Category: LATEST STORIES

When it comes to fandoms, we can say that a good number of them were subjected to an intense emotional rollercoaster this year. BLINKs had to deal with the ups and downs of finally getting a comeback after close to two years while being treated to some poorly executed concerts. ARMY had to deal with the BTS Festa of June 14 where several announcements were made that were misinterpreted and downright sent them into a tailspin and Jin started his mandatory military duty. Both BLINKs and ARMY had to deal with the seemingly eternal rumors of Jennie and V dating, Orbits were held hostage of whether Chuu is in or out of LOONA, FEARNOTs had to say goodbye to Garam after only meeting her weeks before, and SUMITs have been in limbo since the departure of two LIGHTSUM members. 

As for CARAT, the fandom of Seventeen, 2022 can be considered a year that they got spoiled, big time. So much content, so many new releases, and the group just going non-stop in their continuous stay at the top of K-pop royalty!  What more can CARATs ask for? Well, let’s take a trip back the entire year and count the ways S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, The8, DK, Mingyu, Jun, Woozi, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Vernon, Seungkwan, and Dino managed to keep the CARAT fandom wanting nothing. 

The new music 

When it comes to releasing new music, it’s pretty obvious that SVT has maintained that “rookie mentality,” which is a rare thing among groups that are their contemporaries. You see, once a K-pop group reaches seven years, the quantity of their new releases starts to noticeably decline for a number of reasons. One, most, if not all idols starting in the second generation, are party to 7-year contracts, which means once this initial contract expires, the idols can either keep the being a part of their company, their group, both or altogether leave their company and group to sign up in another company. Thus, both the groups and the companies deem it impractical and financially unsound (let’s not forget that k-pop is still a business, guys) to plan a full year of activities for a 7-year group when there is a huge possibility that a member (or two, or three, or in iKON’s case, all member) might end up not renewing their contracts.       

Two, and this is particularly true for boy groups, it’s usually also in a group’s seventh year that members start to push for their individual or sub-unit releases since a member or two will already start going on hiatus to start their mandatory military service. Especially when the most popular members go on leave, the scale of a group’s releases may not be as grand as before and expect that to be true with the number of releases as well. Finally, the third reason benefits both the company and the idols, as groups that have lasted for seven years may usually have established fandoms that will continue to support them whether or not they get new music or not. As seen in groups like Girls’ Generation, Kara, Apink, Shinhwa, Super Junior, TVXQ, and 2PM, they can already afford to take long breaks without releasing new music and still have impactful comebacks once they do reunite. A solid fandom can bring out that confidence that “legacy” groups need to pace their releases down to one new song/EP/album a year. For idols, this allows them to keep their solid relationship with the group’s fans while giving them a lot of time to also pursue their individual career goals and maintain a good degree of physical and mental health. This also works for the company, because they don’t need to funnel too much effort into the “aging” group in terms of marketing and executing huge-scale activities while allowing them to be more focused on younger and new groups. 

But throw all of those justifications out the window for Seventeen, because they are releasing music like they just debuted recently. After the wildly successful Attaca, their first EP to sell more than 2 million (yes, 2 and six zeros) copies in late October 2021, they presented not one, not two, but three albums to Carats in 2022. That’s one full-length album in May entitled Face the Sun, one re-issue of Face the Sun entitled Sector 17 in July, and Dream, a Japanese EP in November. All three releases went straight to numero uno on both the Korean Gaon/Circle and Japanese Oricon charts (yes, the two Korean albums managed to top the Oricon charts as well), not to mention Face the Sun and Sector 17 peaked at numbers 7 and 4 respectively, in the US Billboard Hot 200 charts.     

And let’s not forget the singles! Hot, the title track of Face the Sun, peaked at number 7 in Gaon/Circle, while _World took spot number 4. In the US Billboard World charts, the two peaked at number 3 and 12, respectively. The group’s first all-English title track, Darl+ing, peaked at #15 on the US Billboard World charts, while Dream ended up in 27th place on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart.   

So, the group renewed their contracts before Attaca was released, so that’s way before their contracts were set to expire this year. Moreover, leader S.Coups and Jeonghan, who also happen to be the oldest members, won’t be anywhere near the dreaded h-word (h*atus due to military enlistment) for another three to four years. Alas, it is yet unknown whether Korean-American Joshua, the third oldest member, will do an Ok Taecyeon and perform his patriotic duty of finishing his military duty. The group basically assuaged everybody’s (including Pledis’/HYBE’s) fears by renewing their contracts early and still being far from any hiatus. The nearest thing the group has ever been on hiatus was The8 and Jun going home to China after a gazillion years in December 2021, which exempted them from doing some Attaca promotion-related activities. To top things off, with the prolific Bumzu-Woozi team that seems to have a penchant for producing songs like a well-oiled machine, we seriously don’t see Seventeen slowing down on their song-releasing speed like a “legacy” group even as they enter their first decade and “senior” group era.     

The solo and unit releases

With most groups, it takes years for a member to release solo music. In most cases, it does take around 7 years for an idol to release solo material, and this is usually presented to them by their companies as a way to make them stay. After all, there’s nothing more idols would want more than to be recognized as very capable soloists aside from their reputation in the groups they are part of. Moreover, it can be speculated that companies want to establish the popularity of the groups first before giving individual members solo music projects. Finally, these companies may also want to avoid moves that can be misconstrued as favoring a certain member who is given a solo song. Thus, solo releases from Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, and Yesung from Super Junior, all SHINee members, Suho, D.O, Chen, and Kai from EXO, everyone from BIGBANG, and Mino and Yoon from Winner only came after years of their groups’ debut.

Seventeen members didn’t have to wait that long to release solo material. Fans of Woozi, Seungkwan, and DK have heard their contributions to some popular OSTs, and last year, we had Jeonghan, Hoshi, The8, and the pillar hip-hop pair of Mingyu and Wonwoo release singles, racking millions of music video views and Spotify listens. This year, The8 started the year with Hai Cheng, a single that may be more expected of a vocal team member rather than a performance team member. A full-fledged ballad compared to his 2021 mid-tempo hit Side by Side, the single proved that the boy from Haicheng (yes, the title of his 2022 song is his hometown) can also successfully sing slow-tempo songs as his teammate from Shenzhen, Jun. But then, you can still see glimpses of Minghao the performer as he dances with his partner ala Gene Kelly and Lalaland choreography in front of the beach and in some park benches while wearing trench coats. How’s that for performing team supremacy? 

Speaking of Jun, after releasing a string of ballads for the past few years, it was his turn to go mid-tempo in the dark and very sexy Limbo. This is definitely not your sweet, pure, and innocent       fake maknae singing one of his ballads. What a dramatic turn as Jun wears shiny black leather outfits and performs some really slinky moves while welcoming us to his limbo. And based on the music video and stages, more than the costumes and the song itself, it’s really the choreography that shines bright, which is perfect for our Prince of China to showcase his undeniable performance skills. 

While Jun used red as one of the color themes for his Limbo music video, our genius PD Woozi went all the way to use the color for his 2022 song, Ruby. The release surprised lot of fans, pleasantly at that, because the song has more of an edge with its alternative rock sound. Based on experience, we did expect Woozi to come up with a ballad for his solo project, so this very energetic rock song is a very welcome surprise. The music video also didn’t disappoint, as our small but terrible vocal team leader sported some very fashionable sleek looks. 

And towards the year’s end, our Leo DiCaprio lookalike gifted us with a pre-Holiday mixtape entitled Black Eye. And just like Woozi’s edgy turn in Ruby way back in January, Vernon also presents us with a not-so-surprised-but-not-entirely-expected pop-punk sound with Black Eye, an all-English language track. Keen Carats will of course observe that this is not the first time our hip-hop team member has dabbled in this kind of sound, as his duet with Joshua on the Attaca album, 2 Minus 1, has a similar vibe. Black Eye might not be a full-on emo track, but it does harken to an early-2000s rock band or an Avril Lavigne semi-angsty emotional rollercoaster song. Imagine that, one of our reliable rappers can sing an entire song without going into a burst of rap rhymes!

Lest we forget our main vocalists shining in their craft – singing the hell out of tear-jerking OSTs! Our musical King DK released the wildly successful Go! (not to be confused with Go, Seungkwan’s contribution to the Record of Youth Soundtrack in 2020) for the Twenty Five Twenty One OST. On the other hand, Mr. Sassy main vocal Boo released Pit a Pat for the Link: Eat, Love, Kill OST. And did we say that our K-pop Ph.D. also released a Spotify single of his version of Harry Styles’ As It Was?  

Going strong with GoSe

It is without question and not up for discussion that Going Seventeen, the boys’ web series readily available on YouTube, is the most engaging variety program in the world of K-pop? Make someone who doesn’t have a single clue of who Seventeen is watch an episode of GoSe and chances are, that viewer will simply fall in love, or at the very least, laugh at the boys’ antics in the show. 

This year, the world was again blessed with 29+1 episodes of the groups’ antics, and it would take a separate article to name our favorites for just this season. Here are three rather memorable episodes:

How to Eat Rice the Perfect Way (Part 1 and 2), GoSe’s first episodes of Part 2 of the 5th season. The appearances of Hoshi’s mom and Dino’s grandma were simply precious and obviously tugged at the Carat’s heartstrings. Woozi won the game, but a familiar character returned: supreme cheater and schemer Jeonghan, who used his wish coupon to take possession of Woozi’s prize for winning the game, which was a snack privilege. This episode also gave birth to a legendary character that is destined to make several comebacks in future GoSe episodes: The Hungry Monster whose only line is “beh goopa” (I’m hungry) and play to exaggerated perfection by musical theater actor Dokyeom.   

Runner-Up Sports Day, an episode that was an absolute treat to Jun-stans. Members of Seventeen play various games but should only aim for second place. In reality, the entire production plays a prank on Jun: the members should furtively play the games in a way that will lead to Jun’s victory. If Jun wins the games (by finishing second place overall) without noticing what’s up, all members will receive a Children’s Day present whereas only Jun will win a gift if he wins and realizes he is the center of the ruse. But if Jun loses (by not finishing second overall), no one receives a gift. The members succeed in secretly making Jun the overall winner of the intramurals. Too bad S.Coups, Hoshi, and The8 were not in the episode because of COVID-19. Otherwise, Jun’s innocence and purity, the expected antics of the boys (usually involving Dino having to fetch a dodgeball from far away), and the return of the Hungry Monster in a game that involved flipping the blankets of the members are what made this episode one for the books. 

Going Seventeen Special: Going SVT X MMTG, an episode that featured the unbeatable K-pop doctorate degree holders Seungkwan and Jaejae. Have you watched MMTG episodes where Seungkwan was a guest and the two can discuss the history of K-pop for hours and not run out of things to talk about? Well, this collab episode may not have featured the two gabbing the episode away, but it still featured the undeniable chemistry between the two, as well as Jaejae going along with the antics of the other members. In this episode, Jaejae was introduced to three of their best Going Seventeen contents (“Insomnia-Zero“, “Debate Night” and “Don’t Lie“) and competed on which of these contents raises her heart rate the most. 

That truly global tour

The running joke for “global” tours in the K-pop world is that they include a number of shows in Seoul, a couple of concerts in Japan, and an appearance at a KCON event in the US. Obviously, fans in Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and the Americas argue that Korea, Japan, and a single US show do not a world tour make. 

Good thing the group’s Be The Sun tour included two shows in Seoul before going on multiple stops across the US and even in Vancouver before going back to Asia for stops in Bangkok, Jakarta, Singapore, and Manila. The tour was mostly sold out and additional two dates were added in the Philippines (at the Philippine Arena, aka the largest indoor arena in the world) Jakarta for December 17 and 28 shows, respectively. 

This brings us to the rather unfortunate plight of European CARATs. Seventeen has never been to Europe and the Ode to You Tour of 2019-2020 was supposed to change this. Alas, COVID-19 dropped its viral impact on the world, which caused the cancelation of the tour’s stops in Berlin, London, Madrid, and Paris. Alas, when the Be The Sun tour dates were released, there were still no European dates and Hoshi even held a V-Live apologizing to the group’s European fans for Europe’s exclusion from their tour schedule anew. 

Anyhow, it’s not like they’re unknown in Europe. On the contrary, there was outrage over the continent’s exclusion in the BtS tour, not to mention the group won a number of awards in the 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards.  Next tour, perhaps?

As 2023 has started, we can only wish for CARATs to be as spoiled this year as they were in 2022 and for European CARATs to finally get some love from the group.

Featured Image: Seventeen Official Twitter

Ever wonder what happens to idols when they leave their agencies, the companies that they spent years training under and worked so hard just to be part of? Here are three unique cases.

Mamamoo’s Wheein: The Amicable and Trendy Standard

The departure of Wheein from the agency of her group, RBW, was one that didn’t seem like it had any animosity or bad blood. As with the trend with most idol group members who have decided to leave their agencies but not their group, Wheein did hop on to that trend when she decided to leave the group’s parent company in June 2021 while the three other members, Solar, Hwasa, and Moonbyul, continued with their contracts with RBW. However, as Wheein declared that she still has a lot of affection and affinity to her group, she decided to keep her schedule open to Mamamoo activities until 2023.

Many speculated that Wheein didn’t feel she was given much importance by the company during the first seven years of her career, which she spent with them both as a Mamamoo member and a solo artist. However, looking at the history of the group, it was actually Wheein who debuted first as a solo artist among the four members when she released her first solo single Easy on April 17, 2018, which was a few days before Solar released her first solo EP, Solar Emotion, on April 24. Looking closely, there wasn’t really much of a difference in how the four members were treated by the agency. Alas, the difference in popularity among the members, where people argue that Hwasa is definitely more popular than the three others, is not really the fault of the company, as it can be argued that actually, in terms of pushing them in other activities, Solar has gotten the most TV exposure as early as 2015, when she joined King of Masked Singer and when she was Eric Nam’s “wife” in We Got Married the following year.

Alas, when she was asked by Teen Vogue why she decided to leave RBW and join Ravi’s THE L1VE label, she had this to say: “I wanted a fresh start. I wanted to maybe experience the new environment under the new agency. That was my hope and I wanted to take a stepping stone into my personal growth in a new angle.”

With her new agency, Wheein has since released her second EP, Whee in January 2022 and has also held her first solo fan meeting ‘D-DAY’ at the Yes24 Live Hall on April 17. Looks like our Wheepup has settled in her new agency. Now, can we have new Mamamoo releases, please? 

JYJ: Messy and Unfulfilled Promise

Here is one group that made one of the most, if not the most awkward and messiest of exits from their entertainment agency in the history of Korean pop music. So, this all started in 2009 when all of a sudden, Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu, three members of TVXQ decided to quit on the group. A court battle raged on for three whole years, which was pretty much damaging for the JYJ members who had to deal with it while trying to establish their careers as a new group. 

What exactly was JYJ‘s problem with SM? It was actually the contract that they had with SM, which they stated was much too long (thirteen years total) and the idols felt that only the agency would benefit from such terms. The idols questioned its legality of it. SM, however, revealed that according to the law, a contract that binds an artist for over seven years is completely legal on the condition that the artists are active overseas. Finally, the agency also said that it was actually family members of TVXQ who insisted and requested that SM Entertainment honor the thirteen-year contract with TVXQ.

On the subject of the three claiming they were not paid the correct wages, SM Entertainment also claimed that they kept all the promises they made with TVXQ, including paying them the correct amounts for their talent fees. 

For their part, JYJ has stated over and over in the past about the issue that they were coerced into the thirteen-year contract and activities overseas and despite their unwillingness to do according to the agency’s wishes, they stated they had no choice but to remain silent for a long time since they believed in their work ethic.

The conflict was resolved in November 2012 as both parties agreed to terminate all contracts and not meddle in each other’s affairs from that point on. But then, everybody knows that engaging SM Entertainment in a legal tussle will result in dire consequences for the other party. Hangeng, Kris Wu, Luhan, and Tao may not have felt a huge impact as they transferred their career home bases to their native China, but JYJ and Jessica Jung surely felt these consequences. 

Given SME’s economic clout within the industry, the entertainment giant implemented on JYJ (and later with Jessica) that unspoken ban  – JYJ was banned from award shows, concert venues inside South Korea, and various music charts. Despite the legal battle and consequent bans, JYJ did flourish though, with all their albums and EPs charting at the top both domestically and in Japan.  Their songs also charted very well, with their lead singles all managing to chart in the top 20 nationally. Ayyy Girl and Empty managed to peak at numbers 19 and 18, respectively, while their succeeding singles Get Out, In Heaven, and Back Seat charted in the single digits, reaffirming their success after all the legal troubles and SME manipulation they went through. Even their Japanese release Wake Me Tonight, managed to peak at number 2 in Oricon. That was their last release before all three started their mandatory military duty. 

But then, trouble never left the three. Yoochun as early as 2016, was embroiled in accusations of sexual harassment. In 2019, C-JeS Entertainment, JYJ’s agency, decided not to renew his contract after he was involved in a drug abuse controversy. He served his probation, but then got involved in a dispute with an agency again as he claimed that his agency, Re:Cielo (the agency he signed to after getting kicked out from C-JeS) did not pay him correctly for his work (sounds familiar?) The court has since then temporarily banned him from engaging in activities in the entertainment industry. 

Meanwhile, Jaejoong has been more active in the Japanese market, although he released his own documentary entitled Jaejoong: On the Road in 2021. Finally, Junsu, now known artistically as Xia, has been very active in both music and television, although his music releases have been self-produced with his agency Palm Tree Island after he decided not to renew with C-JeS in 2021.

https://twitter.com/AkananiHana/status/1610837473231515649?s=20&t=mex_6SiQDFztih3TM9KtNw

But with all the problems Yoochun has brought to the table, it is highly unlikely that Jaejoong and Junsu would want to even be associated with him. With contracts ending and personal issues occurring, it is highly doubtful that there will be any JYJ complete group comeback. Actually, JYJ did have a release for a Japanese OST in March, but then, that only had them as a duo, and using “JYJ” when the Y has been problematic as hell would not make any sense. Maybe rename the duo to The Js? Imagine that, TVXQ was forced to become a duo since 2009 and the group created by the members who quit has now been reduced to a duo as well, thirteen years later!  

One quick point: With JYJ as OT3 eventually going on a hiatus in 2015, would it be safe to conclude that the group did not really live up to its full potential? I mean, JYJ broke away from TVXQ in 2009, then only really got liberated from legal troubles in 2012, and only promoted as a complete group until 2015. That means they were really just a fully functioning group for three years, which was also how long the group was embroiled in its legal drama with SME. With TVXQ debuting in 2003, that means that the fabled “slave contract of 13 years would have been over by 2016, which would have been a year more than JYJ’s active timeline. With JYJ also having a dip in activities for those three years from 2009 to 2012, that meant that they did stand a lot to lose then. Imagine had they stayed in SME until their “slave contract” expired in 2016, how they could have not lost those three years + 1 year after 2015? It does make one question if all the trouble the two Js went through from 2009 to 2012 and beyond (after Yoochun’s mess, which also caused a stop in JYJ group activities) was worth it in the end. 

But then, all this time, I’m quite sure SM Entertainment has felt highly relieved that they dodged the toxic Yoochun bullet. 

HyunA and Dawn

Now, this is a case of slight Romeo and Juliet feels in the K -pop world not only because they’re supposed to be star-crossed lovers, but also because there was a clear case of miscommunication and tangled comms among the parties involved, leading to a bit of a disaster, which fortunately now has a happy ending. Much like the hapless duo of Shakespeare who got confused about whether the other took the poison or not, HyunA and Dawn had a weird back and forth with their agency, Cube Entertainment, which led to them getting kicked out from the company.

To start things off, HyunA was Cube’s precious gem. When Wonder Girls’ rapper left the group and JYP Entertainment only after the group debuted, people were quite curious where her career would end up, should she get better (as she left WG and JYPE because of health problems) and continue her career as an idol singer. Alas, a former JYP employee who has moved to Cube Entertainment recruited her and she became one of the company’s top acts. She got included in the company’s first girl group, 4Minute while she was also supported by the compay to release solo material. The group succeeded, though it did feel like the group was built around her as her sort of vehicle to gain more popularity, although it can be seen as unnecessary because as mentioned earlier, Cube also quickly launched her as a solo act. 

There was a small hiccup at the start as Change, HyunA’s first solo song didn’t become a phenomenon as expected, though it sold millions of copies and peaked at #2 in the national song charts. Suffice to say, the song wasn’t on everybody’s subcionsciousness as her succeeding songs would. When you think about how Red, Ice Cream, and Bubble Pop would be these iconic, massive hits, you’d understand why Change was a bit underwhelming. But we digress.

HyunA’s solo career took off, 4Minute gave her more activities, not to mention 4 backup singers and dancers. Everything HyunA touched turned into gold, and Cube was not blind to that. She signed her up for a project duo with Beast’s Hyunseung called Trouble Maker, which released two EPs with the lead singles Trouble Maker and Now, which became massive hits, arguably even bigger than the hits of her own group 4Minute. 

With Hyunseing and his group Beast getting de-prioritized by the company, Trouble Maker was put in the backburner even with its proven success. In comes Pentagon, Cube’s new boy group, in 2016, the same year HyunA’s group 4Minute, was officially disabnded. With HyunA only being a solo artist, Cube gave their golden girl a new group with the new boy group’s members, E’Dawn and Hui. Triple H was not as successful as Trouble Maker, but it may have triggered something between HyunA and E’Dawn, as photos of the two were released in a number of publications. Then, came the Romeo and Juliet-reminiscent events. Here is a chronological list of events:

1. HyunA and E’Dawn photos come out.
2. Cube, considering the repercussions of two of its high-profile talents being involved in a dating “scandal”, denies the rumors.
3. A few hours later, Yeonhap News releases and interview with HyunA and E’Dawn, with both admitting to their relationship that started as soon as Triple H was formed. 
4. Cube, in disbelief that two idols at the peak of their careers easily admitted to having a relationship, cancelled all previously planned performances for Triple H, on-air appearances and fan events including a fan meet-up that was scheduled on the next day
5. Fans were divided, with some calling for E’Dawn’s removal from Pentagon, while others pointed out that the company cared more about the repercussions of the scandal rather than putting the welfare of their artists first. 
6. On September 13, Cube Entertainment announced that they would be terminating both HyunA and E’Dawn’s contracts, as they felt that there was a breach of trust among the parties. 
7. On October 15, Cube Entertainment officially confirmed Hyuna’s departure.
8. On January 27, 2019, HyunA signed with P Nation, a new agency founded by Psy since he left YG Entertainment in May 2018. On November 5, 2019, she released a single titled Flower Shower, her first release under P Nation.

As you have read with those three cases, there is indeed life for idols even as they leave their agencies. Some might have their careers stalled a bit because of some issues that would arise once they decide on leaving, but as with everything in life, everyone carries on and hope their decisions would lead them to success.

Featured Image: Screengrab from JYJ Official video ‘Backseat’

When we think about the youngest members of girl groups, referred to as maknaes, we often conjure images of docile and sweet members who are always obedient to their unnies. Think of Girl’s Generation’s Seohyun, the perfect personification of a maknae. But then, for every Seohyun, there’s also a feisty Minzy. Here are three other maknaes that have broken stereotypes and have simply endeared themselves to the public.

TWICE’s Tzuyu

Tzuyu is one of those “anomalies” in the world of Korean idols for the most obvious reason that she is not Korean. But for some reason, Tzuyu is well-loved, arguably even more loved by the Korean public compared to her also foreign groupmates, the Twice Japanese trinity of Momo, Mina, and Sana. By most accounts, Tzuyu is even more popular in Korea compared to some of Twice’s Korean members, and the reasons can also be obvious.

Tzuyu ticks all the boxes in the checklist of Korean beauty standards for idols. But more than that, Tzuyu also fits Korea’s type when it comes to concepts. Mind you, Koreans aren’t really into overly cute concepts, but they generally like idols who exude the “girl next door” type of innocence and youthful charm. Her simple sense of styling, fashions, and makeup has the Korean public respond very positively to her. And even her controversial scandal had a lot of public sympathy swing towards her direction. 

It was 2015 and just shortly after TWICE‘s debut, the group’s foreign members guested in the variety show My Little Television. Tzuyu’s introduction of being Taiwanese and showing a Taiwanese and Korean flag in her bed sparked a furor among Mainland Chinese fans, with the group getting barred from Chinese TV and our girl losing lucrative deals from Chinese brands. But then, the incident endeared the troubled maknae to the Korean public more, as they deemed the forced apology as excessive. Moreover, a lot of Taiwanese youths were also affected, with pro-Taiwan sentiment becoming more popular during the country’s 2016 general elections.  

Mamamoo’s Hwasa

If you’re not that familiar with Mamamoo and see all four members for the first time, you definitely wouldn’t guess who the group’s maknae is. That is because all four give off such fierce and unapologetic auras, which is quite far from the docile and close to submissive demeanors maknaes are expected to project. But of course, there has to be a member who has the latest birthday and thus, is younger than the others, and that distinction goes to none other than Twit Queen Hwasa. 

Obviously, Hwasa is a very important part of Mamamoo, being a very dependable all-rounder. While Wheein, Solar, and Moonbyul can also display a lot of talents, they are often in charge of particular roles such as vocals, rap, or dance. With Hwasa, you’re not really that convinced that she is solely a vocalist, a rapper, or a dancer. And she doesn’t disappoint as, throughout the group’s career, Hwasa has proven that she can practically do everything well. She can go toe-to-toe with Wheein and Solar when belting those high notes and performing those surprising ad-libs (well, they are Mamamoo after all) while also busting moves and spewing rhymes with Moonbyul.  

But then, throughout her career as an idol, Hwasa has also staged successful collaborations with other artists. Her vibrant personality enables her to work effectively with anyone, not to mention bring her unique flavor into the collaborations, from Refund Sisters, Loco, DPR Live, ONEWE, Park Jin Young, and Uhm Jung Hwa to an international star (Dua Lipa)! 

Also, with just a quick look, you can obviously tell that Hwasa is not a fit for the strict and stringent beauty standards the Korean public imposes on its idols. But has this stopped Hwasa from proving herself, which begs the bigger question, has Hwasa’s unconventional beauty and demeanor stopped Koreans from idolizing her? Definitely not! In fact, not only the Korean media but also Korean marketing research agencies have testified to the “Hwasa effect” where people catch on and buy the things Hwasa uses and endorses, from the food she ate when she was featured in the variety program I Live Alone to the daring and distinctive outfits she has worn in her performances and posted on social media. 

Through the years, Hwasa has been very outspoken in advocating for women’s rights, revealing her true self even in public (that goes for both her face sans makeup and her attitude), and being honest about her struggles. In one Mamamoo concert, she said something in Korean that became an iconic battle cry for everyone who doesn’t conform to convention, which translates to: “If I don’t fit into this generation’s standard of beauty, then I will have to become a different standard.” Maknae on top attitude, indeed!  

Blackpink’s Lisa

Hail, the queen! We know the attitude, the loudest in the room, the breathtaking charisma! Blackpink‘s maknae doesn’t play games. From the moment Blackpink debuted, Lisa showcased a wide variety of talents that endeared her to prospective Blinks, the Korean public, and international audiences. The group’s first two singles alone, Boombayah and Whistle had already proven that she was the group’s superior rapper (sorry, Jennie). In the group’s successive comebacks, she further established her position as the group’s main dancer, so much so that variety shows and reality competitions have chosen Lisa as a judge and mentor to aspiring trainees and contestants. And as for personality, people have gotten fond of Lisa’s duality – while she is one of a very few idols who can effectively pull off a girl crush image on stage, strong and firm while being a mentor in Youth With You, and yet be cute, girly, and soft-spoken in real life, be it during interviews or on Blackpink House. 

As the maknae of arguably the most high-profile K-pop girl group of the fourth gen, Lisa is a subject of intense scrutiny. Constant comparisons are always brought forth not just between her and the other members, but also among other female foreign idols. Critics are quick to point out that Lisa’s inclusion in a group that exudes a girl crush image isn’t doing her any favors since Koreans, although impressed by groups that are effective in the girl crush concept (from 2NE1 to G-Idle) still ultimately prefer groups and personalities that embody the sweet, innocent and eventually elegant concepts (from SES to Apink). Thus, many argue that Tzuyu and the TWICE Japanese members are more popular than Lisa. 

Moreover, many also feel that in her group, Lisa gets a short end of the stick even when she has already proven how massive her global fanbase is. Lisa not allowed to go through with her activities in 2021 Paris Fashion Week even when she was in Paris while Jennie, Rose, and Jisoo all got to appear in the activities of the fashion houses they are connected to? Check. Lisa having to wait for Jennie and Rose to debut solo before releasing her own project? Check? Lisa getting a questionable debut song? Check. Now, before you raise your pitchforks, here are some arguments as to why the Lalisa debut wasn’t all that it was made to look. 

In terms of sales and music video views, you can definitely count on Lisa’s fandom to give record-breaking numbers. Thus, it is no wonder that despite not being the inaugural member to debut, Lisa’s can be considered (arguably) as the most successful. The song and music video quality though, is altogether a different conversation. Jennie’s and Rose’s solo songs are pretty much straightforward in the message they want to convey. Both songs talk about realizations – Jennie’s Solo talks about realizing that she needs to be free from a toxic relationship and that she’ll be better off going solo, while Rose realizes that despite achieving her dreams of fame and fortune, “everything I need is on the ground.” 

And what about Lalisa? Since the song has been released for quite some time already, we can do a more objective review of it, and listening to it now, it breaks my heart to realize that the song is not really at the same level as On the Ground, Gone, and Solo. What it is a repetitive song telling listeners what we should call Lisa and the levels of bad-a**ery she already possesses and is capable of exhibiting. While Lalisa is a great hype song and maybe an effective pick-me-up when a lousy mood strikes, there’s not much else in the song worthy of noting. 

Add to that the music video that only features Lisa in different bada** locations and roles – as a Siamese queen, a SWAT team leader raiding a room full of… speakers, a well-dressed pedestrian walking thorough a neon light-filled alley,  a singing motorcyclist, a dancer wearing a beanie, a pole dancer, an ATV-riding character reminiscent of Mad Max, and then what looked like the real Lisa singing the song’s bridge in an all-white house before finally settling down on dancing in an all-white ensemble with giant letters spelling L-A-L-I-S-A on the background. Seriously, while it’s supposed to be very empowering, it’s also a whole lot repeititve and cloying by the third time she commands to say, call, and love Lalisa. 

Which brings us to Lalisa peaking a number 64 in the Gaon charts. In contrast, Solo peaked at the top and On the Ground reached #4. Enter international netizens claiming Koreans showing blatant racial discrimination. Take note however, that her follow-up single Money, while not having charted in Korea anymore and doesn’t even have an official music video, charted higher in the UK, Australia, France, and Canada. Well, maybe we can consider the possibility that Lalisa sounded like a pre-release and maybe they should have promoted the arguably better Money as Lisa’s official single. Besides, the fact that Lisa still managed to break records and launch a successful debut as a solo artist despite a rather overly self-indulgent song means that people, Koreans and internationals really love Lisa. A good number of fans may have expected more, which YG unfortunately didn’t live up to. 

So, there you have it, three of the most empowered, popular, and well-loved girl maknaes. We hope to see more of them soon, and here’s a thought: Wouldn’t it be great for Tzuyu to have some solo work?

Featured Image: Mamamoo Official Twitter

If Taylor Swift’s music video for her hit Anti-Hero earned the reputation for being the video with the most easter eggs, Girls’ Generation‘s video for their comeback single, Forever 1, couldn’t be far behind. The number of tributes and hidden meanings behind the images in the video can rival the number of Hidden Mickeys the Disney Channel used to show in a day! The good news is, it doesn’t even take a true-blue (make that true-pink) SONE to notice a good number of them — yep, that’s how SNSD has ingrained itself in K-pop culture that even casual fans can recognize the references.

Here is a list of all the easter eggs that may be found in GG’s Forever 1 music video. But here’s a disclaimer: As much as we tried to catch all the references, there will always be misses that more eagle-eyed SONEs have and will point out. Don’t say we didn’t try, though!

That sounds familiar…

We’re not even into the video yet, and SONAR-eared SONEs already pointed out that the melody at the start of Forever 1 is definitely the opening keys for Into the New World. Speaking of the girls’ debut song, we have to mention that the track is produced by longtime SM composer and producer Kenzie. Yes, exactly the same Kenzie who also worked on their debut song fifteen years ago. So, it does make sense that this musical easter egg is not just some forced connection, as the girls themselves verified it in the last episode of their latest reality show, Soshi Tamtam (2022). 

And we’re not even 10 seconds into the video (the song, even) when we spot one of those tell-tale “You know you’re watching an SNSD song when…” signs. It is none other than the signature Tiffany English line.

And so, for Forever 1, after eternal center Yoona identifies our emotions as “It’s love, it’s love,” our American girlfriend declares, “We’re not stopping.”

When Fany says we’re not stopping, there’s no question we are not. On to SNSD‘s silver, golden jubilee! We’re not stopping because duh, SNSD is FOREVER! It’s in the title, come on! 

The nods to scenery, outfits, and sets!

If you’re looking for references and nods to previous SNSD music videos (all of which are quite iconic in the own right), Forever 1 is rich and teeming with them! Here’s some we saw:

Pink and bright sky blue is definitely a nod to the Party music video. Not that there is that exact color combination in the Party music video, but most of the beach and pool (swimming, not the game) scenes have the blue water and sky background, coupled with the giant inflatable pink flamingo and lifesavers Yuri and the girls play with. Tiffany’s plane scenes also give a beginning of the Party music video vibe, although that can already be considered a bit of a stretch, as the center of that plane scene in Party was Sooyoung. 

The group dancing scenes outside the cinema are definitely a throwback to the Paparazzi music video. Not to mention the red-carpet walking and brushing off the paparazzi shots, although the girls, particularly Sunny are noticeably friendlier towards the red-carpet staples in the Forever 1 version. Plus, they are not wearing trench coats and shiny black and red outfits, as the wardrobe theme for these scenes calls to mind the sparkly-er, jewel-tone outfits of the iconic Gee and the criminally underrated Holiday/All Night era. 

The slo-mo scenes of the girls in the bridge are a throwback to the intro of the music video to The Boys, with golden confetti replacing the shower of rose petals. Only trophy lifting for this one instead of dove releasing because a) there’s no more dove and b) dove releaser left the group in 2014. 

A gritty dark alley with torn posters that serve as the background to Yuri’s modeling segment gives out that distinct Catch Me If You Can vibes. Can be considered a stretch, but then don’t we live for these itty-bitty nuances?    

The choreography in the bridge interspersed with the slo-mo shots is very reminiscent of the choreography in Holiday, one of the rare instances that the girls dance in a single horizontal file.  

The countless appearances of the number 15 (e.g., Stage 15, 15 in the layered stage resembling a cake where the girls are filmed in the singing segments), conjuring the group’s 15th anniversary, as if we need a lot of reminding.

Started from looking for the new world, now we here

The music video is no doubt a sort of continuation of their music video for Into the New World. While their debut music video showed them working on hobbies or interests (e.g., fixing and painting a bike pink for Fany, breaking in a new pair of sneakers by dancing in a deserted stairway for Hyo, flying a plane for Taeyeon, etc. etc.), Forever 1 shows our girls as fully realized women who are continuing to pursue their own thing and living their own lives while still being there for each other and the fans because, duh, we are forever! We then have references for the current gigs of each member:

Taeyeon main vocal!  

Our kid leader is seen in her solo scenes on a stage surrounded by musicians with cabaret feels, which is also much like Sooyoung’s individual scenes in All Night (remember where she sings in what looks like a lounge and Yuri stops and gets starstruck at the sight of her?). Obviously, this is a reference to Taeyeon’s immensely successful career as a solo artist. From I to INVU, Taeyeon has repeatedly proven that she is not only one of K-pop’s best girl group vocalists but one of Korea’s best vocalists, full stop. 

Our happy vitamin in a stretch limo

Among all eight GG members, Sunny has been the most inactive in terms of a music career. Quite unfortunate really, considering that she is one of the group’s four main vocalists (SNSD main vocals = TaTiSeo + Sunny). As far as we can remember, her last singer activity outside GG (and Oh!GG) was a duet with former SM labelmate Henry. The Forever 1 music video recognizes this, as it showcases our mood setter’s thriving career on TV with her multiple variety show gigs. 

Our jet-setting American girlfriend

On the other hand, we have our sparkling Tiffany, who has kept herself busy from the get-go when she left SM Entertainment in pursuit of a more international career. After releasing a full-length album featuring tracks all in English, she returned to Korea as a judge/mentor in Girls’ Planet 99 and as Roxie Hart in the Korean adaptation of the musical Chicago. In the music video, Tiffany is seen on a plane, with multiple staff members handing over the documents of her upcoming projects, which shows that these days, Fany is taking full control of her solo career.

How multi-faceted can our main dancer be?

Ever the most multi-faceted member of SNSD, Hyoyeon has been a champion speed skater, a reality competition contestant, a fur mom, and obviously, a dancer. But when you look at the girls’ career trajectory, next to Taeyeon, our dancing queen has been the most active in the music industry as a member of both Oh!GG and Got the Beat, but also as a DJ. In the forever video, we can see DJ Hyo living her best life behind the DJ booth, and we can’t wait for more banging releases after Dessert, Minute, and Deep. 

Black pearl supremacy

SNSD‘s black pearl Yuri has kept a balance between her singing career and other ventures. While she has also released other music as a solo artist with the release of her solo EP The First Scene in 2018, she is also a part of Oh!GG. Apart from this, she has amped up her CF modeling career and revitalized her promising career in TV dramas. After all, she was a part of very popular dramas like Fashion King (with Yoo Ahin and Lee Jehoon) and Local Hero (with Park Shihoo) but she somehow took a break from acting in 2018 (maybe to focus all her energies on promoting her solo release) until her recent turn in the historical drama Bossam.  In the music video, Yuri is getting photographed at what appears to be a modeling gig.

Our iconic lady in a red dress

Even during the peak of GG supremacy, Sooyoung had already started a career in acting with appearances in The Third Hospital and Dating Agency: Cyrano. After her departure from SM after the All Night/Holiday comeback, she went full throttle with her acting career with plum parts in high-profile dramas such as Run On (with fellow idol-turned-actor Im Siwan) and If You Wish Upon Me (which actually went up against Yuri’s Good Job in its timeslot. And who can forget her much-publicized appearance as the lady in red in the red dress in the 2020 MAMAs? The Forever 1 music video has SNSD’s sassiest member signing autographs and taking pictures with fans, a nod to her successful life as an actress.

The nation’s center

Our eternal center Yoona has inarguably built the most successful career outside of music among the Girl’s Generation members. With high-profile appearances in high-rating dramas and movies such as The K2 (with Chang Jiwook) and this year’s Big Mouth (with Lee Jongsuk). Yoona is reflected in the music video as an actress, with one scene seeing her about to be devoured by a monster with tentacles on the background screen, which may remind people of her first lead movie role in the wildly successful disaster flick Exit where she was seen jumping off buildings to avoid a deadly gas attack with Jo Jungsuk. 

Maknae on top

Our maknae has already built a solid reputation as a stage musical actress with her appearances in Moon Embracing the Sun and Mamma Mia! even during her active years in SNSD pre-2018 hiatus. When she left SM Entertainment, she pursued an acting career with other agencies and has so far appeared in major projects such as Time and Love and Leashes.  In the Forever 1 music video, she is seen on a theatre stage with an elegant backdrop, which definitely calls to mind her Scarlett O’Hara stage role.

Admit it: there’s nothing more fun for SONEs to do than to analyze GG music videos frame by frame! Hopefully, the next time we do this won’t be too far in the future. Knock on wood the next time we do this won’t be in 2027 for SNSD’s 20th anniversary but sooner!

Featured Image Credit: Girls Generation  Official Twitter

You may have seen idols finding a great balance between group promotions and appearing on TV and film. However, only few are successful in both idol and acting activities at the same time. Some group members get more successful in the acting department once they have left their groups or after their groups have disbanded or are on indefinite hiatus (e.g., f(x)’s Krystal, Siwan and Hyunsik of ZE:A, the girls of Girl’s Day, Woohee of Dal Shabet, Seohyun, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Yuri of GG, and recently, Naeun after she has decided to officially leave Apink). Then, as mentioned earlier, there are those that are still quite successful but are usually a minority in their groups (e.g., Eunji now that Naeun has left Apink, SF9’s Rowoon, Astro’s face genius Eunwoo, Siwon of Super Junior, and D.O of EXO). 

But a group that has four of its six members active both in acting and music – that’s quite a rare feat! And that describes the hottest boys of 2PM. Let’s take a look at the acting careers of these pioneers of the macho beast-like image in K-pop. 

Nichkhun

With that boy-next-door face and hot body to boot, it was inevitable for our Thai-Cantonese-American heartthrob to have a career in acting. As early as 2009, a year after 2PM debuted, Khunnie was already reported to make his film debut in a comedy-drama flick The Shining Diploma. The Korean production was supposed to star Nickhun as the son of veteran actress Lee Misook. While the movie was somehow left in development limbo, it did not stop Nichkun from finally debuting on the big screen in 2012, as part of Japanese live-action adaptation of the manga series Ouran High School Host Club. 

In the same year, he got top billing in the Thai love story Seven Something, which tells various love stories from three generations, shot by three different directors. Nichkhun also appears in 42.195 by award-winning director Jira Maligool, about She (Suquan Bulakul) a 42-year-old newsreader whose life changes upon meeting He (Nichkhun), a young marathon runner who invites her to join the Bangkok Marathon race. The movie was a box office hit in Thailand and was even shown at a couple of international film festivals. 

In 2014, Khunnie made a cameo appearance in the end credits of A Dynamite Family, which starred his 2PM groupmate Chansung. He made a couple more cameo appearances in the Thai movie Touch the Sky – Cha Laui and the Chinese feature Forever Young, both of which were released in 2015. Nichkhun then starred in the 2018 Thai rom-com Brother of the Year, which became another hit in the box office, earning more than USD2 million in its opening weekend alone. His latest movie is Cracked, a horror-thriller where he plays Tim, an art restorer who has to work on a valuable but rather haunted painting. 

On the TV side, Nichkhun made several cameo appearances before appearing as one of the leads in 2011’s Welcome to the Show with Sulli and 2AM’s Seulong. The sitcom shows the behind-the-scenes action of idol singers, studio artists, managers, and producers on SBS’s Inkigayo and had fans excited with its new and fresh concept. However, it was canceled due to low ratings after the release of the pilot episode.

Nichkhun went on to appear in Chinese dramas One and a Half Summer (2014) and Looking For Aurora (2015) before appearing as one of the leads in the JTBC web drama Magic School with Got7‘s Jiyoung in 2017. He was cast in the lead role for another Chinese web drama in 2018’s Shall We Fall in Love and appeared in Viu’s original Thai series My Bubble Tea in 2020. Finally, he made a cameo appearance in 2021’s Vincenzo, where his 2PM groupmate Taecyeon essayed the antagonist role. 

Wooyoung

Wooyoung debuted big in 2011 as he starred in Dream High, which also saw the start of the acting careers of other idols like his 2PM groupmate Taecyeon, Suzy, Kim Soohyun, and IU. He then appeared in the short film The Miracle with Apink‘s Naeun, Girl’s Day‘ Minah, and SHINee‘s Taemin in 2013. But for some reason, Wooyoung has decided to end his acting career there. He has not appeared in movie or TV roles ever since.

Before starting his military service in 2018, he affirmed his decision to stick to singing and not pursue an acting career. In an interview for his BYE comeback, he said, “I’d like ‘Dream High‘ to be my first and last acting role. A lot of people encourage me to go into acting, but I think it’s a temptation that idols face. Of course, I may change my mind and end up acting if a good opportunity comes my way.” 

Quite a curious decision, don’t you think? 

Chansung

Even before 2PM debuted, Chansung was one of the group’s members who already had an acting career. While he debuted as an idol with 2PM in 2008, Chansung already appeared in the 2006 sitcom Unstoppable High Kick as a rival of Yoonho, played by actor JungIwoo. He then appeared in the drama Jungle Fish in the same year 2PM debuted, as a friend of Kim Soohyun (who later appeared in Wooyoung’s only acting role in Dream High — the connections!). In 2013, he debuted on Japanese TV via Kaito Royal, a drama series based on a video game where he played a thief who is after a much-coveted ring.   

Chansung has since appeared as main protagonists in drama series such as 7th Grade Civil Servant, Votre Noir, My Horrible Boss, Queen for Seven Days, What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, Secret Queen Makers, My Holo Love, and So I Married an Anti-Fan. The latest we’ve seen of him was in Channel A’s Show Window: The Queen’s House, where he played Jungwoon, the warm-hearted and optimistic younger brother of Sunjoo (played by Song Yoonah), a woman who supports her friend’s adulterous relationship, not knowing that her friend is having an affair with her husband. 

As for a movie career, Chansung first starred in Red Carpet, a 2014 rom-com with Yoon Kyesang, Oh Jungse, and Go Joonhee. In the same year, A Dynamite Family was released, where he shared the screen with Lee Kwangsoo and Song Saebyeok.  His latest main role in a movie was in 2015’s Wasureyuki, a Japanese romantic drama where he was paired with Ito Ono.

We don’t have a lot of updates on Chansung’s future acting activities, although the latter part of 2021 was quite an eventful one for him. He announced on Twitter that his fiancee was pregnant, he was getting married, and he was leaving JYP by the end of the year. He has since joined L’July Entertainment in March. 

Taecyeon

Who would not forget—or get angry—at Wusang Law Firm’s intern turned Babel’s chairman in the popular K-drama Vincenzo?

When it comes to idols turned actors, Taecyeon is not just one of the busiest among the 2PM members, but among idols in general. Considering that he was among the last in his group to debut as an actor, he made up for lost time by snagging one major role after another in very successful drama series. And he has also appeared in a couple of movies, too!

Taecyeon first got into acting in 2010, playing the second lead in Cinderella’s Stepsister, a reinterpretation of the classic fairy tale. Since then, 2PM‘s resident rapper has gotten consistent work in high-profile dramas, including Dream High and Boku to Star (his first Japanese show) in 2011 and 2012, Who Are You? in 2013, Wonderful Days in 2014, Assembly in 2015, Bring It On, Ghost in 2016,  and Save Me, Han Sang-hwan in 2017. After finishing his military service in 2020, the string of successful projects for Taecyeon has continued, with roles in 2020’s The Game: Towards Zero and much-talked-about Vincenzo, his first time as the antagonist in a drama series, and Secret Royal Inspector & Joy, his first historical drama. 

Taecyeon has also appeared in two movies, first in the ensemble rom-com Marriage Blue in 2013 and the mystery thriller House of the Disappeared, one of his last acting jobs before starting his mandatory military service. He has two pending releases, one of which is the historical film Hansan and the other is the OCN drama Blind, which will also have Apink’s Jeong Eunji and Ha Seokjin (Radiant Office, Your House Helper). 

Junho

The other 2PM member with quite the accomplished acting career, Junho has been on a roll with acting work since he started. Like Taeyeon, he was late in joining the idols-turned-actors club, but once he did, his career in TV and film has been quite successful. He made his film debut in the action-thriller Cold Eyes, which has both critics and viewers recognize his acting skills. The movie also went on to become a commercial success, with 4.5 million admissions recorded. Two years later, he appeared in his second film, the martial arts period drama Memories of the Sword, where he acted opposite Kim Goeun (Goblin, Yumi’s Cells). He then starred alongside Kim Woobin and Kang Haneul in the coming-of-age film Twenty, which topped the box office during its opening weekend. 

It wasn’t until 2016 when Junho finally acted on television with a supporting role in tvN’s thriller Memory (Lee Sungmin, Kim Jisoo). The following year, he had his breakout role in KBS’ dramedy Good Manager. Though he was the show’s villain, many praised his portrayal as being realistic and relatable despite his character’s arrogant and despicable personality. In the same year, he played a survivor of a fatal accident who suffers from psychological scars in the JTBC melodrama Rain or Shine. That he pulled off roles that were polar opposites of each other in successive programs is proof of Lee Jinho’s stellar rise as an actor. 

Junho then started 2018 with a Japanese movie entitled Rose and Tulip, which also featured Chansung. He then appeared in the SBS romance comedy-drama Wok of Love, playing a star chef, before ending the year with the historical comedy film Home Fatale, where he starred opposite My Roomate is a Gumiho’s Jung Somin. Before starting his mandatory military service in 2019, he appeared in Confession with veteran actors Yoo Jaemyung and Shin Hyunbeen. 

After the fulfillment of his military service in late 2021, Junho returned with 2PM on their Must comeback and returned to acting via the historical romance drama The Red Sleeve, playing the role of Crown Prince Yi San. The drama became a success, sweeping a total of eight awards in the 2021 MBC Drama Awards, with him getting Top Excellence Award. And now, he has been nominated for the prestigious Baeksang Arts Awards in the Best Actor category!

UPDATE: Junho has also been melting the hearts of not just Cheon Sarang (played by Girls Generation’s YoonA) but also their fans! You can watch them in K-drama King the Land, which premiered on JTBC in June 2023 and is also streaming on Netflix. Hermeees!

With JunK. not having acted anywhere and Wooyoung not showing any signs of interest in returning to acting, we hope to see more exciting movie and TV performances from Taec, Junho, Chansung, and Khunnie as soon as possible!

Featured Image: 2pm Official Twitter

When we talk about entire groups leaving their parent company, we would most likely think about Shinhwa, which decided to leave SM Entertainment after the company didn’t feel like re-signing Dongwan and Beast. The group, except for member Hyunseung, also left their agency Cube in 2016 to establish their own company and rebrand themselves as Highlight. But SM and Cube are quite renowned for their not-so-nice treatment of their idol groups – and fans usually comment that they may have deserved their talents quitting on them.

On the other hand, JYP Entertainment, which had the reputation of being the most “humane” company out of the Big 3 agencies (at the time when NigHit/HYBE was still a struggling agency) had another thing coming when all seven members of their group GOT7 quit them and reunited elsewhere. 

While it was true that JYPE isn’t really known for gross maltreatment of their idols as say, SM, Cube, or Pledis are (not to mention YG which has the reputation of putting talents in their dungeon for years before being given a comeback), JYP through the years also had reputation of conducting “micro aggressive” behavior towards their idols.

Through the years, it has been blatant that JYPE favors their female groups over their male ones although the latter has also contributed a lot to the company’s profile (Wonder Girls, Miss A, TWICE, and ITZY over 2AM, 2PM, GOT7, and Stray Kids). As mentioned earlier, there was that awkward handling of the Jay Park incident. Then, there’s preferential treatment of “star” members like Sunmi and Suzy over the other members. Then, there was GOT7.  Here are some talents that may have proven that JYP Entertainment isn’t the most wholesome entertainment agency it has made itself to be through the years. 

Jay Park 

Here’s one of those K-pop stories with a ton of contradicting accounts: Was he removed? Was he forced to resign? Did his members kick him out? Even before a similar incident was going to happen to Girls’ Generation Jessica years later, the original idol who was subject to such divisiveness was Jay Park aka Jaebeom when he was still with 2PM. 

Jay Park started in the industry with a high profile as he won Mnet’s Hot Blood Men, a documentary-style reality program that showed the future members of One Day, split as idol groups 2AM and 2PM, in training. Being the winner of the program allowed him to become the leader of 2PM. In 2008, 2PM debuted with the song 10 Out of 10 (Ship Jeom Manjeome Ship Jeom) on the music program M! Countdown after the release of their first mini-album, Hottest Time of the Day, a few days prior. With a healthy mix of activities with the group that he led and solo ventures, he quickly became one of the most popular idols in the industry, not just among the talents of JYP Entertainment. 

Things started going south when on September 4, 2009, unfavorable comments towards Korea were found on Park’s personal Myspace account from 2005. The comments, written in English to a friend, were translated by Korean media, quickly spreading across hundreds of news articles. Park expressed deep remorse and shame over his forgotten words and issued an official apology. He explained the unhappiness he experienced during his early days as a trainee in an unfamiliar country where he lacked family, the ability to easily communicate, and an understanding of the culture.

Although there was a strong outcry among Korean fans, who demanded that Park should be removed from 2PM, JYP Entertainment’s CEO, Park Jinyoung, stated on September 7, 2009, that he was going to continue as a part of the group. However, the next day, Jay announced on his official fan cafe that he would be leaving the group to calm the situation and return to his hometown, Seattle, Washington. He also apologized to the other 2PM members, and promised that he would “come back a better person”. JYP then confirmed that 2PM would continue as a six-member group. Additionally, due to the sensitive topic of Park’s departure, all 2PM members were withdrawn from their regular appearances on variety shows, and the final episode of their reality show, Wild Bunny, was postponed indefinitely. Jay’s vocals would not be removed from the older songs he promoted with 2PM, but he would be absent from the newer tracks, and the remaining six members of 2PM re-filmed their music video for Heartbeat without him in October.

2PM‘s first official album was titled 1:59PM, to symbolize Jay’s absence, according to the six remaining members. Through their acceptance speeches at end-of-year award shows for Again & Again, the members thanked him and reiterated their wish for his return. At the Mnet Asian Music Awards, the group paid homage to him during their performance of the song with a spotlight shown over his usual position in the dance formation and his lines left unsung.

With the new year of 2010, the Korean public’s perception of the events gradually shifted as they became more understanding of Jay’s plight during his teenage years as a trainee, igniting public demand this time for his return to the 2PM lineup. However, on February 25, while people thought that Jay would likely return, JYPE suddenly announced that Jay Park’s contract with them had been terminated, citing a separate “personal mistake” that Park had made in 2009. JYP would make reference to this unknown event several times in 2010, but would never elaborate on any details. This termination had been agreed upon by all six members of 2PM, which then led to fan boycotts on 2PM-endorsed products. Protests for Park’s return to the group began to take place, not only in South Korea but internationally as well.

The rest as they say is history. Jay Park returned to Korea and rose from the ashes like a phoenix to not only launch a successful career as a solo R&B artist but also establish a number of record labels. 2PM has continued on to become one of K-pop’s iconic boy groups. What other mistake in 2009 did Jay Park commit to prompt JYP to unilaterally terminate his contract with the company? Your guess is as good as mine. 

But then there’s this long-standing speculation that Jaebeom signed a contract with a company in the States while JYPE just expected him to wait out and let the situation settle and calm down before his glorious return to Korea. But apparently, Jay’s talents cannot be denied, with him allegedly getting signed within days after his return to the US. No wonder JYP suddenly turned cold towards him.   

The Entire GOT7

Throughout their stay in JYPE, the boys didn’t really hide the fact that they felt they got the shorter end of the stick when it came to the company’s attention. At that time when Wonder Girls was already on the brink of disbandment and Miss A was on hiatus, it was expected that a lot of the company’s attention would shift to catering to GOT7’s needs. But what happened was, TWICE got all the attention to the point that the company established an independent subsidiary dedicated to TWICE and TWICE only, with the rest of the company’s resources to be divided between 2PM (which was still bringing a ton of money to JYPE with their concerts) and Suzy’s solo releases. Which left crumbs to GOT7. 

And there’s also the issue of the boys not passing JYP (as in Park Jinyoung, the company’s founder and former CEO) standards. As with the expected progression of all K-pop groups, they build skills and confidence to compose and produce their own songs as they get older in the music industry. This is particularly applicable to the group’s leader JayB who was reported to have submitted countless songs for JYP’s approval, only to be met with rejection after rejection. 

In reacting to one song, JYP stops after browsing through it for only ten seconds. He claimed that the song was much too basic and wasn’t very memorable, saying it was musically fun but just not good to listen to. He criticized another song for being too “foreign”. This is not mere gossip or speculation, as this was properly documented on TV, particularly in an episode of Hyena on the Keyboard in 2020. 

 The poor treatment of Got7 after the Flight Log era became apparent when the boys were not given enough pre-release activities, only a few days between the comeback announcement and the actual release date, and the limited comeback promotion schedule. 

But then, everything worked out in the end as even though all members are on different agencies already, they got to release a reunion EP aptly called Got7 (thank goodness, JYPE didn’t fight them in some copyright issue over their name). To top it off, JayB signed with H1gher Music and Yugyeom signed with AOMG after leaving JYPE. And those two agencies are founded by no other than our subject earlier, Jay Park. Talk about giving JYP(E) a huge middle finger!

But then, as we’ve also explored in our previous articles, Sunmi formerly of the Wonder Girls, Suzy formerly of Miss A, and Somi formerly of IOI who was supposed to be the fifth ITZY member also left JYP Entertainment despite circumstances then being very much to their favor.  So, yes, we can safely conclude that leaving one’s agency is both a personal and career decision for all idols, and is not really just a matter of prioritizing one factor over another. 

Featured Image Credit: GOT7 Official Twitter