Stellar (South Korean band)

Stellar
Stellar at the Phoenix Summer Festival in October 2015.
From left to right: Hyoeun, Jeonyul (former), Gayoung (former) and Minhee.
Background information
Origin Seoul, South Korea
Genres
Years active 2011 (2011)–2018
Labels The Entertainment Pascal
Website The Entertainment Pascal
Past members
  • Minhee
  • Hyoeun
  • Soyoung
  • Youngheun
  • Leeseul
  • JoA
  • Gayoung
  • Jeonyul

Stellar (Hangul: 스텔라) was a South Korean girl group whose final lineup was composed of Minhee, Hyoeun, Soyoung & Youngheun that disbanded in 2018. Formed in 2011 by The Entertainment Pascal,[fn 1] the group attracted attention as they were initially produced by Eric Mun of the boy band Shinhwa.[1]

Following an unsuccessful debut with the single "Rocket Girl" in August 2011, Stellar underwent a line-up change and released "UFO" in February 2012, which fared similarly.[2]

The group began working with production team MonoTree in July 2013 and released "Study", which experienced modest success and became their first single to chart in the top 100 of the Gaon Digital Chart.[3][fn 2][4] Stellar gained notoriety in February 2014, when they adopted a more "provocative" image for the release of their first extended play Marionette. The album's title track peaked at number thirty-five on the Gaon Digital Chart, making it their most commercially successful single.[5] This stylistic change in direction would be maintained in Stellar's subsequent releases "Vibrato" in 2015 and their second extended play Sting in 2016.[6][7]

Career

2011–2014: Early beginnings, debut, and Marionette

The formation of Stellar began as early as 2010, originally supposed to be a six-membered group with a former trainee from Japan, but when Top Class Entertainment reported that member Kim Gayoung had signed an exclusive contract with the company and would be joining a five-member girl group.[8][9] Gayoung had gained attention for her appearance on the Viewers' Tour episode of 1 Night 2 Days and had been cast in the drama series Poseidon alongside Top Class Entertainment operator and Shinhwa member Eric Mun. The series was set to air on the SBS network until production halted following the November 2010 Yeonpyeong bombardment incident.[10] The roles were subsequently recast when production was greenlit by KBS a year later.[11] Gayoung was later cast in the 2011 drama Spy Myung-wol along with Mun.

Stellar in February 2013.

The final debut line-up of Stellar was Gayoung, true rookie Jeon-yul, and ex-Honeydew members Lee-seul and JoA.[12] The group officially debuted on August 28, 2011, with the release of the digital single "Rocket Girl". On January 26, 2012, it was announced that Lee-seul and JoA were leaving the group and would be replaced by Min-hee and Hyo-eun for their first comeback track "UFO".[13]

On July 11, 2013, Stellar released their third digital single "Study" which, similarly to their previous two tracks, did not chart in the top 100.[14]

On February 12, 2014, Stellar released their first extended play Marionette.[15] The group received criticism for their "stripping game" promotional material, which involved fans having to "like" posts on Stellar's official Facebook page to reveal photos of the members' body parts.[16] The group received further criticism for their 19+ music video and performances of "Marionette".[17] Despite the controversy, "Marionette" became their best selling single, peaking at number 35 and 34 on Gaon and Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 charts, respectively.[18][19]

On August 21, 2014, Stellar released the digital single "Mask".

2015-2016: Singles, Sting, first solo concert and "Cry"

On March 9, 2015, Stellar released the digital single "Fool" and its music video. The MV shows the members reacting to the negative comments of their past comebacks.

On July 20, 2015, Stellar released the single "Vibrato" and another controversial music video, gaining more recognition.[20] The group responded to criticism of their revealing performance outfits with the explanation that "Vibrato"'s sexy music video was merely meant to be an expression of the group's unique identity.[21] While promoting "Vibrato", Stellar released a virtual reality clip of a July 27 performance. The video – created by virtual reality company Moovr – allows viewers to use their computer mouse or move their smartphone to scroll around a 360-degree rotating view of the stage as the four members perform.[22]

On January 8, 2016, it was announced that the group would return on January 18 with their second mini-album titled Sting.[23] The album's creation was supported in part through a Makestar-hosted crowd-funding campaign. The campaign's original goal of $8,418 was reached in only three days, ultimately reaching 422% of its goal with $35,510.[24] On January 18, 2016, the album and a music video for the title track "Sting" were released. The band explained that their intentions for "Sting" were different from "Marionette" and "Vibrato", stating "This time, we wanted to look more like a girlfriend rather than to [...] look provocative. We put on lighter makeup so that more fans will feel closer to us."[25] The previously released single "Vibrato" was included as the final track on the album.[26]

Stellar announced on April 1 that they would be holding their first solo concert, since their debut, on April 22, 2016, at Seoul's Yes24 MUVHALL.[27] They brought to their fans a range of unique performances, including hit songs like "Marionette" and "Sting". The concert was live-streamed on various websites such as Allreh TV, Allreh TV mobile and Goliveconcert.com. [28]

On July 10, 2016, it was officially announced that the group would be releasing their seventh single album called "Cry" on July 18, posting the date of release and the first teaser images for the single through their official Twitter account.[29] This project was also supported, in part, by a Makestar crowd-funding project which raised $53,593 (532% of its original goal).[30] However, the stylistic change was not well received, and Stellar saw little success on the charts.

They went on to hold a second concert, entitled 'Stellar 2nd Concert: After Story' on December 3, 2016, while also debuting in Japan with a showcase in Tokyo on August 27[31] and a concert on December 24.

2017: Stellar Into The World, line-up changes and disbandment

Stellar ended 2016 by launching a third Makestar fundraising event in support of their third mini-album on December 26. By the time the project finished they had reached 1,132% of their original goal, making them the first group on Makestar to achieve over 1,000%.[32] On March 25, 2017, Stellar held a special fansign in the city of Fortaleza, Brazil.[33] On March 26, 2017, Stellar was the first Korean girl group to hold a solo concert in Brazil, playing for a sold out crowd of almost 1,000 people.[34]

On May 17, it was reported that their new mini-album was to be released in late June. It was also revealed that a new member could possibly join the line-up with their new release.[35][36] On May 18, The Entertainment Pascal confirmed the addition of a new member, So-young, via Stellar's Makestar Project.[37] On June 20, The Entertainment Pascal announced that the group's third mini-album was set to be released on June 27 and was titled Stellar Into the World, with the title track "Archangels of the Sephiroth".[38][39] The teasers for the release showed an Angel vs. Witch theme, represented by mirroring photos where one had a light theme and the other had a dark theme. This theme was confirmed by both the tags used for the teaser images on social media and in a radio interview starring Stellar.

On August 22, it was announced that the group would be holding a special anniversary concert titled "Interstellar: Time Travel Through 6 Years" on August 28.[40] On August 23, it was confirmed that Gayoung and Jeonyul would leave Stellar at the end of the month after they decided not to renew their contracts with The Entertainment Pascal.[41]

On August 25, Stellar announced the addition of a new member, Youngheun.[42]

On September 30, members Youngheun and Soyoung were seen in YG Entertainment's teaser for Mix Nine, a show that would create a temporary boy or girl group, but neither member made it past the auditions.[43]

On February 22, 2018, the members posted to social media about how they had arranged a "final" fan meeting for the group, to be held on February 25, 2018.[44][45][46] Also on February 22, Gayoung tweeted "People who play with other people's emotions are the worst!", to which Hyoeun replied "True". Many fans took this to mean that the members were expressing their dissatisfaction with the company.[47]

On February 26, it was revealed that Minhee and Hyoeun had chosen not to renew their contracts with the company, and, as a result, the group would be disbanding.[48] Shortly after the disbandment, Minhee gave an interview where she apologized to the group's fans and assured them there was no discord among the members. She stated that Jeonyul and Gayoung were looking to move into acting, but she and Hyoeun had not decided what they were going to do yet.[49]

Members

Timeline

Discography

Extended plays

Title Album details Peak chart
positions
Sales
KOR
[50]
US World
[51]
Marionette 19
Sting
  • Released: January 18, 2016
  • Label: The Entertainment Pascal, Universal Music
  • Format: CD, digital download
13
Stellar Into the World
  • Released: June 27, 2017 (digital)
    July 14, 2017 (physical)
  • Label: The Entertainment Pascal, Genie Music
  • Format: CD, digital download
17 13
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Singles

Title Year Peak chart position Sales
(digital download)
Album
KOR
[56]
"Rocket Girl" 2011 143 Non-album singles
"UFO" 2012 188
"Study" 2013 90 Marionette
"Marionette" 2014 35
"Mask" 147 Non-album singles
"Fool" 2015 132
"Vibrato" 97 Sting
"Sting" 2016 90
"Crying" 116 Cry
"Archangels of the Sephiroth" 2017
  • KOR: —
Stellar Into The World
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Soundtracks/Other Features

Year Title Peak chart position Album Notes
KOR
[56]
2011 "Loving U" 194 Spy Myung-wol OST Part.5
2015 "My Love You" All is Well OST
2017 "Separation" No Way Out EP MoonBand ft. Hyoeun
"Summer, Summer" Black Star ft. Hyoeun

Music videos

List of music videos, with directors, showing year released
Year Title Director Alternate
version(s)
"Rocket Girl" 2011 Hong Won-ki[66]
"UFO" 2012 Hong Won-ki[66]
"Study" 2013 Joo Hee-sun[67]
"Marionette" 2014 Park Seung-hun[68]
  • "No Cut" Version[69]
"Mask"
"Fool" 2015 Lee Sa-gang[70]
"Vibrato" Digipedi[71]
"Sting" 2016 Digipedi[73]
"Love Spell"
"Crying" Digipedi[75]
"Archangels of the Sephiroth" 2017

Concerts

  • Stellar 1st Concert (April 22, 2016)
  • Stellar 2nd Concert: After Story (December 3, 2016)
  • Stellar Japan Concert (December 24, 2016)
  • FEELZ - Special Stellar in Brazil (March 26, 2017)
  • Interstellar: Time Travel Through 6 Years (August 28, 2017)

Filmography

Television

Year Title Channel Note(s)
2015 Human Documentary People is Good MBC Documentary[77]

Dramas

Year Title Channel Role(s) Note(s)
2017 Trace of the Hand Unknown All - Phonetopia Girls, Hyoeun - Soobin, Jeonyul - Lab Assistant Web drama
2017 Girl's War Unknown Web drama - Trace of the Hand season 2

Awards/Nominations

Year Awards Recipient Nominated work Category Result Ref.
2017 Seoul Webfest Awards Gayoung Blue Up, White Down Best Supporting Actress Nominated [78]
Best Ensemble Nominated
Best Dramedy Won

Footnotes

  1. Following Eric Mun's contract expiration with Top Class Entertainment in late 2013, the company renamed itself as The Entertainment Pascal.
  2. MonoTree was formed in 2014 by Hwang Hyun, G-High and Lee Joo-hyoung, former composers and writers of the production team Sweetune. "Study" is credited to the latter.

References

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  2. "Stellar honestly open up about why they had no choice but to go the sexy route". allkpop. 6Theory Media, LLC. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  3. Im, Se-yeong (13 July 2013). "[포토엔]스텔라 효은 '공부하세요 사랑해주세요~'". Newsen. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
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  21. Kim, Yu-jin. "Stellar says sexy M/V is an 'expression of identity'". The Kpop Herald. Herald Corporation. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  22. Ahn, Sung-mi. "Stellar to reveal 360-degree VR clip". The Kpop Herald. Herald Corporation. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  23. Hwang, Mi-hyeon. "스텔라, 이번엔 시스루 대신 흰 셔츠..남자로망 조준". Ilgan Sports. DramaHouse & J Content Hub Co., Ltd. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  24. "STELLAR mini-album production project (Updates tab, update #1)". Makestar. Makestar Inc. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  25. Son, Ji-hyoung. "Stellar releases 'Sting'". The Kpop Herald. Herald Corporation. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  26. "Sting: Naver Music". Naver Music. NAVER Corp. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  27. Ahn, Woorim Ahn (8 April 2016). "Stellar Finally Holds First Solo Concert". BNT News. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
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  30. "STELLAR 2nd Makestar Project". Retrieved 2017-02-03.
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  37. "Introducing our new member!". www.makestar.co. Retrieved 2017-05-18.
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  39. "Daum 카페". cafe.daum.net (in Korean). Retrieved 2017-06-25.
  40. https://www.soompi.com/2017/08/22/stellar-celebrate-6th-anniversary-concert/
  41. https://www.soompi.com/2017/08/23/stellars-gayoung-jeonyul-leave-group-contract-expires-month/
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    • "Marionette". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
    • "Sting". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
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  56. 1 2 "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2015. }
    • "Rocket Girl/Loving U". August 27, 2011. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014.
    • "UFO". February 11, 2012. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014.
    • "Study". July 13, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
    • "Marionette". February 22, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
    • "Mask". August 23, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
    • "Fool". March 14, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
    • "Vibrato". July 25, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
    • "Crying". July 23, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  57. Total sales for "Rocket Girl":
    • 2011년 36주차 Download Chart [Week 36 of 2011 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. p. 2. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
    • 2011년 37주차 Download Chart [Week 37 of 2011 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. p. 3. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
    • 2011년 38주차 Download Chart (국내) [Week 38 of 2011 Download Chart (Domestic)]. Gaon Music Chart. p. 4. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  58. Total sales for "UFO":
    • 2012년 07주차 Download Chart [Week 7 of 2012 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. p. 3. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
    • 2012년 08주차 Download Chart [Week 8 of 2012 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. p. 4. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  59. "2013년 7월 (July 2013) Download Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  60. Total sales for "Marionette":
    • "2014년 02월 (February 2014) Download Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
    • "Gaon Download Chart - 2014년 03월 (March 2014)". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  61. 2014년 08월 Download Chart [August 2014 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. p. 3. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  62. 2015년 03월 Download Chart [March 2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. p. 4. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  63. Total sales for "Vibrato":
    • 2015년 31주차 Download Chart [Week 31 of 2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved July 29, 2015.
    • 2015년 32주차 Download Chart [Week 32 of 2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). p. 2. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  64. Total sales for "Sting":
    • 2016년 04주차 Download Chart [Week 4 of 2016 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
    • 2016년 05주차 Download Chart [Week 5 of 2016 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. p. 2. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
    • 2016년 06주차 Download Chart [Week 6 of 2016 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. p. 3. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  65. Total sales for "Crying":
    • 2016년 30주차 Download Chart [Week 30 of 2016 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. p. 2. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
    • 2016년 31주차 Download Chart (국내) [Week 31 of 2016 Download Chart (Domestic)]. Gaon Music Chart. p. 4. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
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  67. "스텔라 (Stellar) - 공부하세요 (Study) MV". YouTube. CJENMMusic Official. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
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