ICYMI IN CASE YOU MISSED IT // APRIL 1 - APRIL 7

[Kłapouchy]

APRIL 1 - APRIL 7


Hello and welcome to another great edition of In Case You Missed It! Where we work overtime to bring you an entire week's worth of news, releases, events and more in an easy-to-digest article! This week, we also saw several relationship updates and comeback announcements. Artists such as RIIZE, ZEROBASEONE & Kep1er announced their intentions to return with new music soon! We also saw new music from artists such as KISS OF LIFE, TXT & former WayV member Lucas. If any of this piqued your interest, or if you'd like to find out everything you've missed over the past week, then make sure to continue reading!

BY POLARIS_TAE


MONDAY:
#1- We saw several artists share new music announcements this week! RIIZE dropped the full version of 'SIREN' on Wednesday. The group will officially be making their return on the 18th of April with 'Impossible'. Then in May, ZEROBASEONE, Kep1er & UP10TION's Lee Jinhyuk will all be coming back with new music! UP10TION's Lee Jinhyuk will make his first comeback following his switch to Bill Entertainment in late May. Meanwhile, ZEROBASEONE will make their return on a currently undisclosed date during May. The group later shared a spoiler film, 'Summer Came Early' in order to officially kick off the countdown to their return! Another m-net associated group, Kep1er will also be making their return in May. it's been shared that the group will be making their comeback sometime during the month of May. This will be their final group comeback before the graduation and eventual disbandment of the group later this year. Are you sad to see them go so soon?

#2- There were various contract updates throughout the week! To start, it was shared that Got7's main vocalist — Youngjae — had officially left SUBLIME following the expiration of his contract. While on the topic of Got7, their spoiler king and second-youngest member, Bam Bam revealed that they plan to regroup as a unit in 2025. The idol further detailed that all of the planned songs are already complete so we won't have to wait too much longer until we see a new Got7 group release! Also reportedly leaving their label this week was actress Moon Ga-young. It's been reported that she will be leaving KeyEast once her current contract with the label expires. Now moving on, and two SHINee members officially departed SM Entertainment this week. On Monday, SHINee's maknae Taemin was officially confirmed to have joined MC Mong's agency, Big Planet Made. The company currently houses acts such as VIVIZ & Nu'est's Ren. Then on Wednesday, fellow SHINee member Onew joined Griffin Entertainment following his departure from SM. We also had another SM-related contract negotiation this week with Red Velvet. It's been reported that the group is still undergoing individual contract negotiations with the label. While it was announced previously that Red Velvet's Irene and Seulgi had already renewed their contracts with the label, it was shared that the three remaining members — Joy, Wendy & Yeri — have yet to conclude their contract negotiations with the label.

#3- aespa's Winter had some fantastic news to share this week! It's been revealed that the idol will be acting as the new model and spokesperson for the newest model of isotopic drink, Toreta. We congratulate the idol on the fantastic new opportunity!



TUESDAY:
#1- On Tuesday, HIGHLIGHT shared that they had officially reached an agreement with CUBE Entertainment over the trademarks of their former name, BEAST (B2ST). However, despite attaining the rights to the trademark of BEAST once more, the group will continue to promote under their current name, HIGHLIGHT.

#2- A contestant from the male competition show, Street Man Fighter has been facing some heat over the past week after it was discovered that he had entered into a relationship with a minor that had later ensued into an unplanned pregnancy and abortion. Following the news of this inappropriate relationship, several JustJerk Dance Crew members and managers later left the dance crew almost causing the group to disband. Now that the news has become public knowledge, YoungJ has categorically denied the allegations and posted several cryptic messages on his bubble account. The dancer later directly responded to the allegations via Ilgan Sports by stating that, while he was in a relationship with the other party, he had only entered into a relationship with the other "after she had become an adult". The JustJerk Dance Crew leader also claimed that he was worried about their age difference and had only started dating the '05-liner after gaining approval from her parents. According to the dancer, they are not in a casual relationship but are instead positively seeing each other with the intention of getting married in the future. The statement did not delve into the pregnancy and abortion accusations. What are your thoughts on this situation? Do you think YoungJ's statement holds any weight to it, or do you think he's just trying to brush aside the criticism of the situation?



WEDNESDAY:
#1- We received some relationship updates this week! To start, aespa's Karina has broken up with Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol actor, Lee Jae-wook after going public with their relationship a little over a month ago. It has been shared that the reason for their break-up was fandom harassment. Meanwhile, it's been confirmed that TWICE's Chaeyoung is currently in a relationship with Korean R&B artist Zion. T. Reports initially surfaced about the pair's relationship on Friday with Chaeyoung's label JYP confirming that "The two of them are currently dating with positive feelings for one another. They are supporting each other." The pair have reportedly been together for six months. Our final relationship update is concerning LE SSERAFIM's Kazuha and &TEAM's K. The Shuukan Bunshun reported that the pair had been in a relationship since the Summer of 2022 after they had been recently spotted together at a restaurant in the idol's home country of Japan. HYBE later staunchly denied the reports of any kind of intimate relationship between the two. The label additionally added that they had instead met for a meal between friends.

#2- Red Velvet's Irene had some exciting news for us this week! The idol has shared that she will be holding a solo photo exhibition — "1 Page of Irene" — between the 26th of April & the 5th of May. Are you looking forward to seeing what kind of photos Irene shares in her upcoming exhibition?



THURSDAY:
#1- We had a few more new music announcements on Thursday. On Friday LE SSERAFIM's Kim Chaewon shared a collaboration with Tori Kelly on the latter's single, 'Spruce'. Now moving on to debuts and Big Planet Made will be debuting a new girl group, BADVILLAIN during the first half of 2024. This will be their first girl group since VIVIZ, as well as their first traditionally formed girl group considering that VIVIZ was formed in the wake of GFRIEND's disbandment in 2021. Are you looking forward to this upcoming girl group?

#2- Inkigayo has just shared its newest line-up of hosts for the music performance show. ZEROBASEONE's Yujin, Moon Seonghyun & IVE's Leeseo will be joining the program. we congratulate them all on gaining such an exciting opportunity!



FRIDAY:
#1- On Friday it was announced that the lead vocalist of Lapilus — Chanty — would be going on an indefinite hiatus after she was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. A condition that is characterised by profound fatigue, an irregular sleep pattern, pain and other symptoms. There is no cure or treatment for this condition. However, some of its symptoms can be treated or managed to provide relief. Chanty's agency, MLD Entertainment shared that, while the idol will still remain a member of Lapillus — and still participate in individual activities — the idol will be sitting out of group activities for an indefinite period in order to manage her health.



SATURDAY:
#1- The Jimin Scholarship returned for another year at Dong-ui University! On Saturday, it was announced that — although the idol himself is still undertaking mandatory military service within the South Korean armed forces — the scholarship that was funded and established by the idol and his father was awarded to a student within the Department of Physical Therapy at the Dong-ui University of Science in Busan. The scholarship was awarded to a student in financial need for their studies. We thank the idol for his immense generosity.

#2- This week, SM Entertainment's veteran soloist BoA shared an important update. The idol revealed via her Instagram that she plans to retire from the industry following the expiration of her contract. The idol has recently suffered from criticisms of her weight and appearance, while her brother, Kwon Soon-wook passed away in 2021 from cancer. Will you be sad to see her go? Or do you think her feelings toward retirement from the industry are warranted?



SUNDAY:
#1- Our final piece of news for the week concerns iKon. On Sunday it was shared that iKon's Bobby & Chanwoo would be undergoing their mandatory military enlistment very soon. The iKon members will be enlisting on the 21st & 27th of May respectively. Are you sad to see them go?

BY POLARIS_TAE

#1. LUCAS - RENEGADE
Former NCT/WayV member, Lucas officially made his solo debut this week with his first single album, Renegade and the title track of the same name. This is the idols first release following his departure from WayV, NCT & WayV. In 2021, just prior to the release of Lucas & Hendery's unit song, 'Jalapeno', Lucas was exposed on SNS by several ex-partners of cheating, gold-digging and gaslighting. As a result, the idol would be promptly cancelled from both the South Korean industry, as well as mainland China. Lucas would later share a handwritten apology taking accountability for his past actions, while his label, SM Entertainment shared that Lucas would be going on hiatus to properly reflect on the matter. Then in 2023, almost two years into his hiatus, it was shared that Lucas would officially be leaving NCT & WayV while still staying with the label to pursue a soloist career. Throughout this announcement, however, his status with the supergroup, SUPER M was not divulged. So we will have to wait for the eventual return of the group to know for sure. But with Taemin & Baekhyun currently signed to different labels, and Taeyong beginning his military enlistment in April, it's unknown when the group will make their return.

Now as for Lucas's solo debut, this release consists of three full tracks — 'Renegade', 'Dip It Low' & 'Crushing On You' — whose title track is an old-school 90s style hip-hop release with an absolutely stunning instrumental. For this single, the idol has chosen to release an album sung entirely in English. Which, sadly, leaves much to be desired due to the idol's lack of fluency in the language. Now as for the music video, we have two music videos to choose from this time around. The plot-focused variant of 'Plan A' or the largely dance-driven music video in 'Plan B'. The former of which has an interesting choice of — what seems like — a self-burn included within. Overall, 'Renegade' is a solid first release, but feels like it was a poor choice of a title track and a waste of a solid instrumental. The WayV reminiscent release, 'Dip It Low' would have been a much more suitable choice. As for the future, I'm hoping to see what kind of sound Lucas settles for as a soloist, since — at least for this release — he seems to be experimenting. As no single track has the same genre or sound. What were your thoughts on Lucas's first solo release?






#2. TXT - DEJA VU
When it comes to TXT, there is a special grading system that I have for the groups' title-tracks. Which is: does this surpass '0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)'? Sadly, their most recent release still failed to meet my standards
While the song itself is compelling, I felt that it suffered from two major issues, an instrumental that is far too simple for its own good, and a stereotypical concept of love and loss that not just TXT, but Kpop as a whole seems compelled to never get rid of. This often left me wondering just when Kpop will decide to strike the free money cheat of 'love songs' from their to-do list. Probably no time soon, since one-sided parasocial relationships are still a problem within the East Asian Entertainment industry. As long as agencies continue to feed that problem, we will never see an end to it. This free money cheat of 'love songs' is seen not just in the lyrics, but also in several music videos throughout the industry — including this one — that largely rely on very similar themes or stories to push their concepts along. One particular aspect of 'Deja Vu' that I enjoyed was the members' emotive vocal talents. This is a thing that I feel TXT particularly excels at. Providing a powerful and emotive vocal colour to their songs that other groups often fail to achieve. Which successfully adds a sense of emotion to their releases and distinguishes them from their same-age peers. As for the b-sides, I found myself liking 'Miracle' the most. So much so that I felt like it should've been the lead single over 'Deja Vu'. Other outstanding singles from minisode 3: Tomorrow include the softer 'The Killa (I Belong To You)' & the pop-rock 'Quarter Life Crisis'.





#3. ≠ME - MARCATO
≠ME is a 12-member Japanese idol group produced by former AKB48 member Sashihara Rino. The group officially made their debut in August 2019 with the digital single, ≠ME and its title track of the same name. The group officially made their return this week with the music video for 'MARCATO', a b-side single from their most recent LP, Springtime in Love released on the 20th of March. This release is a unit song between Ochiai Kirari, Kawanago Natsumi, Tomita Nanaka & Nagata Shiori. 'MARCATO' is a rock-influenced single where the members work to showcase their skills in another fantastic release! Now moving on to their recent LP, Springtime in Love I found that overall, this release was a step down compared to their previous releases. Largely due to the stereotypical idol sound found across several singles — 'Guuzen Symphony', 'Omowase Burikko', etc. — on the LP. However, there were still some standout singles that I highly enjoyed as well. Some standout singles include the mysterious-sounding 'Chocolate Melancholy' whose instrumental is very reminiscent of a Vampire Knight OP. Other than 'Chocolate Melody', 'Anti Confiture' & 'Mahoraba Asterisk' were also some of the b-sides that I enjoyed the most. 'Anti Confiture' in particular was a fantastic release, as it allowed the individual members to showcase their powerful vocals, while also leaning into the techno-inspired genre that has become synonymous with artists such as Morning Musume. Overall, while I found myself torn regarding the overall album, I felt that 'Marcato' itself was an exciting release and I can't wait to see what ≠ME comes back with next!




#4.WARERA PEGASUS TANKENTAI! - BOOO!
After a while away from covering the Vocaloid scene, we're back again this week with another Vocaloid-associated act! This time it's for the April Fools Event unit, Warera Pegasus Tankentai! (We Are the Pegasus Exploration Team!) A unit specially formed for the recent 2024 April Fools Day Event within Project SEKAI. This group once again contains the vocal talents of everyone's vocaloid superstar Matsune Miku! Alongside the virtual idol, we have three other characters, Tenma Tsukasa, voiced by Hirose Daisuke, Aoyagi Toya, voiced by Itou Kent and Hanasato Minori. She, along with Kent have both lent their voice talents to Honkai: Star Rail as March 7th & Dan Heng respectively. As previously stated in our last Project SEKAI review, rather than standard Vocaloid idols, who depend on computer programs to emulate the voices within their releases, a substantial number of Project SEKAI's talents instead rely on voice talents to provide their voices instead. This is also true for the unit of Warera Pegasus Tankentai! where only ¼ of the team is a Vocaloid emulated member. Now moving on to their new single, 'Booo!' is a bright and upbeat release produced by TOKOTOKO with an adorable music video to accompany it. Unlike our previous Project Sekai Review of WONDERLANDS x SHOWTIME's 'CYBERPUNK DEAD BOY', which placed a social commentary selling yourself out for the sake of fame, 'BOOO!' instead is a song that largely discusses the trivial matter of taking someone else's pudding from the fridge for yourself before they had the chance to eat it for themselves. While the song itself is trivial, I found the voices and accompanying music video to be quite charming and I'm looking forward to seeing more releases from Project SEKAI-associated groups in the future as well!

BY POLARIS_TAE

#1. KISS OF LIFE had a great week with 'Midas Touch' after it became the group's first single to gain entry into the MelOn TOP100. Congrats!

BY POLARIS_TAE

Server donations are open for another year! This time, the team needs to raise 800 dollars for our annual bill this June. If you enjoy Hallyu+ and can spare a few dollars, please spare the time to donate. Donations officially close on the 12th of June.

User of the Month is back again this month! For the month of April, Russian Roulette took the honour. Congrats!

For this week's H+ Station Chart update! SF9's took the #1 slot with 'BIBORA', while HYBE's latest girl group, ILLIT made their debut with 'Magnetic' at #2 & ITZY's 'UNTOUCHABLE' made its return to the chart at #10. Make sure to check out our chart to see where all of your favourite songs ranked!

This week, you may have seen a new prefix in the social media section titled: "Press Release". Our social media team has been in contact with an American-based PR firm, Helix Publicity and as such, we now have the opportunity to break Kpop-related news!

The Hallyu+ Social Media Team returned this week with a few new press releases and media announcements!

Two new tour announcements were shared this week! On Tuesday, we received a tour announcement for VERIVERY! The group will be returning to the US in June with their new concert tour, GO ON! Then on Thursday, we shared that the male idol group, CIX will also be touring the US in May with their 0 to 1 tour. Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming concert tours?

Meanwhile, we had an update related to OMEGA X's Hangyeom on Wednesday. The idol recently made his acting debut on the adaptation of the BL webtoon, 'Jazz For Two'. Find out all about it and where to watch it here!

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Hallyu+ is actively recruiting for staff. If you want to contribute to the forum's growth and join our amazing team, don't hesitate and apply now!

We are searching for new members for the following teams Blog Team, Translations, Awards & Social Media Team - Press Division. As always, our full list of recruitments can be found in the General Staff Recruitment thread.



This brings us to the end of In Case You Missed It for another week! What was your favourite piece of news? Did any of your favourite artists make their return this week? Or are you still waiting around for a new comeback announcement? As always, our staff teams — Social Media - Press, Blog Team & Awards — are currently on the lookout for new team members to join our teams. So if any of these positions interest you, then feel free to apply through the linked recruitments above. Our In Case You Missed It team is still in search of a new music reviewer. So why not consider pitching in for this great format? Also, if you're not aware, we are active on both Twitter — now known as x.com — and Instagram, so feel free to follow us there for more fantastic updates! We're still accepting feature and promo requests via our feature thread here. Let us know what made your week in the comments below, and we'll see you again next week with another great ICYMI!

GFX BY @bibbidi
FEATURED ARTISTS Taehyun (TXT), Winter (aespa), Onew, Nagata Shiori (≠ME) & Lucas​

 

[hatmixx]

all that dating news surrounding my faves but avoiding those strays

 

[UMJI MOODS]

The news was wild again. Hoping this'll be a week without surprises and shocks.
Thanks for always giving a concise and well thought out view of things.

 

[RussianRoulette]

In terms of SuperM, Taemin has pretty much confirmed through his lives that the group is dead and never returning. If SuperM ever does return it will be with a different lineup.