Sorry, WIZ*ONEs. It looks like IZ*ONE may not be reuniting after all. According to CJ ENM, their efforts to get the band back together have hit a wall.
“We spoke with the agencies and left various possibilities open. However, we failed to reach a consensus. We ask you to encourage and support the members and their future endeavors, whether there will be a reunion or not,” CJ ENM said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the team behind the Parallel Universe Project—a fan-led effort to bring IZ*ONE back—issued a statement of their own, saying they’re not willing to throw in the towel right now. In fact, they already have a backup plan in the works.
According to them, CJ ENM had been seriously considering an extension of IZ*ONE’s contract since 2020. There was even talk that they would debut a unit group after some of the members’ agencies objected to the idea. When the fans heard about these things, they were excited, to say the least. But their hopes were dashed when CJ ENM decided to disband the group as originally planned. That was when they decided to start the Parallel Universe Project.
But just as the fans had begun to negotiate with the members’ agencies, CJ ENM came forward with its own bid to relaunch IZ*ONE. The Parallel Universe Project team admits that the agencies in question only actively engaged in negotiations when CJ ENM got involved. They decided to wait and see what would happen, because they believed CJ ENM’s involvement would ensure the quality of IZ*ONE’s future activities.
But the Parallel Universe Project team decided not to put all their eggs in CJ ENM’s basket. They had a feeling the company wasn’t fully invested in reuniting the 12-member girl group formed via Produce 48. As it turns out, they were right to feel that way, given CJ ENM’s announcement.
In their statement, the Parallel Universe Project team said they weren’t sure if the members’ agencies really couldn’t come to an agreement or if CJ ENM just gave up. In any case, they have been approaching all those agencies and laying out the terms of their backup plan.
At the moment, WIZ*ONEs believe that CJ ENM’s sudden desire to see IZ*ONE back together was nothing more than a publicity stunt for the upcoming survival show Girls Planet 999. But regardless of whether the company was really serious about a reunion, the Parallel Universe Project team remains committed to its goal. They’re continuing to raise as much money as they can to fund the girls’ future activities, should their backup plan be approved.
In the meantime, at least one former IZ*ONE member has already made concrete plans for her future in the entertainment industry.
Honda Hitomi, one of the group’s strongest dancers, returned to the J-pop supergroup AKB48. She had been a member of its Team 8 for several years before she joined Produce 48 and then IZ*ONE. Since the project girl group disbanded in April, Hitomi has resumed promoting with AKB48.
Her first performance since her return featured a solo rendition of the AKB48 B-side “Namida no Hyomen Choryoku.” Hitomi opened the second act of the main show, which bore the title AKB48 Team 8 Zenkoku Tour ~47 no Suteki na Machi e~ Final Kanagawa Performance 'Massaona Sora wo Miaegete'.
Hitomi has since made appearances on various Japanese shows, alone and with the rest of her group. Recently, she made the senbatsu (Japanese for “selected members”) lineup for AKB48’s 58th latest single, “根も葉も Rumor.” This is her first time to participate in an AKB48 comeback after “NO WAY MAN,” which dropped in 2018.
Her fans are hoping and praying that she’ll be chosen to center this new song, because it would be an amazing way to let the Japanese public know that she’s back after two and half years promoting in a successful global girl group.
Meanwhile, the other former IZ*ONE members have yet to make formal announcements regarding their futures. Stay tuned for updates.
