Second-Generation K-Pop Idol Gets Real About Why Her Group Disbanded
After the success of K-Pop’s first generation, the second generation kicked off a new wave of talented artists who took K-Pop to new heights globally.
As defining groups of K-Pop’s second generation began to emerge, companies rushed to debut competing artists with the hopes they would also top the charts and take over the world.
One Korean entertainment company, Paramount Music, had its own vision for how it would debut a revolutionary K-Pop group they were confident would succeed and set out to form K-Pop’s first “biracial group.” The group debuted in 2011 with five members and became known as ChoColat.
ChoColat debuted with their title track, “Syndrome,” with Korean members Min Soa, Jaeyoon, and Korean American members Tia, Melanie, and Julianne.
Former member Melanie revealed in a 2017 interview that although they were cautioned that debuting wouldn’t be “all fun and games,” they were also given empty promises about the likelihood of their success.
Basically we were given empty promises: ‘You guys are gonna debut, this is gonna be a biracial girl group, you guys are gonna be amazing, so famous, you guys are gonna make it, it’s going to be revolutionary, you guys are just gonna train, you guys can do this, it’s gonna be so easy.’
— Former ChoColat’s Melanie
After their “Syndrome” promotions, Jaeyoon left the group, and the remaining four members continued promoting, releasing four singles and one mini-album, I Like It, in their time together
In 2013, a new Korean American member joined the group, Lori Thomas, but she was never able to promote with them as the group went on an extended hiatus after their “Black Tinkerbell” promotions that same year.
After “Black Tinkerbell,” the group seemingly disappeared until member Tia released a statement in 2017 announcing that her contract was coming to an end and she would no longer be in the group.
Hello, everyone,
I first wanted to thank all of my fans for the love and support you have given throughout the years. Due to my contract coming to an end, I will no longer be able to work as ChoColat Tia. I do plan to continue pursuing my music and am continuously working on my own projects. Please anticipate my comeback and I ask that you all support my future activities. Thank you again and I love you all.
— Former ChoColat’s Tia
Tia recently guested on the Korean Cowboys podcast with Joel Jay Lane and NU’EST‘s Aron and opened up about why the group came to an end.
According to Tia, although the group didn’t quietly disband until 2017, their promotions ended in 2015.
She acknowledged the group’s unofficial disbandment at the time and revealed that she was still asked about the reason the group ended until recently.
Tia explained the group’s silence and shared that she couldn’t say much while the group was still under contract. Now, she shares that the group ended because some members were ready for it to be over.
In her 2017 interview, Melanie mirrored what Tia said, acknowledging that the group didn’t confirm the end of their activities sooner because of contract restrictions, and she wished she could have told fans earlier.
The entire time until now everyone was just kind of laying low, doing our own thing, waiting until the contract was over, but because of the contract, we were legally bound and not able to say anything. We weren’t able to make statements, which is why everyone was like ‘What are you guys doing, why aren’t you saying anything?’
— Former ChoColat’s Melanie
Tia is the only former ChoColat member that remained active in the entertainment industry and is signed to a new company through which she is auditioning for acting roles.
Check out the group’s last single below!
Share This Post
