Weki Meki
Weki Meki was a South Korean girl group formed by Fantagio in 2017. The group consisted of eight members: Suyeon, Elly, Yoojung, Doyeon, Sei, Lua, Rina, and Lucy. During the group's career, they released five EPs, two single albums and one re-issue single album. The group finished their seven year career with the release of their final single "CoinciDestiny" on June 12, 2024. On August 16, 2024, it was announced the group had officially disbanded.
History
Pre-debut
The members started out as trainees under Fantagio i-Teen, a rookie talent development program under Fantagio Entertainment, and were known as i-Teen Girls.In 2015, i-Teen Girls members Kim Do-yeon, Choi Yoo-jung, Lua, Lucy and Elly had numerous cameos in label mates Astro's predebut online web drama To Be Continued.
Elly, Choi Yoo-jung, Kim Do-yeon, and Sei competed in the Mnet survival television program Produce 101, which aired from January 22 to April 1, 2016. Choi Yoo-jung and Kim Do-yeon were ranked in the final top 11 contestants and debuted in the project girl group I.O.I.
On July 6, 2017, Fantagio revealed that their new girl group would be called Weki Meki.
2017–2018: Debut with ''Weme'', ''Lucky'', and ''Kiss, Kicks''
On August 8, 2017, Weki Meki released their debut extended play, Weme. The EP contains six tracks, with the lead single titled "I Don't Like Your Girlfriend." The album also features lyrics written by Choi Yoo-jung. A month later, a limited "B Version" of their debut EP was physically released. In November, according to Gaon Music Chart, the EP sold over 47,000 physical copies since its release, marking the highest-selling album by a girl group that debuted in 2017.On February 1, 2018, a reality show called "Weki Meki, mohae?" premiered on YouTube. The show had a total of 60 episodes, and lasted until April 1, 2018. The show followed the girls on their 60-day campaign to become an all-around idol. On February 21, Weki Meki released their second extended play titled Lucky. The album features a total of six songs including lead single "La La La" and "Butterfly," the latter being a remake of an original soundtrack from the 2009 sports film Take Off which the group released in support of the 2018 Winter Olympics. Weki Meki released their first single album Kiss, Kicks on October 11. The album features a total of three tracks including lead single "Crush" with rap portions on the album written by member Yoo-jung.
2019–2023: ''Hide and Seek'', ''New Rules'', ''I Am Me.'' and Elly's solo activities
On May 14, 2019, The group released their second single album Lock End LOL, including the lead single "Picky Picky."A repackage version of the single album titled Week End LOL, featuring the lead single "Tiki-Taka," released on August 8.
On February 6, 2020, Fantagio Music confirmed that the group will have a comeback with digital single album Dazzle Dazzle on February 20, and confirmed that member Yoojung will join after her hiatus from October 2019. On May 29, Fantagio released a teaser image for the group's third EP, Hide and Seek, which was released on June 18, 2020. It consists of five songs, including the title track "Oopsy" and the previously released single "Dazzle Dazzle." On October 8, Weki Meki released their fourth EP, New Rules, featuring five songs, including the title track "Cool" and its English version "100 Facts," their first song in English.
On November 18, 2021, Weki Meki released their fifth EP, I Am Me., featuring six songs, including the title track "Siesta". In addition, Kim Do-yeon will not present for performance-related activities as she was recovering from a wrist injury. On November 26, 2022, Elly participated as a contestant in the virtual reality competition show Girls Reverse as Watchiswatch. Elly was eliminated in the first elimination round. On June 13, 2023, Elly participated as a contestant in Mnet's reality competition show Queendom Puzzle. Elly was eliminated in the final episode placing 11th with 292,486 votes.