Here Are 4 Of The Saddest Debuts In K-Pop History
While debuting is usually a joyful time for K-Pop idols, that doesn’t mean that all debuts are like this. There have been plenty of idols who ran into heartbreaking situations as soon as they debuted. Here’s a list of some of the saddest debuts in K-Pop history.
1. Ori
Ori originally debuted as a solo artist in 2009 on KBS‘s Music Bank.
Her debut was highly criticized by netizens, as some even dubbed it as the “worst debut in history”.
WOW, that was actually awful. Her voice cracked, barely on tune. It was difficult to watch it all. Also what was that random part in the chorus where it sounded like she was just talking, she shoulda just talked the whole song through. At least she’s getting a lot of publicity.
IU was AMAZING, i love her song and i can see a great future for her, hope she gains more recognition
—Netizen
After her debut, Ori was never seen again, as she seemingly disappeared from the entertainment industry.
A YouTube channel by the name of Midnight Theories decided to do some digging on Ori and found some interesting details. Allegedly, these hateful and hurtful comments were the reason why Ori disappeared from the entertainment industry, as her health was suffering greatly due to them.
The stress was so extreme that I spent half of my high school days with depression and the resulting gastrointestinal diseases. At that time, I ended my desire for music… I worked at an international airport duty-free shop and was buried in the world.
— Ori
Ori is now living in Japan and aspires to be a composer. Here’s the full video by Midnight Theories below!
2. X1
X1 was created through the survival show Produce X 101, and their debut was incredibly successful.
However, as soon as they debuted, there was an investigation of whether the votes on Produce X 101 were rigged. Korean police would soon confirm that the votes were indeed rigged and that some of the X1 members weren’t supposed to debut with the group. X1 had to put a halt to all their activities due to this.
The respective agencies of all the X1 members had a meeting after this scandal and decided that the group would be disbanding. However, this decision was made without the opinions of the X1 members. The group ended up disbanding only five months after their debut.
3. Yeonha (Former member of P.O.P)
P.O.P (Puzzle of Pop) originally debuted in 2017 with their song “Catch You”.
However, member Yeonha had to take a hiatus from the group only a few months after their debut due to some health problems. At the time, she was being tested for Myasthenia gravis, which is a disease that can lead to skeletal muscle weakness.
Not long after this, it was announced that Yeonha would be leaving the group due to her health.
4. 4L
4L originally debuted in 2014 with their song “Move”.
Their debut was highly criticized by netizens, as they weren’t fans of the “19+ marketing”. It wasn’t just netizens that disliked this concept, as member Yeseul also wasn’t a fan of it.
I felt like I was dressed in something that wasn’t me and it made working hard for me. The company wasn’t forcing anything on me, but to survive, it was just something I had to do. The reality of the situation made me regret a lot of things.
— Yeseul
This ultimately caused Yeseul to leave both the company and 4L.
I thought to myself multiple times, ‘do I really have to resort to such matters?’ I did not want to resort to such things any longer and decided that staying in the company held no future for me. That’s why after thinking long and hard, I left the team.
— Yeseul