ICYMI IN CASE YOU MISSED IT // JULY 26 - AUGUST 01

[Dragon of the West]

JULY 26 - AUGUST 1


Hello Hallyuplussers, and welcome to another week of In Case You Missed It! This week we saw the release of some high profile releases from artists including EXO's D.O & DREAMCATCHER. We also received some concerning news related to the ongoing situation involving Kris Wu. Now, with the introduction over with, let's jump into the article!

BY POLARIS_TAE


MONDAY:
#1- The Boyz made our day when they announced that they'd be returning with a new mini-album on the 9th of August. We can't wait!

#2- STRAY KIDS has announced that they will be celebrating their fandom's third anniversary with '2021 STAY WEEK'. Will you be celebrating alongside them?

#3- THE FACT MUSIC AWARDS has announced the date for their 2021 awards ceremony. The awards show will be holding their online awards ceremony on the 2nd of October. Meanwhile, Mnet's 'Show Me The Money 10' has announced that they have recruited Zion. T & Slom for their producer lineup.

#4- Now onto contract negotiations. Ha Seokjin has officially joined Management Koo after signing an exclusive contract with the company. We look forward to their future co-operation together!

#5- Sadly we received news of another coronavirus diagnosis this week. On Monday, it was reported that actor Ji Changwook had been diagnosed with the virus. As a result, Netflix drama 'The Sound of Magic', which the actor is currently filming, has halted all production while the actor will undergo quarantine in order to treat the illness. We hope he recovers soon.


TUESDAY:
#1- Red Velvet commemorated their 7th Anniversary this week and in celebration of this occasion they had announced that they would a special VLive broadcast with their fans on Sunday. Did you tune in to watch them live?

#2- It has been announced that former IZ*ONE member Jang Wonyoung has become the new muse for the South Korean skincare brand Innisfree. We congratulate her on receiving such an exciting opportunity!

#3- cignature has officially announced its fandom name! The group's fans will now be known as 'signfan'. What are your thoughts on this name?

#4- To cap off Tuesday's news, the school violence allegations levelled against Kim Sohye have officially been proven false. We're glad that the actress was able to clear her name, and hope justice plays its part in dealing with those who falsely accused her.


WEDNESDAY:
#1- We had even more comeback announcements on Wednesday! BewhY will be dropping his 1st mini-album on the 30th in July. Meanwhile, in August both HEYGIRLS & BDC will be making their return. BDC will release their special single, 'Moon Walker' on the 10th, while HEYGIRLS will drop their newest single 'Shining Star' on the 3rd of August.

#2- It's been reported that Mamamoo's Wheein will be signing with H1GHER MUSIC following her departure from RBW earlier this year. We look forward to her future activities under a new label!

#3- On Wednesday, we received the very exciting news that SNSD would be appearing on the tvN variety 'You QUIZ ON THE BLOCK' as a full group. As a response, an official from the variety confirmed "the eight members of Girls’ Generation are appearing on 'You Quiz on the Block' as a full group". We can't wait!

#4- The South Korean football association, K-League has announced their newest ambassadors in SHINee's Minho, Hwang Sunhong, Choi Yongsoo, Cho Wonhee & Bae Seongjae. Their role as ambassadors will include attending various events to promote K-League as well as undertaking individual activities associated with the brand.


THURSDAY:
#1- B1A4's Sandeul will be releasing his new OST for the webtoon ' The Moon That Rises In The Day'. Meanwhile, T-ARA will be blessing us with new music very soon. On Thursday, the group announced that they are planning on making a comeback later this year. Are you excited for their return?

#2- SF9 has announced that they will be holding an online fanmeeting 'Reply Fantasy' on the 15th of August. Make sure to get your tickets while you can!

#3- Former GFRIEND member Sowon will reportedly be joining IOK Company after it was announced that she is in talks to sign an exclusive contract with the agency. We look forward to seeing her future activities with them!

#4- Some concerning news related to the ongoing mental health of former AOA member & actress Kwon Mina. It was announced that the actress had attempted to take her own life on Thursday. Thankfully, she was found by an acquaintance and rushed to the hospital to receive treatment. Later in the week, the actress deleted her Instagram account.

#5- Hyunbin as received another endorsement opportunity this week! The actor, who is more known for his endorsement activities these days, has been chosen as the new face of the 'Crocodile' men's fall collection. Meanwhile, Lee Hyunjoo has been selected as the newest muse for the cosmetic brand 'LOAR'. Congrats!


FRIDAY:
#1- PUNCH & Mad Clown are gearing up for a collaboration this month! The pair will reportedly be dropping a collaboration song on the 3rd of August. Meanwhile, VERIVERY will be returning for a new comeback later this August, while TRiDENT will release their first EP, 'UNDER GROUND' on the 18th of August!

#2- Former IZ*ONE member Choi Yena made her debut as a radio DJ this week on 'MBC Jun Hyosung's Dreaming Radio' on the 30th of July. Did you catch the show?

#3- Former AKB48 member Oshima Yuko & Hayashi Kento officially announced their marriage on Friday. The following day, Former Tahiti member Jisu has announced that she had also gotten married to her non-celebrity boyfriend. Congrats to both couples!


SATURDAY:
#1- KM Entertainment has announced that they plan to debut a new 7-member girl group member ICHILLIN' later this year. We can't wait!

#2- Following up on the ongoing Kris Wu sexual assault controversy. It has been announced that the Shanghai police department has arrested Kris Wu in relation to his sexual assault allegations. This was due to the fact that the police had reportedly confirmed that the idol had slept with a Shanghai fan who was not even 14 years old. What are your thoughts on this development?


SUNDAY:
#1- It's been announced that Weeekly's Jiyoon will be taking a break from upcoming group promotions in order to deal with anxiety issues. We hope she feels better soon.

#2- FT ISLAND's Lee Jaejin has officially been discharged from the military this week. We're looking forward to his future activities!

BY DRAGON OF THE WEST & POLARIS_TAE


#1. AKMU - NAKKA (FEAT. IU)
As mentioned in last week's ICYMI, AKMU had announced that they would be releasing a collaboration album titled NEXT EPISODE, which would have songs featuring several of K-pop's biggest names on them. And what better way to do it than to have the title track, "NAKKA", feature none other than IU herself? The track, having two giants of the digital music scene in South Korea, embraces unexpected electronic influence which results in a style we’ve never really heard from either artist. The rhythmic chorus isn’t too dissimilar from the beat drop hooks we've come to hear ever so often. AKMU play around with the instrumental, allowing "NAKKA" to have a sense of spontaneity that enhances its bite. While there are some great hooks here, one can't help but anticipate the song to go a step further, even though it seems intent on pulling back at every turn. It's a great showcase of the vocal capabilities of the trio, but it just feels like they could have taken it to the next level given the caliber of artistry present on this track.





#2. DREAMCATCHER - BECAUSE
As a way to herald in the last few weeks of summer in South Korea, Dreamcatcher have made their comeback with a special mini-album titled Summer Holiday and its lead single "BEcause", a track that stays true to the elements which have made their releases so consistent. The song injects the summer season with a nice touch of horror, though most of the creepy stuff is relegated to its music video, which may I add as a side note, is one of their most enticing ones yet and that really says a lot as many would agree that they've put out some fantastic music videos over the years. As a piece of rock-infused K-pop, "BEcause" is sturdy and satisfying. The song's most interesting moments happen in the verses, whether during the brisk intensity of verse one or the cool breakdown that pulls us into verse two. If the chorus doesn't get your attention during the first listen, it surely won't be long until it eventually does grow on you. For a song packed with several goodies, it makes sure to deliver on Dreamcatcher's usual straightforward blitz of energy. If there's one complaint though, it would come in the form of the feeling that this seems like a missed opportunity. When they labelled this as a "special" mini-album, many people imagined that it would be an opportunity that would give them more leeway for experimentation with the title track in particular, but we only see it from the b-sides of which "Whistle" and "Alldaylong" are perhaps the two standouts.





#3. D.O - ROSE
It has been a long time coming but we can finally say that we now have a solo album from EXO’s D.O, something fans have long clamored for especially since his smooth vocal style always seems to add soul and groove to his group’s tracks. He makes his official solo debut with his first mini-album Empathy, and neither it nor the title track "Rose" should come as a surprise to anyone who has kept up with how he states that his desire to release songs which are easy-on-the-ears and hold true to an acoustic sound. The b-sides also offer a lot whether it comes from the heartfelt lyrics of "Dad", the widely favorited "I'm Gonna Love You" (which also happens to feature the trendy rapper Wonstein) or from his exemplary English and Spanish pronunciations on "Rose (English Ver.)" and "Si Fueras Mia" respectively. This may not be the pure R&B album that a lot of people hoped from him, but it's a perfect showcase of his emotions and talents as one of K-pop's strongest vocalists over the past decade.

BY POLARIS_TAE


#1- Now let's go over this week's YouTube milestones! Hwasa’s music video for ‘Maria’ crossed 200 million views on YouTube this week! This makes it her first music video to achieve such a feat. While also on the topic of mv views, Super Junior's iconic music video for 'Mr. Simple' also surpassed 200 million views on YouTube and BTS' 'Mic Drop (Steve Aoki Remix)' music video became their 4th to surpass the 1 Billion views milestone! Finally, BLACKPINK's dance practice for their hit song 'Ddu-Du-Ddu-Du' surpassed 400 million views this week. Congrats to all these artists!

BY POLARIS_TAE

Riri hosted ‘Fake News’ where players have to guess whether the headlines are fake or true. The game is still ongoing, but hopefully, we’ll see the result soon!

We saw some great news this week after Baymax was finally promoted from a junior moderator into a full moderator. Congrats on the promotion!

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This brings us to the end of this week's update!! What was your favourite aspect of this week in Asian Entertainment? Let us know in the comments and we'll see you again next week!





GFX BY @yerm
PROOFREAD BY @Dragon of the West
FEATURED ARTISTS: Minho (SHINee), Handong (Dreamcatcher), D.O (Exo), Liu Xiening (BonBon Girls), Ryousuke Yamada (Hey! Say! JUMP)​

 

[UMJI MOODS]

A lighter week for the entertainment industry but still lots of interesting goings on. Thanks for the always appreciated recap.​

 

[boo]

Thanks for the update!

 

[kimsguardian]

thank you for the updates!

 

[Stannie]

Thanks for the consistent updates as always, folks!

 

[Bellamy]

Thanks for the news updates!!
The spanish pronunciation of D.O. really surprised me, he did really well!
Just in case, you don't know, Red Velvet will comeback on August 16th with their 6th mini album Queendom.

 

[Dragon of the West]

Thanks for the news updates!!
The spanish pronunciation of D.O. really surprised me, he did really well!
Just in case, you don't know, Red Velvet will comeback on August 16th with their 6th mini album Queendom.

Yeah D.O's Spanish pronunciation has always been highly praised ever since EXO's 2014 cover of Sabor a Mi and even though I'm not a Spanish speaker, I've seen a lot of comments from native speakers who have said his pronunciation on Si Fueras Mia this time is close to perfect.

RV's comeback announcement happened at midnight KST on Monday which means it'll be covered on the next ICYMI update.