ILUV (아이러브; formerly spelled as I LUV) was a seven-member girl group under WKS ENE. They debuted on April 30, 2019 with the digital single "Got It".
They presumably disbanded in 2020, after the company removed the group from their website and announced they were debuting a new girl group.[1]
Before their official debut, they released a digital single titled "P-Pay Song" on January 30, 2019.
History
Pre-debut and line-up changes
I LUV made their first public during a talent showcase they held alongside Kitten Girls at Wanna Be training center. At the time, I LUV consisted of the four members Seoyoon, Erika, Seoha and an unknown former member. The latter was never seen or heard from again after the showcase.[2]
I LUV promoted as three-member girl group until Erika left the team. No official announcement was made on her departure, but she was replaced by Juhwi and Chinese member Chloe (who would change her stage name to Mia in 2019 since her Korean was Kim Mia).
In December 2018, WKS ENE revealed they were planning to make I LUV an eight-member girl group. They were going to do this through line-up systems. They would first introduce the six-member version of I LUV before they would finish up with the eight-member line-up. The final line-up was supposed to consist of four Korean and four Chinese members.[3]
For the six-member version, they were going to introduce Chinese member Saki and a Korean maknae.[3] On the 29th of December, Gahyeon was revealed, but Saki never made an appearance.[4]
At the beginning of 2019, WKS ENE let go of the eight-member Korean-Chinese girl group idea and planned to make I LUV a six-member group. They added Rina to the line-up and announced they were going to start promoting their debut in March.[5]
On February 10, the company announced Seoha, Juhwi, and Rina had left the group due to injuries. They stated they would replace the members that had left and that fans could look forward to the new six-member version of I LUV. They started introducing the new members, Dahyun, Cui Xiang and Mari, one by one.
However, in between reveals, Chloe had either left the group or had been scrapped. There has been no official statement on her departure from the group.
2019: Debut, "Dream and Challenge" project, future activities
After having delayed their debut a couple of times, I LUV debuted on April 30 with "Got It". The music video was released three days later.
In August, WKS announced the "Dream and Challenge" project. Through this project, the company would choose members for I LUV to make and promote their second album since debut. To make it a fair competition, every member from their debut line-up could be eliminated and replaced by one of WKS' trainees.[6] In the end, three of the members from their debut line-up stayed (Seo Yoon, Ga Hyun, and Cui Xiang), and three trainees were added to the line-up (Min Ah, Ji Won, and Ji Ho). Ma Ri and Da Hyun were eliminated.
Sometime later, they also added Soo Yeon to the group. She did not shoot the music video for "Open The Door" with the rest of the group, but she was present during their performances.
On December 5, WKS announced the group will begin cable broadcast activities in December and perform on music shows in mid-January. WKS has also applied to trademark the name "ILUV" and would fix the current spelling "I LUV" through their sites.[7]
2020–2021: Minah’s bullying allegations and outcome
At the beginning of July, a fan reached out to Min Ah through her DM's after getting concerned by some posts Min Ah had made. Min Ah revealed to the fan she had been bullied by the other members of ILUV physically and mentally (minus Ma Ri and Da Hyun, who she has never met, as well as Soo Yeon).[8][9]
On July 14, Min Ah revealed she had been contacted by WKS ENE through a call, asking her to keep quiet on the bullying. Min Ah said she didn't see why she should have to and that she wanted an apology.[10]
In the early hours of July 15, Min Ah started a live on Instagram that was completely blacked out except for the goodbye. She later posted a video to her YouTube channel revealing she had gone to Han river with the intention of taking her own life but was saved by a police officer.[11]
On the 16th, WKS ENE released their official statement on the situation. According to them, Min Ah's allegations towards the other members were false and a result of her mental health issues.[12]
Min Ah, in response, posted on Instagram asking if she should reveal the contents of the NDA they had send over, but she did not sign.[13]
On July 23, 2021, it was revealed that the charges made against Min Ah by WKS ENE were dropped by the police after they deemed her not guilty.[14]
Members
| Name | Position(s) | Year(s) active |
|---|---|---|
| Seo Yoon (서윤) | Leader, Main Vocalist | 2018–2020 |
| Cui Xiang (최상) | Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer | 2019–2020 |
| Soo Yeon (수연) | Main Dancer, Vocalist | 2019–2020 |
| Ji Won (지원) | Lead Vocalist, Visual | 2019–2020 |
| Ji Ho (지호) | Main Rapper, Vocalist | 2019–2020 |
| Ga Hyun (가현) | Main Dancer, Vocalist, Rapper, Maknae | 2018–2020 |
| Min Ah (민아) | Main Vocalist | 2019–2020 |
| Da Hyun (다현) | Lead Vocalist | 2019 |
| Ma Ri (마리) | Main Vocalist | 2019 |
| Pre-debut | ||
| Erika (에리카) | Vocalist | 2018 |
| Saki (사키) | N/A | 2018 |
| Seoha (서하) | Maknae, Vocalist | 2018–2019 |
| Mia (미아) | Vocalist, Rapper | 2019 |
| Juhwi (주휘) | Vocalist | 2019 |
| Rina (리나) | Vocalist | 2019 |
Discography
Digital singles
- "P-Pay Song" (2019) (pre-debut)
- "Got It" (2019)
- "Open The Door" (2019)
- "ILUV Pororo" (2020)
Trivia
- Cuixiang was a trainee in Beijing for 7 months and was planning to give up on singing when she was introduced to WKS ENE through Chloe [15]
- Mari was training in a different company where she had problems when Dahyun helped her get an audition for WKS ENE [15]
Gallery
Promotional
.png "I LUV pre-debut photo (2).png (1.01 MB)")
.png "I LUV pre-debut photo (1).png (863 KB)")
.png "I LUV pre-debut photo (3).png (3.08 MB)")
.png "I LUV pre-debut photo (4).png (1.71 MB)")
.png "ILUV Open The Door promotional photo (2).png (260 KB)")
.png "ILUV Open The Door promotional photo (3).png (280 KB)")
.png "ILUV Open The Door promotional photo (4).png (511 KB)")
Pictorial
Miscellaneous
References
- ↑ WKS ENE homepage
- ↑ 신인걸그룹 아이러브 - 팀소개
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 MCN News: 걸그룹 아이러브, 위문공연과 사회봉사로 새해 활동 시작
- ↑ Civil Reporter: 걸그룹 '아이러브', 트로트 가수 '홍시' 사회복지법인 누리봄 홍보대사 위촉
- ↑ Civil Reporter: 걸그룹 아이러브(I_LUV) 멤버 교체, '그리포란' 페스티벌 참여 언급
- ↑ I LUV on Daum Café: I LUV(아이러브) 2집 앨범 제작 프로젝트 'Dream & Challenge' 관련 안내
- ↑ @ILUVOFFICIAL on Twitter (December 5, 2019)
- ↑ @nugupromoter Twitter update (July 13, 2020)
- ↑ @nugupromoter on Twitter (July 16, 2020)
- ↑ @choco._.ah Instagram post (July 14, 2020)
- ↑ Allkpop: TW // Suicide attempt, bullying, abuse, depression, december 18 Former ILUV member Shin Min Ah reveals she tried to commit suicide
- ↑ Sports Donga: (전문) 신민아 “괴롭힘”vs아이러브 “허황된 주장”, 진실게임
- ↑ @choco._.ah Instagram post (July 16, 2020)
- ↑ @choco._.ah Instagram post (July 23, 2021)
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 http://sports.khan.co.kr/entertainment/sk_index.html?art_id=201903280800003&sec_id=540101
Official links
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