11 Artists Who Left YG Entertainment, And What They’re Doing Now
1. Se7en
Se7en debuted with YG Entertainment in 2003 and received several Rookie of the Year awards.
He continued to rise in popularity through Korea and all of Asia, and made his American debut in 2009.
Se7en was discharged from the military in December 2014, a service marked with scandal due to breaking curfew and visiting a massage parlour famous for prostitution.
His contract with YG Entertainment expired months later and they mutually agreed not to renew the singer’s contract.
He established his own agency, ELEVEN9 Entertainment and returned to music in 2016. Most recently, he acted in the musical “Dogfight” with G.O.D’s Son Hoyoung and BTOB’s Changsub.
2. Katie Kim
Katie Kim won the audition program K-Pop Star 4 in 2015 and decided to sign a contract with YG Entertainment.
She spent the next three years going back and forth from Korea to the United States to work with foreign music producers and film various music videos.
The creative director who was in charge of Katie at YG Entertainment had left and started a new label, and Katie decided with YG Entertainment to follow him to his new label — AXIS.
Katie debuted in June 2018 under AXIS, although YG Entertainment was still responsible for the distribution of her album.
3. Taebin
Taebin debuted in 1998 with hip hop ground 1TYM, as the lead singer. They are recognized as one of the most influential figures in Korean music history.
1TYM went on hiatus in 2006 and their last performance together was in 2008, at BIGBANG’s concert in Japan.
In 2012, he launched his own show, Danny from LA, on Mnet America in which he talked K-Pop, interviewed Korean singers, and more.
4. Minzy
Minzy debuted when she was 15 years old with 2NE1, one of the most successful and best selling girl groups of all time.
Following the suspension of Bom’s contract in 2014 due to her drug scandal, the other members began to explore solo careers and Minzy opened the Millennium Dance Academy.
Minzy officially left YG Entertainment in 2016, which triggered the disbandment of 2NE1.
She signed with CJ E&M’s subsidiary label Music Works and released her solo debut in April 2017!
5. Wheesung
In 2000, Wheesung signed onto YG Entertainment’s former sister company — M Boat. He released his first solo album in 2002 and was the best selling artist in 2003.
In March 2006, he left YG Entertainment after his contract expired and moved to Orange Shock Agency. He then moved to POP/UP Entertainment in 2009 and YMC Entertainment in 2011. There, he recruited Ailee and wrote her debut hit, “Heaven”.
In 2017, he parted ways with YMC Entertainment and set up an independant label called Realslow Company, and he will now be promoting as Realslow — a name he used as an underground R&B singer. He aims to produce soulful music and bring popularity to the genre of R&B in Korea!
6. Gummy
Gummy debuted in 2003 with her title track “Memory Loss” which brought her instant success and led her to win the Bonsang at the 19th Golden Disk Awards.
10 years after her debut, she left YG Entertainment and signed with C-JeS Entertainment.
She explained in an interview that she wasn’t able to release music as often as she wanted under YG Entertainment, despite preparing entire albums – only to be turned down.
Her OST tracks for Descendants of the Sun and Moonlight Drawn by Clouds caused the media to call her “OST Queen”. She recently married actor Jo Jung Suk in October (2018)!
7. Hyukoh
Hyukoh gained mainstream popularity upon releasing their debut EP “20” and participating in Infinite Challenge‘s song festival.
In 2015, they were the first to sign with YG’s new independent label HIGHGRND — which was headed by Epik High’s Tablo at the time. Their first studio album, 23, did very well on Korean music charts and placed sixth on Billboard’s World Albums chart.
Tablo resigned as CEO of HIGHGRND in 2017 and as a result the artists in the label revealed they had signed with other labels.
Hyukoh has since signed with DRDRamc, which also houses Kiha & the Faces and other artists.
8. Park Bom
Before debut, Bom featured on BIGBANG and Lexy’s albums and finally debuted as the main vocalist of 2NE1 in 2009.
In 2014, Bom went on hiatus from the entertainment industry as a result of a drug scandal.
Her next apperance was with 2NE1 at the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards, however YG Entertainment announced the disbandment of the group in November 2016.
In July 2018, it was reported that she had signed an exclusive contract with new label D-Nation Entertainment. She is planning to release a new mini-album in January of 2019!
9. Nam Taehyun
Taehyun was one of the trainees who competed in Win: Who Is Next, and debuted as a member of WINNER back in 2014.
He also made his acting debut in 2015 and received a lot of negative feedback as a result.
In October 2016, YG Entertainment announced that he would be halting promotional activities and receivng treatment for mental health issues.
One month later, it was announced he had withdrawn from WINNER and terminated his contract with YG Entertainment.
He launched his music label “South Buyers Club” and his new band South Club in May 2018.
They released music in June and July of this year! Check it out here.
10. PSY
PSY walked away from inheriting his father’s software development company to pursue music, debuting in 2001.
After struggling with financial difficulties following his release from mandatory military duty, his wife encouraged him to join YG Entertainment as he was old friends with Yang Hyun Suk.
Two years after joining YG Entertainment, he released his sixth album and the famous “Gangnam Style” which was an international hit and became the most viewed video in YouTube history for almost 6 years.
PSY officially left YG Entertainment in May 2018 after 8 years there, and has been touring South Korea independently since then!
11. Ha Dong Kyun
Ha Dong Kyun debuted as a member of the male group Wanted in 2004. Just months after their debut, member Seo Jae Hyo died in a car accident and the group went on hiatus for three years.
They finally released their second album under WS Entertainment. Ha Dong Kyun found significant success as a solo artist with hits like “Please Love Her” and “Butterfly”.
He is also well known as IU’s former vocal trainer and participates on many singing variety shows like I Can See Your Voice.
