Kep1er (; ) is a South Korean

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

formed through the

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, ...

reality survival competition show ''

Girls Planet 999 ''Girls Planet 999: The Girls Saga''; zh, s=少女星球999：少女們的盛典, p=Shàonǚ Xīngqiú 999: Shàonǚmen de Shèngdiǎn; ja, ガールズプラネット999：少女祭典, translit=Gāruzu Puranetto 999: Shōjo Saiten (simply ...

'' in 2021 and managed by

Swing Entertainment Swing Entertainment (Korean: 스윙 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean privately held entertainment company founded in June 2018. The company is home to K-pop artists Kim Jae-hwan, A.C.E (co-managed with Beat Interactive), and Kep1er (co-mana ...

and

Wake One Entertainment Wake One (), is a South Korean entertainment company under CJ ENM. The label is home to Davichi, Roy Kim, Ha Hyun-sang, Jo Yu-ri, TO1 and Kep1er (co-managed with Swing Entertainment). History The company was founded in 2014 by Son Dong-hoon u ...

. The group is composed of nine members: Kim Chae-hyun, Huening Bahiyyih, Choi Yu-jin, Kim Da-yeon, Seo Young-eun,

Kang Ye-seo Kang Ye-seo (; born August 22, 2005), better known mononymously as Yeseo, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known for competing on the Mnet survival competition show ''Girls Planet 999'' and ranking 6th in the final episode, maki ...

, Hikaru Ezaki, Mashiro Sakamoto, and Shen Xiaoting. They made their official debut on January 3, 2022, with the

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) ''

First Impact ''First Impact'' is the debut extended play (EP) by South Korean girl group Kep1er, a project group formed through the 2021 Mnet (TV channel), Mnet reality competition show ''Girls Planet 999''. The album was released on January 3, 2022, by Wake ...

''.

Name

"Kep1er" was a name suggested by viewers of ''

'' through the website

Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to in ...

. The name is a reference to the planets in the Kepler star systems named after the 16th century astronomer

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (; ; 27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best known for his laws ...

. The name is also kept in relation to ''Girls Planet 999'' by continuing the show's cosmic theme.

History

Formation through ''Girls Planet 999''

Kep1er was formed through the

reality survival show ''

'', which aired from August 6 to October 22, 2021. The show brought 99 contestants from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

to compete to debut in a multinational girl group. Out of initially 99 contestants, only the top nine would make the final lineup. Before the show began, several group members had already been active in the entertainment industry. Choi Yu-jin made her debut in the

Cube Entertainment Cube Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean entertainment company. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing house. Cube are known for h ...

girl group

CLC CLC may refer to: Religion * Christian Life Centre, a number of individual and networked Pentecostal churches in Australia * Christian Life Community, an international association of lay Christians * Church of the Lutheran Confession, an American ...

on March 19, 2015 with the group's

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) ''

First Love First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

''; she was on hiatus from CLC due to activities with Kep1er until their disbandment. In 2010,

was a member of the girl group CutieL before joining Busters from 2019 to 2020. Kim Da-yeon participated in ''

Produce 48 ''Produce 48'' () was the third season of the South Korean reality competition series ''Produce 101''. It was a large-scale project in which the public "produces" a girl group by voting for members out of a pool of 96 contestants from South Kor ...

'' in 2018, representing CNC Entertainment, while Shen Xiaoting participated in ''

Produce Camp 2020 Produce Camp 2020 (Chinese: 创造营2020; pinyin: ''Chuàngzàoyíng 2020''), officially known as CHUANG 2020, is a Chinese girl group reality competition show, which premiered on Tencent Video on May 2, 2020 as the third season of ''Produce 101 ...

'', representing Top Class Entertainment. Both were eliminated in the first round, placing 70th and 80th in their respective shows. Mashiro Sakamoto, a trainee at

JYP Entertainment JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate founded in 1997 by J. Y. Park. It is one of the largest entertainment companies in South Korea, and operates as a record label, tale ...

from 2016 to 2018, appeared in the first episode of the Mnet reality survival show ''

Stray Kids Stray Kids (; often abbreviated as SKZ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment through the 2017 reality show of the same name. The group is composed of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin ...

'' as part of the female trainee team, but did not progress past the first episode. Following ''Produce 48'', Da-yeon left CNC Entertainment and signed with Stardium Entertainment, only to leave once more after her debut plans fell through. Xiaoting was a competitive

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

and

modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

dancer, having won a gold medal in a modern dance sport competition in Shanghai, as well as ranking sixth globally in a British competition.

2021–present: ''First Impact'', ''Queendom 2'', ''Doublast'', Japanese debut, and ''Troubleshooter''

Kep1er was originally scheduled to debut on December 14, 2021, with pre-orders for their EP ''First Impact'' having begun on November 29. They were also initially scheduled to perform at the

2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards The 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, also known as 2021 MAMA, organized by CJ E&M and broadcast through its music channel Mnet, took place live on December 11, 2021. The ceremony was held at CJ ENM Contents World in Paju, South Korea. The ...

on December 11. However, it was announced that the group's scheduled debut had been delayed to January 3, 2022 after one of their staff members tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Their performance at the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards was also cancelled. On December 14, it was revealed that group members Mashiro and Xiaoting tested positive for COVID-19 and were announced to have fully recovered on December 26. Kep1er at the Uni-kon Music Festival on July 3, 2022

Kep1er at the Uni-kon Music Festival on July 3, 2022

On January 3, 2022, Kep1er released their debut EP ''

'', with "

Wa Da Da "Wa Da Da" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Kep1er for their debut extended play (EP) ''First Impact''. It was released as the title track on January 3, 2022, by Wake One Entertainment. Background and release Kep1er was originally sc ...

" serving as lead single. On January 10, 2022, Chae-hyun was announced as the new co-host for

SBS MTV SBS M is a South Korean pay television music channel owned by SBS Medianet, a division of SBS Media Holdings. It features South Korean pop artists, international music, news, and a few reality and variety programs. It was launched in 2001 as t ...

's music program ''

The Show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** Sp ...

'' alongside Ateez's Yeosang and

Cravity Cravity () is a South Korean boy band formed by Starship Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Serim, Allen, Jungmo, Woobin, Wonjin, Minhee, Hyeongjun, Taeyoung, and Seongmin. They debuted on April 14, 2020, with their extended p ...

's Minhee. On January 13, 2022, Kep1er won their first music program award 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 ...

'' with "Wa Da Da". On February 21, 2022, it was confirmed that Kep1er will participate in the second season of the

reality competition show '' Queendom'', scheduled to premiere in March 2022. On June 20, 2022, Kep1er released their second EP ''

Doublast ''Doublast'' is the second extended play by South Korean girl group Kep1er. The EP was released by Wake One Entertainment on June 20, 2022, and contains five tracks, including the lead single "Up! (Kep1er song), Up!". Background and release On Ju ...

'', with " Up!" serving as the lead single. On August 3, 2022, Kep1er released their first Japanese single ''

Fly-Up ''Fly-Up'' is the debut Japanese single by South Korean girl group Kep1er. It was released on September 7, 2022, by Wake One Entertainment and Ariola Japan , is a Japanese record label that is part of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It is the ...

'', featuring "Wing Wing" as lead track. It was released on September 7, 2022. On September 23, 2022, Kep1er released the promotional single "Sugar Rush" through Universe Music. On October 13, 2022, Kep1er released their third EP '' Troubleshooter'' with "

We Fresh "We Fresh" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Kep1er for their third extended play '' Troubleshooter''. It was released as the EP's lead single by Wake One Entertainment on October 13, 2022. Background and release On September 26, Wake ...

" serving as the lead single.

Endorsements

On February 15, 2022, Kep1er became models for South Korean cosmetics brand S2ND.

Members

* Choi Yujin () – leader * Shen Xiaoting (; ) * Mashiro Sakamoto (; ) – co-leader * Kim Chaehyun () * Kim Dayeon () * Hikaru Ezaki (; ) * Huening Bahiyyih () * Seo Youngeun () * Kang Yeseo ()

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Videography

Music videos

Filmography

Reality shows

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kep1er Girls Planet 999 Musical groups from Seoul 2021 establishments in South Korea Musical groups established in 2021 Singing talent show winners South Korean girl groups K-pop music groups South Korean dance music groups South Korean pop music groups Swing Entertainment artists Wake One Entertainment artists