On May 1st, Lizzy officially announced through a handwritten letter that she is leaving her group After School.
Her former agency, Pledis Entertainment then confirmed the news and also announced that their exclusive contract with Lizzy has expired through a post on the group’s fan café as well as their official site.
They wrote,
“We inform you that our contract with Lizzy has expired on Monday, April 30, 2018.
We and Lizzy have been in deep conversation and after discussions we have agreed to end our management duties with respect to Lizzy’s intention to fulfill her dreams through various challenges.
We would like to thank Lizzy for trusting us and working with us for a long time. Although the management work is over, we will continue to support Lizzy’s future activities, who will not only continue to promote as a singer but in other fields as well.”
In the letter Lizzy wrote to fans, she thanked the CEO of Pledis Entertainment for giving her the chance to promote as Lizzy for 9 years, she called the graduation “the second part of my life,” and shared that she felt bad and that graduation came too quickly.
She also went on to thank the members who shared sorrow and joyful moment with her and thanked the fandom for their continuous support.
Lizzy debuted as a part of After School back in 2010 after Pledis Entertainment introduced a graduation system to the group which allowed girls to be added and leave, the group has originally debuted with five members but more girls were added while some left in the past years.
It started when Uee joined in April of 2009, in the same year Yoo So Young left After School, Raina and Nana joined in 2009 as well and Lizzy joined the group in 2010.
The changes to the group didn’t stop in 2010, many of the original members left while two new others were added.
Lizzy was more known as a member of the sub-unit Orange Caramel which consisted of fellow members Nana and Raina, the group has debuted in 2010 and became a huge Kpop sensation with their rather unusual original themes.
As of 2018, After School has four remaining members which are Raina, Nana, E-Young, and Ga Eun.
Following the news, many fans presumed that Orange Caramel is over, but Pledis Entertainment debunked the rumors by releasing a statement to OSEN that confirms the sub-unit has not disbanded, they also explained that if the chance comes and “an opportunity presents itself” the group might still release an album, they also added that they will give their full support for the group.
How do you feel about this?
