing on her acting career. Han Chowon debuted in the girl group Lightsum in June 2021. Both did not file a lawsuit against Mnet.
The same applies to the boy band X1, where 3 candidates who would have actually won were eliminated in the final. In the previous rounds, the rankings were also swapped so that participants who would have progressed were eliminated instead.
Several Mnet producers were arrested and the Produce series was officially canceled. Since then, no new seasons have been produced.
As a result of the scandal, X1 disbanded after just one album! But IZ*ONE fans could breathe a sigh of relief: On January 6th, the members' agencies came to an agreement: IZ*ONE would stay together and we would be active until April 2021, as originally planned.
Further albums and successes
After weeks of uncertainty and worry about whether the album would ever be released, IZ*ONE returned on February 17, 2020 with “Bloom*iz” !
It was no less successful than its predecessors and even broke the record for the most copies sold by a girl group album in the first week with over 350,000 albums sold!
IZ*ONE did not take a break after that and released the fourth album “Oneiric Diary” in June, including the title song “Secret Story of the Swan”. In September, IZ*ONE held the first online concert “Oneiric Theater”, in April the first and last Japanese album “Twelve” was released and on December 7 the fifth Korean album “One-Reeler / Act IV” with the title song “Panorama” was released. One-Reeler was already the last album by IZ*ONE.
This last album also reached a few big milestones. IZ*ONE topped the physical album charts and, for the first time since their second album Heart*iz, also topped the Korean Gaon Album Charts. It also reached the top 10 of the Japanese Oricon Album Charts!
On January 26, 2021, fans could once again look forward to a brand new IZ*ONE song, as the girl group recorded a song called “D-D-Dance” for the mobile app “Universe”.
On February 13th & 14th IZ*ONE gave their last online concerts entitled “One, The Story”. During the concert, the members sang “Parallel Universe,” an unreleased song.
Fans are still sad to this day that IZ*ONE was affected by the global corona pandemic for the second half of their short time together and they were only able to say goodbye to the group online. Of course, the fans would have liked to cheer on the girl group in person and IZ*ONE was probably sad that they could only perform in front of screens and empty halls in the last few months.
On February 15, Eunbi, Sakura, Minju, Yuri and Wonyoung from IZ*ONE together with Soyou (formerly SISTAR) released a promotional song called "Zero: Attitude" for the Pepsi brand.
On March 26th, a remake of the song “Rewind: Blossom” by Roo’a was uploaded, which all twelve members of IZ*ONE recorded together. It's not an original song, but fans were certainly grateful for everything the girl group prepared for them at the end.
Resolution and Parallel Universe Petition
Finally, on April 29, 2021, IZ*ONE officially disbanded.
On April 21st, the fan community called WIZ*ONE launched an initiative called "Parallel Universe" like IZ*ONE's last song. The initiative raised over $900,000 in hopes of convincing IZ*ONE, or more importantly the members' agencies, to continue the group!
Although it was clear from the start that IZ*ONE would break up, the girl group was so popular that no one could imagine letting them go just like that. The amount of money raised by hundreds of thousands of fans in just a few weeks showed that IZ*ONE had an immense impact on the K-pop scene.
The initiative was so compelling that the agencies actually discussed the possibility of renewing IZ*ONE’s contract. However, on July 6, 2021, it was confirmed that discussions had failed and IZ*ONE would not debut again.
Unfortunately, the numerous fans had to say goodbye to the girl group and support the members on their own paths from then on.
Where are the members now?
Luckily all 12 members have now returned to the stage!
Jang Wonyoung and An Yujin returned to their agency Starship Entertainment and debuted in the girl group IVE on December 1, 2021.
Miyawaki Sakura and Kim Chaewon signed a contract with HYBE and made their debut in LE SSERAFIM on July 20, 2022.
Honda Hitomi returned to her group AKB48 in Japan.
Yabuki Nako also returned to HKT48 in Japan, but has already announced that she will leave the group in spring 2023. Afterwards she would like to concentrate more on her acting career.
Kim Minju and Kang Hyewon are also focusing on their acting careers. However, Hyewon released the special album “W” in December 2021 and a single called “Like A Diamond” in January 2022.
The other five have now all officially debuted solo: Kwon Eunbi (August 24, 2021), Jo Yuri (October 7, 2021), Choi Yena (January 17, 2022) & Lee Chaeyeon (October 12, 2022)
Did you meet IZ*ONE while they were still together? Which of the members are you following today?
