In early 2016, three trainees (Han Hyeri, Kang Sihyeon & Kim Yunji) from Star Empire Entertainment joined the survival reality show, Produce 101. Kim Yunji was eliminated in episode 5 in 84th place, Kang Sihyeon was eliminated in episode 8 in 61st place while Han Hyeri survived until the final episode but was eliminated in 12th place, only one rank below the debut cut off. Following the conclusion of the reality show, all three girls returned to Star Empire.
On May 7, an insider leak revealed that Star Empire Entertainment made plans to debuted a girl group named OMZM that includes their Produce 101 contestant trainees. A few day later on May 11, it was announced that Shim Chaeeun, who was previously under Starship Entertainment joined Star Empire and had been added to their debut lineup. However, by June 2016, Shim Chaeeun had left the lineup and future group updates went silent due to controversies with their other artists.
A year later, Han Hyeri was also announced to have left the lineup and the agency. In the later half of 2017, seven trainees under Star Empire auditioned for the survival show MIXNINE. The trainees included Kang Sihyeon and Kim Yunji, and also introduced five new trainees named Lee Ara, Choi Jiyeon, Jang Hyokyeong, Lee Sieun and Lee Dawon.
Of the seven girls, Kang Sihyeon, Kim Yunji and Jang Hyokyeong passed the auditions to become official contestants on MIXNINE. Kim Yunji and Kang Sihyeon were eliminated in episode 10 with their ranks being 36th place and 19th place respectively, meanwhile Jang Hyokyeong made it to the top nine ranks, but was eliminated when the boys' team won against the girls', and hence ultimately did not get to debut. On September 16, 2019, Star Empire's affiliate label, Rising Star Entertainment, announced that Empire Girls would be officially debuting under the name ARIAZ in October.
The same day, their agency also opened the group's official SNS accounts and released the first set of concept photos for the first three members, HyoGyeong, JuEun and SiHyeon. The next day, the concept photos for the final three members were released, YunJi, YeoRi (Choi Jiyeon) and DaWon. On September 17, ARIAZ revealed they will be releasing a debut mini album, titled Grand Opera.
On September 30, Rising Star confirmed that the group will officially debut on October 24. On June 26, 2021, it was announced that they would make their comeback with the digital single "I Like U", which was released that same day at 6PM KST. The single is a remake of the song of the same name by former Star Empire girl group Jewelry and was released to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Jewelry's debut.
On September 15, it was announced that JuEun would be going on hiatus due to emotional anxiety and distress. They also announced that they would release the digital single "Hot & Cold (2021)" on September 30, as a five-member group. The single is another remake of a song by Jewelry.
On April 10, 2022, Rising Star announced that YunJi, YeoRi, and HyoGyeong had terminated their contracts with the company and consequently left the group. DaWon, SiHyeon, and JuEun decided to remain with the agency to pursue other activities, while the future of ARIAZ was left uncertain. The following day, on April 11, Jueun announced her departure from ARIAZ via her personal Instagram account.
Following Jueun's departure, DaWon and SiHyeon received no further updates regarding their status with ARIAZ. By the end of the year, ARIAZ's status had not been clarified, and they were removed from Rising Star's official SNS. The group is considered to have unofficially disbanded in late 2022 as the remaining members' contracts with the company expired.
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