More and more idols are dreaming of a new start, forgetting the past and challenging themselves to audition for a “re-debut”.
Mnet is preparing for “Queendom Puzzle”, a spin-off series of “Queendom”. It is a project that combines former girl group members like puzzle pieces to create a new global girl group. In other words, it aims to re-debut each group’s members.
Former IZ*ONE Yabuki Nako and Honda Hitomi, former MOMOLAND JooE, former Lovelyz Kei, former LABOUM Haein, and former CLC Yeeun will reportedly appear on “Queendom Puzzle.” It seems that they are eager to succeed as singers once again.
One common factor among the groups appearing in “Queendom Puzzle” is that they have all experienced pain in the past. LABOUM, for example, disbanded after terminating their contract with their agency. There have been a series of reports that the members are willing to do team activities, but in reality, they were on the verge of disbandment.
IZ*ONE was a project girl group derived from “Produce 48”, so their disbandment was already predetermined. They debuted in October 2018 and disbanded in April 2021, only two years and six months into their activities.
Former IZ*ONE members Jang Wonyoung and Ahn Yujin are now active in the group IVE, whilst Kim Chaewon and Miyawaki Sakura are active in LE SSERAFIM. Meanwhile, fellow members Kwon Eunbi, Choi Yena, Lee Chaeyeon, Kim Minju, Jo Yuri, and Kang Hyewon have challenged themselves to pursue solo activities. While not all achieved the same level of popularity as IZONE at the time, most showed decent results.
On the other hand, after IZ*ONE’s disbandment, Yabuki Nako and Honda Hitomi’s are both stable but without significant activities in both Korea and their hometown, Japan.
MOMOLAND, too, could not overcome the “seven-year curse”. They once caused the “Bboom Bboom Syndrome” and seemed to be walking a flowery path, but they could not maintain their popularity due to the withdrawal of some members and other issues. Eventually, the girl group went through the regretful process of disbandment.
Lovelyz and CLC were no different from other groups in terms of disbandment. After their group disbanded, all members had to scatter.
The members appearing on “Queendom Puzzle” have already been active for seven, eight, or even more years. Considering their training period, these female idols all have outstanding skills, as well as a certain level of recognition.
However, there is still some risk involved as “Queendom Puzzle” is a “re-debut” and “leap” for existing idols. Problems such as fandom competition, ambiguous concepts, and revenue distribution can naturally arise.
In addition, a show like “Queendom Puzzle” can create competition between fandoms, and there is a possibility that the divide could worsen as these fans express their opinions on line distribution, MV screen time, or broadcast editing.
Finally, since each member has a different charm, it is not easy to unify them under one concept. There are various concepts such as innocent, sexy, fresh, and powerful, so if there are no unit activities, it may become difficult to gather the members into one group.
Managing members from different agencies in one place is also challenging. In terms of structure, the problem of distribution of profits from contracts cannot be omitted.
Ultimately, it is already evident that there are limitations even before the start. If members can simply feel proud of themselves for appearing on TV after a long time and bring that feeling back, there is no problem. However, if the ripple effect of IZ*ONE, Wanna One, and IOI, who are considered “success stories” of audition programs, are taken into account, there will be a lot to raise up to.
Source: Naver
