Sonamoo (Korean소나무; lit. Pine Tree; stylized in allcaps)[4] was a South Korean girl group formed by TS Entertainment. Originally a seven-member group, members Sumin and Nahyun left the group in 2019 after they filed a lawsuit to terminate the contracts with their company.[5] They made their debut on December 29, 2014, with the extended play, Deja Vu.[4]

Sonamoo
Sonamoo in September 2016 From left to right: Su Min, High.D, Min Jae, D.ana, Eui Jin, New Sun and Na Hyun.
Sonamoo in September 2016
From left to right: Su Min, High.D, Min Jae, D.ana, Eui Jin, New Sun and Na Hyun.
Background information
OriginSeoul, South Korea
Genres
Years active2014 (2014)–2017 (2017), 2019
LabelsTS
Past members
  • Sumin[1]
  • Minjae
  • D.ana
  • Nahyun[2]
  • Euijin[3]
  • High.D
  • NewSun

Career

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2014–2015: Debut and further mini-album releases

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On December 29, 2014, Sonamoo officially debuted with the release of their debut EP Deja Vu and single of the same name, and held their debut showcase performance.[6][7][8] The album debuted at the number one spot on Gaon's weekly Album Chart.[citation needed] On February 25, 2015, they promoted "Just Go" as the second single off of their debut album.[9]

On July 20, 2015, Sonamoo released their second extended play Cushion. The lead single of the same name was co-produced by EastWest and ₩uNo, who is known for being the former member of Speed, Taewoon.[10] Members D.ana and NewSun also contributed to the writing of rap portions for two tracks:  "Deep" and "Let's Make A Movie". On September 1, 2015, they followed up their Cushion promotions by promoting "Round N Round" as the second single from the album.[citation needed]

2016–2021: Nahyun & Sumin's lawsuits, TS shutdown and disbandment

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On June 29, 2016, the group released their third extended play I Like U Too Much, with the title track of the same name. The album presented a new side of the group with a brighter "girls next door" image compared to their debut concepts which the members themselves called "dark". The group cited they looked up to Girls' Generation for inspiration with this album.[11]

On January 9, 2017, the group released their first single album I Think I Love U. The lead single of the same name is a brighter dance track produced by Shin Hyuk, who has previously worked with SHINee and EXO.[12]

On July 27, TS Entertainment unveiled a teaser image for Sonamoo's Happy Box Project, revealing that the group will be releasing three singles over the course of several months. The first single "Friday Night" was released on August 14. The rap portion of the single is written by NewSun.[13][14][15]

Member Euijin was confirmed to be a contestant on KBS Idol Rebooting Project The Unit, which first aired on October 28, 2017.[16] On November 6, Sonamoo continued their Happy Box Project releasing their single "I (Knew It)". The single is a medium tempo dance track composed by hitmaker e.one, who has previously worked with Wonder Girls.[17]

As of September 23, 2019, both Nahyun and Sumin have filed lawsuits seeking to terminate their contract with TS Entertainment.[18][19]

In January 2021, Sonamoo's label, TS Entertainment, privately shut down and deleted its website, leaving the fate of the group unknown.[20]

On September 9, 2021, Euijin signed a contract with Mellow Entertainment, confirming that she had left TS Entertainment and the group. On September 11, Minjae and NewSun also confirmed that they have left the company. On September 13, D.ana confirmed she had also left the company. In her statement, she mentioned that Sonamoo's activities had come to an end.[3] On December 30, High.D confirmed that she has left the company and the group.[citation needed]

Past members

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  • Sumin (수민) – leader, sub-vocal[1][5]
  • Minjae (민재) – main vocal[5]
  • D.ana (디애나) – low rap[5]
  • Nahyun (나현) – sub-vocal,[5] lead dancer[1][5]
  • Euijin (의진) – performance, lead vocal[5]
  • High.D (하이디) – main vocal[5]
  • NewSun (뉴썬) – high rap[5]

Discography

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Extended plays

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List of extended plays, with selected chart positions and sales
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[21]
Deja Vu 1
Cushion
  • Released: July 20, 2015
  • Label: TS Entertainment
  • Format: CD, digital download
7
I Like U Too Much
  • Released: June 29, 2016
  • Label: TS Entertainment
  • Format: CD, digital download
7

Single albums

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Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales
KOR
[21]
I Think I Love U
  • Released: January 9, 2017
  • Label: TS Entertainment, LOEN Entertainment
  • Format: CD, digital download
13

Singles

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Title Year Peak chart positions Sales
(DL)
Album
KOR
[26]
"Deja Vu" 2014 Deja Vu
"Cushion" 2015 Cushion
"I Like U Too Much" (넘나 좋은 것) 2016 157 I Like U Too Much
"I Think I Love U" (나 너 좋아해?) 2017 I Think I Love U
"Friday Night" (금요일밤) Happy Box Part.1
"I (Knew It)" Happy Box Part.2
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Soundtrack appearances

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Title Year Peak chart positions Sales
(DL)
Album
KOR
[26]
"First Kiss" 2016 The Miracle OST
"Keep On" (자꾸자꾸) 2017 Sing For You OST
"We Are Legendary" (위아 레전더리) 2019 Legendary: Game of Heroes OST

Music videos

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Year Title Director
2014 "Deja Vu" Hong Won-ki[30]
2015 "Just Go" Un­known
"Cushion" Hong Won-ki[31]
2016 "I Like U Too Much"
"First Kiss" Kwon Jin-mo[32]
2017 "I Think I Love You" Hong Won-ki[33]
"Friday Night" Kwon Jin-mo[34]
"I (Knew It)" Vikings League
2019 "We are LEGENDARY" Jihyoung Shim [35]

Filmography

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Reality shows

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Year Title Network
2015 SONAMOO's Pet House SBS MTV
2015 SONAMOO Naver TVcast
Battle SONAMOO V Live

Web dramas

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Year Title Network
2016 The Miracle Viki Rakuten Global TV

Awards and nominations

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Year Nominee / work Award Result
2015 Sonamoo Best New Female Artist Nominated
Year Nominee / work Award Result
2017 Sonamoo New Korean Wave Music Star Award Won

References

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  1. ^ a b c "[단독] 소나무 나현·수민도 TS엔터테인먼트 전속계약 '소송 제기'". entertain.naver.com.
  2. ^ "[단독] 소나무 나현·수민도 Ts엔터테인먼트 전속계약 '소송 제기'". Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b Han, Seon (9 September 2021). "소나무·유니티 의진, 멜로우엔터테인먼트와 전속계약..새 출발 예고[공식]". Herald Pop (in Korean). Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b Ko, Dong-hwan (31 December 2014). "힙합 신예그룹 '소나무' 걸그룹 평정나서" ['Bad girl' group Sonamoo raises the ante]. The Korea Times (in Korean). Archived from the original on 5 August 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sonamoo Profile". Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ Hong, Grace Danbi (29 December 2014). "SONAMOO Chooses Big Bang as Its Role Model". enewsWorld. Mwave. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Who will be K-pop's next big thing?, Entertainment News & Top Stories - The Straits Times". The Straits Times. 15 March 2016. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  8. ^ "17 Times K-Pop Girl Groups Blew Us Away With Their Powerful Performances". Soompi. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  9. ^ Lim Jeong-yeo (25 February 2015). "SONAMOO sings 'Just Go'". K-Pop Herald. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  10. ^ Choi, Na-young (7 July 2015). "'컴백' 소나무, 타이틀곡은 이단옆차기 사단+지코 형 우노 합작 '쿠션'". OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  11. ^ Choi, Ji-ye (29 June 2016). "'컴백' 소나무 "바비인형 콘셉트, 소녀시대 선배님 영상 참고"". My Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  12. ^ 소나무(SONAMOO) - 나 너 좋아해? M/V, 8 January 2017, archived from the original on 19 November 2020, retrieved 3 June 2021
  13. ^ Kim, D. (26 July 2017). "SONAMOO To Kick Off 3-Month Comeback Project In August". Soompi. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  14. ^ Park, Su-jeong (2 August 2017). "'컴백' 소나무, 몽환적 단체 티저..이미지 변신". Herald Pop (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  15. ^ Kim, DY (14 August 2017). "Watch: SONAMOO Is Ready For "Friday Night" In MV For First Single Of 3-Month Project". Soompi. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  16. ^ Hwang, Mi-hyeon (21 September 2017). "[단독] 소나무 의진, '더 유닛' 출연 확정…메인 댄서 저력". News1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  17. ^ Lee, Sodam (31 October 2017). "[공식입장] 소나무, 11월 6일 컴백 확정..타이틀곡은 '아이'". OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  18. ^ Han, Seon (23 September 2019). "TS엔터테인먼트, 슬리피 이어 소나무 나현·수민에 '전속계약' 피소(공식)". Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  19. ^ Shin, Mirae (23 September 2019). "TS엔터테인먼트 측 "소나무 나현·수민 전속계약 소송 제기…곧 입장낼 것"". MBN Star (in Korean). Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  20. ^ "TSENTR Co., Ltd. Company Information 2021". Nice Biz Info.
  21. ^ a b "Gaon Album Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  22. ^ Cumulative sales of Deja Vu:
  23. ^ "2015년 09월 Album Chart". Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  24. ^ "2016년 08월 Album Chart". Archived from the original on 10 September 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  25. ^ "2017년 02월 Album Chart". Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  26. ^ a b "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on 9 March 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  27. ^ "Gaon chart" 2015년 02주차 Download Chart [Week 2 of 2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). p. 2. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  28. ^ "Gaon chart" 2015년 07월 Download Chart [July 2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). p. 4. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  29. ^ Cumulative sales for "I Like U Too Much"
  30. ^ Deja Vu (photobook). Sonamoo. South Korea: LOEN Entertainment. 2014. Credits.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  31. ^
    • Cushion (photobook). Sonamoo. South Korea: LOEN Entertainment. 2015. Credits.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
    • I Like U Too Much (photobook). Sonamoo. South Korea: LOEN Entertainment. 2015. Credits.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  32. ^ Kim, Na-hyun (12 December 2016). "Episode 1". The Miracle. Episode 1. Viki. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  33. ^ I Think I Love You (photobook). Sonamoo. South Korea: LOEN Entertainment. 2017. Credits.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  34. ^ "SONAMOO - FRIDAY NIGHT". BPM Entertainment. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  35. ^ "Legendary - We Are LEGENDARY (Ft. SONAMOO)". Youtube. 25 September 2019. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
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