25+ Major K-Pop Debuts And Disbandments From The First Half Of 2021

With 2021 halfway over, there has been a lot of activity in the K-Pop world already. Not only have there been numerous debuts and comebacks, but some sad and unexpected disbandments as well. Here’s a look back at some of the biggest group and solo debuts from the first half of 2021, as well as some of the most notable disbandments.

Debuts:

1. B.I

B.I debuted as a solo artist on June 1 with his debut studio album, Waterfall, featuring the title track “illa illa”. It became the most-viewed male soloist MV in the first 24 hours at the time!

2. BamBam

On June 15, BamBam made his solo debut outside of GOT7 with his debut EP, riBBon, and title track of the same name. The album debuted at #2 on the Gaon Weekly Album Chart, and “riBBon” also ranked at #17 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart!

3. Ciipher

Seven-member boy group Ciipher debuted under R.A.I.N. Company, created by the singer Rain, on March 15 with the EP An Ggulyeo and title track “I Like You”.

4. EPEX

EPEX is an eight-member boy group that debuted under C9 Entertainment on June 8 with the EP Bipolar Pt.1 : Prelude of Anxiety and title track “Lock Down”.

5. HOT ISSUE

HOT ISSUE, a seven-member girl group, debuted under S2 Entertainment on April 28 with the EP Issue Maker and title track “GRATATA”.

6. I.M

I.M made his debut as a solo artist outside of MONSTA X on February 19 with the EP Duality and title song “God Damn”. All five songs on the album charted on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart, with “God Damn” peaking at #9.

7. Joy

Joy debuted as a soloist outside of Red Velvet on May 31 with the EP Hello and title track with the same name. All 6 tracks on the album debuted on the Gaon Digital Chart, and “Hello” also reached the top 10 on the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100.

8. KINGDOM

KINGDOM is a seven-member boy group that debuted under GF Entertainment on February 18 with the mini-album History of Kingdom : PartⅠ. Arthur and title track “Excalibur”. The concept of the group is that each of the seven members represents seven kingdoms and seven kings, with their albums each focusing on a different one.

9. L

L made his solo debut outside of INFINITE on February 3 with the single album Memory and title track of the same name. He released it just before he started his military enlistment period on February 22!

10. J.Don

J.Don, also known as N.Flying‘s leader Lee Seunghyub, debuted as a soloist on February 22 with the single album On The Track and title song “Clicker”.

11. LIGHTSUM

LIGHTSUM is an eight-member girl group that debuted under Cube Entertainment on June 10 with the single album Vanilla and title track of the same name. They are the first girl group to debut with the label since (G)I-DLE debuted in 2018!

12. MIRAE

MIRAE is a seven-member boy group that debuted with the EP KILLA and same-name title track on March 17 under DSP Media. They earned the title “2021 Super Rookies” after their debut MV gained more than 10 million views and their album sold over 26,000 copies in the first week.

13. PIXY

PIXY is a six-member girl group that debuted with the digital single album With My Wings and title song “Wings” on February 24 under ALLART Entertainment and Happy Tribe Entertainment.

14. PURPLE KISS

PURPLE KISS is a seven-member girl group that debuted under RBW on March 15 with the EP Into Violet and title song “Ponzona”. They’re said to be a self-producing group, and are the first girl group to debut under the label since MAMAMOO debuted in 2014!

15. Rosé

Rosé made her highly anticipated debut as a soloist outside of BLACKPINK on March 12 with the single album R and title track “On the Ground”. The music video received 41.6 million views in the first 24 hours, making it the most-viewed MV from a soloist in that period of time (surpassing the previous record-holder, PSY‘s “Gentleman”, which came out 8 years prior). The album also set the record for highest first-week sales by a female soloist with nearly 450k total sales in that time.

16. Sorn

Sorn debuted as a soloist outside of CLC on March 23 with the English digital single “Run”. She personally helped to create the cover art and music video for the song, which was filmed on Jeju Island.

17. T1419

T1419 is a nine-member Japanese-Korean boy group that debuted under MLD Entertainment on January 11 with the single album Before Sunrise Part. 1 and title track “Asurabalbalta”. They debuted in not just South Korea, but Japan and the United States as well!

18. TRI.BE

TRI.BE is a seven-member girl group that debuted with the single album Tri.be Da Loca and title song “DOOM DOOM TA” on February 17 under TR Entertainment and Universal Music Group. Both of the songs on the album were produced by Shinsadong Tiger and EXID‘s LE!

19. Wendy

Wendy also debuted outside of Red Velvet this year on April 5 with the EP Like Water and title tracks “When This Rain Stops” and “Like Water”. She was the first member of Red Velvet to make a solo debut, and the album peaked at #4 on the Gaon Albums Chart.

20. Yuqi

And finally, Yuqi debuted as a soloist outside of (G)I-DLE on May 13 with the single album A Page and title tracks “Giant” and “Bonnie & Clyde”.

Disbandments:

1. 1Team

1Team was a five-member boy group under Live Works Company that debuted on March 27, 2019 with the mini-album Hello! and title track “Vibe”. They officially disbanded on March 10 this year after releasing 3 mini-albums in their career.

2. B.O.Y

B.O.Y was a boy pop duo that debuted under Music Works on January 2, 2020 with the EP Phase One: You that included the self-composed track “Starlight”. When member Yuvin announced his contract expiration and military enlistment on April 30 this year, the duo officially disbanded.

3. Berry Good

Berry Good was a nine-member girl group that debuted on May 21, 2014 under Asia Bridge Entertainment with the single album Love Letter and title track of the same name. They released one full-length studio album, four mini-albums, and one single album until their disbandment on May 12 this year.

4. ENOi

ENOi was a seven-member boy group that debuted under KiTheWhale on April 19, 2019 with the single “Bloom”. They released one EP and two special albums until their official disbandment on January 22 this year.

5. GFRIEND

GFRIEND was a six-member girl group formed by Source Music that debuted on January 15, 2015 with the EP Season of Glass and title track “Glass Bead”. Between then and their sudden disbandment on May 22 this year, they released four full-length studio albums, one compilation album, ten EPs, one repackaged album, and nineteen singles.

6. HOTSHOT

HOTSHOT was a six-member boy group that debuted under Star Crew Entertainment on October 29, 2014 with the digital single “Take A Shot”. They ended up releasing two EPs and six singles until they disbanded on March 30 this year.

7. IZ*ONE

IZ*ONE was a twelve-member girl group formed through the competition show Produce 48 and co-managed by Off the Record Entertainment and Swing Entertainment. They debuted with the EP COLOR*IZ and title track “La Vie en Rose” on October 29, 2018, and released two full-length studio albums, four EPs, and seven singles until their planned disbandment on April 29 this year.

8. Seven O’Clock

Seven O’Clock was a eight-member boy group that debuted under Staro Entertainment and KDH Entertainment on March 16, 2017 with the mini-album Butterfly Effect and title track “Echo”. Until then and their disbandment on March 2 this year, they released three EPs and six singles.

9. XUM

And finally, XUM was a three-member girl group that debuted on September 24, 2020 under A100 Entertainment with the single album Ddalala and title track of the same name. Sadly, this was all they released until their official disbandment on June 1 this year.