Korean pop music industry is fast gaining grounds in the music world and one of its popular singing groups is the Wanna One boy band. This group is notable for selling millions of copies of their albums and gained a lot of admiration from both the Asian populace and the world at large. However, towards the end of 2018, Wanna One members went their separate ways. Know what caused the split and what the members are up to now in this article.
Why Did Wanna One Members Break Up In 2019?
The Wanna One band is a popular K-Pop group that emerged in 2017 after the group members competed on the reality show tagged, Produce 101. Unlike the popular causes of music groups breaking up which usually results from disputes, Wanna One’s case is a bit different as theirs was a cordial agreement. Their contract agreement had come to an end and everyone became free to go their separate ways. This news was publicized by their record label, Swing Entertainment who announced that the group’s contract came to a close on December 31, 2018. However, they stayed together until January 2019 because of their last show that was slated to hold in January.
Here’s What The Band Members are Doing Now After Their Split
1. Kang Daniel
Kang is everyone’s favorite member of the group and upon their separation, everyone expected him to soar high in the entertainment industry. However, things were a bit rough for him due to legal problems he had to sort out with his former company. This Wanna One member eventually created his own agency called Konnect Entertainment and since its kickoff, he has been able to produce a solo album titled ‘Color on me”.
2. Yoon Jisung
Yoon Jisung who happens to be the oldest Wanna One member is not doing bad at all after the group’s split. He released his first EP titled ‘Aside’ on February 20th, 2019 which was shortly followed by a second release titled ‘Dear Dairy’ on April 25th, 2019 as well as the third one on May 19th, 2019. More so, Yoon Jisung who has been enlisted to serve in the Korean military is also set to collaborate with other popular K-pop bands like SHINee, BTOB, INFINITE, 2AM, as well as the film star Kim Moneo in an upcoming military song by South Korea.
3. Ha Sungwoon
Right after the separation, Ha began to sing solo and he has released a couple of songs like ‘BXXX’, ‘Blue’, ‘Bird’ and ‘Don’t forget’ in which he paired with ex-Wanna One member, Park Jihoo. Although he is mainly singing as a solo artist, he is also a member of the Hotshot band, though he has put his performance with them on hold for now.
4. Bae Jinyoung
This Wanna One member was not seen in the music scene for the first three months after the group separated. However, right now he has a contract with C9 Entertainment and has released a single tagged ‘Hard to say Goodbye’. He also joined a band known as CIX in July 2019 and they released their first EP that same month titled ‘Hello Chapter 1: Hello Stranger’
5. Kim Jaehwan
Wanna One former member Kim Jaehwan remained with Swing Entertainment as a solo artist and he has released 2 albums, ‘Begin Again’ and ‘Black Sky’. Aside from these, Kim also created the soundtrack for Chief of Staff, a show on Korean TV.
6. Lai Kuanlin
Though the youngest member of Wanna One, Lai has been able to gain a lot of fans from the Chinese audience after the split. He signed on with Cube Entertainment however they had to opt-out of the contract when Lai accused them of violating his contract. However, Lai has performed in many stage shows and he even got a slot to feature in the TV drama A Little Thing Called First Love.
7. Park Jihoon
After the split, Park went solo working on an album titled ‘O’Clock’ which had popular singles like ‘L.O.V.E’ and ‘Young 20’. This Wanna One former member has also tried his hands on acting and he seems to be doing pretty well in that field.
8. Lee Daehwi & Park Woojin
Former Wanna One members, Lee Daehwi and Park Woojin stuck together after the split and signed on to Brand New Music. They are also members of AB6IX which is a 5 member band. The group featured in KCON NY, where they performed their debut single ‘Breathe’. Lee and Park also ventured into hosting TV shows and on his on, Lee has started writing scripts for himself and other entertainers.
9. Ong Seongwu
After Wanna One broke up, Ong signed on with Fantagio and he released a solo ‘Heart Sign’ as the theme song for a Pepsi sales campaign. He can also be seen in the TV series, Moment at Eighteen.
10. Hwang Min-Hyun
Hwang used to be a member of the NU’EST band group before his membership with Wanna One. Upon their break, he eventually found his way back to the old group. Since his return to the group, they completed an abandoned trilogy that had begun in 2016 when Hwang was still around. He also has a number of solo songs one of which is ‘Universe’ and he has featured in concerts like the U.S KCON 2019 alongside his new group.
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