On Sunday June 12, 2016 US time, several US K-Pop news outlets including Allkpop, Soompi, and Koreaboo reported that 4Minute will disband following their contract expirations June 15, 2016.
Korean news outlets including Xports also report that 4Minute’s disbandment is inevitable.
Earlier this year, some insiders and K-Pop bloggers predicted 4Minute may disband with some suggesting it would be because HyunA’s popularity far-surpassed the group’s. Other cited the other members’ turn toward acting as a possible reason for potential disbandment.
An industry insider broke the disbandment news by stating, “All the members have a different future in mind such as singers or actors. After months of consideration, they decided that it would be hard to maintain the team. HyunA renewed her contract, and some of them are talking about renewing as well, but some will leave the label.”
Cube Entertainment confirmed that HyunA—who is currently gearing up for her summer solo comeback—did renew her contract, but stated contract talks with the other four members—Gayoon, Jihyun, Sohyun, and Jiyoon—were still ongoing as of Sunday US time.
However, Yonhap News’ English site discussed the situation with Cube Entertainment spokesperson Cha Hee-Jin. Cha said, “It’s hard to make an official announcement about the disbandment, but at this point, there will be few chances of revoking [4Minute’s] disbandment move. Each individual member has different careers in mind, and we are trying to work it out through dialogue.”
If 4Minute do disband officially, this is another hit to Cube Entertainment following Hyunseung’s departure from BEAST and G.NA’s contract expiration. Currently, G.NA is embroiled in a prostitution scandal.
4Minute debuted in 2009 with “Hot Issue.” While popular overseas, 4Minute never gained as much traction domestically even though they have been considered one of the top-tier groups in recent years. Since 2012, 4Minute’s popularity grew with their hit songs “Volume Up,” “What’s Your Name?” (2013), “What’s Poppin’” (2013), “Whatcha Doin’ Today,” (2014), and their massively popular hit “Crazy” in 2015.
In 2016, upon the release of Act 7, 4Minute’s popularity cooled with the release of the Skrillex-produced track “Hate” and follow-up song “Canvas.” “Hate” failed to win any music show trophies.
As the story continues to break, check out our Facebook page for any potential updates. While we hope 4Minute stays together, right now, the news doesn’t sound good.
—-Joelle Halon