With the announcement that Weki Meki will be disbanding after their final comeback this month, the future is looking bleak for most of the former members of I.O.I in terms of remaining in the K-Pop industry. There have been concerns for some time now that the girl group was at risk of disbandment due to how long it’s been since their last comeback, and sadly, that seems to be the reality of the situation.
It follows a sad and disappointing trend that has been common among the K-Pop girl groups that have one or more of the I.O.I members in their line-up, and at this point in time, nearly all of those groups no longer exist.
Sejeong and Mina both debuted with gugudan under Jellyfish Entertainment in 2016, alongside the six other members of the group. Despite the popularity of the two former I.O.I members, they never really took off in popularity with the questionable song choices they were given to release, and the group disbanded in 2020 after a two-year hiatus. Fortunately, both of them have gone on to have a successful acting careers.
Chaeyeon debuted with DIA when they originally debuted in 2015 prior to joining I.O.I, and rejoined them once her time with the group was over. Her success with the temporary girl group, sadly, did little to boost DIA’s popularity, and they ended up leaving their label in late 2022 with Chaeyeon now pursuing her own solo activities.
As mentioned earlier, Weki Meki debuted with Doyeon and Yoojung in August 2017, and arguably had one of the most anticipated debuts among the post-I.O.I groups. However, their debut was their best-performing, and hey consistently sold fewer albums with each comeback until they went on hiatus around November 2021. It didn’t come as too much of a surprise to many that the girl group is planning to disband after their last release, but it’s still upsetting for fans of what many deem to be an underrated group.
Cosmic Girls (WJSN) is the only group on this list that hasn’t or hasn’t announced their disbandment yet, but given how long their hiatus is, fans are growing more concerned for their future. Former I.O.I member Yeonjung joined the group a little bit after they originally debuted in February 2016, but her addition to an already-large girl group didn’t seem to benefit them as much as many probably hoped. While their discography is great and they might be considered the most successful girl group on this list, they haven’t had a full group comeback since July 2022.
Finally, arguably the most frustrating case of lost potential goes to PRISTIN. They are infamously known as one of the most disappointing cases of a label not properly handling their artists, and to this day, many are still bitter about how things went for them. They debuted in March 2017 with former I.O.I members Nayoung and Kyulkyung, but barely lasted two years before disbanding in May 2019. They only released two mini-albums during their time together, both in 2017, as well as a single album with sub-unit PRISTIN V in 2018.
As for the remaining members — Somi, Chungha, and Sohye — the former two have had pretty successful solo careers, while Sohye decided to pursue acting instead.
Here’s how people are reacting to this sobering news of the fates for most of the former I.O.I members.
We wish all of these talented girls all the best in whatever they pursue in the future!
Source: The Qoo and Pann Choa
