6 K-Pop Idols who were originally projected to debut with more members

Kapanlagi.com - In the world of K-Pop, groups that debut with many members may already be common. The addition and removal of members is also something that is commonly found in K-Pop idol groups. What is clear is that the purpose of changing the member formation has its own considerations, especially from the agency's side.

Interestingly, some famous K-Pop idol groups, even those successful in global expansion, were initially projected to debut with more members than they currently have. Who are they?

1. BIGBANG

credit via YG Entertainment

BIGBANG achieved popularity after debuting with five members. However, did you know that before their official debut, YG Entertainment initially projected BIGBANG to debut with 6 members. The sixth member was supposed to be Hyunseung, who later debuted with BEAST.

At that time, YG Entertainment's CEO, Yang Hyun Suk, evaluated that Hyunseung was unable to maximize his facial expression skills, so he had to be reluctantly removed from the debut list.

However, Hyunseung had already undergone training for several years with the other members of BIGBANG. Despite this, it is known that Hyunseung, who later moved to Cube Entertainment, still maintains a friendship with the members of BIGBANG.

2. BLACKPINK

credit via YG Entertainment

Many people also know that BLACKPINK has 4 members. However, before debut, BLACKPINK was projected to have 5 members. The fifth member was supposed to be Miyeon.

For 5 years, Miyeon underwent training at YG Entertainment along with other BLACKPINK members. However, YG Entertainment decided to remove Miyeon from the debut list.

Miyeon then left YG Entertainment and joined Cube Entertainment. She later successfully debuted with (G)I-DLE. Interestingly, when Miyeon debuted, the BLACKPINK members sent her congratulatory messages.

3. iKON

credit via YG Entertainment

Before debuting iKON with 7 members, YG Entertainment initially had 9 trainees projected to debut in the group. However, the plan changed because these trainees participated in a survival program called Mix & Match.

In that program, they showcased their individual abilities, and eventually, 7 trainees successfully debuted with iKON. Among the 9 trainees, there was Hongseok who later chose to leave YG Entertainment and debuted with PENTAGON.

4. EXO

credit via SM Entertainment

For veteran K-Pop fans, the group formed by SM Entertainment, EXO, is certainly familiar. Each member of EXO is also very famous. However, before their debut, it turns out that there was one trainee who was initially projected to debut with the group.

That trainee was Jinho. He joined SM Entertainment after winning a singing competition in 2008. Jinho also briefly joined the project group SM The Ballad in 2010.

Known as a famous trainee of SM Entertainment, Jinho was predicted to be the 13th member of EXO. However, the facts speak otherwise. Jinho did not make the debut list for EXO in 2012.

Jinho then decided to leave SM Entertainment and joined Cube Entertainment. In that agency, he made his debut with PENTAGON.

5. 2NE1

credit via YG Entertainment

2NE1 is known as one of the legendary groups in the history of idol K-Pop. Like other idol K-Pop groups on this list, 2NE1 was originally projected to debut with 5 members. The fifth person predicted to be a member of 2NE1 was Bohyung.

For 2 years, Bohyung underwent training at YG Entertainment. However, Yang Hyun Suk eventually cut Bohyung from the debut list of 2NE1. The reason was not because she lacked talent, but because she was considered less swag than the other members of 2NE1.

Bohyung then debuted with SPICA. Nevertheless, she still maintained a close relationship with the members of 2NE1. Bohyung even did a live stream together with Minzy.

6. GFRIEND

credit via Source Music

Last but not least, there is GFRIEND who was also initially projected to debut with more members than they have now. Initially, GFRIEND was projected to debut with 7 members. One of them was Jenny, who later debuted with DIA.

Shortly before their debut, Jenny decided to leave the group and join MBK Entertainment. Because of this, Source Music, the agency that oversees GFRIEND, had to search for additional members. GFRIEND eventually decided to debut with 6 members and has been successful ever since.

Those are some famous idol K-Pop groups that were initially projected to debut with more members. However, for various reasons, they ended up debuting with fewer members. Perhaps if these idol K-Pop groups had debuted with more members, they wouldn't have been as successful as they are now, right?

(kly/tmi)