Rookie girl group H1-KEY announces comeback with new member after Sitala's departure

Rookie K-pop girl group H1-KEY recently announced that it would be making a comeback in the K-pop music scene with a new member. The girl group soared high at the time of its debut back in early 2022, entering numerous iTunes charts and surpassing 100 million views on YouTube. The rookie girl group debuted on January 5, 2022, with their single album, Athletic Girl.

After the group debuted in the music industry, many netizens pointed out controversial statements about group member Sitala’s personal family issues. Many fans were upset upon learning about her family’s involvement in the 2014 political crisis in Thailand. Others stated that her family's involvement had nothing to do with the artist as she was still too young to understand the ground reality.

H1-KEY to make a summer comeback in July 2022

On June 7, 2022, H1-KEY’s music label, Grandline Group, took to the group’s official social media accounts and updated fans about the quartet’s comeback to the music scene with a new single. The group is slated to drop its new album on July 6, 2022.

However, the agency also released a rather mysterious poster in which the faces of the group members are not visible. Standing against a bright orange backdrop, the K-pop idol in the middle seems to be holding a tennis racket in her hand with other sports commodities like skateboards and ball carts in the poster.

The creative design proves that the upcoming comeback will be an exciting sports-related concept that will be perfect and in time for summer. The poster also showcases a total of four group members, indicating that the agency has already chosen a new member for the group after former member Sitala departed from the lineup on May 25, 2022, due to personal issues.

Fans react to H1-KEY's comeback announcement

Following the group’s comeback announcement, fans have taken to various social media accounts to express their excitement about the quartet’s return to the K-pop music industry.

Since the Grandline Group has not released any additional information regarding the new group member, much of the focus has been directed toward the new rapper or singer.

Meanwhile, H1-KEY's hitmaker Athletic Girl has received tremendous responses from netizens across the world on various online communities and social media platforms since its release.

The quartet’s spot-on choreography that included exercise movements like running squatting, and lunges became a trending topic. The song gained a lot of attention and was added to Spotify’s WorkOut playlist.

The group’s rising success was visible on music charts as their debut song ranked #1 on iTunes K-pop Songs charts in nine countries. In Thailand, the song snagged top rankings on online record sales sites and also on iTunes video charts.

About the author

Shania Carol Gideon is a content writer who knows her way around a headline—and a comeback teaser. With a background in marketing and storytelling, she brings a fresh, engaging voice to all things K-pop. She believes in strong coffee, clean edits, and the emotional rollercoaster of every album drop. Off the clock, she’s probably watching her favorite shows or training her dog to sit.

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