2019 was a great year for rookie K-Pop girl groups as ITZY, Cherry Bullet, Everglow, Hinapia, Ariaz, Rocket Punch, and Purplebeck all debuted. And with so many new groups on the horizon this year, 2020 could be even better. Here are 5 of the girl groups expected to take the stage over the next 12 months.
1. CIGNATURE
One girl group that’s already confirmed to debut this year is J9Entertainment’s CIGNATURE, who will drop their first single “Nun Nu Nan Na” on February 3.
The group has 7 members. The vocal line is made up of Chaesol, Jeewon, Yeah, and Seline; the dance line members are Sunn, Belle, and Semi.
As you may have guessed by the name, CIGNATURE will be a sister group to CIX, managed by the same company. The name represents their vow to become a “signature group in the music industry”.
Jeewon was a contestant on survival show The Unit, where she ranked #11.
Maknae Semi once trained at JYP Entertainment, where she became close with ITZY’s Chaeryeong among others.
Meanwhile, Belle is one of the few idols with Filipino heritage: her mother is Filipino and her father is Korean. She also participated in The Unit, where she ranked 24th.
2. Dream Tree
Known as Ggumnamu in Korean, Dream Tree is WM Entertainment’s upcoming 6-member girl group.
As of right now, the group consists of lead dancer Hyunseo, lead vocalist Seunghyun, lead dancer Yeongin, main dancer Chaewon, and maknae Jowoon. The 6th member is one idol you may already know well: IZ*ONE’s Chaeyeon.
IZ*ONE will not disband until 2021, but a tweet from Dream Tree’s official account on January 9 indicated that the group will begin its activities this year.
띵! 동!
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햅피 뉴 이어 ! 이번에는새해
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2020년에도 꿈나무들은 물 오를 예정 !!많은 사랑 부탁드립니다
–#wmentertainment #wm엔터테인먼트 #wm_ggumnamu #wm꿈나무 pic.twitter.com/179h5K2ev2— WM_GGUMNAMU (@wm_dreamtree) January 9, 2020
As such, it’s still unclear whether WM Entertainment intends to add Chaeyeon to the group when she returns, or whether she’ll be debuted as a soloist instead. If Chaeyeon does promote with Dream Tree, she will be the group’s leader, face, main dancer, and lead vocalist.
Members Seunghyun and Yeongin also participated in Produce 48 alongside Chaeyeon, ranking #73 and #84 respectively.
3. SM Rookies
Dubbed SM New Girl Group or SMNGG by predebut fans, the SM Rookies girls are already confirmed to make their debut this year. However, the lineup of the group is still unclear. It is expected that the remaining members of SM Rookies—vocalists Koeun and Ningning, dancer Hina, and visual Lami—will all join the group. But, many people speculate that other ‘hidden’ members will be included, just like how Joy debuted with Red Velvet despite not being an official SM Rookies member.
Koeun appeared in the music video for Super Junior Yesung’s “Paper Umbrella”.
Hina will be one of SM Entertainment’s few Japanese idols. She specialises in hip hop dancing and starred on Disney Channel’s Mickey Mouse Club.
Chinese member Ningning is known to be a fan of several groups, including BLACKPINK and NCT. Her bias in BLACKPINK is Jennie, and she once said that NCT’s Renjun is attractive. Recently, a Chinese singer released a video of Ningning’s charming vocals.
[
] 141011 gem0816 Instagram update with #NINGNING
Singer G.E.M uploaded a video of Ningning singing one of her songs, "Bubble".https://t.co/shjiIJFILn#에스엠루키즈 #SMROOKIES #닝닝 pic.twitter.com/hcx7Pa1W1q
— SR20G • Half Loyal (@SR20GHalfLoyal) January 18, 2020
Lami’s specialty is acting. Alongside appearing on Mickey Mouse Club, she has also acted in several dramas and modelled in CFs. Of all the current SM Rookies members, Lami was the first to be introduced back in 2013.
Other rumoured members include Yoo Jimin and Lee Helen.
4. Banana Culture Girls (Newkid)
Known by the temporary name of Newkid, this group will debut under Banana Culture—the same label as EXID. The group is made up of main vocal and visual Nayoung, lead vocal and leader Songsun, main rapper Hyunbin, and main dancer Maika.
Nayoung was a contestant on Produce 48, placing #21 overall.
Newkid has a youtube channel where the members feature in numerous song and dance covers. Their debut date has not yet been confirmed, but many believe it may be as soon as this year.
5. RBW Girls
MAMAMOO’s label, RBW, also has another girl group in the works. RBW Girls is made up of leader and main dancer Yesol, lead vocalist Jieun, main vocalist Goeun, main rapper Eunseong, main vocalist Yuki, and lead dancer Sujin. Their debut date is also yet to be revealed, but there’s every chance the girls could take the stage this year.
This is another predebut group with several members who have participated in survival shows before. Yesol and Eunseong were contestants on MIXNINE, ranking #82 and #78.
Jieun and Goeun were both on on Produce 48, ranking #80 and #29.
Yuki trained under JYP Entertainment for a year and a half before joining RBW.
Between them, the group can speak Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and English, which will help them out a lot if they intend to promote worldwide.
Source: Koreaboo
