Will Oh My Girl disband? Jiho exits WM Entertainment after her contract expires
Fans of the girl group Oh My Girl finally have some news about what is in store for the group. While the WM Entertainment collective has had its fair share of lineup rearrangements in the past, another member has now departed from the girl group and subsequently the label. On May 9, it was announced that Jiho, who had been on a hiatus from group activities for a while had decided to move on from the label WM Entertainment as well as exit from her girl group Oh My Girl.
It was announced that Jiho has decided to terminate her exclusive seven-year contract with the label and will no longer be a part of Oh My Girl, the girl group which debuted in the year 2015. As of 2022, the members have finally completed their seven-year contracts with the label and the members had to decide if they wanted to renew their contracts. The label reported that after a discussion with all the members, everyone except Jiho decided to renew their contracts.
If a majority of the members of Oh My Girl, namely, Hyojeong, Mimi, YooA, Seunghee, Yubin, and Arin alongside Jiho, had also decided to terminate their contracts, the group would have had to disband. But with just Jiho quiting the group and label, will the group choose to rebrand themselves and redebut or continue as Oh My Girl minus one member? Read on to find out.
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Will Oh My Girl disband?
The girl group, Oh My Girl, has decided to continue as a six member group despite Jiho's exit. The label reported that while all other members of the girl group had continued with the label, it was Jiho’s choice was to move on toward a new dream in her career. The company also reported that their contract with Jiho had thus been terminated while the remaining six members of Oh My Girl will continue to promote together as a girl group with WM Entertainment.
While discussing the new lineup the label added, “Based on the relationship of trust we have built up together over the past seven years, WM Entertainment will continue to provide full support to the six remaining members of Oh My Girl so that they can be active in various fields.” Fans are sad to see Jiho depart from the group as she was considered to be part of the 'visual' line in the girl group. Back in 2020, Jiho took a temporary hiatus from group activities due to the many health complications she was facing. She was reportedly also battling mental health complications like anxiety.
Oh My Girl over the years
Jiho is not the first member of Oh My Girl to exit the girl group. Former member Jini departed back in 2017 due to health complications of her own. With that, Jiho is now the second member of the WM Entertainment girl group to make an exit from the collective and Oh My Girl who initially debuted in 2015 as eight members will now promote themselves as a six-member group.
Oh My Girl had made its debut back in 2015 and after years of promoting with limited popularity, the girl group shot to fame after their appearance on ‘Queendom,’ the variety program from Mnet, back in 2019. While being participants in the show, Oh My Girl competed with a new concept every time they went on stage, which is why they were given the title of ‘the protagonist of the reversal’ on the show which eventually led the members to be called ‘Concept Fairies’. Over the last few years, songs like ‘Dolphin’, ‘Dundun Dance’, and ‘Nonstop’ have also swept various music charts and secured great popularity for the girl group which proves that a lot more is in store for Oh My Girl in the future. However, Jiho has not yet revealed her plans after exiting the group.