The 2nd-Gen K-Pop Idol Who Volunteered To Disband His Group

Following the success of K-Pop’s first generation, the Hallyu wave continued gaining momentum as the second generation of artists were introduced to new fans worldwide.

Globally recognized groups such as Girls’ Generation, Super Junior, Wonder Girls, SHINee, BIGBANG, 2NE1, TVXQ, KARA, INFINITE, and more talented artists dominated the K-Pop scene.

(Top row, from left:) 2nd-gen groups Miss A, SISTAR, Secret, CNBLUE, and MBLAQ (Center row, from left:) 2AM, 4MINUTE, BEAST, and SHINee (Bottom row, from left:) KARA, TVXQ, and Girls’ Generation in 2011 | Valent Lau

Recently, KARA‘s Hur Youngji, an artist managed by DSP Media, sat down with former DSP Media artist ONESTAR to discuss their shared and separate experiences at the Korean entertainment company.

ONESTAR, a talented singer-songwriter, was previously a member of the second generation multinational K-Pop group A’ST1 before joining the existing group Monday Kiz from 2010 until 2014.

ONESTAR (left) and KARA’s Hur Youngji (right) | 헤이데이 Heyday/YouTube

A’ST1 debuted in 2008 and unfortunately disbanded only a year later, despite their talent, catchy discography, and the success of their labelmates SS501 and KARA

With members having talents in other fields, such as variety and acting, and member Haiming even appearing in the hit K-Drama Boys Over Flowers, many fans wondered why the talented group disbanded so soon. ONESTAR told Youngji more about what happened behind the scenes.

A’ST1

ONESTAR revealed that the group signed a standard seven-year contract, showing they had no intention of pursuing a short-lived dream.

Before their second year as a group, ONESTAR said DSP Media approached them, informing the group that they would likely be disbanding and wouldn’t be releasing an album in their second year.

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With no schedules in sight and the possibility of disbandment looming, ONESTAR revealed that he volunteered the option that the group’s contracts be terminated, instead of waiting in limbo for the possibility of disbandment.

Hur Youngji reacted to the power move, praising ONESTAR’s cool response to the news of their impending disbandment.

ONESTAR hilariously added that after his contract was terminated, he “came right out of the company and started breaking all of the rules.”

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During his interview with Hur Youngji, the two also exchanged stories about their experiences training at DSP Media.

Check out more on that in the article below:

KARA’s Youngji Compares Trainee “Horror Stories” With Former DSP Media Artist ONESTAR