Here's The Sad Reason Wanna One Disbanded After Only A Year Despite Their Success
The curtain is closing on a fairly new, but wildly successful, K-pop group. Wanna One officially performed their last show together and their fans, Wannables, are honoring their 11 bests. If you're too busy worshiping other K-pop groups like BTS or the newly formed TXT, you might have missed this. So, why did Wanna One break up? Well, it wasn't for the usual reasons you've come to expect from boy band breakups, like one member going solo or discord within the group. Nope, the reason is pretty simple, which makes it all the more devastating. Basically, their contract together just ended and it's time to move on (as devastating as that reality is).
The massive group consisted of 11 members: Kang Daniel, Park Ji-hoon, Lee Dae-hwi, Kim Jae-hwan, Ong Seong-wu, Park Woo-jin, Lai Kuan-lin, Yoon Ji-sung, Hwang Min-hyun, Bae Jin-young, and Ha Sung-woon. In 2017, all of the guys competed on season two of the reality show Produce 101 where Wanna One was formed. According to their agency Swing Entertainment, their contract expired Dec. 31, 2018, though the band was committed to seeing their final performances through which were scheduled into January. Wanna One's top songs included "Energetic," "I.P.U.," "Boomerang," and "Spring Breeze."
According to Newsen, Swing Entertainment made the following statement:
We want to thank the 11 members of Wanna One, who have shown everyone the best of themselves for the past year and a half, from August 2017 to now.
Their goodbye performance took place on Sunday, Jan. 27 and was titled "Therefore."
Anyone who was in attendance witnessed an emotional farewell from all 11 members who said their individual goodbyes and left the stage one by one, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that these boys truly loved one another and did not want their time together to end.
Here are their departing statements according to translations by AllKPop.
Lai Kuanlin:
"As soon as I leave, I don't think that the eleven of us will be able to appear as Wanna One again, so as the first person leaving, I will be hugging the hyungs one by one. Wannables! I hope/want you to be happy! Thank you!"
Hwang Minhyun:
"To the Wanna One members and Wannables that gave me so much happiness, thank you so much. I love you!"
Ong Seongwu:
"My eternal Wannable and eternal Wanna One. I sincerely love you all. Thank you!"
Park Woojin:
"I really don't want us to part ways... I really don't [want] to part ways! I was really happy because I had you all... I am really thankful. And now the name that I can no longer call, Wannables, I really love you!"
Park Jihoon:
"This isn't the end, but the beginning. Wannables, I really love you and I'm really thankful... Thank you!"
Kim Jaehwan:
"Because I received so much, I'm so thankful, sorry, and with loved you with everything that I had. Starting tomorrow.... um.... I really wanted to say goodbye smiling, but it turns out that it isn't that easy... Wannable... Wannable! WANNABLE! Goodbye..."
Lee Daehwi:
"Thank you for loving us during a year and a half. Until we come before you again, please don't get sick and I hope that only happy/good things will come to you. You worked really hard. Thank you!"
Ha Sungwoon:
"Wannable... the eleven of us really don't want to part ways... I'm really thankful and Wanna One really loved Wannables a lot... and you really worked hard, I'm sorry, and I really love you. Goodbye."
Bae Jinyoung:
"Wannable you really worked hard and I really loved you with everything. Please trust in us until the end and please wait for us. We'll really be back soon. Thank you!"
Yoon Jisung:
"I sincerely thank you for loving Wanna One during the past year and a half. Wannables, if you don't forget Wanna One I believe that one day we'll be able to see each other again. Please don't hurt so much. Wannables were present in all of Wanna One's days and I'm so thankful that Wanna One was also able to be present in Wannables days. Thank you!"
Kang Daniel:
"I was really happy during all this time. Thank you for making my youth so beautiful. Thank you... I'll never be able to forget this. Thank you."
Wannables were emotional enough, then they discovered BTS' Jimin was also at the final concert to show his support for Sungwoon, his close friend.
The one silver lining here is that you haven't seen the last of the Wanna One members. They've all got solo projects lined up as individuals in the near future.
Obviously, Wanna One left their mark on K-pop history and their fans will truly miss them!
