If you have spent any amount of time on social media in the past six years, you most likely encountered LOONA, whether you realized it or not. After debuting in 2018, the twelve-member girl group amassed a fanbase with a social media influence that is arguably comparable to the Swifties. Orbits, a fanbase named in accordance with LOONA’s cosmic concept, have played a significant role in shaping internet culture as we know it.
The intense devotion of Orbits is far from unwarranted. Even before their formal debut, it was clear that nobody was doing it quite like LOONA was. As opposed to following the typical K-pop debut format and introducing themselves to the world with all twelve members present, LOONA embarked on a unique pre-debut journey that captured the attention of fans from all over the world. Starting in October 2016, each member was introduced through their very own solo project, leading to twelve iconic and catchy songs that perfectly encapsulated the charms of each member.
After a few members were introduced, a subunit would be formed out of them, resulting in three subunits with distinct yet consistently appealing concepts. LOONA ⅓, the first unit, presented a sweet and almost nostalgic portrayal of first love through catchy pop songs. ODD EYE CIRCLE’s music is dreamy, addicting, and playfully romantic, almost fitting into the common K-pop “girl crush” genre. Finally, yyxy’s EP was released, with a catchy and bubbly title track (featuring Grimes) that focuses on themes of self-love while also showing the darker side of LOONA’s lore.
LOONA’s storyline, called the LOONAverse, was another core factor in their early allure. A storyline that was so convoluted led to countless hour-long analyses on YouTube, fans were constantly drawn into trying to understand its inner workings.
The LOONAverse thrived through the group’s teasers and music videos, creating a world so cinematic that an event called Cinema Theory was held in March of 2018. At this event, fans were shown never-seen-before footage of the LOONAverse, including exclusive remix music videos. To this day, those videos have not been formally released to the public and remain a part of the rather large collection of unreleased LOONA media.
The LOONAverse is located on a möbius strip, with each subunit existing on a different part of it. Every member has a designated representative color and animal, with some even having countries and fruits associated with them. All of these elements came together to form their storyline, which began with all twelve girls trying to unite as one by crossing over planes of existence.
This goal was finally accomplished when LOONA debuted on August 19th, 2018, with their extended play called [+ +]. Its pre-release single, “favOriTe,” served as a powerful introduction to the talent of LOONA. The title track, Hi High, was a bright, catchy electro-pop song that was overflowing with LOONAverse lore. To further engrave the emotional milestone of LOONA’s debut into history, the LOONAbirth concert was held in Seoul on the same day. Fans were finally able to see their favorite solo and unit songs performed live, along with some of the brand-new songs from [+ +].
On February 19th, 2019, the group released [X X], a repackage of [+ +] but also much more. The [X X] era was an essential moment in LOONA’s career, earning them even more international recognition. The title track, Butterfly, went viral for its beautiful edm-pop instrumental, its astounding choreography, and most notably its music video. While most k-pop music videos focus on highlighting the visuals of the members, or the choreography of the song, Butterfly made a bold but effective decision. The music video instead featured cinematic shots of female actors across the world, of varying nationalities, and was appreciated for its level of diversity usually unseen in K-pop music videos.
Another pivotal moment in LOONA’s career would occur in August of 2019 when the group made their U.S. debut at KCON in Los Angeles. Since around 2017, LOONA has gained significantly more fans globally than in Korea, and their boundary-crossing success could finally be seen when they performed in the U.S. for the first time.
KCON 2019 has been dubbed “LOONACON” by orbits. because for many, it appeared as if they were the main event. The arena, filled with the fans of various groups in attendance, erupted in cheers when the members appeared on stage, finally able to greet their U.S. fans. In addition to their own title tracks, the group performed their own rendition of “Not Today” by the global sensation BTS; an iconic cover that has garnered over four million views on YouTube as of today.
It is difficult to pinpoint an exact moment at which LOONA’s fame skyrocketed, as the group is known for its countless viral moments over the years. As the group came from a relatively small company, their success was far from immediate. Much of their fame is due to the way Orbits have promoted them on social media platforms over the years.
For example, the phrase “Stan LOONA” went extremely viral on X in the years 2018-2020. At times, it became almost impossible to go on the app without seeing the phrase being spammed underneath completely unrelated posts. Often, the phrase would be accompanied by “fancams,” which are recordings of performances that follow one specific member. LOONA’s internet virality is intriguing to many due to the sheer power exerted by their fanbase on social platforms.
Orbits are also known for making up information about LOONA in order to promote them to the general public. For example, in 2019, a tweet went viral falsely declaring that two LOONA members were billionaires, had gotten married, and had become the richest couple alive. Although not true, this post gained attention from hundreds of thousands, including celebrities such as Kehlani, Seth Rogen, and Victoria Monét.
Orbits have even created fake internet disputes between LOONA members and celebrities such as Jeffree Star and Lana Del Rey. However, not all relationships between LOONA and celebrities are fictional; Grimes, who featured in LOONA yyxy’s “love4eva,” confirmed that member Go Won is the godmother of her and Elon Musk’s child, X Æ A-Xii.
More recently, LOONA has been heavily referenced in fashion items in the Roblox game, Dress to Impress, through various fashion options strikingly similar to some of the girl group’s iconic outfits. There is even a theme called “Fly Like a Butterfly” within the game; a direct reference to the lyrics of Butterfly.
After 2019, LOONA released four more EPs up through 2022, which would become their most pivotal year by far. In 2019, their former Creative Director, Jaden Jeong, departed from the company due to creative differences. LOONA’s creative direction undoubtedly took a turn, but their success continued to grow at a steady pace.
In 2022, before the release of their final EP, the group featured on the Korean reality competition show “Queendom,” placed second. This undoubtedly brought them more attention, which came into fruition after the release of “Flip That,” which quickly became their best selling album to date. The group then embarked on a sold-out world tour, able to meet thousands of international fans for the very first time.
However, member Chuu would not be participating due to “schedule conflicts.” Additionally, fans became concerned about the conditions of the members when almost every single tour stop at least one member was either injured or absent. The members performed to their best ability regardless, creating a memorable journey for all fans involved.
Things took a seemingly drastic turn on November 25th, 2022, when it was announced that Chuu was being removed from the group due to “violent language” towards staff and “misuse of power.”Upon hearing this, the majority of k-pop fans were puzzled and enraged.
Chuu is an extremely well-known figure within the internet world and beyond, even far outside of the K-pop community. Her debut solo “Heart Attack” has trended across social media platforms constantly since its 2018 release. She created a hand gesture, called the “Chuu heart,” which went viral in Korea and was performed by countless celebrities. But what she is primarily known for is being an idol that radiates a sense of genuine positivity and kindness. The majority of her viral moments were “iconic” displays of her unique and joyful personality.
Of course, one cannot assume that the image upheld by their favorite celebrity is reality, but in Chuu’s case, it appeared to be different, especially when coupled with the disturbing signs surrounding LOONA’s company in the preceding years. Not long after the news broke, it was revealed that Chuu had recently disputed the terms surrounding her contract with LOONA’s company, BlockBerry Creative.
Her original contract had stated that expenses would be split 5:5 between her and the company, while earnings would be split 7:3, Chuu taking 30% and the company taking 70%. If it weren’t for her extensive list of solo activities and promotions, this system would have made her hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt; and it did, for the other eleven members of LOONA.
Not long after, BlockBerry Creative announced that LOONA would be releasing a new album in January of 2023 with eleven members. It was evident that the remaining members were not content with the situation, and rumors surfaced that nine of them had also filed injunctions against the label. In protest of everything, fans boycotted the album and sales decreased by 98% in comparison to the previous release.
After a long period of silence, with multiple legal disputes occurring behind the scenes, all LOONA members managed to terminate their contracts by June 16th, 2024; a date which Orbits celebrated as “LOONA Independence Day.” Many of the members even posted celebratory memes and emojis on social media, acknowledging their freedom.
Although not all together, following their departure from BlockBerry creative, the members joined new companies. Heejin, Haseul, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, and Choerry all joined Modhaus, under their former creative director Jaden Jeong, forming a new group called ARTMS. Hyunjin, Yeojin, ViVi, Go Won, and Hyeju joined CTDENM, forming Loossemble (as in LOONA Assemble.) Yves joined an indie company called PAIX PER MIL, while Chuu continued pursuing her solo music career, now under ARTP.
On July 12th, 2023, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, and Choerry finally made a comeback as ODD EYE CIRCLE under Modhaus, nearly six years after their initial debut as a LOONA unit. This would mark the beginning of a new era of LOONA. They embarked on the Volume Up tour, which would take them to 15 cities across Europe, America, and Asia. Their setlist was not only composed of songs from their new album, <Version Up>, but of songs from their time as a LOONA unit.
On September 15th, 2023, Loossemble debuted with a self-titled EP, performing their new songs for the first time here in New York City at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden. Instead of debuting and promoting their title track “Sensitive” in Korea, they first took their “Debut Ceremony” across 10 cities in the U.S. Loossemble happens to be composed of the LOONA members who had less of an opportunity to showcase their talents during the LOONA days, having relatively fewer lines compared to other members; but now that they can, all five of them are shining more than ever on stage.
On October 18th, 2023, Chuu “redebuted” with her “Howl” mini album, also touring the U.S. later that year. On May 29, 2024, Yves would make her solo debut with “LOOP (feat. Lil Cherry),” which is currently the most streamed post-BBC LOONA song on Spotify at over 12 million streams.
On May 31st, 2p24, ARTMS debuted with their full album, DALL. Many of the songs were reminiscent of old LOONA songs for fans (one song, Butterfly Effect, serves as a sequel to Butterfly by LOONA), but at the same time, they introduced a new sound unique to the story of ARTMS. ARTMS recently wrapped up their “Moonshot” tour, which took them to 26 cities across Asia, America, and Europe. Their setlist once again contained old LOONA songs as well, along with covers of American stars such as Avril Lavigne and Taylor Swift.
Yves released her 2nd EP “I Did” on November 14th, 2024. She will also be embarking on her first ever tour, starting this December 2024 in Europe and continuing into the United States in January 2025.
I have personally attended the vast majority of post-separation LOONA concerts, and I even had the opportunity to attend their first world tour in 2022. Every time I attend one of their concerts, I meet people from all walks of life, all uniquely joined together by their love for LOONA. Many fans even dress up in iconic LOONA outfits from all eras, with unmatched creativity. Some attendees became fans all the way back in 2017, and express their pride in how far LOONA has come. Every time, without fail, the members put on a spectacular show, and continuously express their gratitude for everyone who supports them.
Since their “redebuts,” all of the members of LOONA have been consistently putting out music and touring. Despite being split against their will due to various circumstances, all of the members continue to thrive while acknowledging their past. In an interview, the Loossemble members made it clear that “The fact that we are LOONA has not changed.” In an ARTMS interview, Haseul of ARTMS expressed her view that “in a way, [ARTMS] can be seen as us taking back our identity.” It appears that although the future may not be certain, all the members agree that LOONA is a part of it, in one way or another.
If you have spent any amount of time on social media in the past six years, you most likely encountered LOONA, whether you realized it or not. After debuting in 2018, the twelve-member girl group amassed a fanbase with a social media influence that is arguably comparable to the Swifties.