During last season’s finale of Making with the Band 4, Diddy surprised everyone following Danity Kane by making two shocking decisions. (Okay - we could have probably seen the first one coming.) Even before layoffs had become the norm, the girl group’s producer axed Aubrey O’Day and D. Woods after a very uncomfortable meeting. (You can relive that moment after the jump.)

Although the quintet had been reduced by two, some believed the group would move on. (If Destiny’s Child could do it, why not Danity Kane?) But fans will be in for another big surprise when they tune in next month: the group - now down to two - is probably no more.

According to Dawn Richard, she and Drea (Aundrea Fimbres) were the only ones who bothered to return for the new season. “The thing about it ... I thought we were all going to come back and talk, or maybe if Aubrey didn’t come back, ‘cause I don’t know how Puff was feeling about that, if the four of us got together. I didn’t know what to expect. I just know I got off the plane and found out I was the only one there and Drea came the next day,” Dawn told MTV earlier this week.

As for why Shannon Bex didn’t show up as well is not clear. “I don’t know why [Bex left]. I think she’s just happy. I don’t want to even try to answer it ‘cause that’s not fair to her. I haven’t [spoken to her] but I heard she’s doing well with her husband and she got a house. I love her, but I don’t know,” Richard said.

So what will this mean for the future of Making the Band 4? At this point, the primary focus will be on the guys of Bad Boy Entertainment Day26 and soloist Donnie Klang. But as we’ve learned from the previous installments (and from I Want to Work for Diddy), Sean’s known to make changes on a whim.

(The good stuff starts kicking in around the 25:00 mark.)

Making the Band 4 returns with a recap special on February 5th on MTV. The regular season will then begin on February 12.