Wanna One’s Agency Denies Rumor That The K-Pop Band Is Preparing For Their Last Concert In January 2019
Wanna One has dropped a teaser for their single "Spring Breeze" and reports about the band's last concert also emerged. Disbandment rumors on Wanna One have been circling around since early this year. Now, there have been speculations that the K-pop band is already preparing for their final concert which reportedly happening in January 2019.
Soompi cited a report from news outlet Ilgan Sports that stated that the details for the band's final concert are being finalized. Apparently, the concert will be held from January 27 to 29. Prior to their final performance as a band, the 11-member boy band will also attend several year-end shows and award ceremonies such as the 2018 MAMA.
Wanna One's agency Swing Entertainment, however, denied reports that the band is already preparing for their final concert. The company said they are still discussing the contract extensions for Wanna One members and nothing has been decided yet. The company added that there is no concert happening in January 2019.
In an April interview, Wanna One was asked about the possibility of band disbandment. At the time, group leader Yoon Ji-sung said they don't talk about the disbandment and instead, they focus on their present activities.
Wanna One's contract with their management agency is set to end on December 31, 2018. In June, YMC Entertainment transferred the management of the group to Swing Entertainment, a new agency exclusively established for Wanna One. However, the transfer did not extend the group's contract.
As the buzz about Wanna One impending disbandment is getting louder, fans are expecting that members will pursue solo careers if no contract renewal is offered to them. One of the members that look promising to go solo is Kang Daniel. The singer has maintained a strong brand value for the past months and fans are already anticipating that Daniel might express his plan as a solo artist even before the band's contract expires.
Wanna One debut in August 2017 and released their first extended play 1×1=1 (To Be One). A repackaged album, 1-1=0 (Nothing Without You), with the title track "Beautiful" was dropped in November 2017. With the combined sales of their first album and the repackaged edition, Wanna One became the first Kpop group to sell a million copies of their debut album.
The group had a successful rookie year in comparison to other groups. In fact, they achieved the Rookie Grand Slam this year. They won newcomer awards from major award ceremonies such as Mnet Asian Music Awards, Golden Disc Awards, Seoul Music Awards, Melon Music Awards, and Gaon Chart Music Awards. Additionally, Billboard named the band as the Best New K-Pop Act of 2017.
Wanna One also recently won the Song of the Year award, which is one of the daesangs, at the 2018 MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards. It is the band's first ever grand prize award since their debut last year. Wanna One is currently busy preparing for the release of their first studio album, titled 1¹¹=1(Power of Destiny), along with title track "Spring Breeze" on November 19.
