Weki Meki

Weki Meki's 6th anniversary

**Weki Meki** (위키미키) is a South Korean girl group under **Fantagio**. They debuted on August 8, 2017 with their first mini album, **WEME**. The group consists of 8 members: Suyeon, Elly, Yoojung, Doyeon, Sei, Lua, Rina and Lucy.

They were known as the **i-Teen Girls** before debut.

## History

### Pre-debut

In 2011, Fantagio started their i-Teen auditions and training. The goal was to find talented rookies and train them in the company's G*ift 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. 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. 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". Elly, Yoojung, Doyeon, Lua and Lucy also had a cameo in ASTRO's pre-debut drama called "To Be Continued".

#### ***Produce 101 & I.O.I***

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. On March 25, Choi Yoojung kicked off the "i-Teen Girls After School Hangout" project. 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.

### 2017-2018

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. 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". This new concept was described as a mashup between the ‘teenager’ and ‘girl crush’ concepts.

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.

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".

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. 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.

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.

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.

### 2019-2020

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. Weki Meki performed at "K-Pop Together" festival in Texas, USA on October 25-26, 2019.

On February 6, 2020, their second digital single "**Dazzle Dazzle**" was released with member Yoojung joining from her hiatus. 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.

### 2021-2022

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.

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!”.

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

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 and W Magazine. 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. Rina, Lua and Lucy appeared on Young Street by Red Velvet's Wendy.

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

On April 20, 2022, an eight-episode web series "GGULlog.zam: Homecoming Party" 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. On June 30, 2022, the group performed Siesta on M Countdown.

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

On August 7, 2022, Fantagio announced the release of Weki Meki's official lightstick. 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. Lucy was absent due to health issues.

### 2023-present

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

On June 21, 2023, Weki Meki was announced as one of the performers on the Us Earth Festival which was originally planned to take place on August 12-13, but after it was postponed to September 23-24 due to bad weather forecast, the group was removed from the lineup.

On August 7, 2023, one day before their 6th anniversary, the group joined Weverse.

On October 1, 2023, the group performed at the 2023 Japan-Korea Exchange Festival in Tokio, Japan.

## Discography

### Mini albums

* *WEME* (2017)
* *Lucky* (2018)
* *Hide and Seek* (2020)
* *New Rules* (2020)
* *I Am Me. (2021)*

### Single albums

* "Kiss, Kicks" (2018)
* "LOCK END LOL" (2019)
	+ "WEEK END LOL" (repackage)  (2019)

### Promotional singles

* "Butterfly (2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Special)" (2018)
* "The Girls Running on the Sanmagiyet-gil" (2020)

### Collaborations

* "FM201.8-12Hz : All I Want"  (with ASTRO & HELLOVENUS) (2018)

### OSTs

* "Gangnam Beauty OST Part. 1" ("Love Diamond" (Doyeon, Elly, & Suyeon) (2018)
* "Single & Ready to Mingle OST" ("Again and Again" (Yoojung & Doyeon) (2020)
* "Pumpkin Time OST" ("Luv") (2021)
* "Miracle OST" ("Between Us Two") (2022)
* "Becoming Witch OST" ("Now Or Never") (2022)

### Compilation Appearances

* "One More Time" (*Two You Project-Sugar Man 2 Part.12)* (2018)
* "Sweety" (*Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend (Let's Sing Spring))* (2018)
* "Sunset Glow" (붉은 노을) (*tvN 300 x NC Fever Music 2018)* (2018)
* "Shinsa-dong and the Man" (신사동 그 사람) (*Immortal Songs: Singing the Legend (Joo Hyun-mi Part 2))* (2020)

### Participation releases

* *Listen-Up EP.4* ("Stupid L♡ve (6:00 PM)") (2022)

## Official links

* Japanese website
* YouTube
* Facebook
* Instagram
* Members twitter
* Weverse
* Fan cafe
* Kakao
* Weibo
* VLive archive

## References

1. ↑ Fantagio Launches V Live Channel For New Girl Group And Discusses Potential Debut Details
2. ↑ Fantagio is a unique agency: "Sex education mandatory"
3. ↑ i-Teen Twitter & i-Teen YouTube
4. ↑ i-Teen Girls at Lotte World Fresh Concert
5. ↑ To Be Continued cast
6. ↑ Fantagio Launches V Live Channel For New Girl Group
7. ↑ Choi Yoojung Greets Fans In Cute Self-Intro Video For i-Teen Girls Broadcast Project
8. ↑ Group name 'Weki Meki' confirmed
9. ↑ Weki Meki Confirms Debut Date And Showcase Details
10. ↑ Weki Meki 'WEME' Debut Showcase
11. ↑ Fantagio Music to debut new K-pop girl group WEME with self-titled EP
12. ↑ What Is The 'Teen Crush' Concept?
13. ↑ 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards
14. ↑ Weki Meki’s Comeback To Be Delayed Due To Current Issues In Fantagio
15. ↑ Weki Meki Gives Update On Delayed Comeback
16. ↑ 2018 Korea Music Festival Reveals Full Lineup Of Artists Joining SHINee, TWICE, Wanna One, And More
17. ↑ K-pop fans rejoiced as MBC Music Show Champion visits Manila for the second time
18. ↑ Weki Meki’s Choi Yoojung To Take Hiatus Due To Health Issues
19. ↑ K-Pop Together 2019 | Promo Clip
20. ↑ Weki Meki’s Choi Yoojung To Take Hiatus Due To Health Issues
21. ↑ (G)I-DLE X IZ\*ONE X Weki Meki - Into The New World
22. ↑ I.O.I Celebrates Their 5th Debut Anniversary In Live Broadcast Reunion
23. ↑ KCON:TACT 4 U is here at Weki Meki's practice room!
24. ↑ Greeting video for Dream Concert
25. ↑ MIC ON4: Weki Meki Announced
26. ↑ K-Community Festival: Weki Meki Announced
27. ↑ Weki Meki guest on Gossip Idle by (G)I-dle's Miyeon
28. ↑ Weki Meki guests on Moonbyul's 'Studio Moon Night' - Ep 3
29. ↑ Weki Meki on Back to the Idol
30. ↑ Weki Meki - PARTY
31. ↑ Weki Meki's 4th Anniversary on NOW
32. ↑ Weki Meki’s Kim Doyeon Confirmed To Play Jun Ji Hyun’s Younger Counterpart In New Drama
33. ↑ Doyeon for Marie Claire
34. ↑ Weki Meki's Choi Yoo Jung joins upcoming new food variety
35. ↑ Yoojung on Raiden's album
36. ↑ Weki Meki's Yoojung selected as host for 'LoL The Next 2021'
37. ↑ Weki Meki Lucy to challenge acting in a global project film titled 'ASIA'
38. ↑ AI Her IMDb
39. ↑ Sei and Elly in Cheongchunhyang Jeon
40. ↑ #CH420 YouTube Tag
41. ↑ Weki Meki in The Star Magazine (Dec 2021)
42. ↑ Weki Meki in W Magazine (Dec 2021)
43. ↑ Yoojung & Doyeon's chemistry interview! (Showterview with Jessi)
44. ↑ [Young Street X HANBAM Highlight] Weki Meki members are besties, but today the king is revealed!
45. ↑ [Young Street X HANBAM Behind] Nap is over! Watch Weki Meki getting showered with love
46. ↑ New 2022 Profile Pictures Released
47. ↑ ROAD TO MAX 1st Gen Winners Announcement
48. ↑ Weki Meki - Siesta (ROAD TO MCD)
49. ↑ [MAX LIVE] Weki Meki ROAD TO M COUNTDOWN 1st Gen Winner
50. ↑ 2022 #UNI\_KON\_LINEUP RELEASE!
51. ↑ '2022 G-KPOP' concert lineup revealed
52. ↑ 2022 SEOUL E-Prix opening performance
53. ↑ Weki Meki Official Lightstick
54. ↑ 220930 Weki Meki (위키미키) - Siesta/Picky Picky/Tiki-Taka (99%)/One Day/양산삽량문화축전 직캠
55. ↑ @wekimeki\_staff on Twitter: Weki Meki Lucy's absence from schedule due to poor physical condition
56. ↑ 2000 days with Weki Meki
57. ↑ @UsEarthFestival on Twitter (August 24, 2023)
58. ↑ @WeverseOfficial on Twitter (August 7, 2023)
59. ↑ XportNews: Weki Meki, the smile that captivated Japan