History Music / AOA

In August 2019, the group took part in the reality show ''Queendom'', a show where six girl groups/soloists compete to see who is "the real number one". Competing against {{Music/Mamamoo}}, [[Music/TwoNEOne Park Bom]], Music/OhMyGirl, {{Music/Lovelyz}} and Music/GIdle, they came in fifth overall, but won acclaim for their performances of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwsUHHiPcRA Sorry]]" and their remix of Mamamoo's "[[https://youtu.be/n-w_ski7mt0 Egotistic]]".

AOA underwent a series of member losses. After being on hiatus for several years, Youkyung left FNC in October 2016 after her contract expired; in 2017, Choa left due to mental health issues, and Mina followed soon afterward; in July 2020, a controversy surrounded by bullying allegations between Mina and Jimin led to the latter's departure from AOA, FNC and the entertainment industry as a whole[[note]]although she returned to the industry in 2022[[/note]]; and Yuna, Seolhyun and Hyejeong later parted ways with FNC in December 2020, October 2022 and March 2023 respectively, leaving Chanmi as the sole remaining member and thus effectively confirming the group's disbandment.

* SpiritualSuccessor: AOA Black are seen as the 2nd Music/{{SCANDAL|Band}} as both are Asian girl bands that stand out in the sea of girl groups in their respective industries.

* SpiritualSuccessor: AOA Black are seen as the 2nd Music/{{Scandal}} as both are Asian girl bands that stand out in the sea of girl groups in their respective industries.

''Do not confuse with ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse the comic book, or Music/TheAxisOfAwesome the band, which both use the same initials. Also do not confuse with the Hong Kong pop twin duo with the same name, who are unfortunately overshadowed and hard to search up.''

[[caption-width-right:350:One of the fewer photos of all eight "angels" [[note]]Youkyung, Choa, Chanmi, Hyejeong, Seolhyun, Yuna, Jimin, Mina[[/note]]]]

A KoreanPopMusic idol GirlGroup who debuted under FNC Entertainment in August 2012, and went on indefinite hiatus in 2020. The group's full name is Ace of Angels, and they are well-known for being a "transformer group" - part band, part dance. AOA originally promoted as a combination of two units: five in the band unit (officially called AOA Black), and seven in the dance unit. Together as AOA they focused on pop-rock and acoustic pop to accommodate both the units' strengths.

Despite simultaneously promoting both units being their original premise, the last time they actually released music together was in 2012 with ''Wanna Be'' - afterward, the two units also got their own noteworthy promotions. AOA Black brought the group their first number one on several music charts with ''Moya'' which showed off their prowess as a band; and the dance-unit single ''Miniskirt'' was nominated on a music show once on Inkigayo - and there the group got their first win.

In August of 2019 the group took part in the reality show "Queendom", a show where six girl groups/soloists compete to see who is "the real number one". Competing against {{Music/Mamamoo}}, [[Music/TwoNEOne Park Bom]], Music/OhMyGirl, {{Music/Lovelyz}} and Music/GIdle, they came in fifth overall, but won acclaim for their performances of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwsUHHiPcRA Sorry]]" and their remix of Mamamoo's "[[https://youtu.be/n-w_ski7mt0 Egotistic]]".

The group's seen a series of member losses; after being on hiatus for several years, Youkyung left FNC in October 2016 after her contract expired; in 2017, Choa left due to mental health issues, and Mina followed soon afterward; in July 2020, a controversy surrounded by bullying allegations between Mina and Jimin triggered the latter's departure from AOA, FNC and the entertainment industry as a whole[[note]]although she returned to the industry in 2022[[/note]]; Yuna, Seolhyun and Hyejeong later parted ways with FNC in December 2020, October 2022 and March 2023 respectively, leaving Chanmi as the sole remaining member and thus effectively confirming the group's disbandment.

In 2022 Chanmi announced she was changing her last name from "Kim" to "Im" (her mother's surname), and following her using the stage name "Im Dohwa" for the reality show competition "Girls Reverse"[[note]]where she was eliminated in the preliminary round[[/note]], she announced that going forwards she would be using this name for all her future activities, and that she was hoping to become an actress. As of 2023 she took part in the reality competition show ''Queendom Puzzle'', where despite earning praise and respect for being a good leader, she ultimately finished in 17th place overall, missing out on the chance to re-debut as part of the project group "[=EL7Z UP=]".

* HesBack: A lot of people point to the group's performance of [[https://youtu.be/n-w_ski7mt0 Mamamoo's Egoistic]] as this moment for the group, more so than Bingle Bangle's success. After losing two members without whom a lot of people didn't think AoA could survive, the girls return with a vengeance and show that even down to 5, they still got it.

** Mina for Mr Children. Their music has moved her enough and brought her to tears and she insisted on learning their songs on bass, according to one interview.

* GenkiGirl: Jimin was voted the most playful member by the group in a Taiwanese interview, being energetic and loves to joke around. HarsherInHindsight now, unfortunately.

* HarpOfFemininity: Was part of Mina's angel backstory picture at debut which had her gracefully playing a harp with the caption "Minaring who plays the harp all the time". Of course, it was just symbolic of her bass.

* LegFocus: All members whose legs are often shown off in photoshoots and performances. Hyejeong's are praised the most within the group as she's the tallest and thus automatically has the longest legs which have gotten her the status as the group's sexiest member/member with the best body. Notably, she shows off her legs in her BathtubScene in the "Miniskirt" MV.

* ReactionShot: Jimin and Mamamoo's Solar has some of the best at ''Series/{{Queendom}}''.

** In the "Elvis" MV Youkyung joins everyone else midway, falling out of nowhere in the room they're in. They accept her in the group and she jams with fellow band members afterward.

* AOA Dance Unit: Dance unit solo and considered the main promotion unit, debuted in October 2013. Focuses on pop music. Consisted of every member except Youkyung, and now only consists of Seolhyun, Hyejeong, and Chanmi.
* AOA White: Dance-only members' solo, never actually debuted. Comprised of Seolhyun, Hyejeong, Chanmi.

In 2022 Chanmi announced she was changing her last name from "Kim" to "Im" (her mother's surname), and following her using the stage name "Im Dohwa" for the reality show competition "Girls Reverse"[[note]]where she was eliminated in the preliminary round[[/note]], she announced that going forwards she would be using this name for all her future activities, and that she was hoping to become an actress. As of 2023 she took part in the reality competition show ''Queendom Puzzle'', where despite earning praise and respect for being a good leader, she ultimately finished in 17th place overall, missing out on the chance to re-debut as part of the project group "EL7Z UP".

In 2022 Chanmi announced she was changing her last name from "Kim" to "Im" (her mother's surname), and following her using the stage name "Im Dohwa" for the reality show competition "Girls Reverse"[[note]]where she was eliminated in the preliminary round[[/note]], she announced that going forwards she would be using this name for all her future activities, and that she was hoping to become an actress. As of 2023 she is taking part in the reality show competition "Queendom Puzzle" as part of the "Athena" group.

* SurprisinglyGoodForeignLanguage: Jimin spent a few years studying in China with her cousin so she knows conversational Chinese.

The group's seen a series of member losses; after being on hiatus for several years, Youkyung left FNC in October 2016 after her contract expired; in 2017, Choa left due to mental health issues, and Mina followed soon afterward; in July 2020, a controversy surrounded by bullying allegations between Mina and Jimin triggered the latter's departure from AOA and later FNC; Yuna and Seolhyun later parted ways with FNC in December 2020 and October 2022, respectively.

* Shin Hyejeong: Visual, lead dancer, sub-vocalist.
* Kim Chanmi: Main dancer, lead rapper, sub-vocalist, maknae.

* BareYourMidriff: Their stage outfits often show their waists. It was most prominent in the "Confused" era whey they often wore crop tops.

* CustomUniformOfSexy: AOA is known for wearing sexier versions of uniforms. This is most notable in the "Like a Cat," "Heart Attack," "Give Me the Love," "Excuse Me" and "Bing Bing" [=MVs=].

** Unfortunately this is now a FunnyAneurysmMoment after the bullying allegations against Jimin.

* LegFocus: Hyejeong shows off her legs in her BathtubScene in the "Miniskirt" MV.

* ShesGotLegs: All members whose legs are often shown off in photoshoots and performances. Hyejeong's are praised the most within the group as she's the tallest thus automatically have the longest legs which has gotten her the status as the group's sexiest member/member with the best body.

* BathKick: Hyejeong gives one to show off her legs in her BathtubScene in the "Miniskirt" MV.
* BathtubScene: Hyejeong gets this ''and'' a ShowerScene scene in the "Miniskirt" MV, and consecutively too for no reason other than for fanservice - she first takes a shower (clothed) before going on to her bubble bath (unclothed), complete with CensorSuds and a BathKick.

They are a divisive group for many reasons, including: leaving their band unit on hiatus for three full years in favour of their dance unit and more pop friendly music (thus demoting drummer Youkyung and leaving her on the sidelines by trying to make the dance unit the only AOA), and the bullying allegations between two members, which are elaborated on below.

In October of 2016, after being on hiatus for several years (and not even included in the group's first official photobook) Youkyung announced she would be leaving the group following the expiration of her contract, although she would be a guest member in any further AOA Black events. Soon afterwards Jimin posted a photo of all eight members to her Instagram with the caption simply reading "AOA".

In early 2017, fans noticed that Choa hadn't made any public appearances with the group for quite a while, to which FNC replied she was on hiatus. Fans were immediately skeptical and began speculating as to the "real" reason she had stopped promotions, and soon afterwards Choa announced via her Instagram that [[http://www.asianjunkie.com/2017/06/22/choa-is-leaving-aoa-due-to-mental-health-reasons-leaves-message-on-instagram/ she would be leaving the group]] due to mental health issues, and in May 2019 she ended her FNC contract entirely. In that same month, Mina suddenly announced she would also be leaving the group, something which surprised fans as she had previously spoken about wanting to remain in the group for "years to come" and had actually recorded lines for their then upcoming single "Come See Me".

In November of 2019, "Come See Me" was released, and the song [[https://www.soompi.com/article/1368340wpp/aoa-places-high-on-itunes-k-pop-charts-around-the-world-with-come-see-me performed very well]] on the charts, leading to jubilant fans who were expecting AOA to finally bounce back and regain their lost popularity. Sadly, this was not to be - in June of 2020, former member Mina shocked fans by posting [[https://www.soompi.com/article/1410672wpp/former-aoa-member-mina-posts-allegations-detailing-years-of-harassment-from-jimin allegations via her Instagram account that she had been severely bullied for the better part of ten years]] by an unnamed member to the point of becoming suicidal, and that this was what had directly influenced her decision to leave the group. In response, Jimin posted the word "Fiction" on her social media, but then deleted it, after which Mina confirmed that Jimin was the member she had been referring to in her post. This caused an ''enormous'' firestorm of controversy and backlash towards Jimin and the other members and essentially stopped AOA's career dead in its tracks.

On July 4, 2020, it was announced that [[https://www.soompi.com/article/1410909wpp/breaking-jimin-leaves-aoa Jimin had left the group and would be retiring from the entertainment industry.]]

In August of 2020, Mina posted disturbing photos of herself having apparently attempted suicide to her social media account, leading to her briefly being hospitalized. Shortly afterwards, FNC Entertainment released [[https://www.soompi.com/article/1418005wpp/fnc-entertainment-releases-statement-addressing-former-aoa-member-minas-social-media-posts their own statement]], saying they hoped Mina recovered as quickly as she could, and also said they would be refraining from releasing their side of the story (and that they had informed the other members not to speak about it) until Mina was in a better state of mind. On August 11, Mina [[https://www.soompi.com/article/1418407wpp/former-aoa-member-mina-shares-apology apologized for concerning fans and said she would be deleting her social media in order to focus on her mental health]][[note]]although she would go on to reactivate it less than eight weeks later[[/note]], and in September of 2020, her [[https://www.asianjunkie.com/2020/09/25/minas-ex-aoa-contract-with-woori-actors-terminated-will-take-a-break/ company announced she had terminated her contract with them]] after four months and would be going on hiatus.

In December of 2020, it was announced that [[https://www.soompi.com/article/1446382wpp/aoas-yuna-leaves-fnc-entertainment-after-8-years Yuna had left the company]], and in February of 2021, she became [[https://www.koreaboo.com/news/former-aoa-member-yuna-yoga-instructor-certification/ a yoga instructor]], leaving only Seolhyun, Hyejeong and Chanmi as members.

In September of 2021, following a full year of Mina's continuing to bring the incident up on her social media and either making new claims or elaborating on previous ones, as well as her being directly involved in multiple controversies/scandals (as elaborated on in the YMMV page), [[https://www.soompi.com/article/1487742wpp/dispatch-releases-conversations-involving-current-and-former-aoa-members-including-kwon-mina-and-jimin-kwon-mina-responds a series of conversations between Mina and the other members was released]] that turned the whole matter on its head. In these messages, Mina was revealed to have been initially very warm and friendly towards Jimin before suddenly turning on her and repeatedly insisting Jimin had been nothing but a bully[[note]]Choa and the other members were shown to have attempted to mediate things and calm Mina down, but she refused to listen and insisted she was the victim[[/note]]. She was also shown to have sent Jimin several vicious text messages wherein she insulted her looks, called her a whore and threatened to physically assault or kill her. Messages between staffers were also released revealing that Mina was feared by the group's staff members, as she would do such things as demand that they take care of personal appointments for her and her family, as well as lashing out at the staffers if things were not done to her liking. This release caused the vast majority of netizens to revise their opinions on Mina's claims, and conclude that Jimin was simply a (perhaps slightly overly) strict leader whose personality clashed with Mina's, and there had been no bullying at all. After [[https://www.koreaboo.com/news/mina-instagram-update-dispatch/ first announcing]] she would be holding a press conference and providing "evidence and witnesses"[[note]]something she was notorious for flip-flopping on throughout the scandal[[/note]], Mina wrote that she would be [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/09/former-aoa-member-mina-says-shes-deleting-her-instagram deleting]] her Instagram profile... only to [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/09/former-aoas-mina-reactivates-her-personal-instagram-less-than-two-weeks-after-closing-her-account reactivate]] it less than two weeks later[[note]]although she has disabled the comments section on all her posts[[/note]], [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/09/the-truth-will-eventually-be-revealed-netizens-are-baffled-as-former-aoa-mina-returns-to-instagram-with-her-usual-posts promising]] to "eventually reveal the truth" about her time in AOA. At the same time, she accused her sister (who she had previously spoken ill of in the past) of "swindling" her and her mother out of money and how the sister was "threatening to reveal that [Mina] was evading taxes", to which her [[https://www.allkpop.com/upload/2021/10/comment/061949/1633564147-1dc504c5-cf10-4499-aa14-6713ab88f9df.png sister replied]] by encouraging her to seek help for her issues and accused Mina of only acting like she was family when she needed something.

On January 7, 2022, [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/01/former-aoa-member-jimin-posts-a-special-gift-to-her-fans-for-the-first-time-in-a-year-and-a-half Jimin released]] a self-written track called "Suddenly", and on January 13, FNC Entertainment [[https://www.soompi.com/article/1508265wpp/fnc-entertainment-confirms-contract-with-former-aoa-member-jimin-has-officially-ended confirmed]] their contract with her had ended.

On February 9, 2022, Mina took to her Instagram to [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/02/former-aoa-member-mina-begins-to-talk-about-jimins-bullying-incident-again write a public reply]] to a direct message she had received from a fan who asked her why she had seemingly made up the entire situation. In her reply, Mina wrote that she believed FNC had maliciously edited the transcript to make her look bad, and reiterated her claims that Jimin had bullied her, saying that Jimin's "apology" had been soulless, insincere and robotic, and "even the director of Dispatch" had agreed that she (Mina) was the victim. She also stated there were "other victims" and she felt "unjust" after listening to the recording and demanded the "unedited version" be released, saying "I don't care if I lose or whatever, it's just important for me to reveal the truth as it is". Soon afterwards, however, she deleted the post entirely.

In July of 2022, Mina posted to her Instagram to reveal that after her previous job in [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/01/former-aoa-member-mina-reveals-she-is-currently-working-at-a-skincare-clinic a skincare clinic]], [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/07/former-aoa-member-mina-becomes-a-small-business-owner she was now the owner of a small cafe]]. Soon afterwards, the real cafe owner posted saying that Mina was simply an employee, after which she deleted her post.

In August of 2022, it was announced that [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/08/upcoming-jtbc-vocal-competition-for-girl-group-rappers-the-second-world-announces-its-lineup former member Jimin would be taking part]] in an upcoming reality show called "The Second World", a show where idols who were/are the rappers of their group would be given the option to show their vocal talents. The fan response to this was enthusiastic, even more so after [[https://youtu.be/qkVIqsCrNRc her first performance]], as she delivered a fantastic TakeThat rap against everyone who had made up/believed the malicious rumors about her.

In September of 2022, Mina posted [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/09/former-aoa-member-mina-shows-off-her-friendship-with-aoas-hyejeong photos of herself]] and Hyejeong that appeared to show the two spending time together and being happy. Fans were shocked, especially considering Mina had previously unfollowed Hyejeong (whose mother had notably defended Jimin during the initial accusations). However, some fans soon realized that Mina was in fact simply re-posting old photos and called her out, after which she promptly deleted the post.

In October of 2022, it was [[https://www.soompi.com/article/1550517wpp/aoas-seolhyun-parts-ways-with-fnc-entertainment-after-10-years announced]] that Seolhyun and FNC had parted ways after the expiration of her contract, leaving Hyejeong and Chanmi as the only remaining members.

In July of 2022, Mina posted to her Instagram to reveal that after her previous job in [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/01/former-aoa-member-mina-reveals-she-is-currently-working-at-a-skincare-clinic a skincare clinic]], [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/07/former-aoa-member-mina-becomes-a-small-business-owner she was the owner of a small cafe]]. Soon afterwards, the real cafe owner posted saying that Mina was simply an employee, after which she deleted her post.

[[folder: Former Members[[note]]All former members were also members of AOA Black[[/note]]]]

In September of 2022, Mina posted [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/09/former-aoa-member-mina-shows-off-her-friendship-with-aoas-hyejeong photos of herself]] together with Hyejeong that appeared to show the two spending time together and being happy. Fans were shocked, especially considering Mina had previously unfollowed Hyejeong (whose mother defended Jimin during the initial accusations). However, some fans soon realized that Mina was in fact re-posting old photos of the two and called her out, after which she promptly deleted the post.

* Kim Seolhyun: Face, lead dancer, sub-vocalist. Also the resident actress.

In September of 2021, following a full year of Mina's continuing to bring the incident up on her social media and either making new claims or elaborating on previous ones, as well as her being directly involved in multiple controversies/scandals (as elaborated on in the YMMV page), [[https://www.soompi.com/article/1487742wpp/dispatch-releases-conversations-involving-current-and-former-aoa-members-including-kwon-mina-and-jimin-kwon-mina-responds a series of conversations between Mina and the other members was released]] that turned the whole matter on its head. In these messages, Mina was revealed to have been initially very warm and friendly towards Jimin before suddenly turning on her and repeatedly insisting Jimin had been nothing but a bully[[note]]Choa and the other members were shown to have attempted to mediate things and calm Mina down, but she refused to listen and insisted she was the victim[[/note]]. She was also shown to have sent Jimin several vicious text messages wherein she insulted her looks, called her a whore and threatened to physically assault or kill her. Messages between staffers were also released revealing that Mina was feared by the group's staff members, as she would do such things as demand that they take care of personal appointments for her and her family, as well as lashing out at the staffers if things were not done to her liking. This release caused the vast majority of netizens to revise their opinions on Mina's claims, and conclude that Jimin was simply a (perhaps slightly overly) strict leader whose personality clashed with Mina's, and there had been no bullying at all. After [[https://www.koreaboo.com/news/mina-instagram-update-dispatch/ first announcing]] she would be holding a press conference and providing "evidence and witnesses"[[note]]something she was notorious for flip-flopping on throughout the scandal[[/note]], Mina wrote that she would be [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/09/former-aoa-member-mina-says-shes-deleting-her-instagram deleting]] her Instagram profile... only to [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/09/former-aoas-mina-reactivates-her-personal-instagram-less-than-two-weeks-after-closing-her-account reactivate]] it less than two weeks later[[note]]although she has disabled the comments section on all her posts[[/note]], [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/09/the-truth-will-eventually-be-revealed-netizens-are-baffled-as-former-aoa-mina-returns-to-instagram-with-her-usual-posts promising]] to "eventually reveal the truth" about her time in AOA. At the same time, she accused her sister (who she had previously spoken ill of in the past) of "swindling" her and her mother out of money and how the sister was "threatening to reveal that [Mina] was evading taxes, to which her [[https://www.allkpop.com/upload/2021/10/comment/061949/1633564147-1dc504c5-cf10-4499-aa14-6713ab88f9df.png sister replied]] by encouraging her to seek help for her issues and accused Mina of only acting like she was family when she needed something.

In September of 2022, Mina posted [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2022/09/former-aoa-member-mina-shows-off-her-friendship-with-aoas-hyejeong photos of herself]] together with Hyejeong that appeared to show the two spending time together and being happy. Fans were shocked, especially considering Mina had previously unfollowed Hyejeong (whose mother defended Jimin during the initial accusations) and accused her of being complacent/a bystander. However, some fans soon realized that Mina was in fact re-posting old photos of the two and called her out, after which she promptly deleted the post.

In September of 2021, following a full year of Mina's continuing to bring the incident up on her social media and either making new claims or elaborating on previous ones, as well as her being directly involved in multiple controversies/scandals (as elaborated on in the YMMV page), [[https://www.soompi.com/article/1487742wpp/dispatch-releases-conversations-involving-current-and-former-aoa-members-including-kwon-mina-and-jimin-kwon-mina-responds a series of conversations between Mina and the other members was released]] that turned the whole matter on its head. In these messages, Mina was revealed to have been initially very warm and friendly towards Jimin before suddenly turning on her and repeatedly insisting Jimin had been nothing but a bully[[note]]Choa and the other members were shown to have attempted to mediate things and calm Mina down, but she refused to listen and insisted she was the victim[[/note]]. She was also shown to have sent Jimin several vicious text messages wherein she insulted her looks, called her a whore and threatened to physically assault or kill her. Messages between staffers were also released revealing that Mina was feared by the group's staff members, as she would do such things as demand that they take care of personal appointments for her and her family, as well as lashing out at the staffers if things were not done to her liking. This release caused the vast majority of netizens to revise their opinions on Mina's claims, and conclude that Jimin was simply a (perhaps slightly overly) strict leader whose personality clashed with Mina's, and there had been no bullying at all. After [[https://www.koreaboo.com/news/mina-instagram-update-dispatch/ first announcing]] she would be holding a press conference and providing "evidence and witnesses"[[note]]something she was notorious for flip-flopping on throughout the scandal[[/note]], Mina wrote that she would be [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/09/former-aoa-member-mina-says-shes-deleting-her-instagram deleting]] her Instagram profile... only to [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/09/former-aoas-mina-reactivates-her-personal-instagram-less-than-two-weeks-after-closing-her-account reactivate]] it less than two weeks later[[note]]although she has disabled the comments section on all her posts[[/note]], [[https://www.allkpop.com/article/2021/09/the-truth-will-eventually-be-revealed-netizens-are-baffled-as-former-aoa-mina-returns-to-instagram-with-her-usual-posts promising]] to "eventually reveal the truth" about her time in AOA.