Which R&B group announced they were disbanding in January 2009?

The R&B group that announced it was disbanding in January 2009 was Danity Kane.

Danity Kane formed in 2005 through MTV’s reality series Making the Band 3, under the direction of Sean “Diddy” Combs. The original lineup consisted of Aubrey O’Day, D. Woods, Shannon Bex, Dawn Richard, and Aundrea Fimbres. Their self-titled debut album reached number one on the Billboard 200 in 2006.

The group’s second album, Welcome to the Dollhouse, also debuted at number one in 2008, making Danity Kane the first female group to open its first two albums at the top of the chart. Internal tensions nevertheless grew. Combs removed O’Day and D. Woods from the group in late 2008, while Bex did not return for the next season of the show. Dawn Richard publicly confirmed the split in a January 2009 MTV interview.

A common mix-up is that Danity Kane reunited later and disbanded again in 2014, so the January 2009 event refers to the group’s first major breakup.