NU'EST's Aron discusses why he almost left the boy group way back in 2017
After the Pledis Entertainment boy group NU’EST disbanded on March 15, 2022, members of the boy group are finally free to speak their hearts as they reminisce about the journey they took together as they gear up for their solo projects and activities. Back in February this year, Pledis Entertainment announced that the boy group NU’EST was to disband after the end of their exclusive artist contract with the label.
The boys then went on to release their final album as a group titled, ‘Needle and Bubble’. The album got a lot of love from their fans who were trying to make the most of their last group comeback. Now, with members moving on to their respective journeys in their careers, it was announced that JR was moving on to the label Big Planet Made for his future activities as a solo artist. Now, a new video, featuring Aron, reveals that NU’EST was close to disbanding much earlier than fans anticipated.
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Aron talks about why he nearly quit NU'EST in 2017
NU'EST's Aron is currently the host of a podcast show with Joel Lane, titled ‘Korean Cowboys,’ where the two discuss various issues related to the K-pop industry with special guests, as well as general health-related struggles in their personal lives. In an episode that was released on May 8, the boys were talking about mental health and wellness. Aron took fans back in time when he revealed he was going to exit NU’EST in 2017.
In the segment where the hosts discussed various mental health issues and how they affected their lives in the past, Aron shared his lived experience with anxiety. He spoke about his worst moments that nearly convinced him to leave NU’EST. Aron narrated that back when NU’EST first tasted success, it was because of the members’ appearance in the 2017 Mnet survival show ‘Produce 101’ for its second season. Aron was the only one of the five NU’EST members who skipped appearing on the survival show because of undisclosed reasons.
Aron felt pressured about 'not contributing enough'
Fans of the group believe that Aron's past controversial comments about Mnet was why he was absent from the show while others believe that it was due to his leg injury. Either way, Aron skipped the show but NU’EST members JR, Minhyun, Baekho, and Ren’s appearance on the show led to a sudden boost in popularity for the boy group. When this happened, Aron mentioned how he felt pressured for not contributing enough towards the success of the Pledis Entertainment boy group.
Aron stated that his depressive episodes made his work harder and he felt his contribution to the success of the group was inconsequential. Eventually, Aron stated, his mental health was so fragile that he convinced himself to leave NU’EST back in 2017 itself. Aron also mentioned that it was the support of his members that motivated him during this low point. The members told him that he had been working hard for years on end and pushed him to do better for NU’EST. Not only that, back in 2021, Aron took a hiatus from group activities due to anxiety. But it seems the idol is doing better these days and helping others by being open about the rigors of K-pop.