Top-tier Gen 3 Idol Causes Shock by Revealing Her Curent Status After Leaving Group

Recently, ChoA, the former main vocalist of the once-popular girl group AOA, appeared on the personal show of Running Man’s oldest member, Ji Suk Jin, to share many things about herself. On the show, the former idol spoke about the difficulties she faced after leaving AOA.

Although she wanted to start something of her own, ChoA couldn’t do it because she was mentally exhausted at that time. The singer admitted that negative comments had hurt her so much that she couldn’t get out of bed for three years.

Afterward, ChoA gradually regained her balance and continued working as a content creator on YouTube. Currently, her YouTube channel has attracted 420,000 subscribers: “Just one month after opening the channel, I had about 300,000 followers. This really motivated me to continue.”

Notably, the former idol also revealed the income of a YouTuber: “I think I’m earning more money than I did when I was active with AOA.” Ji Suk Jin was surprised because AOA had several hit songs, to which ChoA explained, “I wasn’t paid much when I was with AOA, partly because I left midway. When I left, AOA was just starting to make a profit for the company…”

Netizens were surprised by ChoA’s revelations because AOA was still one of the standout groups in Korean showbiz when she was active. A series of hit songs associated with AOA’s name featured ChoA’s voice, such as “Miniskirt,” “Like A Cat,” “Heart Attack,” “Good Luck,” “Excuse Me,” and more.

• “ChoA was truly a key member of the group, but she didn’t receive the treatment she deserved. I’m really happy that things are going well for her now.”
• “Did she leave without receiving any money? I remember they performed at many events and appeared on many variety shows. But how did she not receive any money with that level of popularity?”
• “After ChoA left, AOA only released two more albums and then disappeared. This shows that she was indeed the core member of the group!”

ChoA debuted with AOA in 2012 and was a key contributor to many of the group’s hit songs. However, in June 2017, when AOA was still receiving a lot of attention, ChoA suddenly left the group without any prior notice. She disappeared for three years and unexpectedly returned in September 2020 with a cover on her personal YouTube channel.

Later, she shared the reason for leaving the group on a show. The idol said, “I didn’t get much sleep when I was still active with the group, so during this time, I’ve been sleeping a lot. I also spent time traveling, eating, and resting freely, which I never had the opportunity to do before.”

ChoA honestly shared that the reason she left AOA was due to mental health issues and psychological pressure, which made her feel she couldn’t continue and decided to stop all activities to focus on self-care. She explained, “I’m generally a positive person, but after too much pressure, it felt like the passion within me was burnt out. It could be because I was sick of never getting any sleep. When my mental state was no longer stable, I would think while washing my face: There’s no version of me that people love.”

Source: K14