Biography
AOA (Hangul: 에이오에이; an acronym for Ace of Angels) is a five-member South Korean girl group/band formed by FNC Entertainment in 2012. AOA has two subunits: AOA Black and AOA Cream. The group originally consisted of eight members: Choa (초아), Jimin (지민), Hyejeong (혜정), Seolhyun (김설현), Mina (권민아), Yuna (유나), Chanmi (김찬미), and Youkyung (서유경). Youkyung was originally only a member of AOA Black, and on October 15, 2016, she officially left the group following the termination of her contract. On June 22, 2017, Choa announced her departure from the group following a long hiatus. In May of 2019, Mina also departed the group to focus on acting.
AOA originally started out with a combination dance-band concept. The idea was that they would function as both a seven-member dance unit and a five-member band unit. The members of the dance unit were all of AOA minus Youkyung, while the members of the band unit were: Jimin (guitar, harmonica, piano), Choa (guitar), Yuna (keyboard), Mina (bass), and Youkyung (drums).
For their debut, FNC Entertainment revealed their concept to be "angels". AOA's first single album Angels' Story, was digitally released on July 30, 2012. The music video for the title track, "ELVIS", was released on the same day. The group made their official debut on August 9 at M! Countdown.
On October 10, AOA released their second digital single WANNABE. The album featured the members dressing as different fictional characters, from Legally Blonde to Harry Potter. The title track for the album was "Get Out". In the later half of 2012, AOA Black made their debut performing a band version of Get Out for its first week of promotions.
The following year, on July 13, AOA Black made their comeback with their first single album MOYA. They had their first comeback stage on the same day at KBS Music Bank.
On October 13, AOA resumed their dance unit activities by releasing their fourth single album (MOYA was considered their third) RED MOTION. The album was also released with an "eye contact version" dance practice video.
In 2014, AOA saw their popularity skyrocket with three consecutive album/singles that topped the charts. On January 16, they released their fifth single album MINISKIRT, with the title track "짧은 치마 (Miniskirt)". It marked the return of their new sexy image from RED MOTION's title track "흔들려 (Confused)", and would indicate a shift from their band concept to a more sensuous one. On February 9, AOA had their first music show win on Inkigayo for "짧은 치마 (Miniskirt)".
On June 19 of the same year, AOA released their first mini album Short Hair. The album topped the M! Countdown charts. Continuing in their stride, Like a Cat was released on November 11 to instant fame. AOA had their second win for the album's title track "사뿐사뿐 (Like a Cat)" on November 19.
In 2015, after some releases in Japan, AOA came back on June 22 with their third mini album Heart Attack. The song "심쿵해 (Heart Attack)" was used as the lead single for the album.
In August, they revealed that they would be making their debut in Japan with their first full-length album. On October 14, they released Ace of Angels. The song featured eight of their previously recorded Japanese singles and three new songs. The title track for the album was "Oh Boy."
At the start of 2016, FNC Entertainment announced that a new subunit would be debuting in February. AOA Cream, consisting of Hyejeong, Yuna, and Chanmi, released their first digital single I'M JELLY BABY on February 12.
On June 16, 2016, AOA released their fourth mini album Good Luck. The new album was released in the wake of AOA's Japanese promotions and AOA Cream's debut. The title song was "Good Luck". The mini album was a commercial success, peaking at number 2 on the Gaon Album Chart in its first week.
On October 15, 2016, Youkyoung left AOA following the termination of her contract. In the event of any future AOA Black activities, she would be invited back as a guest member.
A month later on November 29, FNC Entertainment announced AOA's first full-length album release. The album was promoted through various teasers posted on social media, indicating dual concepts of "magicians" and "detectives". Angel's Knock was released on January 2, 2017, with double title tracks "Excuse Me" and "빙빙 (Bing Bing)".
On November 30, 2016, AOA also released their second Japanese album Runway. The album features a remake of popular Japanese song "WOW WAR TONIGHT 〜時には起こせよムーヴメント (girls ver.)", showcasing the girls as struggling women, each with their own dreams and passions. The album features several already-released singles, including the Japanese version of "Good Luck", "愛をちょうだい", "Cherry Pop (Japanese Ver.)", and "10 Seconds (Japanese Ver.)".
On June 22, Choa announced her departure from AOA following her hiatus from music show promotions. She indicated her desire to return in the future, but only after taking care of her mental health and well-being first. Later on August 9, AOA had a VLIVE in preparation for their fifth anniversary, in which they informed fans of their good health and teased a future comeback.
On May 28, 2018, the group returned with their fifth mini album titled Bingle Bangle along with the title track "빙글뱅글 (Bingle Bangle)". The album's single peaked at #4 on Gaon Digital Chart and the group received a Bonsang at the Soribada Best K-Music Awards. The song remained high in the digital charts for much of the year, signifying the successful return of AOA.
In late April 2019, contract negotiations had begun in light of the members' impending contract expiration. FNC responded to reports shortly after stating that contract negotiations with the members were ongoing and discussions about resigning were going positively. Mina had ultimately decided not to renew her contract and departed from the group to pursue an acting career. In their statement, they confirmed that the group would continue as five.
In August of 2019, AOA joined Mnet's reality survival show Queendom, which saw six female K-pop acts competing in a series of preliminary performances, and in the show's finale, each act would release a final song on the same day to compete for the top spot. The series began airing on August 29, and following the premiere, AOA had begun to receive a lot of positive reception and widespread attention for their appearances on the show. The performance for their cover of MAMAMOO's "너나 해 (Egotistic)" became a trending topic on Naver for it's innovative gender commentary and strong lyrical performance, and the digital release of their cover entered many Korean music charts. On October 25th, Queendom's six contestants released their final songs on Korean streaming services, including AOA who released "Sorry," which would be their first official release as five members.
AOA released their sixth mini album New Moon along with the title track "날 보러 와요 (Come See Me)" on November 26, 2019. The mini album contained five songs, including previously released and performed single "Sorry".
Other solo works/collaborations done featuring AOA include: "불꽃" by Choa, "야 하고 싶어 (Feat. 시우민 of EXO)" by Jimin (feat. Xiumin of EXO), "Puss (feat. 아이언)" by Jimin, "할렐루야 (Hallelujah)" by Jimin, "Everything" by Yuna, "GOD" by JIMIN N J.DON, "사랑소녀" by Hyejeong.
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