Originally containing members of K-pop band S-Blush, the band After School were formed by Pledis Entertainment in 2010, and have had several different members who spent some time with the band before graduating. Current members Raina and Nana were both in the band from its conception in 2010, and E-Young joined in 2011. Pledis have also created several sub-bands and groups from the various members of After School, including Orange Caramel, created in 2010. After School have become one of K-pop's most popular bands. Their first two single releases were 'AH!' and 'Diva' in 2009, which were taken from album 'New Schoolgirl', but it was not until their third single release 'Because of You' in 2009 that the group's popularity began to spread throughout South Korea. The song was an instant hit and the bestselling song in South Korea during the month of its release. Several more singles followed in 2009 including 'Bang!' and 'Flashback'.
In 2011, After School relaunched in Japan using the capitalised name AFTERSCHOOL, collaborating with Japanese singer Namie Amuro on the track 'Make It Happen' from her album 'Checkmate!' (2011) as their first release. This was followed by re-releases of their singles 'Bang!' and Diva' (2012) in Japanese which both reached the top ten in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. They then released a Japanese version of 'Rambling Girls'/'Because of You' which also charted in the top ten and was included in their debut Japanese album 'Playgirlz' (2012). Their second album release in Japan was 'Dress to Kill' (2014) which contained singles 'Heaven' and 'Shh' (both 2014).
Although After School have not officially disbanded, they have not released any further singles or albums since 2015 as each member concentrates on other projects.