IZONE News and Discussion Thread

CJ E&M said that...
“IZ*ONE’s official fan cafe, content, and social media will operate until the end of the project, and future plans [for these platforms] will be announced via a separate statement later on,” they said, as translated by Soompi. The companies also expressed their gratitude towards the 12-member group’s fan club, the WIZ*ONE, for their continued support.

IZ*ONE is set to wrap up their two-and-a-half-year career with the two-day online concert ‘ONE, THE STORY’, which takes place on on March 13 and 14. “The IZ*ONE members are currently working their hardest to meet fans at the concert,” the agencies added.

They may release the new songs and yummy summer (Korean version) via a digital EP without promotion. The "One, THE STORY" concert was meant to be a special occasion for them to go through all their activities before disbandment. Their contract end in April, so unless they have all the material ready, as our Sakween already spoiled on a V-Live there is still some hope of a new IZ*One release before their contract expires.
I REALLY HOPE SO...

 

To the people which claim that the disbandment are messy. It is messy but have you forget about the pandemic running around. Sakura, Nako and Hitomi needs to move their thing back to Japan. It is possible that the quick announcement where forced by quarantine regulation. It could easily take 4 weeks away from Izone promotion by one trip for taking things home. Mnet maybe did reach the point of no return for restriction to ease. With stopped promotion they will have some time to move their things.

 

Because of $$$. CJ Ent could have made a lot more money. CJ Ent missed out on the chance to release a final album and to market the final concert properly as a farewell concert, with the accompanying merchandise.

CJ Ent also made proper farewells for Wannaone and IOI, so it makes no sense they wouldn't do the same for IZ*ONE unless CJ expected an extension.

 

I wouldn’t mind the soon to be disbandment if not for it feeling so rushed

Like yeah this date was there from the beginning, but there’s no proper goodbye album or promos

IZ*One deserves a better goodbye era than this. Either give them a proper one, or give them 1-2+ month extension

 

MBC has just posted a 27-minute compilation video of the group's performances from Show Champion:


if the video does not show watch the video here

Contents:
[00:00] La Vie en Rose
[03:39] Violeta
[07:07] Up
[10:19] FIESTA
[13:56] SPACESHIP
[16:49] Secret Story of the Swan
[20:06] Pretty
[23:25] With One

 

I agree that this disbandment was rushed, and that something must have happened behind the scenes. The two previous Produce groups were pretty much milked for their last two months where they officially announced their disbandment to the end of all activities. IZ*ONE had a terse announcement stating their disbandment three days before the online concerts.

I follow their activities daily and it was business as usual until the announcement. Members were getting jobs and photo shoots. Yujin got the prestigious Inkigayo MC gig. Then that Mnet press release hit and everything came crashing down. IZ*ONE was a group that set multiple sales records, and they didn't even bother with a final song release or merchandise. If I had to take a guess, they were set to extend their contracts but a last minute change happened and CJ said fuck it, we're just going to end the group.

 

Did the two earlier produce groups 1 contain not korean members belonging to an agency i their native country and 2 was there an ongoing pandemic. I think that if there was no Covid19 Izone would have promoted the contract out. Because Sakura, Nako and Hitomi has to move their things back home and you can not currently move thing as when they started. Any trip back and forth will cost a month of quarantine which will be to long time with max only 1 and a half month remaining.

 

True. But it's not like this pandemic suddenly happened last month. Even that is something that could have been planned out properly so that the group would have been able to say goodbye in a way that wouldn't feel as regretful as this one felt o_o

 

True, all previous produce groups only featured artists from Korean labels.

However, the pandemic isn't really an excuse. The last IZ*ONE album was all the way back in early Dec 2020. CJ had more than enough time to produce one last album, and all logic dictates that they should.

The most reasonable explanation for why it didn't happen was that CJ Ent was planning around an assumed extension. Then it fell through.

I also don't quite follow the one month thing you're suggesting. Why would they have to travel to Japan to promote an album? They produced and promoted their last Japanese album, Twelve, completely in Korea. They'd only go back to Japan after disbandment. Then they'd stay in Japan.

 

Why do people believe in the extension myth. Neither AKS/Vernassiliom or Starship had anything to win on an extension. In the case of AKS there is more money to take the girls home and what they expected from colaboration never happend. It's relativly clear that mnet/CJ did not tell about that they wouldn't use the girls as they though they could. And for starship they majority owned by KakaoM an competior to Stone. For the month i speak about. They defintily want to bring at least they brought to Korea back home. I do not think that CJ, Vernassilom or the girls want pay for storage for an undefintive time. In the beginning of this thread there are post about the girls bringing thing to Korea through multiple trips. Which isn't possibly now.

 

Wannaone received a one month extension to complete their promotions. It wasn't an impossibility for IZ*ONE to get one too.

AKS/Vernassiliom/Starship don't have much to lose from a two or three month extension for IZ*ONE to properly say farewell, and there's lots of money to be made for all involved.

Tell me, what grand plan does AKS/Vernassiliom have up their sleeve in the next few months? We also don't know if any of the J-line girls plan to graduate or not. I think Nako will return to HKT48, but there are real question marks about Sakura and Hitomi.

Either way, CJ would have put out an album and a proper farewell concert if they had expected IZ*ONE to end in April. The fact that they didn't heavily suggests CJ was expecting an extension.

 

lol this is the most ridiculous post since the disbandment news hit this thread. You clearly don’t follow the activities of the group and care more about how much plane tickets and luggage fees costs.

 

And what are you thinking they didn't a month would not give an oppurtunity to have an audience to the concert. It also seem that you missed that kwhiz expected a two years extension. The situation is that they did think that stop it at that point. They can still release an album. There have been dead artist releasing albums we only don't get any promotion.
Because Broz0rs posted his when i wrote this post therefore i have to answer in a edit. You don't know what was planned and as i already wrote they can release an album without promotion and once again in this post an ending concert with an audience is impossible even in.May. And about promotion a kpop group promotes around two weeks and then back to the dungeon as kpop fans call it.

 

There's something I don't understand.

Why do you make it sound like they have to leave Korea before the disbandment? I mean, why can't they promote as IZ*ONE now, break up in April, and after that go back to Japan? HKT48 is releasing a single in May and Sakura and Nako are not part of it, so there's no need to rush back after April. And AKB48 hasn't announced a single yet either, so why would they need to be back in Japan before the end of April? (Also, I have moved abroad and it doesn't necessarily take multiple trips back and forth. Pack whatever you can in your suitcases, and the rest goes in parcels that you send to your parents' home. One trip + 2 weeks quarantine are sufficient.)

They don't need to go back and forth, they only need to finish their job in Korea, and after that go and take their stuff to Japan.

I know that some people believed a two year extension was going to happen, but I don't understand why. That being said...

One extra month wouldn't have allowed an audience, but it would have allowed for another album. People are upset because they expected a comeback that was advertised as IZ*ONE's Final Comeback. People didn't get that though. Many WIZ*ONE are now buying many old albums and old merch wherever possible because there's no new album to show their support.

People would have also accepted the concert as the official disbandment date if they had known earlier. 3 days before the concert, it was announced that the concert would be their last activity. There was no time to prepare for the news, which is unfair.

 

If there was anything that gave me a small bit of hope that a extension was planned, it was not because of the rumors or even the silence leading up to the concert. It was because of what Sakura said on saku no ki a few months back.

Just going off memory here, but it was something along the lines of promising that they would be performing in front of wizone's in person sometime in the future. I was thinking there's no way that's happening in even the most optimistic scenero unless a extension was happening.

 

dirt that also happens to be the god of lyricists. he penned these lines than many wizones could probably relate to rn


if the video does not show watch the video here

泣きながら微笑んで
あなたを見送りましょう
何度も立ち止まって
心配そうに　振り返るけれど・・・
泣きながら微笑んで
一人に慣れるまでは
ここから　まだ　動けなくて
そっと　手を振り
小さくなる思い出の近くにいたい

As I cry, I smile
Let’s send you off
Many times you halt
And worriedly look back over you shoulder, but…
As I cry, I smile
Until I grow used to being alone,
I still won’t be able to move from here
Quietly, I wave a hand
A shrinking feeling’s desire to be close to you

http://stage48.net/studio48/nakinagarahohoende_ny.html

 

maybe kpop fans won't comprehend since they don't do these, but I'm sure jpop fans can understand why this is so upsetting: This was the equivalent to their graduation concert and it was botched at all levels. Whether there was an extension or not is a separate issue; an event that should have been a celebration and culmination of their journey was instead a disaster with them in visible distress, apologizing on stage to their fans and informing them this was the final activity they would ever have with only 3 days warning to fans this was the final concert.

It was such an unsatisfying way to wrap everything that I'm upset that it ended this way. Back when the group was formed, I thought how great it would be if they could have their final concerts in Japan and Korea with huge crowds, light sticks waving, their names being called out for the final time, a memory that they could look back with fondness 5, 10, 20 years later.

We know COVID happened and that was out of the control of everyone, so unfortunately there's not much that could have been done about that in regards to large crowds if there was no extension, but at the very least they deserved a nice farewell with a final comeback, final music show stages, acknowledgment of their achievements, etc.

Instead they got what they got. It may seem stupid to some but knowing that this was their last memory of being IZ*ONE together on a stage makes me angry every time I think about it and I don't know when I will let it go.

 

This will be my last post about disbandment mess. I will start with the idea that you could send things trough the postalservices. Both the korean and japanese postal services has limited options to send parcels. Second if an album was/is planned it should already be recorded and there still could be released before or after the old disbandment date even if Izone not will promote it. Why i say that girls go back to Japan before disbandment date that we in fact don't know when disbandment would happen it coulld be before the 29 of april. I expect that HKT and Team 8 managment do not want thier girls stay home for 14 days.
Once again you do not know if that a final Izone album will not be released.
A final edit for comment on a post where was not there when i started this post. First why use the graduation concert thing when that is extremly random thing. Two in this case i excepted that these concert would be the final ones. What you excepted has no influence what happend. If they would have hold a final concert would only show that what I guessed was not right.

 

What they want doesn't matter, they are required by law to self-isolate when travelling from abroad. Whether they self-isolate now or in April or May doesn't matter, since there are no activities scheduled for Sakura, Nako or Hitomi in AKB48 or HKT48.

HKT48, for one, will 100% be promoting their upcoming single and once again, Saku and Nako are not part of it. So there's no need for them to be back early.

Considering they called the concert "IZ*ONE's last activity," it does very much sound like there won't be another album.

Because that's literally what it is? A graduation concert is a final good bye concert for an idol. That's literally what "One, The Story" was.

 

It can't be as upsetting as seeing three girls, not graduating, but leaving the group on the same day, with no real explanation, just a blog post saying they were gone and that's it. Oh, we've seen so many things in this group...