NeonPunch

NeonPunch
NeonPunch performing at the 4th Happy Festival of Urban Kids, November 2019
Background information
Origin	Seoul, South Korea
Genres	K-pop
Years active	2018 (2018)–2020 (2020)
Labels	A100
Past members	Dayeon Terry Baekah May Iaan Dohee
Website	neon-punch.com

NeonPunch (Korean: 네온펀치) was a South Korean girl group formed by A100 Entertainment. The lineup originally consisted of Dayeon, Terry, Baekah, May, and Iaan, and they released their debut mini-album Moonlight on June 27, 2018. Terry left the group the following January and was replaced by Dohee. NeonPunch released their second and final mini-album Watch Out January 30, 2019, and disbanded on August 11, 2020.

History

2017–2018: Formation and debut

On February 7, 2017, A100 Entertainment announced that they would be doing their first girl group project via their YouTube channel and started uploading covers of the group. There was a various number of members throughout the project that were always masked and kept their identities a secret while they did the covers. The number of members changed until only five members remained and they formed the final line-up. On October 2, A100 announced that their girl group will be named NeonPunch and introduced the members through a teaser for their pre-debut reality show. The members were Dayeon, Hajeong, Baekah, Arang, and Iaan.^[1] NeonPunch auditioned for JTBC's reality show, Mix Nine,^[2] but only Baekah passed the audition stage and made it onto the show.^[3]

On April 13, 2018, A100 announced that NeonPunch would be the new model for Beauty brand DPC. The members of the group were Baekah, Dayeon, and Iaan with new members May and Terry. The group was stated to debut at the end of May.^[4] On May 8, A100 announced that the debut was postponed to June, and the five members Baekah, Dayeon, Iaan, May and Terry were confirmed as the final members of NeonPunch.^[5]

NeonPunch performing "Moonlight" in June 2018; from left: Terry, Iaan, Dayeon, May, Baekah

On June 27, 2018, NeonPunch released their first single album, Moonlight, along with the eponymous lead single.^[6][7] On June 30, they made their official debut stage on the music program MBC's Show! Music Core.^[8] On October 4, A100 announced that Terry had taken a break for personal reasons and had not explained anything further.^{[citation needed]}

2019–2020: Watch Out and disbandment

On January 16, 2019, A100 had revealed that Terry would permanently leave the group for health reasons. In her stead, new member Dohee joined the group prior to the group's January comeback.^[9] On January 30, NeonPunch released their second mini album Watch Out and its lead single "Tic Toc".^[10]

On August 11, 2020, A100 Entertainment announced that NeonPunch had disbanded, due in part to the label's financial hardships exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[11] Shortly after, it was announced by the label that Dayeon, Baekah, and Iaan would be debuting as a trio named XUM on August 25. The debut was delayed to September 24, after one of their staff members had come into contact with someone who had COVID-19.^[12][13] The group XUM later disbanded on June 1, 2021.

Members

• Dayeon (다연) – leader (2018–2020)
• Terry (테리) (2018–2019)
• Baekah (백아) (2018–2020)
• May (메이) (2018–2020)
• Iaan (이안) (2018–2020)
• Dohee (도희) (2019–2020)

Discography

Extended plays

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Sales
		KOR [14]
Moonlight	Released: June 27, 2018 Label: A100 Entertainment, Genie Music Format: CD, digital download Track listing Moonlight Moonlight (CHN Ver.) Moon Light (Inst.)	37	—
Watch Out	Released: January 30, 2019 Label: A100 Entertainment, Genie Music Format: CD, digital download Track listing Watch Out (Intro) Tic Toc Like it Goodbye My Friends	45	KOR: 582[15]

Singles

Title	Year	Album
"Moonlight"	2018	Moonlight
"Tic Toc"	2019	Watch Out

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominee / work	Award	Result	Ref.
2019	NeonPunch	25th Korean Entertainment Arts Awards – Female Rookie of the Year Award	Won	[16]

References

1. "'新 걸그룹' 네온펀치, 웹 예능 리얼리티 '아이돌의 조건'으로 첫 인사". Next Daily. October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
2. "A100 네온펀치X전예임, '믹스나인' 출연…센터 도전장 내민다". Next Daily. October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
3. "A100 김수아는 누구? '믹스나인' 첫 순위 발표식서 62계단 '껑충'". Next Daily. November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
4. "뷰티 브랜드 DPC, 광고모델로 신예 걸그룹 '네온펀치' 발탁". Joins News. April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
5. "네온펀치, 최종멤버 5인 확정…데뷔 카운트다운 돌입". Xports News. May 8, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
6. "'신예' 네온펀치, '문라이트'로 기존 걸그룹과 차별화 꾀한다". Next Daily. June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
7. "[팝업★]"양현석도 홀렸다"…'데뷔' 네온펀치, 가요계 강력 '한방' 날릴까". Herald POP. June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
8. "'음악중심' 네온펀치, 펑키+발랄 '문라이트' 완벽한 무대". Biz Enter. June 30, 2018. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
9. "네온펀치, 새 멤버 도희 영입..1월 말 컴백 확정(공식)" (in Korean). January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
10. "네온펀치, 당찬 컴백 출사표 #탄산돌 #새 멤버 #1000만뷰 [종합]". Xports News. January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
11. "네온펀치 측 "5인조 완전체 해체…3인조 재데뷔 예정"[공식]". MK. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
12. Jung, Byeong-keun (August 12, 2020). 네온펀치→3인조 썸, 25일 'Ddalala'로 재데뷔. The Fact (in Korean). Retrieved August 12, 2020.
13. "[단독] 걸그룹 썸, 코로나19 검사 받는다…네온펀치 해체후 재데뷔". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved August 20, 2020.
14. "Gaon Chart – Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
15. "Circle Chart" 2019년 01월 Album Chart [January 2019 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
16. Lee, Da-kyeom (March 25, 2019). 네온펀치, '2019 대한민국 연예예술상' 신인상 쾌거. Star Today (in Korean). Retrieved August 12, 2020.

External links

• Official website