Everglow is a charismatic six-member girl group whose members have been attracting attention since before their debut.
In fact, 3 of them have been featured on survival shows.
Kim Sihyeon was first in line because she competed in the survival show “Produce 101” in 2016, which ultimately resulted in the project girl group I.O.I. At the time she was an independent trainee without an agency. After being eliminated at number 40 (out of 101), Sihyeon signed a contract with Yuehua Entertainment. Yuehua is a Chinese entertainment company that has also had a branch in South Korea since 2014.
A year later, in 2017, Jo Serim appeared in Idol School, a show in which 41 female trainees competed for a spot in the girl group “fromis_9”. Like all other participants on the show, she was an independent trainee. Only participants who do not have a contract with an agency were admitted. Following the show, Serim, like most of the others eliminated, was signed by Stone Music Entertainment. Serim later moved to Yuehua Entertainment.
In 2018, future members of Everglow were seen one last time in a survival show: Produce 48 (3rd season of Produce 101). Yuehua Entertainment sent three trainees into the race. Wang Yiren, Choi Yena and an already familiar face: Kim Sihyeon. The latter had decided to try again to prove to herself how much she had improved. Unfortunately, she was eliminated again in the third round, but this time she finished in 27th place! Wang Yiren reached number 28 and was also eliminated.
Choi Yena made it to the final and came in 4th place. She was one of the 12 winners who debuted in the project group IZ*ONE in October 2018, just two months after the end of the show. IZ*ONE disbanded as planned in April 2021 and Yena made her solo debut in January 2022 with her first album “Smiley”.
On February 17, 2019, Yuehua Entertainment announced a new girl group called “Everglow.” A GIF revealing the logo was uploaded to Twitter that day.
The girl group debuted with six members:
Sihyeon, Yiren, E:U, Mia, Aisha and Onda.
Onda is Jo Serim's stage name. In fact, four of the members, all except Sihyeon and Yiren, have adopted a stage name.
| Real name | Artist name | Birthday |
|---|---|---|
| Park Jiwon | E:U | 19.05.1998 |
| Kim Sihyeon | Sihyeon | 05.08.1999 |
| Han Eunji | Mia | 13.01.2000 |
| Jo Serim | Onda | 18.05.2000 |
| Heo Yoorim | Aisha | 21.07.2000 |
| Wang Yiren | Yiren | 29.11.2000 |
The stage name “E:U” is particularly striking, as you rarely see a “:” in a name. It stands for “Especially for U”. The stage names of the other members also have a meaning. “Onda” is the Korean word for “come” and is interpreted by fans here as “come to me”. “Aisha” is based on the Korean word for “Asia” and embodies Heo Yoorim’s goal to take Asia by storm! “Mia” has a Scandinavian background and translates to “desired child” or “beautiful child”.
The group's name - Everglow - is a combination of the two English words “ever” and “glow”. Everglow can be translated as “Always shining”. The name symbolizes that the group is always full of energy and always strives forward.
On March 18, 2019, Everglow released the first single album “Arrival of Everglow”.
The album features three tracks including the title track “Bon Bon Chocolat,” which reached #5 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart! The album itself made it to number 6 on the Gaon Album Charts; So Everglow definitely made a successful debut. E:U was also involved in the lyrics of the B-side “Moon”.
Almost exactly six months later, on August 19th, the girl group celebrated their first comeback with the second single album “Hush”. The theme song “Adios” earned them their first win on a music show!
Everglow started 2020 in February with their first mini album “Reminiscence”.
It contains four songs, one more than the previously released single albums, including the title track “Dun Dun”. This was the group's first song to enter the Gaon Download Charts and reached number 63. The album even reached fourth place in the album charts!
In March, Everglow performed in four American cities including Dallas and Chicago as part of their first tour “Everlasting Tour in USA”. A fifth stop in Los Angeles was actually planned, but unfortunately it had to be canceled due to the global Corona pandemic.
Luckily, that didn't stop the girl group from working on new music, so fans could look forward to the second mini album “-77.82X-78.29” in September! All the more so because this time E:U co-wrote the lyrics of a song again. This time for the title song “La Di Da”!
At the end of the year, Corona got in the way again, because on December 1st, Sihyeon and Yiren tested positive for the virus. Both the two and the other four members interrupted their activities and went into quarantine. Luckily, none of the other members had become infected, and both Yiren and Sihyeon were not seriously ill. On January 9, 2021, Yuehua Entertainment announced that the two tested negative.
So, just in time for the start of 2021, Everglow was reunited.
The third single album “Last Melody” was released on May 25th. In the music video for the title song “First,” the singers embody warriors from the future. The song marks the second time the girl group has won a music show.
There was surprising news during the Comeback Showcase: E:U, who previously acted as Everglow's leader, gave up the role to Sihyeon! Idol groups rarely change their leader. However, since this role often automatically falls to the oldest member, it may of course be that someone else later turns out to be more suitable. In the case of Everglow, no specific reason for the change is known.
On December 1, 2021, the group released their third mini album “ Return of the Girl ”. It is the first album with more than four tracks, as it contains five songs including the title song “Pirate”. The music video was viewed more than a million times within five hours! In addition, all five songs placed in the top 100 K-Pop songs on the US iTunes charts! “Pirate” reached third place!
Discography
| Album | Title song | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival of Everglow | Bon Bon Chocolat | 18.03.2019 |
| Hush | Adios | 19.08.2019 |
| Reminiscence | Dun Dun | 03.02.2020 |
| -77.82X-78.29 | La Di Da | 21.09.2020 |
| Last Melody | First | 25.05.2021 |
| Return of the Girl | Pirate | 01.12.2021 |
Everglow have dominated the stage since their debut in 2019 and are sure to impress us with powerful performances this year too! We hope there will be a new album soon!
Bonus
So far, none of the members have an acting career, but Everglow as a group was in August 2019, five months after their debut in the K-drama “When the Devil Calls Your Name.” The series is about a man who sold his soul to the devil to gain fame and wealth. In the fourth episode, a fictional Everglow concert is shown for a good half a minute. We wouldn't mind seeing the members in acting roles at some point!
