After School - All Official Lineups
For the uniniciated, keeping up with the MANY different lineups of After School can be daunting. Given the renewed interest in the group I thought I might make this process easier.
I’ll be using the “schoolgirl” themed photoshoots because it’s the only one to incorporate all eleven members and I think it’s cool that they retained this system of introducing members for three years! I won’t be including OSTs, collaborations and CF songs.
After School - Generation 1.0 (Jan 2009 - Apr 2009)
Kahi (Leader, Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Main Dancer, Autocrat)
Jung-A (Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer)
Soyoung (Vocalist, Dancer)
Juyeon (Vocalist, Dancer, Face of the Group)
Bekah (Vocalist, Main Rapper, Dancer, Maknae)
1. New Schoolgirl - Debut Single
After School - Generation 2.0 (Apr 2009 - Nov 2009)
Kahi (Leader, Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Main Dancer)
Jung-A (Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer)
Soyoung (Vocalist, Dancer)
Juyeon (Vocalist, Dancer)
Bekah (Vocalist, Main Rapper, Dancer, Maknae)
U-ie (Vocalist, Dancer, Face of the Group)
2. Diva - First Digital Single
After School - Generation - 3.0 (Nov 2009 - Mar 2010)
Kahi (Leader, Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Main Dancer)
Jung-A (Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer)
Juyeon (Vocalist, Dancer)
Bekah (Vocalist, Main Rapper, Dancer)
U-ie (Vocalist, Dancer, Face of the Group)
Raina (Main Vocalist, Dancer)
Nana (Vocalist, Dancer, Maknae)
3. Because of You - Second Single
After School - Generation 3.1 (Mar 2010 - Apr 2011) [Note: Although Lizzy debuted four months after Nana and Raina, when they introduced the “generations” concept in 2011 she was included in the third one along with them instead of acting as the fourth generation herself, probably due to the Orange Caramel brand thing]
Kahi (Leader, Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Main Dancer)
Jung-A (Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer)
Juyeon (Vocalist, Dancer)
Bekah (Vocalist, Main Rapper, Dancer)
U-ie (Vocalist, Dancer, Face of the Group)
Raina (Main Vocalist, Dancer)
Nana (Vocalist, Dancer)
Lizzy (Vocalist, Dancer, Maknae)
[Note: This lineup was the one to perform one of their three trademark super-hardcore dance routines. They practiced perforiming as a marching band, complete with drums which they actually played on stage for Let’s Do It!, the stage and album intro for Bang!]
Orange Caramel - Generation 3.1 (Jun 2010 - Aug 2014) [Sub-Unit]
Raina (Leader, Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer)
Nana (Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Main Dancer, Face of the Group)
Lizzy (Lead Vocalist, Main Rapper, Dancer, Maknae)
1. The First Mini Album - Debut EP
2. The Second Mini Album - Second EP
3. Bangkok City - First Single
4. Shanghai Romance - Second Single
5. Lipstick - First Studio Album
6. My Sweet Devil - Japanese Debut Single
7. Lipstick / Lum’s Love Song - Second Japanese Single
8. Cookie Cream & Mint - First Japanese Digital Single
9. ORANGE CARAMEL - First Japanese Studio Album
10. Catallena - Third Korean Single
11. My Copycat - Fourth Korean Single
After School / “Happy Pledis” - Generation - 3.2 (Dec 2010) [Note: This lineup was only active for the Christmas special charity single Hazel Eyes under the name Happy Pledis and Bekah was only absent because she was allowed to visit her family in Hawaii but she was still in the group]
Kahi (Leader, Lead Vocalist, Main Rapper, Main Dancer)
Jung-A (Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer)
Juyeon (Vocalist, Dancer)
U-ie (Vocalist, Dancer, Face of the Group)
Raina (Main Vocalist, Dancer)
Nana (Vocalist, Dancer)
Lizzy (Vocalist, Dancer, Maknae)
1. Hazel Eyes - Special Christmas Charity Single
After School - Generation 4.0 (Apr 2011 - Jul 2011)
Kahi (Leader, Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Main Dancer)
Jung-A (Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer)
Juyeon (Vocalist, Dancer)
Bekah (Vocalist, Main Rapper, Dancer)
U-ie (Vocalist, Rapper, Dancer, Face of the Group)
Raina (Main Vocalist, Dancer)
Nana (Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer)
Lizzy (Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Dancer)
E-Young (Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Maknae)
5. VIRGIN - First Studio Album
Afterschool Red - Generation 4.1 (Jul 2011) [Note: For the fourth single, the group split into two units, Afterschool Red and Blue, each releasing a single which, combined, count as the main group’s fourth single. Afterschool Red was the “sexy” unit and Blue was the “cute” one. Each single contains the lead track and a b-side. The two b-sides are sung by the entire group.]
Kahi (Leader, Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Main Dancer)
Jung-A (Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer)
U-ie (Vocalist, Rapper, Dancer, Face of the Group)
Nana (Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer, Maknae)
Afterschool Blue - Generation 4.1 (Jul 2011) [Note: Although Red was supposed to be the sexy unit and Blue the cute one, if you ask me there’s honestly no discernible difference between the two songs they did. The only sexy / cute contrast I can see is on the covers of the singles. The songs and MV both feel like a mix of cute music with sexy-ish outfits, but nowhere near After School’s “trademark sexy.”]
Juyeon (Leader, Vocalist, Dancer, Face of the Group)
Raina (Main Vocalist, Dancer)
Lizzy (Lead Vocalist, Main Rapper, Dancer)
E-Young (Vocalist, Main Dancer, Maknae)
AFTERSCHOOL [Note: The group name is stylized in all caps, with no space for their Japanese releases] - Generation 4.2 (Aug 2011-Jun 2012)
Kahi (Leader, Lead Vocalist, Main Rapper, Main Dancer)
Jung-A (Main Vocalist, Lead Dancer)
Juyeon (Vocalist, Dancer)
U-ie (Vocalist, Rapper, Dancer, Face of the Group)
Raina (Main Vocalist, Dancer)
Nana (Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer)
Lizzy (Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Dancer)
E-Young (Vocalist, Lead Dancer, Maknae)
7. Bang! - Japanese Debut Single
8. DIVA - Second Japanese Single
9. Rambling girls / Because of you - Third Japanese Single
10. PLAYGIRLZ - First Japanese Studio Album
11. Lady Luck / Dilly Dally - Fourth Japanese Single
[Note: First main group lineup to “survive” for more than one release!!!]
[Note: Although they were almost exclusively active in Japan during this era, DIVA also contained a Korean version of this arrangement of the song with this lineup.]
[Note: This lineup also performed Let’s Step Up, their famous tap-dancing routine. Bekah was still in the group when they performed it for the first time, but due to an ankle injury she sustained during Bang! she couldn’t perform the demanding routine so she only performed Shampoo instead which wasn’t as hard on her ankle. She is the only one to have lines on Step Up however along with Kahi.]
[Note: This lineup was also featured on Japanese siger Namie Amuro’s song make it happen. This was E-Young’s first release with the group, before VIRGIN, making her the first member to (unofficially) debut in Japan before Korea. Bekah is, again, absent from this project (third one so far), possibly because she was still in Hawaii. Bekah is the only member in the history of the group to be excluded from projects despite being in the group. U-ie would also frequently skip performances due to her tight-packed filming schedule but she still recorded songs and was present for promotional material. Lizzy also broke her leg during First Love but she’s still featured on the non-dancing scenes of the MV. This is a rumour that’s been going around the fandom for years but many believe that Avex, the company managing After School’s Japanese activities, didn’t like how dark Bekah’s skin tone was or the fact that she wasn’t as skinny as the others and actively excluded her from Japanese activities. Pledis themselves are thought to have used her ankle injury as an excuse to force her out of the group for the same reasons. It is also worth noting that during their Japanese promotions U-ie’s skin tone started appearing on official photos and videos considerably lighter than before and they all started looking a lot skinnier than before, U-ie and Raina in particular. Again, no official accusations have been made by anyone involved but I still think it’s something worth considering.]
After School / AFTERSCHOOL - Generation 5.0 (Jun 2012 - Mar 2015) [Note: First main group lineup to survive not one, not two, but three whole years!!!]
Jung-A (Leader, Main Vocalist, Main Dancer)
Juyeon (Vocalist, Dancer)
U-ie (Vocalist, Rapper, Dancer, Face of the Group)
Raina (Main Vocalist, Dancer)
Nana (Lead Vocalist, Lead Rapper, Lead Dancer)
Lizzy (Lead Vocalist, Main Rapper, Dancer)
E-Young (Vocalist, Lead Dancer)
Kaeun (Lead Vocalist [Note: Mostly for their Japanese songs due to her good knowledge of the language, she also acted as an interpreter for the group while in Japan because Pledis / Avex were too cheap to hire one] Lead Rapper, Dancer, Maknae)
12. Flashback - Fifth Korean Single
13. The Best of AFTERSCHOOL 2009-2012 -Korea Ver.- - First Japanese Compilation Album [Note: Features all their Korean lead tracks released up to that point among some other songs]
14. First Love - Sixth Korean Single
15. Heaven - Fifth Japanese Single
16. Shh - Sixth Japanese Single
17. Dress to kill - Second Japanese Studio Album
18. SHINE - Juyeon’s Goodbye Digital Single [Note: It was announced that she would be leaving the group in the summer of 2015 around the time SHINE was released and she is featured on the cover]
19. BEST - Second Japanese Compilation Album [Note: Features all their Japanese lead tracks, some b-sides and also re-recordings of some of those songs with Kaeun instead of Kahi]
[Note: This is the lineup that performed the most-well known of their three trademark dance routines, and perhaps the most demanding; Pole dancing, for First Love’s MV and stage performances as well as Heaven’s MV intro.]
So there you have it! All of After School’s main lineups! There are of course some notable unofficial lineups like the 2021 reunion lineup (Identical to their debut but with Raina instead of Soyoung) or when Gen. 5 sans U-ie reunited with Kahi to perforim Bang! in 2013 but they were, unfortunately, one-time units. Almost all b-sides feature certain lineup changes too. For example in VIRGIN, every single song is sang by a different number of the nine members present at the time. Only Shampoo and VIRGIN feature all nine of them.
Anyway, bottom line is stream After School because with every single generation you get a different flavour, with each member bringing a different type of charm and vocals to the mix! This is extremely apparent in different versions of the same song. Korean Diva gives a whole other vibe from 2011 Kor. / Jap. Diva or 2015 Jap. Diva.
