The group had a unique concept of having a limited time contract. The aim was to have all members gain experience, build a fanbase, and hopefully return to their original agencies with a slight boost. After nearly three years of shared music and experiences,

IZ'ONE disbanded on the 29th of April 2021, allowing each member to embark on their own career path. It's been three years and six months since IZ'ONE disbanded, and a lot has changed.

If every member went under the Nugu radar, I wouldn't be making this video. But surprisingly, they're all doing really well. Some definitely more than others, but with the original goal of the group in mind, this might've been the best possible outcome. Back in the days I wouldn't think the group was that impactful, but with where we are now, it's kind of crazy how IZ'ONE's presence is still prominent today. I'm not saying they weren't popular at the time,

I just didn't think three years later we would still feel their influence even after all that's happened. This video is from a WIZONE's perspective, so if you're looking for a simple rundown of the members' current careers, this might not be your thing. There are plenty of boring videos and TikToks out there if that's what you want. But if you're looking for something funny, light, and maybe a little emotional, from the eyes of a fan, then this video is for you.

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Their time in IZONE became a part of their past, and as they each stepped back into the spotlight, it was their chance to show how much they'd grown as reborn idols. Of course I had to begin with mother herself. A lot of us expected at least half of the group to debut as soloists, and personally that was a worry for me. Being a soloist in the K-pop industry is not for everyone, and when

I used to look at the lineup, I only really thought 2 or 3 members would be able to make it as one.

But whoever they were, I think we can all agree that one of them had to be Eunbi. From her first ever group to Produce 48, to IZONE, and now to her solo career, it's safe to say she carries herself very well. She's always been a favorite, someone who I believe really deserved to be on the final lineup. She shows immense skills, talents, entertainment, visuals, a genuine character, and quite literally everything that makes an ideal idol. As for her solo music, I wouldn't say I'm always her biggest fan, but when I do enjoy it, it's genuinely amazing. Tracks like Door, Underwater,

The Flash, and Glitch are some of the best K-pop songs I've heard, and even some of her b-sides like

Proquis and Magnetic are great. And when it comes to on-stage skills, she's always been a performer, and you could never take that away from her. You look at her and you immediately see that she's someone who knows what they're doing. She's a pro, she's a veteran, and she definitely deserves to be an idol.

Yuri has had quite the career. Her journey actually started with a different survival show called Idol School, which had formed the group Fromis 9. She unfortunately got eliminated, and continued training under Wake 1 Entertainment. Eventually she went to produce 48, and I guess you could say the rest was history. I might have forgotten, but I'm sure there were some talks that Stone Music had plans for a girl group that Yuri would join after IZ1. But looking back at it, that was probably just Kekla. So basically she had nowhere to go but solo. I was skeptical at first, because I thought, how is this little kid going solo? She's going to die out there. But then I remembered, this girl can hit a note or two. Easily one of the most recognizable tones of the generation, and like I said is able to sing fucking well. With that in mind, I just had to wait for the music itself. And holy shit was it amazing too. Release after release after release, this girl didn't stop. I love all the soloists for sure, but if I had to choose whose music was the best, no doubt I'd give it to Yuri. Only problem is, she is never here. Look, as a whiz one, I'm used to Yuri just disappearing once in a while. But this is just ridiculous. I would understand if you were starring in the second season of the biggest Korean drama ever made.

But come on, I'd love to hear more music.

Yujin has proven a bajillion times that she is a K-pop idol through and through.

It's actually mind boggling how good she is at everything that I don't know where to start.

She is an insane performer and entertainer to say the least. And in my opinion, she's one of the best results to come out of the IZONE project. Thing is, she's always been good. We've all seen the potential she had during IZONE. But I guess what really makes her shocking now is how much of a fucking monster she is on stage. This girl is overflowing with charisma and skill, only comparable to professionals. Like a level 100 player going through tutorial, she is fucking everything and everyone up all the time. Not to mention her growth from being the second youngest member to the leader of IVE of all groups. As a whiz one, I always saw her as that playful girl everyone adores. And now as a dive, I don't think I'd even try to look at her direction.

Well of course she's obviously the same person, but you can't deny the aura change after all she's been through. I know most people talk about how drastic Chaewon's transformation was, but personally,

I thought Yujin's was crazier. I really hope more people get to acknowledge her as an idol.

She's honestly one of the best doing it right now and I need y'all to see that.

I don't see a timeline in any dimension where Won Young didn't become an idol.

She is the very definition of what an idol should be, and that is the reason why she is as popular as she is. Coming from someone who actually treats Won Young as a person, the thing that made her the biggest member to come out of IZ one is her mindset. She is honest to everything, to herself, and to everyone else. I'll always remember that one live she did years ago, where she basically just talked and gave some simple yet honest advices about life and stuff.

And that, out of a lot more moments made me realize, whatever it is this girl wanted to do as a career, whether as an idol, a model, a news anchor, I knew she was going to live it the best way she can. We all know she's got the right skills to be an idol, but no one would call her the best at anything. So why is she so famous? That's just it, not everyone can be the best.

Won Young is someone who focuses on being the best version of herself, and I think a lot of people find that mindset inspiring. That's not even to discredit her as an artist. She's a great star on stage, she's held the pen and wrote music, she's a great entertainer, and ultimately someone who does her best with what she's given. I don't know what war Starship had to fight that they were lucky enough to get these two under them. This combination was an instant road to success.

And so I actually don't blame Starship for wanting IZ one to disband quicker than anyone else.

Like Tobi and Shaq, Spongebob and Patrick, Chae and Yeon, Yujin and Won Young will always be that duo.

I think we can all be honest and agree that Hyewon wasn't exactly the best idol, and so I was probably more curious about her route moving forward more than anyone.

To my surprise, she chose to release music. And to an even bigger surprise, the music was good.

It's nothing exciting or anything, but it's a nice little winter album for sure.

She didn't promote in music shows or anything like that, but this little project made me think that she could make this a career. She may not be the best performer, but she could sing when she wanted to. A career where she just releases music from time to time would suffice, but I guess she had other choices. That one album was more like a gift to fans that wanted to hear her sing again, and I find that sweet. Maybe she came to a realization that the idol life just isn't for her, and to be honest that's probably the best choice. Even if I thought that she had potential to be better, it is ultimately up to her on what to do as long as it made her happy. Another clear path for her was acting, which she seems to be pursuing now. And if that doesn't work out, she could always model. With a face like that, a career is almost guaranteed. But ultimately, whatever path she chooses, as long as it makes her happy, that's a true win.

Yena is what I'd call a natural born entertainer. Her bright energy always made her a joy to watch, and that was her standout trait in IZONE. I figured that if she played her cards right, she'd thrive in her next path. If she had joined a group, it would likely have been in Everglow, but with both having established identities, it might not have worked well. Thankfully, she chose to go solo, and I think she's had the most successful solo career of all the IZONE members so far. In both music and variety, no one is stopping this woman. She's just such a vitamin that you can't help but like her. Her music has also been key, showcasing a unique charm and style that only she can pull off. A strong identity is crucial for a soloist, and Yena is just that girl. Smiley, good morning, nemo nemo, and so much of her music just screams

Yena, and that makes everyone like her more. The quality is consistent, the energy is always nice, what is there to not like? Just like Hyewon, she hasn't really been focusing on music, rather not at all. Minju has always been a simple person, whatever it is she wants to do, she will do it. And naturally there's the kdrama root. To her credit though, she's taking this path seriously, with several roles already under her belt and more on the way.

She was always the actress face of IZONE. With her past experience and a clear ambition to make it big, I think she'll get there sooner or later. But honestly it would've been also nice to see her continue as an idol. I always saw her as someone with potential. Had she gained more confidence in herself, I'm sure she would make up to be an amazing idol. In fact, some people saw it, as she was offered a contract by this little company you may or may not know about. Of course, it was still up to her on what she'll do, and she thought her time as an idol was over. And as long as she's comfortable with what she's doing now, I wouldn't ask for anything else.

Minju wasn't the only one asked by that little company. In fact, two other members had the opportunity to get in it. And unlike Minju, they took it. I could make a 10 hour in-depth thesis on why I think Chaewon is the best idol ever, but I'll keep that to myself. No but seriously,

Kim Chaewon is amazing. Unlike Wonyoung and Yujin, we didn't really know Chaewon would end up in a group, let alone under HYBE. I mean there were some talks of her joining Rocket Punch, which in hindsight I'm grateful never happened. The next option was obviously solo work, which I also couldn't imagine. She's always been a good team player, and I really think she needed to be in a group for her to showcase true greatness. It was months of speculating, but lo and behold, she disappeared for 7 months. As a Chaewon stan that was probably the worst days of my life. By early 2022 I just gave up thinking she chose to live in the countryside or whatever. That would've disappointed me, because I knew this woman had a lot more up her sleeve, and damn she did. She's always been the hidden gem of the group. Everyone's first bias in IZ

ONE was always someone else, but the deeper you got into them, you realize there's a diamond waiting to shine. That has always been Chaewon in IZ ONE. We knew how good she was in that group, but when she got that jet black bob, it's almost like we didn't know who she truly was.

It's how she went from singing about sunshines and flowers, to shaking ass on stage. Like Luffy going gear 5, she just went above and beyond what anyone imagine, and that makes her oh so fucking impressive as an idol. Like a cat, this girl has 9 lives. She's done everything any human could ever do in a lifetime, and yet she is still grinding her ass as an idol. She's like our DJ returning to play Dr. Doom, she just wants more of it. She is in her 13th year as an idol, and she's still going full time. That, is insane. But unlike them, she isn't exactly trying to prove anything anymore. I can see from Kira's eyes that she isn't her to be the best at anything.

She's here to simply entertain people as an idol, and I respect that. She didn't really have to do it, but since she likes the fun and thrill of being an idol, she goes with it. Yet at the same time, she's still willing to improve in a lot of ways. Comparing her produced days to how she is now, really puts into perspective how much she's evolved. Especially coming from an industry that prioritizes entertainment more than skill. And her best quality? No matter how big she's gotten, she never brings down other people. Which is apparently a simple trait not everyone possesses.

This combination of Sakura and Chaewon really was unexpected. They weren't exactly the closest during IZone, nor were they from the same backgrounds. Yet seeing them now I can't imagine them being separated. Especially with the success Le Seraphim has gotten over time.

I'm glad they got to be a part of it.

I won't even pretend that I know anything from Nako's career in Japan.

Apart from being a member of HKT48, I don't know what she's doing. I mean I am a Kpop fan so you can't really blame me. But from the moments I do see her, she's looked pretty happy. Unlike Sakura, she probably never thought her future was in the Kpop industry. Which is understandable. But during

Produce and IZone, I always thought she was one of the Japanese idols that could actually make it big in the Kpop scene. Everyone liked her. She's got potential. So I did kind of see her being here. But again that is all up to what she wants to do. I really apologize for not knowing any more than base level information. I know she's done some acting gigs as well, but whatever it is she does, I just hope it's the path that makes her the happiest. She's had a pretty long career as well, and so I know I can trust her judgement.

If there was a member no one would hate I think it'd be her. Because you'd kind of be a terrible person to do so. It was quite long till we saw Chaeyoung as an idol again after the disbandment.

I mean she did do that street woman stuff that really helped her gain more traction, but that was more of a show rather than a career. At times I thought maybe she just gave up, but there it was. She re-debuted back as an idol. She was the last soloist to debut, and was also the last member to re-debut for a long while. If I'm being honest,

I never saw her as soloist material. She's a great dancer, a pretty solid vocalist, but I didn't know what else she'd offer. More specifically what she'll do with her music.

But as time went by, I slowly got the gist of her style. Dancing is her strongest point, and I really liked how her skills as a dancer is elevated through the music she releases.

It's upbeat, pop, catchy, all essential needs for a great dance routine if I meant that correctly.

And also, some of her songs are kind of ambitious, and that really surprises me as it gives her a unique twist. Now that I think about it, she's always been the kind to surprise everyone around her, and that's always exciting.

She may not be the favorite of everyone, but I wouldn't be shocked if she gets better in the future.

She may not look like it, but I swear this girl has surprised me in many ways I couldn't imagine.

Like Sakura and Nako, she also was a J-pop idol, just wasn't as experienced as the other two.

Yet, during Produce and even IZONE, Hitomi slowly revealed herself as someone very capable.

She's not the best singer, but she'll sing. She's not the best dancer, but she'll dance.

And she may not look like a rapper, but if they needed one she will.

She ticks every box of what it takes to be a solid K-pop idol.

So when they disbanded I was hurt, because I didn't want to lose her to J-pop.

I didn't exactly follow her J-pop career after the disbandment, but what I saw in IZONE was a girl who had the skill and guts to be a well performing K-pop idol.

So when I say I was excited to see her back in the business, I genuinely meant it.

I have this gut feeling that Hitomi has the potential to shine even brighter than we can imagine. And with the debut of Say My Name, that could honestly be possible.

5th gen just started, Hitomi is young, and she's got a whole career in front of her.

I won't make any bold predictions or anything, but in the future, if I ever see her on the top, know that I've been here and been saying.

I don't usually make videos like this, because 1. It's kind of a niche topic these days, and 2. It's just me yapping for 20 minutes about a group most of you don't care about anymore.

Yet, I think it was a nice introspective on a future I couldn't imagine years ago when these girls were together. And I think a disbandment like theirs is unique because not everyone goes through this. Usually a disbandment means the end of a career for most of the members.

I know other produced groups went through it too, but when did we see almost every member have a solid career after a disbandment? It's almost unheard of. The biggest takeaway here is that IZ'ONE really was just a moment for all of us, and yet it was still a great time.

Would I go back? Fuck yes, in a heartbeat. But even though I miss them a lot, I know you can't just turn back the time. But still, I'm not that sad about it, and that says a lot.

Sometimes I'm even thankful they did disband, and I'm glad this is how I feel right now.

Their current careers are so good that I can't really complain. At the same time it doesn't take away from the fact that they were once was a great group as well. It's the best result any fan could've asked for, and I'm glad I'm living in this timeline. I'm turning 21 in like a few months, and that's crazy. I was once 16 enjoying the time of my life, with a group that I knew wouldn't last long. Yes I was sad for a while. But hey, look at me now, and especially look at them. I'd tell my 16 year old self to maybe not cry too much, because if he saw what I'm seeing right now, he wouldn't want it any other way.