After School (band)
After School (Hangul: 애프터스쿨, Katakana: アフタースクール, often stylized as AFTERSCHOOL, abbreviated as A.S.) is a South Korean girl group formed by Pledis Entertainment in 2009, with an admissions and graduation concept. The band currently consists of six members: Uee, Raina, Nana, Lizzy, E-Young and Kaeun. After School officially debuted in January 2009. Later that year they released "Because of You", which was ranked number 1 on multiple music charts.
The group debuted in Japan in 2011 under Avex Trax with a remake of their Korean hits "Bang!", "Diva", "Shampoo" and "Because of You". Their Japanese debut was successful, and they entered the Oricon Weekly Chart at number seven. The group also released an original Japanese song, "Rambling Girls", in January 2012. The group's debut Japanese album, Playgirlz, debuted at number eight on the Oricon Weekly Album Chart.
History
Pre-debut
After School was first formed following Kahi's departure from Korean-American girl group S-Blush. Kahi alongside the current CEO of Pledis Entertainment planned to produce a new group together. The first member other than Kahi was Bekah, who was a trainee while Kahi was in S-Blush. Bekah was brought from Hawaii to South Korea, and had been strongly recommended by the CEO. Before joining the group, they were then introduced to Jungah, followed by the admission of Jooyeon and Soyoung to form a five-member group.
