The Power of Fandoms: The Story of IZ*ONE 

I kind of wish that IZ*ONE did get a small extension. At least an extra six months. They never got to have a final good-bye concert in front of wizones in person due to the pandemic. I’m convinced it would’ve happened, but I’m sure starship was the company that refused. They don’t even allow Wonyoung and Yujin to interact too much with the other ex-IZ*ONE members or mention the group. They also lost a lot of time due to the rigging scandal that put them on a small hiatus.

Wizones are the most loyal fandom in Kpop. Kwizones alone were willing to donate 3 million USD just to keep the group alive. 23k Wizones donated an average of over 100 bucks for the parallel universe project. If they had expanded to J Wizones and C Wizones, they probably could of gotten 6 million USD or even more.

Wizones are scary that they got that powerful and got that far. 😳 Update on Nako: She’s graduating from HKT48 to become an actress

If anyone is wondering most of the companies actually agreed to the idea of contract extension Yuehua, 8D, Urban Works, AKB48, WM, Woollim, Stone Music were onboard except Wonyoung and Yujin’s company Starship. They knew if they pulled them out and make IVE they would have big bank.

Oh my god, I had no idea about the Parallel Universe project. The fact that the fandom came so close to relaunching the group, only to have CJ stall it in the end...damn. Every time I think I'm done being sad about IZ*ONE some new info comes out and I'm devastated again. I miss them

IZ*ONE is my ultimate group, and one of the first I ever got into. You did an amazing job covering their history, Thank you so much!

During the hiatus, all Wiz*ones participate in the hashtag event on twitter..everyday a new hashtag was made, almost every hashtag was trending ..even when it was so emotionally taxing, seeing and participating in the events made me so proud that i am a wiz*one..

I still am and will forever be salty we didn't get a disbandment album that we knew would be their last

The ending of parallel universe project made me cry. It was so so sad. I saw our fandom completely deflate on that day in April. There was hope but in the back of our minds, we knew. It was sick how they watched us donate, campaign, tweet, promote this project but then just ripped it away. Wiz raised 3 million USD….with each wizone donating around 100 usd. That’s incredible. Wizone were dedicated and loved the girls. We still support the girls in their post Izone groups but if I’m being 100% honest, it will never replicate the love I had for my 12 girls. I miss them. We never got that goodbye concert. We never got that goodbye album. We saw chaewon and others completely break down, I mean the girl was HYPERVENTILATING. It was SICK.

I am THIS close to ugly sobbing. I miss them. I see them everyday, but I still somehow miss them. They were, and will always be my #1 gg. I love all the new projects that have come after their disbandment to pieces, but none will ever hold a candle to the original in my heart. My 12 shining stars

within the first 10 minutes, they raised $700,000?! OH MY LORD that is insane power

all fandoms are great but we (WIZ*ONE) have amazing stories & memories that other fandoms may not experience. everyday we still imagine these 12 girls always singing & dancing together on stage, we love them so much 💕

I don't care about produce scandals, I love izone, their chemistry in the group is unmatched, their reality shows are so good

It’s terrible that starship is getting just what they wanted by disbanding izone- a LOT of $$$

Man, I knew the rigging was shameless, but it was so damn shameless. I sadly arrived late to the IZ*ONE train, but I really do love the work that they did. I'm a huge fan of Yena's current work and can't wait to see what comes next

Also about PD101 Rip to the two S2 contestants Jeong Joongi and Lee Jihan who are in heaven now hope they fly high. 🌹👼🏻🪦

I’m so happy that Chaeyeon finally made her solo debut!! She deserves all the love for her new solo ❤️

Its still so crazy how relevant Izone is till now even though they disbanded years ago. They were still used as the standard as for GGs (not even an exaggeration and not even my opinion). Their concept is so remarkable that if a group tried to that kind of concept theyll be immediately called as a plagiarist, they ate and served so much that.

woohoo, so excited to finally see this video being brought to life !! thank you for working with me and for delivering an amazing video, loved working with you 💗

Yeah, WIZ*ONEs are not so sad because of the disbandment, but more of the way it happened. It's great the girls are doing great now, but neither them nor us deserved such a farewell. The lost time because of the scandal could have easily been used for another comeback and (hopefully full length) album. Both of the unreleased songs + whatever was in the works would would complete the "ONE" era of the group and become a graceful and somewhat bearable goodbye to the fans. Now we're constantly stuck in a loop missing them and dreaming of something impossible...

Iz one was awesome, and I think they shouldve at least gotten an extension to make up for the lost time, and they should’ve gotten to say goodbye in an in person concert. The saddest thing for me is that we know the girls themselves wanted to stay together, and they’ve all talked about how much they miss each other and I think its so sad they had to be separated. I think the girls should at least be allowed a reunion concert or tour at some point, they should be reunited and allowed to give a proper goodbye to their fans

I forgot how much the disbandment of Iz*one hurt. I started ugly crying halfway through the video. It was also such a hard time in my life so their disbandment brings back so many horrible memories. Life was so much better when Iz*one was together.

Insteresting fascinating informative video on the history and career of the talented Girl Group I*ZONE

I honestly thought the contract extension was going to happen, like everyone loved them, I personally wasn't a big fan, but I would always tune in for their releases, is just crazy that it didn't even matter how succesful they were, their agencies just wanted them back to cash out from them, it's so sad, also, I've noticed lately that "disbandment comebacks" are no longer a thing, like groups disband out of nowhere nowadays without a final goodbye, I wish that would stop, it is easier to digest a disbandment when a final goodbye release happens, I wish companies can start doing that again if a group is going to end

No other group comes close to IZ*ONE. Their chemistry together, the many memories and moments shared with WIZ*ONEs... the sheer love and dedication... it's unlike any I've seen before. Proud to be a WIZ*ONE and happily supporting all 12 girls in their own paths ❤ but yes, I'm holding out a thin rope of hope of an OT12 reunion... some time in the future. Thank you for this video!

Well technically Girls Planet is season 5 And Boys Planet is technically gonna be Season 6 🤫 Although it’s nice to know PD101 is still going strong in Japan after knowing what happened in Korea and China.

it’s insane that the group’s fandom was powerful enough to almost relaunch an entire group, i was never an iz*one stan but i knew them and how big they were so it sucks that they basically got the run around with their time as a group but looking on the bright side, most of the girls are very successful now in their respective groups snd solo careers and are beginning to reach their potential, the produce series scandal really did mess a lot of things up as well

Izone being the last produce group before disbanding while breaking major records left and right and if they had a contract extension will break even more, and wizones gaining more than enough money to relaunch/extend izone is more than enough reason that both izone and wizones will both go down in kpop history

Fiesta was their best comeback and it was tainted. But I’m glad that they came back strong and was shown how much the fans love them

Also, during the hiatus, the fandom organized a hashtag event everyday during the hole hiatus (almost 2.5 months), where almost every hashtag trended on twitter.

I had never heard of "fandom funding a group" projects before. Without being mean, it sounds as realistically feasible as tumblr crowdfunding a convention haha

also wanted to added that Parallel universe project, its not on the record, but the people in project that being a bridge on between intl wizone and kwizone telling us that PUP actually there is another intention behind it and it would been a started of a revolution on Kpop scene,, we did thinking that for a while since 2020 when we got no anything on the member when they are in hiatus.. so through PUP we also wanted to make a FANDOM AGENCIES for all kpop fandom so FANDOM can also supervise their idol company on treathing the idol member, and it would be also benefit both fandom and the idol because all this time, fandom and idol got nothing on the company and the monopoly is too much, all fans do just tweeting raging mentioning them online or emailing the company even tho we all know it just goona be ignored, so through PUP fandom atleast have some power on the law with the agencies when things happen, let say what happen to LOONA CHUU, she has to fight alone BBC for her salary, if the project are success Orbit or Loona fandom can asking to the Fandom agencies to get help and sue the BBC and get the justice to the members, thats what also the intention of the project.. so we fandom have to get our rights as a fan and as a person who "invested" to the idol and make our favorite idol what their deserve.. if you still dont get it, imagine like this, you are as "a mother" who drop your kids(as idol) into a school and then the school or the teacher "the company" are abusing your kids in the school, what would you do if that happens? there is no way you would just doing nothing right? and in many asia country, in each school they have a system called "Parent Association" and that parent association was the other goal of this PU project, but in the end all of those word up there just gonna stay as idea from wizone and would never gonna be happen in any time.. well, hopefully in the future we could achives that through other fandom that would be doing what we wizone doing on PUP.. fighting everyone!

"they had no intentions of messing with the final lineup" right... 🤡

God damn, why the hell am I sobbing as I'm watching this. I miss the 12 of them being together. Every. Freaking. Day. I deeply regret stanning them late as their last 2 comebacks were the ones I witnessed as a fan. Their music was with me through hard times even until now. I will forever be a Wiz*one. Thank you Iz*One, I will never forget you.

Dang the intro of the rigging scandal seemed like it was from a horror movie except u were watching only to find out about the scandal and X1’s disbandment

TELL A FRIEND TO TELL A FRIENNNDDD SHES BAAACKKK WELCOME BACK

I’m still devastated for stanning them late despite of following the girls since pd48 i became their casual listener during their debut yr since my pick (gaeun) didn’t make it, and truly stan them before fiestas postpone 😢

Some random "what if..." questions that came into my mind What would've happened if they had a 7 year contract? What would've happened if they were under YG, JYP or SM? What if La Vie en Rose would've stayed as a song for CLC and not become IZ*ONE's debut song? Which song would they've debuted with?

Iz*one has been in my feed again these days and I miss them so much 😭

like Iz*one , all of their songs were such bops , thanks for the video

Yayyy!! Welcome back!! I’m so glad ur doing a vid on IZ*One!! ❤️ About the produce scandal The producers of Produce were so stupid. They ruined things for people who were supposed to debut in S2, S3, and especially S4. Knowing what they did was wrong.I’m glad Japan knows how to not rig things. My fave songs by Izone are La Vi En Rose, Fiesta, You & I, Secret Story Of The Swan, and Panarama.

My heart goes out to all Wizones for being an amazing fandom. IZ One was a victim as well: getting their reputation dragged in the mud since they too had no idea of the rigged voting. Your video was so awesome I was sick recently and to feel better watched your previous videos on Dia and IOI to get up to speed on events leading to IZ One debut to understand your video Better, Jihoons Carat 😊✌️

I miss our girls so much.. They're the first group I really stanned from predebut. Still mad they didn't have an extension just because Starship didn't agree

I love how long these videos are. So so so much better than the 8-10 minute videos most other channels pump out every few days

you can see the effort put into these videos the scripts are so high-quality!!

This was an amazing video! Iz*one really made an impact in such a short time and I'm happy to say I was with them from beginning to the end

I’m glad a member of IZ*ONE is now in Le Sserafim (a group I equally love)

Great video! I remember the parallel universe project and I had hoped that it would've been successful as izone is one of my ult groups. but I already knew there was no way in hell starship was about to let wonyoung go. I'm still sad about their disbandment but I am glad that the members are still successful in their separate endeavors!

Thanks for all your hard work on this!

Something not related to IZone yet weird is that despite the pandemic FNC still tried to have fan meetings for their latest boygroup P1harmony (yeah they’re known to overwork them and ruin Soul’s potential). I mean FNC Ent already Ruined their two girl groups AOA and Cherry Bullet (especially when they should’ve had a comeback right after GP999 but didn’t) so their new Japanese girl group Prikil could be next.

Always enjoy your videos. Thanks for the work you put into them.

Thanks for making this video, they are always so informative and I can get to know more about the gorups I like

Two of my favourite RU-vidrs making a video about one of my favourite groups 🥳

jihoons carat is back & made a video about my ult group iz*one !! i’m blessed.

Wizone power forever~ we can only pray for a reunion stage one day the earth might implode

Saving this to watch on the bus in the morning. I was a strong supporter of the PUP and was very up to date with it (unfortunately donations weren’t international) and I didn’t truly cry about the disbandment until… August? Because it was then that we knew the PUP hadn’t worked. God, I bet this video is going to bring back A LOT of feelings tomorrow.

I feel like we should've had a 2nd full album to end the Oneiric series

What an amazing essay❤

23:00 “quick guys, let’s act surprised…” the tea of it all…

I had to pause less than a minute in and comment on the clear upgrade in quality. a super nice intro!!! Having followed for awhile it always makes me smile when I notice the small improvements in your videos!

I'll always be proud to have been a fan from the very first teasers of PD48. I had IZ*ONE while I was in college growing a large group of close friends, and for me the group represents a very special time in my life. At the same time that they disbanded, I had recently started on a new path away from all but one of my friends. I can relate to their struggles, their separation, and their continued efforts to stay in contact with each other. I'll always be proud of IZ*ONE and WIZ*ONEs collective efforts 💛🧡

Ok but there were three *iz albums and only two one- albums. I think there should’ve been atleast 1 more album. Idk.

I've been a kpop stan since 2nd or 3rd gen (im a casual listener in 2nd gen but became a loyal fan of EXO, TWICE and others). But nothing had me sticking as much as IZONE. I've watched produce because its interesting, the idea of akb48 being in a survival show with Koreans reeled me in. I was right because it was hilarious and mad entertaining ❤ when Izone happened I kinda got busy but after Violeta I came back and Fiesta happened ❤ Izone is such a great group chemistry wise so I end up watching their contents every day. I got attached and I still see them as a group until now. im a Lesserafim fan now but i have to admit it wasn't the same. I like Lesserafim but IZONE was guaranteed smile whenever i watch them.

YESS THE NEW VIDEO LETS GOOOO great job!💙💙 will edit this comment when I finish it! :) Edit: Forgot to edit!! no! oh my god!! My final thoughts on the matter is that it’s really crazy how if wizone succeeded with the project we wouldn’t have LESSSERAFIM or IVE as we know them, and knowing how things have gone since Iz*one disbanded I think no one thought about how it could actually be the best case scenario, that they would just disband to make a way to the groups they now call home I know when you love a group you want it to last forever but sometimes looking at things critically you gotta know where to stop as well Anyway, just my thoughts uwu thanks again for the video!! Edit2: I got hyperfixated on AKB48 over the past months,,, so, yeah, another reason for me to think that we were actually lucky that they are over, Hitomi looks so happy as the new great AKB center and I'm so happy for her

I don't even know if I am the only one thinking this, but I just want to say I really love your video editing style! I always enjoy watching your videos (obviously for the topics) but you also manage to capture my whole attention visual-wise. Small moments like when you started talking about 4th Gen and used the elevator opening scene from Itzys Dalla Dalla as a transition or when you put the screenshots regarding the voting manipulation articles with that orchestra song (everyone knows the song , but I don't know the title). I really really appreciate the effort you put into making your videos visually appealing and fun to watch. Your doing a great job! ✨

I think this vv well made good job

Thank you for the video eventho i didnt finish it because the audio doesnt have background noise i still appreciate it alot

Do I know most about IZ*one? *yes* Am I going to watch an hour documentary about them? *YES*

The best group from produce serieeeesss!

CLC and Gugudan deserved better 😞😔 We didn’t know at the time Gugudan’s disbandment song would be not that type at the time :(

I hope that company and the ex-izone member (but not really the member mostly to the company) who didn't agreed to extend their contract feel guilt. I was one of the wiz*one the hoped for an extension with the fund raising etc. And I was devastated when I heard that it will not be happening that time

There are grateful and chaotic times during the disbandment to the PUP timeline like, there are increasingly people who disregards and look down at the groups of j-line (akb,hkt) just for the desperate reboot. Although despite those negative moments, pup shows how iz*one is a powerful group even aki-p himself donated on pup. AKS/Verna would probably still agree on the extension anyway (prolly as kennin member). SS might have planned IVE all the way long before, since how annyeongz is so popular and powerful that an agreement to the contract extension wouldn't be needed.

Still obsessed with Fiesta (because of it being performed in the latest Produce 101 Japan). I appreciated it quite late because I never truly enjoyed Izone’s music because of the issue.

Who else cried while watching this?

looking at the votes and in general popularity of the trainees and the way voting worked in Pd48, the original izone line up had 6/6 k and j members

Idk why I didnt get the notification for this, but Im watching it at work rn. I have a full I.O.I collection, even that "Hand In Hand" digital promo

Ahhhhhhhhh I’m so glad you’re back!! RU-vid is shady by not letting me get the notification but it’s all good, I still found ya!

not me crying while watching this cuz i miss them so much

Now all we can ask for is a reunion and maybe a single with it.

MY GIRLS

I one makes me sad bc I came into K-pop first in 2021, and they weren’t on my radar at all more or less. It’s too bad bc they’re really my taste, the group seems to have lovely chemistry and are very talented, but I can’t get into their music or content, bc I’m too aware that they’re not around and it just makes me sad. I find temporary group so cruel in general. The reason I have not listened to Kepler is that I just have the feeling of “they’re gonna disband soon anyway, so why get invested”. It must be so emotional for the girls aswell. Not to mention how it must be so stressful to know you’ll maybe leave this successful group but struggle to find it again bc you didn’t have the time to build up a *personal* fandom yet. Going from 1 artist to 12 when they split is a lot for a general audience to get invested in. Idk, tldr I don’t like the concept of temporary groups and I wish they would’ve gotten more time together

I wonder if the contracts some of the 48 girls had with their home groups prevented them from continuing linger than was originally agreed.(I hope not, but sadly 48 management tend to do things like that) since they couldn't be contacted

Would you make a video about the story of X1 and how the groups after the disbandment of X1 affected them?

IZ*ONE Forever

Itzy wasn’t always girl crush. They had teen crush until they went to girl crush with mafia in the morning. If it wasn’t for IZ*One we wouldn’t see more elegant concepts from smaller groups and more smaller and medium groups.

as someone who didn't get into iz*one (since I wasn't listening to kpop actively at the time) until 2020 shortly before fiesta came out, I was confused as to why we were talking about the teaser for fiesta in october of 2019 and then i was like "ooooh this is when the voting scandal induced hiatus takes place huh"

How did ppl have an issue w Yuri being in the line up. I would be like idont care how popular or not she was if she WAS rigged this is a time it makes sense and seh deserves it bc i cant imagine the world not getting to hear her outstanding vocals

slayyyyyyyyy izONE FOREVERRR YASSS IZONE FOREVEERR WOOOOO WIZONE WOOOP WOOP

Hitomi already graduate from AKB. I miss IZONE so much.

10:50 Yeah, no lmao. CLC's direction from 2017 was more so a 4minute rehash, they weren't >mainly< inspired by BP. They shouldn't be there. Neither should EXID. They both were more sexy than girl crush.

17:13 I keep seeing this as a news source, what RU-vid channel and/or news station is it from?

missing IZ*ONE

I mean, they managed I.O.I much worse than IZ*ONE. I genuinely don't get what people are complaining about. Thank you for the amazing video though, as per usual! Love your works!

Omg

I'm still in denial tbh 😭

Watching this bc I stan le sserafim lol

They had a lot of passionate male fans.

yas

I wonder if there was ever a possibility of all Iz*one members joining one company and having a soft relaunch? I’m sure that Starship and HYBE definitely would have been interested in something like that.

Parallel universe was shut down by Starship saying no to continue :'