The rise and struggles of K-Pop group 'Astro'

A tough time for the K-entertainment world and for the group 'Astro.' It recently gained a lot of attention due to the tragic death of its member Moonbin. But even before that, the group had already gone through a lot. Let's look back at the highs and lows of their K-pop career.

Astro is a South Korean boy band formed by Fantagio in 2016. In its original lineup, the group consisted of six members: MJ, JinJin, Cha Eunwoo, Moonbin, Rocky, and Sanha.

Astro was formed through a pre-debut project called iTeen, where the members trained as part of Fantagio's talent development program.

Image: Fantagio

Before making their official debut in 2016, Astro showed off their acting chops and distinct personalities in a web drama series titled ‘To Be Continued’, which was announced alongside the group and its member lineup in 2015.

Image: Fantagio

Even before officially debuting, Astro was already touring Korea and holding fan performances! The group got so popular that they hit 10,000 fans on KakaoTalk in no time, in just one month, according to Top Star News.

Image: Fantagio

It's no surprise that in 2016, Astro had enough supporters to host their own reality TV show called ‘Astro OK! Ready’ that aired on mega broadcaster MBC, which chronicled the group's rise to fame as a K-pop act.

Image: MBC

Some of Astro's best hits include ‘Hide & Seek’, ‘Crazy Sexy Cool’, ‘All Night’, and ‘Blue Flame’.

Image: Fantagio

Astro has amassed a devoted fan base and is widely regarded as one of the top K-pop groups in the industry. Astro even managed to be named one of the best K-pop groups of 2016 by Billboard within the first year of their debut! Image: Fantagio

Astro members are known for their versatility, with some venturing into acting and hosting roles, such as Cha Eunwoo in ‘My ID is Gangnam Beauty’ and ‘True Beauty’.

Astro took a brief hiatus in 2018 due to internal troubles within their agency, Fantagio Corp. According to Billboard, this was caused by an internal strike when Chinese stakeholders forcibly ousted its then-CEO, Na Byeong-Joon.

Image: Fantagio

Fantagio’s internal struggle had impacted Astro’s activities for 7 months, but the group managed to make a successful comeback with the release of ‘Rise Up’.

Image: Fantagio

This was not the group's only interruption. Moonbin took a personal leave of absence in November 2019 to focus on his health and returned to the group in February 2020.

Astro suffered another setback in 2021 when MJ announced his military enlistment, leaving the group once again short on members.

Image: Fantagio

While Moonbin and MJ's absence from the group was only temporary, Astro's contract with Fantagio was about to be renewed in 2022 which prompted discussions on whether there would be a permanent change in the lineup.

Image: Fantagio

With Astro being such a beloved K-pop group, many of their fans were understandably worried about this development.

Image: Fantagio

In December 2022, Fantagio officially announced that Rocky's contract renewal was still up in the air although the rest of the group had decided to renew their contracts.

Image: Fantagio

Astro fans' worst fears came true when one of the team's members decided not to renew their contract with Fantagio. The final decision came in February 2023, when it was announced that Rocky made the shocking decision to leave Astro permanently.

Image: Fantagio

Rocky's departure from Astro was not the worst news the group would endure. No one could have predicted Moonbin's tragic death a few months later on April 19, 2023. It left the group and fans devastated.

There have been several theories about Moonbin's death, but neither the agency nor his family has issued an official statement. His death is still being investigated, but an initial police report indicates that the singer may have taken his own life, according to Allkpop.

Prior to Moonbin's passing, he and Sanha had been preparing for a special sub-unit concert, which has now been postponed indefinitely due to the permanent loss of Moonbin.

Image: Fantagio

Given the departure of two key members in the group, Astro has now been changed indefinitely. In a similar case, the group SHINee managed to resume activities despite the loss of Jonghyun in December 2017. It is unclear whether this will be the case for Astro too. 

Image: Fantagio