3 female K-pop idols who became successful soloists after their groups disbanded

When a K-pop group breaks up, many of the artists decide to go their own way. Some people leave their groups when they become more popular on their own than the group as a whole.

When idols get caught up in scandals, they are sometimes forced to leave, but they usually make a successful comeback in the end.

No matter what their reasons are for going solo, it’s hard to make it in the K-pop industry as a solo artist. Even though it might seem like popularity is the most important thing in this job, there is more to it than meets the eye.

Here, we look at the careers of some female K-pop idols who left their group but still became successful.

SUNMI made her debut in 2007 as a member of the K-pop girl group Wonder Girls, which broke many records in the business. But in 2010, she left the group to go back to school. She wasn’t one of the group’s top performers, but with the songs “24 Hours” and “Full Moon” in 2013, she made a strong comeback as a solo artist under JYP Entertainment.

Both of the songs showed that she was a strong person.

She said in 2015 that she would start working with Wonder Girls again until they broke up in 2017. She did say, though, that she felt stuck in the company like a frog in a well with no way to move up.

She wanted to try new things and learn more, and she thought that JYP Entertainment was too structured and didn’t give her enough freedom as a solo artist. This made her sign with Abyss Company, which is where SUNMI’s hit song “Gashina” came out in 2017.

This made her a more interesting soloist and made her more popular not just in South Korea but all over the world. Since then, the idol has been putting out hit songs.

2) HyunA
HyunA has been in a lot of groups, but she’s still got her own special charm. She made her first appearance in 2007 as a member of the K-pop group Wonder Girls. But she left the group because her health was getting worse.

She made her second debut in 2009 with the girl group 4minute from CUBE Entertainment. In 2010, with the song “Change,” she made her solo debut. In 2011, she also put out the song Bubble Pop!, which became a huge hit and made her a well-known name in South Korea. In 2011, she also debuted with male idol Hyunseung in a duo called Trouble Maker, and the two of them put out the hit song Troublemaker.

In 2014, she came back with her solo song “Red,” which made her even more well-known and solidified her reputation as a great soloist. Even though 4minute broke up in 2016, HyunA’s popularity was going through the roof.

She started out in a group called Triple H with DAWN, who is now her fiance, and Hui, who was in PENTAGON.

Even after she left CUBE Entertainment, she kept her fame and fans. With her single “I’m Not Cool,” she came back stronger than ever under P Nation.

3) CL
CL was the leader of the well-known K-pop girl group 2NE1 from YG Entertainment. Since their first song, “Fire,” came out in 2009, the group has been praised for being a pioneer. Their unique girl crush concept has helped pave the way for other girl groups to come.

CL’s first song as a solo artist was 2013’s “The Baddest Female.” As her group took a break, she released her smash hit song Hello Bitches in the U.S. in 2015, and her single Lifted in 2016 made her a global star. She was the first Korean woman to do well on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist.

In 2016, the group broke up unexpectedly, but that did not dim CL’s light. She stayed at YG Entertainment for a while, but she left when she realized that they weren’t focused on her solo career.

CL joined SuneV and put out several singles, like +Hwa+, before putting out her first solo album, Alpha, in 2021. The pre-release single, “Spicy,” became a South Korean dance anthem.

CL has worked with most of the big names in the music business, and he is one of the most well-known Asian artists around the world.

In a fast-paced industry like K-pop music, it’s not easy to make it as a solo artist. But the women mentioned above made it through and won, paving the way for other women to do the same.