Kwon Eun Bi Kickstarts Her Solo Career With New EP
Kwon Eun Bi has officially debuted under Woollim Entertainment as a solo artist after her previous group IZ*ONE, disbanded in early 2021. Her debut is a collection of six songs under an EP titled OPEN. She is currently promoting the mini album’s title track “Door,” a groovy dance bop that is reminiscent of yet simultaneously different from IZ*ONE’s songs. Former IZ*ONE members are trying out new gigs such as emceeing on music shows and even signing under larger labels like Kim Chae Won and Miyawaki Sakura.
Eun Bi has now debuted three times, twice in a girl group and once as a soloist. Her first group, Ye-A, was originally under Kiroy Company, later bought by Shinhoo Entertainment. Eun Bi debuted with the stage name “Kazoo” with the group in 2014. Ye-A had a tough time debuting during this stage in the K-pop industry. Becoming popular was much more difficult than it is now due to minimal international exposure.
The company change completely ruined Ye-A’s chances of making it big in the industry after two members could not transfer to Shinhoo Entertainment. After many silent months, Ye-A’s fan cafes and social media accounts were left abandoned or closed down completely. Still, no official statement was released to announce the group’s disbandment, but after the members pursued other career paths, it was assumed that Ye-A split apart in 2015.
Going back to Eun Bi’s part of this chaotic story, she faded from the music scene until appearing as a contestant on Mnet’s reality show Produce 48, a mix of Japanese and Korean idol trainees. The show’s title comes from the famous Japanese girl group AKB48 that sent girls to participate. Somewhere along the timeline between 2015 to 2018, Eun Bi signed with Woollim Entertainment and has been with them ever since. She auditioned as a trainee with that company.
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🐰🖤#Door_열리네요_은비가_들어오죠#권은비 #KWONEUNBI #クォンウンビ@KWONEUNBI pic.twitter.com/s8sQPiRN3I
Some credit Eun Bi for having one of the most iconic auditions after dancing to “BAD” by INFINITE with three other trainees, making it into the highest-ranking class of trainees: A ranking. After landing a spot in seventh place, she debuted with the legendary “rookie monsters” IZ*ONE, arguably one of the best groups to have ever come out of a Produce show. In addition to this feat, she was one of the members to perform Produce 48’s most iconic song, “Rumor,” with almost forty million views on YouTube to this day. Since then, she has been credited for having powerful dance moves and amazing musicality.
IZ*ONE went onto win many awards and became one of the leading fourth-generation girl groups alongside ITZY. Their songs gained instant popularity, were always catchy and paired with stunning choreographies that perfectly suited the twelve-member group. Thus, Kwon Eun Bi had grown accustomed to the very mellow techno-pop genre that IZ*ONE excelled at. Compared to the other girl groups at the time, especially Loona and Dreamcatcher, IZ*ONE always had its own unique twinkle that made it stand out from the crowd. Some members were familiar faces, such as Lee Chae Yeon, who appeared on JYP’s competition show Sixteen.
Finally, after years and years of wanting a permanent pathway in the K-pop industry, Eun Bi’s solo gig might be the big break she is looking for. Although IZ*ONE was one of the few Produce groups that fans thought could survive the two-year ticking time bomb, they still surrendered to the Mnet controversy and the expiration of their contracts.
Moving onto Eun Bi’s debut, she released an EP with six tracks, one of which collaborates with Babysoul from Lovelyz. Its title track, “Door,” is a funky retro-pop mixed with dashes of techno beats here and there. “Door” is also the absolute groovy dance track for when listeners want to unwind or be dancing casually while cleaning the house alone. It contains an oddly satisfying beat that can be played for all sorts of situations and moods.
Although her vocals shine through in this track, her dancing is mesmerizing (with the help of a few backup dancers). The multi-talented artist can pull off any skill on the stage, making a complete candidate for the soloist position. In the industry, being a soloist puts a lot of pressure on the artist to compete with full groups. Not only do they have to shoulder the workload of producing a whole album on their own, but they also face backlash from the fans pointed directly to them. As a soloist, they know that the sales and support depend completely on them. Luckily for Eun Bi, she has a very positive fanbase from her Produce 48 days.
Eun Bi is still promoting “Door” at this very moment. Her other tracks are titled “Amigo” (feat. Babysoul of Lovelyz), “Blue Eyes,” “Rain,” “Eternity,” and the intro instrumental “OPEN.” Eun Bi adds bits and pieces of her own charm into each song, creating heartfelt masterpieces to take on the go. To keep up with Eun Bi’s activities, follow her Instagram account and look to Mnet for new performances.
Columnist | K-pop Stan | Tweet me @senaho5
