Changing group names is rare in the K-pop industry, but it doesn't mean it did not happen before. There are actually some idol groups that underwent name changes for various reasons including departure from their initial company or welcoming/losing members.
6 K-pop Groups That Rebranded With New Name
Highlight (formerly known as BEAST)
Currently composed of four members, Highlight was initially introduced to the public as B2ST and had six members. Their agency CUBE Entertainment then changed their group name to Beast prior to debut.
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In April 2016, one BEAST member (Hyunseung) left the group and CUBE. The five remaining members then decided not to renew their contracts later that year. At the same time, they launched their new label called Around Us Entertainment. However, the boy group was unable to promote under BEAST as this name is trademarked by CUBE.
In February 2017, Around Us Entertainment announced that BEAST will now be called Highlight. Two years later, Junhyung parted ways with the group and agency.
ONEWE (formerly known as MAS 0094)
Another K-pop boy group that changed its name is MAS 0094 (Make a Sound 0094), who is now known as ONEWE. The band started its career in May 2015 as an independent group that performs and covers popular tracks with all proceeds going to charity.
MAS 0094 then left Modern Music and joined RBW in April 2017. They shortened their name to MAS at that time.
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In June 2018, RBW announced that MAS would re-debut under the new name ONEWE, which originates from the combination of "We" from "We Shine On You" and "One." Their group name carries the message "through the power that 'We' have of shining a light on the world, we will become 'One.'"
Dreamcatcher (formerly known as MINX)
Next, we have a K-pop girl group named Dreamcatcher, which is initially called MINX. This female act first consisted of five members, namely JiU, Siyeon, Dami, SuA, and Yoohyeon. They debuted in September 2014 with their first single "Why Did You Come to My Home?"
Unfortunately, MINX didn't gain much attention. Hence, the agency decided to make some changes in the group name and member lineup.
In January 2017, MINX re-debuted under the name Dreamcatcher with two additional members Gahyeon and Handong.
TO1 (formerly called TOO)
TOO is currently a nine-member boy group formed through Mnet's 2019 survival show "To Be World Klass." They debuted in April 2020 with their first mini-album "Reason For Being: Benevolence." Only eight members are active to date as Woongi is on hiatus to focus on his health.
In March 2021, TOO announced their change of name at KCON:TACT 3. They also revealed their new greeting phrase "Together as One" ahead of their performance as TO1.
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The group's former name "TOO" stood for "Ten Oriented Orchestra," while the new name "TO1" means to be "TOgether as ONE (1)."
TO1 originally had 10 members, but Chihoon left in April 2022 after getting his contract with WakeOne Entertainment terminated. The reason for his departure was not revealed.
DKZ (formerly called DONGKIZ)
The last boy group on our list is DKZ, who used to be called DONGKIZ. They debuted as a quintet in April 2019 with their first single album "Dongkiz on the Block."
In March 2022, Dongyo Entertainment announced the departure of DONGKIZ member Wondae due to his continuing health problems. The company also revealed that DONGKIZ will rebrand itself by changing its name to DKZ and welcoming three new members, totaling to seven members. Munik is still on hiatus due to health issues.
They were rebranded after DKZ Jaechan rose to popularity thanks to his role in the popular BL drama "Semantic Error," which aired from February to March.
BLACKSWAN (formerly called RANIA and BLACK PEARL RANIA)
To complete the list of K-pop groups that changed their name, we have here the girl group BLACKSWAN, who had two former names.
BLACKSWAN first debuted under the name RANIA in April 2011 with eight members. A year later, they started to lose members due to departures, starting with Joy, then Riko, Saem, Sharon (who was just added to the group in late 2014), and Jooyi.
To make it short, Rania had several lineup changes that resulted in the group having a total of 15 former members. They were rebranded in 2016 as BLACK PEARL RANIA or BP RANIA in reference to the darker skin tone of band member Alex.
In January 2020, DR Music announced that BP Rania would rebrand as B.S., which later changed to BLACKSWAN. The group currently has four members, namely Youngheun, Fatou, Judy, and Leia.
Do you know other K-pop groups that changed their name? Comment them down below!
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Written by Maria Scott
