How 5 K-pop groups were saved from disbanding: Dreamcatcher had a gothic rebrand from bubbly Minx, fancams of Brave Girls and Exid went viral, and Nu’Est appeared on Produce 101
![Nu’Est may have officially disbanded now, but it was close to it before too, while Brave Girls and Exid soared to success again thanks to viral fan videos. Photos: @bravegirls.official, @nuest_official, @exidofficial/Instagram](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/768x768/public/d8/images/canvas/2022/05/16/2758da71-fa7c-4bcc-bfce-ae7ec30add61_5d88d2eb.jpg?itok=N8hPne9p&v=1652675116)
- After fan videos of Brave Girls and Exid performing went viral, the groups’ songs shot up on the charts and they were invited back to perform on Korean shows again
- Infinite’s agency was close to bankruptcy, but its CEO believed in the boys so much, he sold his house to produce their album – thankfully, his gamble paid off
1. Nu’Est
![Nu’Est consisted of five members: JR, Aron, Baekho, Minhyun and Ren. Photo: @nuest_official/Instagram Nu’Est consisted of five members: JR, Aron, Baekho, Minhyun and Ren. Photo: @nuest_official/Instagram](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2022/05/16/05d4eedd-435e-475a-a1de-b0e65f1a516b_bc474711.jpg)
![K-pop boy band Nu’Est announced its split weeks before its 10th anniversary. Photo: Pledis Entertainment K-pop boy band Nu’Est announced its split weeks before its 10th anniversary. Photo: Pledis Entertainment](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2022/05/16/9ab4fa4c-2ca7-41e2-901e-c25d6590e4de_76c72dee.jpg)
But thanks to the members’ appearance on the show and Minhyun’s eventual debut with Wanna One, Nu’Est saw a sudden surge in popularity and was able to continue on as a group; it even earned its first ever award at the 2017 Asia Artist Awards, five years after its debut.
2. Brave Girls
![Brave Girls is a four-member girl group under Brave Entertainment. Photo: @bravegirls.official/Instagram Brave Girls is a four-member girl group under Brave Entertainment. Photo: @bravegirls.official/Instagram](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2022/05/16/dc89085f-4acd-4918-bcb3-f7f505d35a7e_966e6f60.jpg)
Brave Girls’ so-called revival is one of the two cases in this list that are a result of a viral fan video. In February 2021, a video of the girls performing their song Rollin’ went viral on YouTube – it has over 25 million views as of writing – which made the song soar up in the real-time music charts.
It was so popular that, after about a year of inactivity, the girls went back on Korean music shows to perform their song, and achieved their first Korean music show win 1,854 days after their debut, which at the time was the longest time between debut and first win for any K-pop girl group. At the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards, the group revealed that it actually had been set to disband that year, which made its sudden success even more meaningful. It even recently announced dates for its first ever US tour, which is set to kick off this July.
3. Exid
![Exid debuted in 2012 as a five-member girl group. Photo: @soul.g_heo/Instagram Exid debuted in 2012 as a five-member girl group. Photo: @soul.g_heo/Instagram](https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2022/05/16/339b2d20-ba16-48ac-9235-a43bb949225a_598a1fd7.jpg)