Wonder Girls bowing out with final single on Friday
SEOUL: Wonder Girls are bowing out of showbiz with the release of a final single on Friday.
Ironically, it also marks their tenth anniversary as a top K-pop act.
Since debuting in February 2007 with their The Wonder Years album, they had rapidly established themselves as a leading K-pop act, known for their sleek retro-pop sound.
What catapulted them to global fame were their 2008 singles Nobody, Tell Me and So Hot.
According to their publicists at JYP Entertainment, members Hyelim and Yubin would remain under the agency, while Yeeun and Sunmi have chosen not to renew their contracts.
Sunmi and Yeeun were the only original Wonder Girls members still signed to JYP Entertainment after multiple line-up changes. Yeeun is the only member of the group to have remained with the team continuously as Sunmi left the act in 2010 before returning in 2015.
Original member HyunA (formerly of 4Minute) left the group prior to Wonder Girls’ 2008 string of successes, and their most iconic line-up featured members Sunye, Yeeun, Sunmi, Sohee, and rapper Yubin.
In 2009, the group focused on breaking into the US market,
According to their publicists at JYP Entertainment, members Hyelim and Yubin would remain under the agency, while Yeeun and Sunmi have chosen to not renew their contracts.
and were featured as an opening act at several Jonas Brothers shows.
The English-language version of Nobody debuted on the Hot 100 chart at number 76 on Oct 31, the first- ever Korean song to appear on the chart.
Between 2009 and 2012, the group held concerts in multiple countries, starred in their own Nickelodeon made-for-TV movie, and released music in Korean, English, Japanese, and Mandarin. They released two original English songs — The DJ Is Mine, featuring School Gyrls, and Like Money, featuring Akon — in 2012.