ICYMI IN CASE YOU MISSED IT // FEBRUARY 12 - FEBRUARY 18

[Dragon of the West]

JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 4


Hi Hallyuplussers and welcome to another weekly update of In Case You Missed It! This week we saw new music from AKB48 & IU, while we also received some heavily anticipated solo debuts from Ten & Cha Eunwoo respectively. Then in the news this week, we saw an update related to ATTRAKT's complaint against their former colleague and collaborator — CEO of The Givers, Ahn Sung-il — who was successful in his attempts to destabilise the company's main group, FIFTY FIFTY, in early 2023. Now if any of this has piqued your interest, or if you would like to learn what else happened in the world of Asian Entertainment over the past week, then feel free to read on and find out more!

BY POLARIS_TAE


MONDAY:
#1- We had two new contract updates on Monday. IHQ Talent Agency announced that former SONAMOO member Nahyun has joined their agency with the intention to promote as an actress. Meanwhile, former Busters member, Jeong Jisoo will promote as an actress under SM Entertainment's sub-label SM C&C. We look forward to seeing their future activities under their new agencies!



TUESDAY:
#1- A few new rookie groups preparing to make their debut very soon! HYBE's female counterpart to ENHYPEN, I'LL-IT will be making their debut under the conglomerate's BE:LIFT LAB label in March. Then on Friday, FNC shared that they're preparing to debut a new 4-member boy band in 2025. This will be the company's first band since N-Flying's initial debut in 2013. Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming groups?

#2- BLACKPINK's Lisa had some exciting news to share with us this week! The Kpop idol will be joining the cast of the upcoming season of the HBO series, White Lotus. This will be her first foire into acting. She will be the third BLACKPINK member to try her luck at acting following fellow members Jisoo and Jennie in Snowdrop & THE IDOL respectively. Nothing has been announced about the premise of this season's story yet, other than that it will take place within Thailand. Are you looking forward to the upcoming season of White Lotus?



WEDNESDAY:
#1- We have some new comeback announcements to share this week! Former LOONA member Chuu made her return on the 13th of February with a surprise Valentines-themed single, 'Chocolate'. Now moving on to upcoming March music releases, and two artists are set to come back with new music next month: DAY6 & ICHIILLIN'! DAY6 will make their return in mid-March. This will be the group's first release following their discharge from mandatory military service in 2023.It was previously reported that the group has already begun production on their upcoming music video. ICHILLIN' will return on the 7th of March with a new mini-album, Fellin' Hot and its accompanying title track, 'ON MY LIPS'. Meanwhile, H1-KEY's label, GLG has shared that they will be postponing the release of the group's H1-KEYnote project single, 'Deeper'. The song was originally scheduled to be released on the 15th of February. The company has shared that they will share the new release date at a later date.



THURSDAY:
#1- NewJeans had some exciting news to share with us this week! The group has been selected as new brand models for Lotte Well Food's sugar-free dessert, 'ZERO'. Congrats!



FRIDAY:
#1- There were no relevant updates on Friday.



SATURDAY:
#1- on Saturday it was shared that Ahn Sung-il, the CEO of The Givers' — the agency responsible for the derailment of FIFTY FIFTY — had his case officially forwarded to the prosecution following ATTRAKT's 2023 complaint against the individual. In their June 2023 submission, the company sought damages against Ahn Sung-il on charges of interfering with business — through the poaching of FIFTY FIFTY members — damaging or destroying data or special records — seen through the destruction of documents and their hostile takeover of FIFTY FIFTY's official web page — and occupational breach of trust. Following the announcement that the suit with Ahn would be going forward, ATTRAKT released a statement — translation provided via Soompi — detailing that: "We are also continuing to investigate the additional case that we filed on July 7 last year on charges of occupational embezzlement, counterfeit of private documents, and uttering of falsified private documents", and that they are "confident that additional criminal charges against Ahn Sung Il will be revealed in the future.” What are your thoughts on this case? Do you hope to see Ahn Sung-il facing punishment for his actions against ATTRAKT & FIFTY FIFTY?


SUNDAY:
#1- There were no relevant updates on Sunday.

BY DRAGON OF THE WEST & POLARIS_TAE


#1. AKB48 - COLORCON WINK
AKB48 — short for Akihabra 48 — is a Japanese supergroup and the first of a series of city-centric groups conceptualized by renowned Japanese music producer Aki-P through the long-running concept of 'idols you can meet'. Through this concept, his groups would have a home theatre — or in the former case of STU48, a ship — where the groups would hold regular performances and events that their fans could attend live and in person. AKB48 were the pioneers of their time and came to popularize concepts that Jpop — as well as Kpop — fans often see as a given within the wider fandom landscape of today such as handshake events and sub-groups. An idol that has become almost synonymous with the name of AKB48 is that of Kashiwagi Yuki, who is the longest-serving AKB48 member — as well as the longest-serving 48G member in total — following her 17-year long tenure with the group from December 2006 all the way up to February 2024. This week, she has officially graduated from the group with the release of their 63rd single 'Colorcon Wink', a bright and upbeat single that acts as a farewell song both through its lyrics, and the presentation of the music video. It celebrates all of her contributions to the group, while also bidding goodbye to her sustained career with the group and into that of a solo artist. Kashiwagi Yuki is one of the few 48G idols to effectively transition into having a successful solo career without having to leave her activities with the wider group. Her departure from AKB48 will likely mark the end of an era with the group, who have been struggling to keep up with Aki-P's newer Sakamichi series groups — Nogizaka46, in particular — as seen through the recent group changes such as the dissolution of the major units within AKB48 & its sister groups, though some sister groups such as HKT48 & SKE48 have still managed to keep their groups following this official announcement in 2023. Overall, it's a fantastic farewell single to the group's longest-serving contributor. We will miss seeing her as a member of AKB48, but look forward to seeing just how she continues to develop her career as a soloist in the future.





#2. TEN - NIGHTWALKER
It has been seven years since Ten made his debut with NCT U and while he has put out several singles since then, he has finally been given the chance to put out an album of his own with the release of his first EP titled TEN with the lead single, ‘Nightwalker’. Following in the footsteps of Taemin and Kai, Ten has chosen to go with a title track that showcases his immense strengths as a performer. The song’s instrumental follows the male idol template being essentially a bass-driven, anti-drop style but where it would fall flat if performed by most other idols, Ten manages to lift it up and sell it as much as possible especially whenever there’s a dance break. The finale is certainly the standout section of the song as this is where it’s at peak intensity. The rest of the EP is definitely worth checking out as well with standouts such as ‘Water’ and ‘ON TEN’.





#3. THE WIND - H! TEEN
The Wind had a strong start to their career last year with a string of standout releases, and following the departure of main vocalist Jaewon last December and with Chanwon sitting out of this comeback, the group are back as a quintet with their 2nd mini album OUR: YOUTHTEEN and the title track ‘H! TEEN’, a song that is filled with tons of energy that is highlighted by a catchy guitar instrumental. The memorable chorus pairs high notes with a chanted breakdown. Jaewon’s absence is noticeable though, as none of the other members have the vocal tone and brunt to sell this type of track as well as he would have been able to, but the song still manages to offer several highlights without getting repetitive.





#4. CHA EUNWOO - STAY
Given his popularity, it does come off as a bit of a surprise that it has taken this long for Cha Eunwoo to make his official solo debut, but it does make sense given just how busy he is between all of his acting and endorsement gigs. He has released his first mini-album Entity led by the title track ‘Stay’, which very much feels like it would fit right in as a drama OST through its mid-tempo sentimental vibes that really suit Eunwoo’s voice. The chorus, while not too ambitious, has a lovely percussion that lifts the track and ensures that it can be memorable despite its simplistic nature. The rest of the mini-album follows through in a similar manner, with all the songs being akin to what some would call “coffee shop vibes”.





#5. IU - HOLSSI
As we get closer to the release of IU's new album, she has followed up her chart-topping pre-release single 'Love Wins All' with another single titled 'Holssi', which is a little more eccentric and higher tempo, once again proving her versatility as an artist and her ability to play around with trends to her advantage. The vocal arrangement on this makes the song addictive even though the simple structure might not make it seem like that's possible. The quirky rap and layered harmonies combine to fill the track's ample space. Overall, while this isn't one of her best songs and while the execution feels more thrilling that the song itself, it is always exciting seeing IU delve into different junctures with her albums and this one just makes her comeback even more intriguing.

BY DRAGON OF THE WEST


#1- NCT Ten's debut mini-album 'TEN' surpassed 100,000 sales on Hanteo just 4 days after its release.

BY POLARIS_TAE

Our H+ Station Chart came back with a new update! This week, RED VELVET took the #1 position with 'CHILL KILL'! While SF9 & WJSN's Seola made their debut on the chart with 'Bibora' & 'Without You' at #7 & #8 respectively. Be sure to check out our chart to see where all of your favourite songs ranked!

Shop+ fans, our Shop+ team worked hard again this week to deliver only the best items for our users to purchase. Check out all of our newly added items below!

There was a total of one translation this week!

Translations Lead Lurkette shared a translation of Japanese soloist Imase's latest release, 'Koigoromo'. Make sure to check it out and show your appreciation for the translations team!


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



With this, we'll be saying goodbye for another week! But not to worry, as we'll be back with another update next week as well! Like always we're open to constructive feedback either through our social media channels, or through feedback on the website through this post, or in our official Social Media Team thread. We're also here to remind our users that both ourselves, as well as the Hallyu+ blog team are in the process of looking for new team members. So if you enjoy the idea of contributing to our Social Media Team — via our Press Team through regular articles — or maybe you would like to help get the blog up and running through content such as blog posts, dedicated artist profiles, OP GFX contributions and more, then feel free to apply via the linked application forms above! Once again, we'll see you next time with another fantastic In Case You Missed It update!

GFX BY @yerm
FEATURED ARTISTS: Wheein (Mamamoo), Ten (WayV/NCT), Kashiwagi Yuki (AKB48), Cha Eunwoo (Astro), Lisa (Blackpink)​

 

[Lilac]

The Wind - H! Teen release is a stand out for me this week.

Great weekly update~

 

[Dragon of the West]

The Wind - H! Teen release is a stand out for me this week.

They're so underrated. They released some of my favourite music last year.

 

[UMJI MOODS]

Amazing job as always.

 

[Bellamy]

Thanks for the updates!

#1- on Saturday it was shared that Ahn Sung-il, the CEO of The Givers' — the agency responsible for the derailment of FIFTY FIFTY — had his case officially forwarded to the prosecution following ATTRAKT's 2023 complaint against the individual.

It was about time!!!

#2. TEN - NIGHTWALKER

A bop, with a non-skip mini album!

#1- NCT Ten's debut mini-album 'TEN' surpassed 100,000 sales on Hanteo just 4 days after its release.