ICYMI IN CASE YOU MISSED IT / AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27

[Polaris_Tae]

AUGUST 21 - AUGUST 27


Hello Hallyuplussers and welcome to In Case You Missed It! Where we fill you in on everything you've missed in the past week in East Asian Entertainment. This week we saw a health update regarding SEVENTEEN's S.Coups, NCT came back with their first single as NCT2023 & MelOn came out with some important updates related to future chart performances. If you want to learn all of this, and so much more then make sure to catch up on the full article below!

BY POLARIS_TAE


MONDAY:
#1- We have some announcements related to upcoming groups this week! It's been reported that Park Jinyoung (JYP) will be collaborating with KBS on a new female vocal program. Through this program, he hopes to debut a new female vocal group. Also making their debut soon will be PoketDoll Studio's newest boy group, FANTASY BOYS. The group's company also came out on Monday to announce that they would be making their debut as an 11-member group following an ongoing contract dispute with the group's leader & centre, Yu Junwon. What are your thoughts about this ongoing situation?

#2- This week we learned that Red Velvet's Seulgi has renewed her contract with SM Entertainment. SM later revealed that she had actually renewed her contract back in 2021.

#3- AKMU has gained a great new opportunity this week! It's been shared that they will be joining the KBS music show, 'The Seasons' as its newest MC's for their Autumn season. Are you looking forward to seeing them hosting together?



TUESDAY:
#1- Great news for fans of IU this week! It's been announced that she will be holding a new concert, 'I+UN1VER5E' on the 23rd & 24th of September at KSPO Dome.

#2- Now for some NCT News! NCT's Haechan has proven his generosity this week by donating 50 million KRW through the Korean Red Cross in order to provide aid to people who have been affected by the Maui wildfires. While still on the topic of NCT, SM Entertainment has also announced that they will be taking legal action against a stalker who recently broke into Jaehyun's hotel room.



WEDNESDAY:
#1- Two OST's were released this week! On Wednesday, aespa lent their voices to the opening soundtrack for the Pokemon animation, 'Pokemon: The Adventures of Liko & Roy', while on Friday, BLACKPINK released their OST, 'THE GIRLS' as a part of 'BLACKPINK The Game'.

#2- LE SSERAFIM's Sakura gained an exciting new opportunity this week! The idol will be joining Primera as the label's newest global ambassador. Congrats!



THURSDAY:
#1- Heize and Jung Sehwan will be collaborating on a new duet for Kakao Entertainment's 'Project Colours' titled '언젠간 괜찮아질 이야기'. The single will be released on the 29th of August. We can't wait!

#2- Bang Yedam has a new company to call home this week! It's been revealed that the former TREASURE member has signed a contract with GF Entertainment. We look forward to seeing his future activities under his new label!

#3- Pledis had some updates to share regarding S.Coups' ongoing knee injury this week. It's been revealed that the idol underwent surgery for his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on Monday. He was discharged from the hospital on Thursday and has been resting since. The SEVENTEEN leader will be undergoing rehabilitation and focusing on his recovery. The company stated that, depending on his recovery, the idol plans to participate in the second half of SEVENTEEN's upcoming schedules. We wish him a safe recovery, and hope to see him back to full health soon!



FRIDAY:
#1- AleXa has gained another exciting US schedule this week! it's been revealed that the soloist will be performing at the upcoming US Open Fan Week. She will be performing on the 25th of August at the Arthur Ashe Kids' Day at the Louis Armstrong Stadium. We can't wait!

#2- Now moving on, MelOn has announced some new chart rules set to come into effect very soon. The South Korean streaming service has announced that they will no longer be counting muted streams towards their chart results. What do you think of this change? Is it a good decision, and do you think we'll see an end to zombie-hour streaming as a result?

#3- We had another COVID-19 diagnosis on Friday. ZEROBASEONE's Zhang Hao, unfortunately, tested positive for the virus and will be in self-isolation up until the 5th of September as a result. We wish him the best, and hope to see him back in full health soon!



SATURDAY:
#1- There were no new updates on Saturday.



SUNDAY:
#1- Similarly to Saturday, we did not see any new updates on Sunday.

BY POLARIS_TAE

#1- NCT 2023 - GOLDEN AGE
NCT held their annual group comeback this week with 'Golden Age', the first title track from the album of the same name which will be released next week alongside their second title track, 'Baggy Jeans'. Through 'Golden Age' the group attempts to kick off their NCT2023 promotions with a bang, however, unlike the groups' previous group singles, such as 'RESONANCE' and 'Black on Black', this release has unfortunately failed to make as much of an impact. The song begins with some impressive vocal harmonies, only to feel like you've been scammed once the song does a total 180° less than 20 seconds in when they switch it up to a rap-oriented focus. NCT as a group, has often been associated with music experimentalism and its utilization of noise music throughout the years. This can be seen through 'Golden Age' as well. The song has essentially combined two songs into one, the first being a soft-sounding ballad combined with a heavy-hitting rap number. While your mileage may vary on whether you think these two songs mesh well together, this quality has become something that is essentially an NCT staple at this point.




#2- RIIZE - MEMORIES
SM's newest upcoming group, RIIZE continued preparations for their official debut earlier this week through the release of their prologue single 'Memories'. 'Memories' is a bubblegum pop release, with hop-hop elements sprinkled throughout the track. Unlike the group's earlier pre-release, 'SIREN', this track takes a more laid-back tone by incorporating far more pop elements rather than the more heavy-hitting hip-hop beats that can be found throughout the entirety of 'SIREN'. The composition of 'Memories' is somewhat unique. This is evident through how the song is segmented into pieces through the addition of rap verses and the way that they are used to slip the song into easy-to-digest segments. Overall, it's a terrific release, and I'm looking forward to seeing where SM goes with their newest rookie group!




#3- HYO - PICTURE
SNSD's Hyoyeon came back after a year as Hyo this week with her latest release 'Picture'. For this release, the idol has moved into the dancehall genre in order to complement the intensity of the choreography. Throughout the single, Hyoyeon becomes the centre of attention by drawing her love interest into taking a 'Picture' of her. This is further accomplished through the complexity of the choreography within the music video. Making this single the perfect song to round out the season of Summer as it slowly winds down in the northern hemisphere.




#4- SEVENTEEN - IMA
SEVENTEEN returned after 9 months with a new Japanese album, 'Always Yours', their first Japanese best-of compilation album. Their title track, 'Ima -Even If The World Ends Tomorrow-' focuses on using time as a concept through the discussion of cherishing the time you have together throughout the passing of time and living in the moment. The song is an upbeat track that is distinctly a SEVENTEEN-sounding track as they tell us to live in the present ('ima') with them. This release touches on a number of rock elements throughout the instrumental, a genre which is far more accepted within Japan than it would be in their home country, while also incorporating a number of complimentary synths into the instrumental to make this release an overall solid addition to the discography of SEVENTEEN!




#5- JO1 - RADIOVISION
JO1 made their return with 'Radiovision' earlier this week. 'Radiovision' is a high-energy track with an addictive hook that is a perfect soundtrack for Summer. The group manages to stand out among the more prominent releases this week with 'Radiovision' by living in the present and becoming the life of the party! The music video brings back two exciting items of the past: disco & bowling to capitalize on the nostalgia-filled feeling of the Summer with a fantastic new track that you'll be sure to have on repeat for days to come!

BY POLARIS_TAE


#1- We had a number of sales achievements this week! SEVENTEEN has become the first artist ever to surpass 10 million physical sales in a single calendar year on Gaon's Circle Chart. Meanwhile, TWICE's Jihyo has just hit another personal milestone! It's been revealed that the idol's first mini-album, 'ZONE' has surpassed 500K copies sold on Hanteo. Congrats!

#2- Moving onto the topic of streaming milestones this week, and it's been revealed that BTS member Jimin's debut album, 'FACE' has officially surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify. This also makes it the fastest album on the platform by a Kpop soloist to do so.

BY POLARIS_TAE

Our Events Team came back with our weekly H+ Station chart update again this week! LIMELIGHT saw their highest peak this week at #1. Did any of your favourites manage to chart this week?


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This brings us to the end of another great article, catch us next week for more great updates!





FEATURED ARTISTS Jeonghan, IU, Jisung (NCT), Hyoyeon, Shiroiwa Ruki (JO1)​

 

[Vampire]

#2- This week we learned that Red Velvet's Seulgi has renewed her contract with SM Entertainment. SM later revealed that she had actually renewed her contract back in 2021.

have we heard about the other members renewing or not yet? i'm guessing not since seulgi was singled out here? or idk

While still on the topic of NCT, SM Entertainment has also announced that they will be taking legal action against a stalker who recently broke into Jaehyun's hotel room.

maybe i'm naïve, but i would have figured it would be harder to pull this sort of thing off nowadays. smh hope the stalker is adequately punished.

 

[Polaris_Tae]

have we heard about the other members renewing or not yet?

iirc, all of them reportedly renewed in 2021 according to SM's clarification, though Seulgi was singled out in this info dump since the news was related to her.

 

[Vampire]

iirc, all of them reportedly renewed in 2021 according to SM's clarification, though Seulgi was singled out in this info dump since the news was related to her.

thanks for the info (and the icymi ofc)

 

[UMJI MOODS]

Thanks for the weekly wrapup as always.

 

[kimsguardian]

thank you so much for your hard work!!