K-Pop Groups

I.O.I

I.O.I is a South Korean girl group formed by CJ E&M through the 2016 reality show Produce 101 on Mnet. The group is composed of eleven members chosen from a pool of 101 trainees from various entertainment companies: Lim Na-young, Kim Chung-ha, Kim Se-jeong, Jung Chae-yeon, Zhou Jieqiong, Kim So-hye, Yu Yeon-jung, Choi Yoo-jung, Kang Mi-na, Kim Do-yeon and Jeon So-mi. They debuted on May 4, 2016 with the mini-album Chrysalis, and are expected to actively promote either as a whole or as sub-units before returning to their respective agencies.

Prior to Produce 101, some of the members of I.O.I gained recognition after appearing on other television shows: Kim Se-jeong was a contestant on competition show K-pop Star 2 in 2012, Jeon So-mi was a member of the 2015 reality survival show Sixteen, and Choi Yoo-jung appeared in the web drama To Be Continued. In September 2015, Jung Chae-yeon debuted as a member of DIA but temporarily withdrew from the group to join Produce 101. She also had a cameo appearance in the 2015 web drama Sweet Temptation.

In November 2015, Mnet announced their new survival show that would bring together 101 trainees from 46 entertainment companies to form a unit girl group with 11 members chosen by the viewers. The show premiered on January 21, 2016 and ended on April 1.

It was initially planned for the group to debut on April 1, 2016 with the song "Crush" that they performed as part of the finale of the show, but YMC Entertainment and Mnet decided to postpone the debut to better prepare the group's concept and choreography with a new song as I.O.I's debut single.

On April 3, 2016, a representative gave details of the plans for the debut of the group. Instead of releasing a digital single as initially planned, I.O.I would be releasing a mini-album with various songs. It was also reported that the group will have their own reality show on Mnet. On the same day, the members greeted the fans for the first time as I.O.I via their official Naver V app channel.

On April 4, 2016, Mnet released the music video teaser for I.O.I's pre-debut track "Crush". The next day, the song was released as a digital single, followed by its music video. Its genre was referred to as "Trapical Dutch Funk."

On April 11, 2016, it was announced that I.O.I would debut with a mini-album on May 4, 2016, and would hold a debut showcase and fan meeting the following day at Jangchung Gymnasium. LOEN Entertainment would assume the distribution duties for I.O.I's releases starting from their debut mini-album.

On April 27, YMC Entertainment announced that I.O.I's first mini-album was titled Chrysalis. Five days later, the music video teaser was released.

I.O.I officially debuted on May 4, 2016 through the release of their first mini-album and music video for title track "Dream Girls". The song is a trap pop dance track co-written by singer-songwriter-producer Eru (who used the pen name Famousbro[a]) and composer Paul with rap lyrics written by members Lim Na-young and Choi Yoo-jung.  On May 5, the group held their debut stage on Mnet's M! Countdown, performing the title track and "Knock Knock Knock".

On May 11, Jung Chae-yeon of MBK Entertainment joined DIA for the group's comeback in June.

On May 27, it was revealed that I.O.I would start promotions with sub-units and solo debuts of members in summer of 2016, and would likely disband at the end of January 2017.

On June 7, it was announced that Kim Se-jeong and Kang Mi-na of Jellyfish Entertainment had returned to their agency to prepare for their official debut as members of the girl group Gugudan at the end of June.

On June 10, 2016, YMC Entertainment revealed Lim Na-young, Kim Chung-ha, Zhou Jieqiong, Kim So-hye, Choi Yoo-jung, Kim Do-yeon and Jeon So-mi as members of I.O.I's unit group, slated to promote the group's second album during the summer of 2016. On July 29, 2016, it was announced that I.O.I will be dropping their new single on August 9. The unit group finished filming their music video on July 20 and began preparations for the single's release and promotions.