The coming together of members of a Korean pop group is never easy. The once-in-a-lifetime dream can be a stressful endeavor, especially with the rise of K-Pop idols’ competitive survival reality shows where Idols are sent by their management companies to increase their fan base by exposing individual Idol or trainee to the audience and gain some popularity for their group.
FANATICS is such a South Korean K-Pop girl group that rose above all the obstacles, proved their worth, and established their dreamy world from the shackles of these highly competitive reality shows such as Mnet’s Girls Planet 999, Produce 48, and Produce 101.
FANATICS had the vision of turning their fans into their fanatics through their passion for their art. In this process, FANATICS was able to build some musical masterpieces that revived the soul of K-Pop for many and are definitely worthy of praise.
Debut
FANATICS’ debut did not follow a stereotypical road map that generally most K-Pop idol groups go through. In fact, they had the debut order totally upside down. At first, only a Sub Unit of FANATICS known as ‘Flavors’ was released, consisting of members Chiayi, Yoonhye, and Doah.
It was on 6th August 2019 that the parent group FANATICS actually debuted with the introduction of 6 members, Chiayi, Yoonhye, Doah, Sika, Doi, and Chaelin, through the digital single ‘Sunday’ from the album ‘The Six.’ Their debut was managed by the label ‘FENT FASCINO Entertainment.’
Member profile
The group has undergone a constant up-gradation of members from the time of their debut in a phased manner. The group FANATICS consists of seven members Doi, Chaelin, Chiayi, Via, Yoonhye, Rayeon, and Doah.
Kim Doah
Kim Doah is a member of the South Korean girl group FANATICS and its Sub-Unit Flavours. Being the marknae of the group, Doah was quite popular even before her debut, owing to her eye-catching performance in Produce 48, and her visuals were compared to that of Kim So Hye.
Doah has the versatile talents of practicing pronunciation fast, minute speech, cute acting, and cute cover dance. She is also quite popular from Dingo K drama’s web series ‘Not a Robot.’ As an actress, she was also part of famous K-Dramas such as ‘The Beauty Inside’ and ‘The World of My 17’.
Doah ventured ahead with her YouTube channel ‘@KIMDOAHCHERRY’ in 2022, giving her fans glimpses of her daily routine Vlogs, dancing, and singing performances. Owing to her rise in popularity, she also got endorsements for ‘Etude cosmetics.’ In 2023 she made her solo debut with a more personalized touch in ‘Dream Walking.’
Doi
Doi is a member of the South Korean girl group FANATICS. She is the lead vocalist and a big-eyed slender-faced beauty possessing a clean look with talents such as playing piano and acting.
Doi has showcased unique talent by painting with flowers given to her by her fans which really touched many of her fans. In 2022 Doi went ahead to open her own YouTube channel, ‘@DOILYLIFE,’ for her fans doing Vlogs of her daily life in Korea and her explorations in Taiwan.
Chaelin
Chaelin is the Main Rapper in the South Korean girl group FANATICS. This sculptured beauty has the talent of making impressions of other members.
She gained stardom from Produce 101 with her upbeat Rapping skills. She is a lover of Taiwanese food. Chaelin has also worked in a play ‘Yakiniku Dragon’.
Chiayi
Chiayi is the Main dancer in the South Korean girl group FANATICS and its Sub-Unit Flavor. This smart-eyed beauty is good at her own creative dance, art dancing, and Waacking.
Chiayi is quite flexible and can even perform powerful random dance covers of K-Pop boy Bands. She is also a foodie and entertains her fans through her cooking and Mukbang Vlogs.
Yoonhye
Yoonhye is the Main dancer in the South Korean girl group FANATICS and its Sub Unit Flavor. Yoonhye’s popping eye visuals give her easy recognition in the group. She has the talent for choreographing girlish hip-hop, Art covers, and cover dance.
In 2022 she ventured into modeling, modeled for Soul Fashion Week, and also has been a SBS Super Model in the same year. She also took up acting at the Soul Institute of Arts.
Sika
Sika is the former member and Main Vocalist of the South Korean girl group FANATICS. She has a talent for acting out impressions of Pikachu and Himawari from ‘Crayon Shin-Chan.’
In September 2021, Sika’s announcement to leave the group was grieved by her fans. As Sika grew up in China, she went back to explore the cultures of China and Taiwan.
Via
Via is the Lead Dancer in the South Korean girl group FANATICS. She became a member of the group in 2020 with the release of ‘V.A.V.I. Girl’ along with Rayeon.
She is your doll-faced Beauty with fuller lips. She has a small snow-white cat as a pet named Pudding, with whom she often posts her Vlogs. Fans can get to know her more in glimpses of her friendly relationship with her father by witnessing funny interactions on her Vlogs.
Rayeon
Rayeon is the Lead Vocalist in the South Korean girl group FANATICS. She became part of the group through the release of ‘V.A.V.I. Girl’ in 2020 alongside Via.
Fans were even mesmerized by her soothing voice when she participated in Girls Planet 999 alongside Chiayi and Doah. She is an ice beauty who can teach you to even make pickles through her Vlogs.
Songs and albums
The journey of FANATICS started on August 20 with the release of ‘Sunday’ from the album ‘The Six.’ This dance track with a tropical mood became quite successful with its highlighted dance moves.
The highlight dance consisted of ‘Clock dance’ with hand gestures expressing the coming back of Sunday after the week is gone and ‘I am pretty Dance’ that showcased FANATICS’ cute and fresh charms.
The colorful Music Video accentuated the visuals of the members, and fans witnessed an original K-Pop release true to its core. The fresh concept of feelings of Sunday in one’s life was highly appreciated.
Another Music Video, ‘V.A.V.I. Girl’ was released in May 2020 in an addictive rhythm along with a dreamy fantasy-based doll-housed background. This Barbie girl-stylized concept made the fans remember their own childhood princess dreams. All of the FANATICS members looked like an actual Barbie doll in cutesy pink costumes.
In 2022 MK and Rayeon collaborated for ‘Spring Night,’ which is an emotional lyrical song perfect for the spring season.
Yet the road to creating these masterpieces was not easy for FANATICS. The group had faced many hardships, which was witnessed in Girls Planet 999 when Doah and Rayeon became quite emotional when asked why they had joined the survival show.
Doah revealed how the group was struggling with all the surrounding negative conversations regarding groups being broken up due to Covid-19 situations.
There were also indications of members’ mistreatment by the managing company’s staff. During a V live in 2020, a staff member was heard giving instructions to other staff to reveal the group members’ legs. This embroiled a huge controversy in Korea for Kpop idols’ mistreatment by their companies enraging many fans. However, the members of the group continued to stay strong and went ahead by exploring various countries and other pursuits to learn and build themselves up as an artist.
Also Read: FLAVOR (FANATICS Sub-unit): Members, Songs, Debut & Albums
