Korean-Japanese girl group IZ*ONE is now among the first artists to join NCSoft's online fan club platform, UNIVERSE, with their own "IZ*ONE Planet."
On November 12, NCSoft Corporation and its subsidiary Klap Co. Ltd has announced IZ*ONE joining the newest fan community service. Additionally, the UNIVERSE's Twitter account announced the launch of the IZ*ONE Planet, with a 22-second video and a link for fans to pre-register on the platform. Through the IZ*ONE Planet, all twelve members can interact with their WIZ*ONE, the girl group's official fanbase.
Before the IZ*ONE planet announcement, NCSoft's UNIVERSE has released a pair of teaser videos - both titled DISAPPEAR 1, but with the other using the Japanese term (Kieru 1) and writing - showing hints relating to the group's previous singles. The teasers ended with the question: "Where did they go?" The video also announced that starting on November 12, the "missing artists" will be revealed on the website. In the November 12 video reveal, the members introduced themselves and invited fans to check the "clues" on the UNIVERSE website.
In the new fan interaction platform, artists can create and offer exclusive content never seen before in existing platforms, both online and offline. UNIVERSE services also come in three languages - English, Korean, and Japanese - and will be available in 134 countries. The platform also offers two original features: "Collection" allows fans to archive their respective fandom activities and earn rewards. Meanwhile, "Studio" will allow fans to style up their favorite idols in animated 3D and create their own music videos based on the artists' motion capture data. UNIVERSE also used the latest technology to let fans listen to AI-generated voices of IZ*ONE. It was created through NCSoft's speech synthesis technologies and samples from the artists themselves.
IZ*ONE joins fellow K-Pop acts ATEEZ, (G)I-DLE, The Boyz, Daniel Kang, and Monsta X. The next artist reveal is set for November 18, 10:00 KST.
About IZ*ONE
IZ*ONE is a girl group formed from the Mnet reality competition show "Produce 48," which ran back in 2018. The 12-member group has 9 Korean members: Jang Won-young, Jo Yu-ri, Choi Ye-na, An Yu-jin, Kwon Eun-bi, Kang Hye-won, Kim Chae-won, Kim Min-Ju, and Lee Chae-Yeon, and 3 Japanese members: Nako Yabuki, Sakura Miyawaki, and Hitomi Honda. Their group name, IZ is a word based on the number 12, referring to the number of its members, and "ONE" to indicate their singularity as a group.
The girl group released their debut album, "Bloom*Iz," on February 17, 2020. The twelve-track album included the lead single "Fiesta," a festive synth song that managed to enter the singles chart in South Korea (Gaon), Japan (Japan Hot 100), and in the United States (Billboard).
Later in the year, IZ*ONE released its first Japanese-language studio album "Twelve" on October 21. "Twelve" includes Japanese versions of their songs previously released in Korean, with the album itself receiving three different physical versions and seven different cover arts. It topped both the Oricon and Billboard Japan charts.
