Wooah (/wuɑː/; wuu-AH; Korean: 우아!; RR: Ua!, stylized in all caps; formerly known as woo!ah!)[1] is a South Korean girl group under H Music Entertainment. The group consists of five members: Nana, Wooyeon, Sora, Lucy, and Minseo. Originally a six-member group, Songyee left in August 2020 for personal reasons. The group debuted on May 13, 2020.
History
On March 20, 2020, the girl group "Woo!ah!" was announced on radio channels, by produced by NV Entertainment's director Han Ji-seok and CEO Kim Kyu-sang. Han Ji-seok is an overseas entertainment expert and had worked in SM Entertainment and Kakao M, while Kim Kyu-sang is a creative director and had produced and directed numerous artists representing Korea.[2]
2020: Debut with 'Exclamation', Songyee's departure and 'Qurious'
On April 24, the release schedule for the group's debut single album, Exclamation, was published.[3] Subsequently, image and solo film teasers for the members were released in the order: Wooyeon,[4] Minseo,[5] Lucy,[6] Songyee,[7] Sora,[8] and Nana.[9] The group made their debut on May 13 through a press showcase held at the Spigen Hall in Gangnam.[10] However, the releases of the single album Exclamation and the music video for the title track woo!ah! was postponed to May 15, in order to show more completeness in the group through improvements in both releases.[11]
On August 14, NV Entertainment announced that Songyee would leave the group for personal reasons.[12][13]
The group made their comeback on November 24 with their second single album Qurious.[14][15][16] The group held a press showcase and a comeback showcase for the release one day earlier.[17]
2021–2023: Wish, Catch the Star, Joy, Pit-a-Pat, and Queendom Puzzle
On May 7, 2021, a teaser photo posted on the group's social medias announced their comeback with their third single album, "Wish". "Wish" was released on May 27 with "Purple" serving as the single's title track.[18][19]
On January 4, 2022, the group released their first pre-release digital single titled "Catch the Stars".[20] On June 9, 2022, the group released their first extended playJoy and its lead single "Danger". The group's previous single "Catch the Stars" was also included in the EP.[21] On November 16, 2022, the group released their fourth single album Pit-a-Pat and its lead single "Rollercoaster".[22]
Members Nana and Wooyeon have participated in Mnet's reality competition show Queendom Puzzle. Nana eventually finished in 2nd place, placing her in the final lineup of the supergroup El7z Up, while Wooyeon finished in 9th place.[23]
2024–present: Company name change, Blush and Unframed
On January 1, 2024, NV entertainment changed their name to SSQ Entertainment.[24] On March 27, it was reported that the group will be comeback in April. Later, it was announced that the group will be making their comeback on April 8, with the 2nd digital single "BLUSH", composed by Ryan S. Jhun.[25] On April 1, the group released a promotion scheduler for the single.[26] On April 5, the group's social media accounts were changed from woo!ah! to wooah.[27] On April 8, the music video "Blush" was released.[28]
On May 24, it was confirmed that they would be coming back with a new album in June.[29] On May 31, SSQ announced that wooah will be releasing their second mini album Unframed on June 17.[30] On June 4, the group released a promotion scheduler for the album.[31] On June 17, the group made their comeback with the release of the EP Unframed, along with its lead single "Pom Pom Pom".[32] In July 2024, SSQ entertainment changed their name again, to H Music Entertainment.
Endorsements
On March 29, 2021, their agency announced “Panasonic Korea has selected woo!ah! as its new brand model.”[33]
On March 23, 2023 it was announced that Wooah will be the image model for Japan's popular color contact brand Eye Closet.[34]
On June 1, 2024 their agency SSQ Entertainment announced, “WOOAH has been selected as the models in the Japanese market for the British fashion brand KANGOL.”[35]
^Lee, Deok-haeng (May 13, 2020). "우아 "너무나 꿈꿨던 데뷔…무대 올라가기 전까지 실감 안나"" [Woo!ah!, "The debut I've dreamed of so much...""I can't believe it until I go on stage".]. Xports News (in Korean). Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^Lee, Seul (May 14, 2020). "'2020년 다크호스' 우아, '엠카'로 화려 데뷔 무대 예고" ["2020 Dark Horse" Woo!ah!'s flashy debut stage with "M Countdown".]. FN Star (in Korean). Retrieved January 13, 2022.
^"우아 'QURIOUS' 발매 쇼케이스[★포토]". Starnews (in Korean). November 23, 2020. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020 – via Naver.
^Jin-ah, Son (August 16, 2023). "'엘즈업 재데뷔' 휘서·나나·유키·케이·여름·연희·예은의 새 출발 [MK★이슈]" [EL7Z UP Re-debut' Hwiseo·Nana·Yuki·Kei·Yeoreum·Yeonhee·Yeeun's New Starts [MK★Issue]]. MK Sports (in Korean). Retrieved August 16, 2023 – via Naver.
Exclamation: "2020년 21주차 Album Chart" [Week 21 of 2020 Album Chart]. May 28, 2020. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
Qurious: "2020년 48주차 Album Chart" [Week 48 of 2020 Album Chart]. December 3, 2020. Archived from the original on December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
Wish: "2021년 23주차 Album Chart" [Week 23 of 2021 Album Chart]. June 10, 2021. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
Joy: "2022년 24주차 Album Chart" [Week 24 of 2022 Album Chart]. June 11, 2022. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
^"2020년 07월 Album Chart" [July 2020 Album Chart (see #148)]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
"2020년 12월 Album Chart" [December 2020 Album Chart (see #124)]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
"2021년 01월 Album Chart" [January 2021 Album Chart (see #143)]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
"2021년 05월 Album Chart" [May 2021 Album Chart (see #59)]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
"2021년 06월 Album Chart" [June 2021 Album Chart (see #92)]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
^@kcforum (June 23, 2021). "2021년을 빛낸. 올해의 <여자아이돌(라이징스타)> 후보" [Shining in 2021. Nominated for this year's "Female Idol (Rising Star)".] (Tweet) (in Korean). Retrieved January 2, 2022 – via Twitter.
^Hwang, Hye-jin (October 29, 2020). "크래비티·트레저→시그니처·위클리 'MAMA' 신인상 후보 공개" [Cravity, Treasure → Cignature, Weeekly "MAMA" Rookie of the Year candidates revealed.]. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved January 2, 2022.
^Lee, Do-yeon (January 1, 2021). "52주간의 빌보드 케이팝 100 기록" [Billboard K-Pop 100 Records for 52 Weeks]. Billboard Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
