I.B.I (; also stylized as IBI) was a South Korean girl group consisting of five members who previously participated in Mnet's 2016 survival show ''

Produce 101 ''Produce 101'' is a reality television talent competition franchise created by South Korean entertainment conglomerate CJ E&M, based around the formation of a K-pop girl group or boy group. The format is noted for having no panel of judges, empl ...

''. The group formed and debuted under

LOEN Entertainment Kakao M (; formerly Seoul Records, YBM Seoul Records and LOEN Entertainment) was a South Korean entertainment company established by Min Yeong-bin in 1978. It is currently one of the largest co-publisher companies in South Korea. The company op ...

in 2016 with the single "Molae Molae (몰래몰래)". The name I.B.I comes from the Korean phrase ''il-ban-in'' (일반인), meaning "normal people", but also stands for "I Believe It". The group promotes under LOEN Entertainment, while the members of I.B.I remain under their respective agencies.

History

Pre-debut: ''Produce 101''

The first season of the "survival" show ''

'' aired on

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

from January–April 2016, with 101 female trainees from different agencies competing. While the final eleven trainees went on to form the girl group

I.O.I I.O.I (; also known as IOI or Ideal of Idol) was a South Korean girl group formed by CJ E&M through the 2016 reality show ''Produce 101'' on Mnet. The group was composed of eleven members chosen from a pool of 101 trainees from various enterta ...

, contestants Lee Hae-in (formerly

SS Entertainment SS Entertainment () was a South Korean record label. It previously represented boy group The Legend, Eun Ji-won and Gilme. History Hip-hop artist and Sechs Kies member Eun Ji-won founded GYM Entertainment in 2009, with singer and rapper Gil ...

), Kim So-hee (Music Works),

Yoon Chae-kyung Yoon Chae-kyung (born July 7, 1996), is a South Korean singer and actress. Yoon began her career with debuted as a member of Puretty under DSP in Japan during 2012 and the group later disbanded in January 2014. Following the disbandment, Yoon a ...

(

DSP Media DSP Media (Hangul: DSP 미디어) is a South Korean entertainment company established in 1991 by Lee Ho-yeon. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and ...

), Lee Su-hyun (HYWY Entertainment, formerly

) and

Han Hye-ri Han Hye-ri (born August 24, 1997) is a South Korean singer and actress. She is known as a former contestant of ''Produce 101'' and as a member of the girl group I.B.I. Early life Han Hye-ri was born on August 24, 1997 in Gwangmyeong, Gyeon ...

(

Star Empire Entertainment Star Empire Entertainment (Korean:스타제국 ''Seuta Jeguk'') is a South Korean private-held entertainment company founded in 2000 by Shin Ju-hak. It is formerly home to artists like Jewelry, Nine Muses, ZE:A, V.O.S, Imfact, and Ariaz. His ...

) ranked 17th, 15th, 16th, 13th and 12th respectively in the final episode. LOEN Entertainment then formed the group of runner-up contestants, I.B.I. The members of I.B.I (with the exception of Yoon Chae-kyung) appeared on the second episode of I.O.I's reality TV show ''LAN Cable Friend'' in June 2016. LOEN Entertainment began promoting I.B.I with a series of YouTube videos of the I.B.I members (individually and as a group) singing their favorite song live. A webtoon series titled 'I.B.I's Debut Story' drawn by the popular webtoon artist Omyo was also released around the same time, in five parts depicting each member's debut story.

2016: Debut with ''Molae Molae''

I.B.I released their digital single album ''Molae Molae'' (몰래몰래) on August 18, 2016. On the same day, the group held their debut showcase and their debut stage on ''

M! Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...

''. On August 19, 2016, I.B.I performed on ''Music Bank''. They also held a guerrilla concert 'Run to You' on the very same day at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, performing their title song "Molae Molae", as well as singles from ''Produce 101'' such as "When the Cherry Blossom Fade" and "Pick Me". I.B.I flew to Thailand on 22 September 2016 to film their six-episode reality show, '' Hello I.B.I''., which aired 8 October–12 November 2016.

Discography

Singles

Filmography

Television show

Music videos

References

External links

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I.B.I
on

Melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...

{{Authority control K-pop music groups Musical groups established in 2016 South Korean girl groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean pop music groups Musical groups from Seoul Produce 101 Produce 101 contestants 2016 establishments in South Korea Kakao M artists