MOONCHILD

MOONCHILD Members Discography Gallery

MOONCHILD promoting Friends Are For (2023)
Group Information
Origin	Japan
Formation	February 26, 2023
Debut	May 3, 2023
Disbanded	April 30, 2024 (0 Years, 11 Months, 27 Days; 363 days total)
Genres	Dance-Pop
Years Active	2022-2024 (1 Year, 10 Months, 26 Days; 694 days total)
Labels	Sony Music Associated Records
Members
Final Line-up	ANRI UWA RUAN MIRANO HANA
External Links
YouTube	MOONCHILD

MOONCHILD (ムーンチャイルド) was a Japanese dance and vocal girl group produced by singer-songwriter ØMI (CDL entertainment / LDH JAPAN) and composer ALYSA (HYBE LABELS JAPAN) and signed to the record label Sony Music Associated Records.

The group was officially announced on February 26, 2023 and consists of the winners from the girls division of the iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~ audition.

They made their major debut on May 3, 2023 with the EP DELICIOUS POISON.

The group disbanded on April 30, 2024.

Members

• Final line-up
• Former

Line-up at Time of Disbandment

ANRI
Nov. 3, 2005 (19)
Chiba

UWA
May 10, 2004 (20)
Tochigi

RUAN
Jul. 21, 2003 (21)
Osaka

MIRANO
Mar. 9, 2007 (17)
Tokyo

HANA
Feb. 3, 2007 (17)
Osaka

Pre-debut Members

• MINA (2022)
• RIA (2022)

History

Logo (February 2023)

Pre-debut

Starting in 2021, LDH JAPAN held the audition iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~ with a girls division and a boys division. The girls division was produced by ØMI, a member of Sandaime J SOUL BROTHERS from EXILE TRIBE and president of the company CDL entertainment, and co-produced by HYBE LABELS JAPAN. The goal of the girls division was to form a girl group composed of 5 members, with all members singing and dancing.

On September 25, 2022, the final episode of the girls division aired and the successful candidates who were able to become members of the final group were announced. Initially, a 5-member group was planned to be formed, but after ØMI saw the performances of the 10 finalists, the number was changed to 7 for the best balance and team composition. The seven members with the highest overall rating were selected to make their debut: ANRI, UWA, RUAN, MIRANO, MINA, HANA and RIA. After the final, the members would enter a period of preparation for the full launch of the group.

On November 30, it was announced that RIA had been suffering from health issues during the training and preparation for her debut, and thus would cease her activities. While she initially wanted to continue training with the support of medical professionals, it was decided that she would not debut as a member of the group or participate in any activities in order for her to focus on treatment, taking into consideration her current symptoms and age, after repeated discussions between her, her family, the members and staff.

On December 29, it was announced that MINA had decided to withdraw from the group due to personal reasons after discussing the matter with the members and staff. In the announcement, it was also revealed that the winners of the audition had been participating in a long-term training camp in South Korea and were preparing for their debut work.

2023

On February 26, it was officially announced that the group consisting of the winners from the girls division of the iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~ audition would be named "MOONCHILD", and that they would make their debut on May 3 under the record label Sony Music Labels. MOONCHILD's music would be produced by ØMI and created by ALYSA, a producer and composer from HYBE LABELS JAPAN. Additionally, it was revealed that the group would release their first songs "CHILI CHOCOLATE", "ONE BITE" and "Lonely", which had been performed during the audition and were newly recorded by the 5 members, on March 6, prior to their debut. On the same day as the announcements, the group's official YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok accounts were opened, and a video celebrating the birth of MOONCHILD titled "Birthday Teaser" was released on YouTube.

On March 6, they released their pre-debut single "CHILI CHOCOLATE / ONE BITE / Lonely".

On May 3, the group made their official debut with the EP DELICIOUS POISON. On May 8, they held a debut showcase at Toyosu PIT in Tokyo, which was live streamed for free on their YouTube channel and the platform ABEMA (K WORLD channel).

On May 22, they appeared on the cover of VI/NYL issue #011, their first magazine cover. On May 23, the group made their first appearance on the cover of the July special issue of GINGER.

On June 10 and 11, they attended the 2023 Weverse Con Festival at KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

On August 25, it was announced that member RUAN would go on an indefinite hiatus for health reasons.

On November 29, MOONCHILD released their second EP Friends Are For. The title track of the EP served as the ending theme of the TV anime The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse, and a TV SIZE version of it was pre-released digitally on October 8, the day the anime first aired.

2024: Disbandment

On April 24, LDH JAPAN announced that the group would be ending their activities and disbanding on April 30 following many discussions between the staff and the members regarding the future direction of the group and their respective lives. After the disbandment, members ANRI and MIRANO would continue their activities with CDL entertainment, RUAN would continue to focus on her treatment and work on music production activities with the support of LDH, UWA would be departing from LDH to pursue new possibilities in the entertainment industry with a focus on dance, and HANA would also leave the agency to focus on her studies.

Announcement from LDH JAPAN

Thank you very much for your continued support to MOONCHILD. We are here to announce that MOONCHILD will bring its group activities to an end at the end of April. Since the end of last year, the members and staff have had repeated discussions about the future plan of the group's activities and the members' own lives. As a result, we have come to the conclusion that we respect the wishes of each of the five members, and that each of them will walk a new path. MOONCHILD was formed through the "iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~" audition produced by ØMI (CDL entertainment). Although it has been only about a year, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all fans who have warmly watched over and supported MOONCHILD and the members, and to all people involved who have given support. The members will embrace different futures. ANRI and MIRANO will continue to carry out activities with the support of CDL in order to fulfill their dreams through music and entertainment, and to do their best to move towards a new future. RUAN will continue to recuperate and work on music production activities with the support of LDH. UWA will leave LDH to pursue new possibilities in the entertainment world with a focus on dance and HANA will also leave to focus on her studies. LDH will continue to give full support to the five members, who have decided to make a new start, in the future. We hope that you will continue to support them as they embark on their new paths. CDL entertainment will continue to work to create new entertainment, including various ongoing projects. We would appreciate it if you could give your continued support. Moreover, this decision was made based on careful consideration and repeated discussions with the respect for the wishes of the people involved, including the artists and their families. In consideration of the minors among the members, please refrain from transmitting any speculative messages or statements. We appreciate your understanding. LDH JAPAN Inc. CDL entertainment

Comment by Producer ØMI

Thank you for your continued warm support. I myself have been involved as a producer in MOONCHILD, from the start of the audition "iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~" to the group's debut and producing their works. Although they have been carrying out activities for about a year, they decided to end their group activities. During MOONCHILD's one-year activities, the members, staff members and I repeatedly talked about the future image of the group and their personal lives. In the process, we began to think about life choices, such as the option of continuing with the group activities as they were and challenges that the members wanted to try themselves, and we came to the conclusion that we respect the wishes of the five members. As a producer myself, I would like to take a hard look at whether I was able to be there for MOONCHILD. Also, I believe that there will be moments in the future when they have to make choices. I hope they can believe in themselves and bravely work hard for their dreams as they will only live once. CDL entertainment will prepare various projects full of creativity, so we ask for your continued support. ØMI

On April 30, the group officially disbanded. In accordance with the disbandment, their X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok and Weverse accounts were closed on the same day.

Discography

• Albums
• Singles

Mini-albums/EPs

1. [2023.05.03] DELICIOUS POISON
2. [2023.11.29] Friends Are For

Pre-release Digital Singles

1. [2023.03.06] CHILI CHOCOLATE / ONE BITE / Lonely
2. [2023.10.08] Friends Are For (TV SIZE)

Trivia

• The group's music is co-produced by ØMI and ALYSA, a producer and composer from HYBE LABELS JAPAN.
  • The co-production aspect of the group allows them to perform at festivals in South Korea and utilize the Korean platform Weverse, although they're affiliated with LDH (in Japan).
  • The members describe ØMI and ALYSA as mentors and like a father/mother to them. The two would give them advice, reassure them, cheer them up and give them confidence.
• According to ØMI, the name "MOONCHILD" was chosen by him to express the duality of their entertainment, message & visuals, and with the idea for them to become a group that is as varied, bewitching, beautiful & ever-changing as the moon, with its mysterious and fleeting nature. Additionally, he created the group with the concept of "Delicious Poison" since the start of the audition.
  • According to the members, the concept of the group expresses their diversity, including cool and cute parts.
• The fundamental concept of the group is "Love Your Neighbor", a slogan that goes from "love yourself" to "love the people around you", which was inherited from their producers ØMI and ALYSA.

• The official fandom name of the group is "MOOOS". It was announced on May 3, 2023, during a live broadcast to celebrate the group's debut.
• Thee visual director of the group is Sara Yamanaka. She has been in charge of the visuals, styling and promotional pictures of the project since the iCON Z ~Dreams For Children~ audition.
• On May 8, 2023, the group opened a fan community on the platform Weverse.
• Since pre-debut, the members have been living together in a dormitory.
  • They have a firm on/off routine.
  • According to the members, they get together in the middle of the night and play games such as Knives Out. The gathering happens in MIRANO's room since it's the tidiest.

External Links

• Official YouTube channel
• Record Label Profile (archived)
• Agency Profile (archived)
• Agency Profile (English, archived)