Hopes for an H.O.T Reunion Vanishing

Ever heard of H.O.T? Standing for “High-five Of Teenagers,” H.O.T used to rule the K-Pop scene in the mid to late 1990s. This five-member boy band was the first idol group formed by SM Entertainment in 1996, featuring now-veteran stars like Kangta, Tony An, Moon Hee Jun, Jang Woo Hyuk, and Lee Jae Won. Although the group disbanded in 2001, H.O.T has remained in the hearts of many fans who relentlessly called for their return as a group, and this year, to commemorate the 10^th year anniversary of their disbandment, it was widely speculated that they might reunite once again.

However, much to the disappointment of many old-school fans, local media reported today that plans for a reunion have been postponed indefinitely due to conflicting schedules. “As of now, chances of reuniting are very low,” an unnamed official told Sport Korea. The source said the main reason for the postponement is the varying schedules of each member. All members, except for Jae Won who’s currently serving the army, are busy with their solo activities. Kangta and Tony, in particular, are extremely busy with their schedules in China and other TV variety shows. “Since they all got their own promotions and activities going on, it’s very hard to match everyone’s schedules,” another source told Money Today Star News, although he did add Tony might return as a solo artist this March or April. Last year, Kangta implied the possibility of H.O.T’s reunion sometime in the first half of this year saying, “It’s something I thought about for a long time.” But it seems like his dream of uniting is far from materializing at this point.

H.O.T debuted with their hit single “Junsa Ae Hoo Yeh (Descendant of Fighters)” in 1996. Widely regarded as the 1^st generation idol stars, H.O.T produced consecutive hits with “Candy,” “Happiness,” and “We are the Future,” until their official disbandment in 2001. Since then, Kangta and Hee Jun started acting as solo artists, while Tony, Woo Hyuk, and Jae Won formed a band called JTL. Tony later released his solo album and set up his own company, and Jae Won and Woo Hyuk each debuted as solo singers as well.