Artist Spotlight: S the One/JQT

The artist this time is…

S the One

S the One was originally known as JQT, but when their contracts expired, three of the members signed over to another label and became S the One with the addition of two new members.

For the name JQT, the “J” represents how they each have that letter in their names, the “QT” stands for Quality and Quartet.
Fans speculate that S the One means “Is the One”, but that hasn’t been officially confirmed as of yet.

Three of the four members entered the kpop scene by being in the group i-13… which was a large girl group of 13 girls. In 2007, the company restructured i-13 and so in 2009, Min Jung, Ga Jin, and Ji Eun left and formed JQT with newcomer Min Sun.

i-13

Min Sun left in JQT in 2011 to focus on acting and was replaced by Lee Jin Kyung. Lee Jin Kyung left when JQT was “disbanded”, (or turned into S the One), around February 2012.

JQT was known for the involvment in the soundtrack for the anime Shugo Chara!! and for their theme songs for the G20 2010 Seoul Summit. Their debut confused many people. Most assumed that JQT was going to be a boy group since the teasers had only men in them. There was talk about JQT going into the American market in May 2011 and they signed a contract with Akon’s label, so many people were confused when it was suddenly announced that JQT was going to “disband” in February 2012. I assume that because the girls wouldn’t resign with their company, the company wouldn’t let them use the same name, which is why the name changed when they switched companies.

JQT

Since then, the three JQT members that were originally from i-13 together, Min Jung, Ji Eun & Ga Jin, have switched companies and have renamed the group S the One. They’ve also added two newcomers, Yun Joo and Da Young.

S the One

S the One was set to debut March 2012, though it appears the debut has been set back. Their contract with Akon’s label has remained intact and so they still plan to advance into the American market, though they plan to debut in Japan first. They are going to be performing as the opening act for the ‘Welcome to My World – Promo Tour 2012-2013‘ with T-Pain and Qwes Kross.