2013–15: Formation and early years The 5-member group was formed in April 2013 as part of the internationally funded Girl Hub scheme, which also operates in
Nigeria and
Rwanda. The group members are Teref Kassahun (nicknamed Melat) Lemlem Hailemichael (Mimi), Zebiba Girma (Emuye), Eyerusalem Kelemework (Sara) and Rahel Getu (Lemlem). Each member of the group has a different stage persona and nickname. Melat's character is that of the city girly princess, Mimi's that of the tough swaggering streetwise girl, Emuye is the vivacious music-lover, Sara the quiet studious one and Lemlem the steady maternal type. They produced music videos and performed on Ethiopian radio in a weekly drama and talk show for young women, addressing issues such as forced marriage, isolation and teen pregnancies, broadcasting on Sheger FM in
Addis Ababa to a population of some 20 million. Their first live performance was at the
Ethiopian National Theatre in May 2013. The group claim statistically significant change in knowledge, attitudes and behaviours though their work. After the success of their debut single "Abet" featuring Haile Roots in 2013, they released the second single, "Taitu", in 2014, with collaboration with singer
Aster Aweke.
Taitu was an Ethiopian queen consort in the early 20th century. Following their career launch, they released the self-titled film
Yegna in April 2015. In this film, Yegna aspires to achieve success in the music industry by attending a
music competition at
Addis Ababa University. In the final scene, they perform "Sima Belew" where spectators and judges listen attentively and ultimately they win the contest. Singer
Munit Mesfin makes a cameo appearance as a judge. "Sima Belew" was subsequently used to tribute the
Ethiopian Christians who were slain by the
ISIL militant group on 19 April 2015.
2018–19: Endegna, on hiatus and solo career In 2018, the group changed their name to Endegna, with release of new songs "Leman Biye" on 8 June 2018, "Ho Blen" for
Ethiopian New Year on 6 September 2018 and "Fikir" on 9 February 2019. The group saw a brief breakup in mid-2019 to pursue their individual career. On 28 February 2019, Rahel released "Tilobegn", Zebiba released "Gerager" on 8 August 2019, Lemlem released "Gedam" on 18 October 2019, Teref released "Demo'Na" on 28 February 2020 Eyerusalem released "Menagn" on 17 July 2021.
2020–present: "Yeabay Zemen Lijoch" and solo career perpetuation In May 2020, the group announced that they were reunited and would release another single called "Yeabay Zemene Lijoch" for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which was released on 22 May 2020. ==Members==