As THE9 ‘s disbandment is an inevitability this coming December 2021, the good old saying that “all good things must come to an end” is perhaps appropriate to describe their fate as a Cpop survival show group. Disbandment is common to every other Cpop group born out of survival shows, and this also included Youth With You predecessor groups in the likes of Nine Percent and UNINE.
While some Cpop groups would resign to their fate and their members would go on to develop their solo careers, THE9 member Esther Yu suggested that there could be a back-up plan to preserve THE9 even after disbandment. Though her comments appeared to be made in jest during a recent trailer for Youth With You 3, the discussion seemed to spark a glimmer of hope for the girl group to outlive its pre-determined lifespan.
Never the one to shy away from being creative, Esther Yu came up with a proposal on how THE9 could ‘avoid disbandment’ entirely. Her first suggestion was that the group members could still film vlogs together as a band. They did not have to make a variety show together, but vlogs by individual members could suffice. This earned a chorus of support from Snow Kong and An Qi. “One episode can be 45 minutes minutes long and if nine episodes are shot, and one person can post one episode!”
In addition to vlogging as a group, Esther Yu also proposed that the members set-up a company called “THE9 Plus”. She also imagined herself being able to shoot a TV series in the likes of “Love Apartment” and where she could continue to release new music. She further suggested that once the debuting boy group in Youth With You 3 disbands, they could then can be acquired by THE9 Plus in future. Since Zhao Xiaotang has dreams to be a female entrepreneur one day, Esther Yu said that setting up a company would not be a bad idea.
With a smile, she then added, “We are such a great girl group, there’s no need to disband!” The members continued to chat enthusiastically and even started imagining how the scene at THE9’s disbandment ceremony concert would be like.
Esther Yu was once again the life of the party as she mimic her speech at the group’s disbandment stage in December, “Even if we separate today, we as THE9 will will never be be separated, starting tomorrow… (draw curtains), this is our new company! Alas, we will have wings attached to us and we will ascend upwards, showcasing that we have levelled up!”
This drew laughter from her band members. An Qi then followed up, saying that she would be doing research now on how to set up a company.
Though everything appeared to be discussed in a jovial manner, we can only imagine how powerful this self-managed girl group might look like. With the members of THE9 being outstanding in the various fields of music, variety and acting, THE9 Plus would be a company with very dynamic and robust talents under their wing!
What are your thoughts about THE9’s possible back-up plans after disbandment? Though Esther Yu appeared to proposed the idea in a joking manner, fans in China felt more than enthusiastic about the idea!
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