What Makes The Unnies Of IZ*ONE Stand Out

Ahead of the released of their third Japanese single “Vampire”, IZ*ONE shared the music video which accompanies the song, which they recently faced backlash for because of their appearance on a Japanese variety show.

In consideration of their recent release, we’ll take a look at the unnies of IZ*ONE.

IZ*ONE leader Eunbi is the oldest of the group, born in 1995. When she was a junior high student, she wanted to be an idol and persuaded her parents to let her attend dance school. After that, she entered Seoul Performing Arts High School, which produces many popular idols. Although she was opposed by her parents at the time, there were relatives who stood by her side.

She was a backup dancer for SECRET and Girl’s Day and debuted as part of an eight-member group called Ye-A in 2014 before leaving her agency in 2015. (Ye-A was later dissolved in 2016.) Eunbi moved to Woolim Entertainment, her current agency, and worked as a backup dancer for INFINITE‘s Dongwoo, a senior artist at their agency, during her time as a trainee. In PRODUCE 48, she was selected as the 7th member and debuted with IZ*ONE.

Eunbi is the member was is best at dancing, but also has good vocal abilities. Although she is the oldest, she is also the trainee with the longest period of training and has previous debut experience. As such, she was chosen to be the leader of IZ*ONE and her leadership style allows each member to exercise their autonomy.

Born in 1998, Sakura was the second overall winner of PRODUCE 48. She was a member of HKT48 and appeared in the musical The Lion King as a child.

Members of the AKB group basically do not perform basic vocal and dance training as a group, although they could receive them voluntarily through their affiliated agencies. Although she previously debuted as an idol, she had no basic practice experience like a Korean trainee.

One of the reasons she participated in PRODUCE 48 was because she likes K-Pop and is a self-professed Red Velvet fan. Because of her lack of training, the areas her skills were lacking were conspicuous during the early stage of the program, Despite this, she was still admired by Korean viewers for her ability to “grasp the stage”. It can be said that she utilized her various experiences during her HKT era, along with her natural intuition, which cannot be obtained by training alone.

Sakura is also famous for running a gaming YouTube channel. She doesn’t just use consoles but also uses a gaming PC to play major internet games. Although she is a “cool beauty”, she also likes comics and Love Live!

A 99-liner, Hyewon is nicknamed “Kan-chan” in Japan. Originally from Gyeongsang province, she passed the audition for Music K in 2015 and moved to Seoul, transferring to Hanrim Performing Arts High School. Two months after she moved, Music K closed their idol department. She eventually ended up with HYWY Entertainment and joined a girl group called DAYDAY. Ultimately, DAYDAY’s debut was canceled and she moved on to become an 8D Creative Entertainment trainee just 8 months before PRODUCE 48. Since she changed agencies so much, there was no opportunity for her to train for a certain period of time, and thusly, she lacked in dancing ability during her early stages, however, because of her visual appeal and innocent, unique character, she was described as being “four-dimensional” and gained popularity quickly.

Along with Sakura, Hyewon is a gaming and anime enthusiast and likes Attack on Titan.

Looking at the individual members of IZ*ONE, the strength of the Korean trainee system in acquiring basic skills in the areas of performance, professional growth, and the overall chemistry, such as their standing position within the group, can be understood to be essential in the popular idol profession.

IZ*ONE will be supported in both Japan and Korea because each member embodies a unique charm and showcase a resilience that will make them a lasting entity in an ephemeral industry.