Weki Meki

"Sad Birthday" for Universe Korean name 위키미키 Other names i-Teen Girls (pre-debut) Members Suyeon (leader)

EllyYoojungDoyeonSeiLuaRinaLucy

They were known as the i-Teen Girls before debut.[1]

In 2011, Fantagio started their i-Teen auditions and training. The goal was to find talented rookies and train them in the company's Gift Development Project, until they are ready to debut. Yoojung revealed that beside singing and dancing, Fantagio's training includes sex education classes, reading discussions, suicide prevention education, and learning about healthy diet.[2] Trainees were split into i-Teen Boys (later became ASTRO) and i-Teen Girls (Weki Meki).

The company created separate social media accounts for their trainees, where they posted behind the scenes photos of their audition and training process.[3] Elly, Yoojung, Doyeon, Lua and Lucy as i-Teen Girls performed at Lotte World Fresh Concert on December 28, 2014 where they danced to Britney Spears' "Work B**ch!" and Beyonce's "One Night Only".[4] Elly, Yoojung, Doyeon, Lua and Lucy also had a cameo in ASTRO's pre-debut drama called "To Be Continued".[5]

In 2016, Elly (as Jung Hae-rim), Yoojung, Doyeon and Sei (as Lee Seo-jeong, then under LOUDers Entertainment) competed in the survival show Produce 101. Only Doyeon and Yoojung made it into the top 11 and debuted into I.O.I, a temporary girl group under CJ E&M. The group debuted on May 4, 2016, and promoted for less than a year, until January 2017, when the girls returned to their respective agencies. Due to I.O.I.'s immense popularity, the fans were curious about the members' future activities.

On March 22, 2017, it was announced that i-Teen Girls' official VLIVE channel was open.[6] On March 25, Choi Yoojung kicked off the "i-Teen Girls After School Hangout" project.[7] Eventually, the other members of the group were revealed, along with their stage names. On July 6, 2017, it was revealed that the group's new name is Weki Meki.[8]

On July 10, 2017 it was announced that Weki Meki would debut on August 8 and that debut showcase would be held on the same day.[9][10] To stand out from other girl groups in the K-pop industry, Fantagio announced Weki Meki will be debuting with a new concept known as "Teen Crush".[11] This new concept was described as a mashup between the ‘teenager’ and ‘girl crush’ concepts.[12]

On August 8, 2017, Weki Meki debuted with their first mini album WEME and the title track "I Don't Like Your Girlfriend". A limited "B version" of the mini album was released on September 12. Overall, the album peaked at #7 on the Gaon Music Chart with over 49,000 sales.

The group performed and was nominated for the Best New Female Artist award at the 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards.[13]

On January 4, 2018, Fantagio revealed that the group's comeback was being delayed indefinitely due to "the timing of the comeback, problems with the album preparation process, and the company's internal affairs".[14]

On January 10, 2018, the group released their first digital single, Butterfly, in support of the 2018 Winter Olympics that took place in South Korea.

On February 1, 2018, a reality series called "Weki Meki, What's Up?" premiered on YouTube and the group held a press conference to promote the series. At the conference they confirmed that their comeback period has been decided for late February.[15] The series had a total of 60 episodes, and lasted until April 1, 2018. The show followed the girls on their 60-day campaign to become an all-around idol.

On Feb 21, 2018, the group released their second mini album Lucky with the title track "La La La". It features a total of 6 tracks, including the previously released digital single "Butterfly".

On May 1, 2018, Fantagio and Starship Entertainment announced a temporary joint sub-unit, WJMK, that was composed of four members: SeolA and Luda from WJSN, Yoojung and Doyeon from Weki Meki. On June 1, 2018, the group released their digital single, "Strong", which was sponsored by Pepsi and Chilsung Cider.

On August 1, 2018, the group performed at 2018 Korea Music Festival.[16]

On their first anniversary, August 8, 2018, Weki Meki revealed their fandom name, as well as their official colors.

Their first single album Kiss, Kicks was released on October 11, 2018 with its title track "Crush" that was co-written by the member Yoojung.

On October 28, 2018, the group performed at a special taping of MBC Music Show Champion in Manila, Philippines.[17]

On December 13, 2018, Fantagio released a special collaboration single between Weki Meki and their labelmates, ASTRO and HELLOVENUS, called "All I Want" for the company's project album FM201.8.

The group released their second single album LOCK END LOL on May 14, 2019 with its title track Picky Picky. A repackaged version, WEEK END LOL, was released online on Weki Meki's 2nd anniversary, on August 8, 2019. However, the music video for the title track "Tiki-Taka (99%)", as well as physical copies of the album, were released 6 days later, on August 14.

On October 16, 2019, Fantagio announced Yoojung would be taking a hiatus due to heath issues.[18] Weki Meki performed at "K-Pop Together" festival in Texas, USA on October 25-26, 2019.[19]

On February 6, 2020, their second digital single "Dazzle Dazzle" was released with member Yoojung joining from her hiatus.[20] On May 29, 2020 their third mini album Hide and Seek was announced and was released on June 18, 2020, with the lead single "Oopsy".

On October 8, 2020, Weki Meki released their fourth mini album, New Rules, composed of five songs, lead by the title track "Cool". On November 11, 2020, The Girls Running on the Sanmagiyet-gil was released as a promotional single.

On December 14, 2020, Weki Meki's 2021 Season's Greetings were released. The package included a photobook, calendar, planner, stickers, photocards and more.

On February 25, 2021, Doyeon, Yoojung and Sei, along with members of (G)I-DLE and IZ*ONE, took part in a special stage for M Countdown, where they performed Into The New World by Girls' Generation.[21]

On May 4th, 2021, Doyeon and Yoojung participated in the I.O.I. 5th debut anniversary celebration, in a live broadcast titled “I.5.I – Yes, I Love It!”.[22]

During 2021, the group performed on numerous joint concerts, including "KCON:TACT"[23], "Dream Concert"[24], "MIC ON4"[25] and participated in the "K-Community Festival"[26]. Throughout the year, the members promoted the group on shows like Gossip Idle[27], Studio Moon Night[28] and Back to the Idol[29]. On July 27, 2021, the group had special summer stage on M Countdown, where they performed Party by Girls' Generation.[30] On August 8, 2021, the group celebrated their 4th anniversary with a mini concert on Naver Now.[31] The members also had various solo activities, with Doyeon continuing her acting and modeling career[32][33], Yoojung starring in a food variety show[34], as well as doing many other activities[35][36], Lucy joining the AsiaLab Studio and pursing acting[37][38], Elly and Sei starring in Cheongchunhyang Jeon[39] and Suyeon continuing her #CH420 project[40].

The Star Magazine (December 2021)

On November 8, 2021, Fantagio announced that Weki Meki will have a comeback with their 5th mini album, I Am Me.. The album was released on November 18 with the song Siesta serving as the title track. Due to her wrist injury, Doyeon was not present during performance-related activities. The album showcase was held on the day of the release on VLIVE. The group is featured in December 2021 edition of The Star[41] and W Magazine[42]. Yoojung and Suyeon appeared on Seulgi ZIP. Yoojung and Doyeon appeared on "Showterview with Jessi" where they promoted the group, as well as their solo activities.[43] Rina, Lua and Lucy appeared on Young Street by Red Velvet's Wendy.[44][45]

On February 23, 2022, Fantagio released new profile photos of the members and announced that Weki Meki is preparing for an active year ahead.[46]

On April 20, 2022, an 8-episode web series called "Honey Jam Log: Homecoming Party Weki Meki" premiered exclusively on the Universe platform.

On May 26, 2022, it was announced that Weki Meki has a winning status in the first round of Mnet's fan-voted competition ROAD TO MAX, earning them a special stage on M Countdown and a chance to progress to Road to KCON.[47] On June 30, 2022, the group performed Siesta on M Countdown.[48][49]

On June 16, 2022, it was announced that Weki Meki would perform at 2022 UNI-KON music festival on July 2.[50] The group also performed at 2022 G-KPOP concert on July 16[51] and the opening ceremony for 2022 Seoul Festa on August 10.[52]

On August 7, 2022, Fantagio announced the release of Weki Meki's official lightstick.[53] The next day, on the group's fifth anniversary, a new reality show "We&Me" was announced for their YouTube channel.

On September 30, 2022, the group performed at the opening ceremony for 2022 Yangsan Sapryang Culture Festival.[54] Lucy was absent due to health issues.[55]

On January 28, 2023, the group celebrated their 2000th day with a special event they organized for fans and a live stream on YouTube.[56]