GOYANG, SOUTH KOREA – DECEMBER 4: 1Team performs on stage during the MBC Music Channel ‘Show … [+]
A number of exciting boy bands popped up in the South Korean music industry in 2021, including Ciiper, Omega X and Kingdom, to name just a a few. At the same time, several groups finally said goodbye, ceasing operations as a unit after sharing their own brand of K-pop with fans everywhere.
These are some of the most high-profile breakups among K-pop boy bands that occurred in 2021.
100%
South Korean boy band 100% almost made it to a full decade, which in the K-pop industry, is a very long time. The group launched in 2012, and in the nine years they were together, they released just six EPs and never dropped a full-length. The outfit impressively reached the top 10 on the Gaon Albums chart with all of their efforts. Less than a month before their contract expired, they shared the standalone single “Beautiful Girl,” which ended up serving as something of a goodbye.
Hotshot
Since debuting in 2014, Hotshot only produced a pair of EPs, and seeing as their last one was released in 2018, it wasn’t entirely shocking when the announcement was made that the musicians would be going their separate ways and that Hotshot was no more. Sadly, they seemed to be gaining in popularity, as their last EP, Early Flowering, brought them to the top 10 on the Gaon Albums chart for the first, and it turned out, only time.
We in the Zone
In 2019, We in the Zone arrived, and they worked incredibly hard that year to create and release music and launch the band. The members were involved in the writing and producing of a good chunk of their tunes, which separated them from some vocal acts in the South Korean music industry. They shared two EPs, and while both approached the top 10 on the Gaon Albums chart, neither one broke into the competitive area. It didn’t take long for members to begin dropping out, and by early 2021, it was clear that the act was no more.
Others
Four other boy bands hailing from South Korea split in 2021, though they didn’t enjoy the same kind of commercial success as the three acts mentioned above. Fellow K-pop vocal troupes 1Team, ENOi, Seven O’Clock and Voisper are no longer making music, much to the chagrin of fans in their home country.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2022/02/06/hotshot-we-in-the-zone-and-100-the-k-pop-boy-bands-that-disbanded-in-2021/