ICYMI IN CASE YOU MISSED IT // MAY 3 - MAY 9

Dragon of the West

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MAY 3 - MAY 9


Hello Hallyuplussers and welcome to this another edition of In Case You Missed It! In this article, we'll once again give you a wrap-up to everything that happened this week in Asian Entertainment! This week we saw far fewer releases than we were used to, but hopefully, we'll see another spike in releases in the next few weeks! We also saw discussions related to a possible US-based unit of NCT. To learn just what that entails, you'll have to continue reading. Now, with that said, let's jump into this week's article!




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BY POLARIS_TAE


MONDAY:
#1- We begin the week with comeback news! EVERGLOW announced that they would be making a comeback on the 24th of May with the single album, 'Last Melody'. Meanwhile, Brave Girls dropped a digital single, 'Song For You', in collaboration with a Lotte Department Store project on the 5th of May

#2- Now onto contract announcements! APink's
Son Naeun has officially signed a contract with YG Entertainment this week! She will, of course, still be continuing group activities with APink. Meanwhile, Takeuchi Miyu has officially left Mystic Story. We wish them the best in their future endeavours.

#3- Starship Entertainment has announced that Monsta X's
Shownu will sadly be sitting out from all upcoming group activities in order to focus on his health. We wish him a speedy recovery.



TUESDAY:
#1- A slew of releases were announced on Tuesday! Aespa, fromis_9 & Rocket Punch will all be coming back in May. NCT Dream released a collaboration single with Ping Fong on the 5th of May in conjunction with Children's Day; fromis_9 will be returning with their 2nd single album on the 17th of May; Rocket Punch & Aespa will also be making their comeback on the 17th with Rocket Punch their first single album 'Ring Ring' while Aespa will be returning with the digital single 'Next Level' on the same day! More comebacks were announced for the following month! Ghost9 will be making a comeback this June, as will VICTON's Han Seungwoo. As for debuts, Mystic Story has announced that they are preparing to debut a new 6-member girl group within the second half of 2021. Which upcoming release are you looking forward to?

#2- SHINee have announced that they will be holding a special VLive on the 25th of May in order to commemorate their 13th anniversary with 'SHINee Day'! Will you be celebrating 13 years with SHINee this May?

#3- BTS' J-Hope has proven himself a generous king this week after it was shared that he had donated 100 million KRW for children affected by violence in Africa in conjunction with Children's Day. The following day, it was announced that Kim Go-eun had donated 50 million KRW to the Seoul National University Children's Hospital, while B.I, who will be making his
comeback on the 14th of May, donated all of the profits & copyright fees from his solo album, 'Midnight Blue' to World Vision. We thank them for their generosity.

#4- It has been revealed that 2AM's Jeong Jinwoon & 9MUSES Kyungri have broken up after over four years together. A reason has not been given for the break-up with Kyungri's company stating that it's a private matter between the two.




WEDNESDAY:
#1- Two more comebacks were announced on Wednesday! WEi will be making their return next month in June while D1CE's Woo Jinyoung will be making his solo debut sometime during the first half of 2021. Will you be setting aside a portion of your bank account for any of these upcoming releases?

#2- The 1st line-up for the Red Angel Concert has been announced! Representing South Korea on the 29th of May will be THE BOYZ & Oh My Girl. We can't wait!

#3- It has been announced that artists from Top Media & Play M, including TEEN TOP's Changjo & Niel, UP10TION's Kim Wooseok & Lee Jinhyuk, as well as VICTION will be joining the fan messaging app DearU Bubble.

#4- I.O.I celebrated their 5th anniversary this week via a live broadcast reunion on the 4th of May. Did you tune in to catch them live?

#5- It has been announced that VAV's Ace will be enlisting in the military on the 10th of May. We wish him a safe and happy service.




THURSDAY:
#1- On Thursday we learned that PURPLEKISS will be collaborating with the digital idol LULUPOP for her debut single on the 24th of May. Meanwhile, CUBE has announced that (G)I-DLE's Yuqi will be making her solo debut on the 13th of May. On that same day, everyone's favourite soloist, Kang Daniel, will also be releasing a new collaboration single 'Outerspace' with Loco via the UNIVERSE fandom app. The following day, D.Ark, who recently signed under Psy's label PNATION, will be having his first comeback since signing with the label on the 13th of May. Meanwhile, 10cm and AKMU's Suhyun will be collaborating on the 13th of May to release a new single. Are you excited for any of these upcoming releases?

#2- Astro's Cha Eunwoo will be holding a solo online fan-meeting 'Cha Eun-woo: On-line Fanmeeting [2021 Just One 10 Minute ~Into You~] on the 4th of June. Meanwhile, NCT's Doyoung will be making his musical debut this July as Fersen in the latest production of 'Marie Antionette' We can't wait!

#3- CJ ENM will be adding a new partnership with HBO Max & Endemol Shine Boomdog to their list of affiliates. What do kind of contents do you think they have in the works together?

#4- Kim Seonho has been announced as the newest brand ambassador & skincare mentor for the Indonesian skincare brand Everwhite. We congratulate him on gaining another fantastic opportunity!




FRIDAY:
#1- SM Entertainment was in the news again this week! This time it was due to the announcement of NCT-Hollywood. The company will be collaborating with MGM Television to create a US competition show to search for members of NCT's first US-based unit! Meanwhile, it was also announced that SM & YG were demoted from their position as Blue-Chip companies to regular Mid-Size businesses due to their poor performance and increased losses. What are your thoughts on these issues?

#2- All members of ATEEZ, BTOB, SF9, Stray Kids & THE BOYZ have thankfully tested
negative for COVID-19 following a covid-19 related scare on the set of the idol performance competition show, 'KINGDOM'. Meanwhile, SILENT SIREN's Ainyan has tested positive for the virus. We hope she recovers soon.



SATURDAY:
#1- It has been reported that LOONA are currently preparing for their comeback! A date has yet to be announced but we hope that you're as excited as we are for new music from them!

#2- We welcomed back INFINITE's
Sungjong from the military this week. We can't wait to see him back in the entertainment industry again!



SUNDAY:
#1- The May boy group brand rankings has been released! BTS continue their dominance over the chart for another week, while NCT & SEVENTEEN take second and third place respectively. The following day the May girl group brand rankings were also announced! We saw BRAVE GIRLS take the top position again this month, as BLACKPINK and Oh My Girl rounded out the top three. Congrats to the top groups! Did any of your bias groups place on the list for May?





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BY DRAGON OF THE WEST


#1. HIGHLIGHT - NOT THE END
Continuing with the trend of 2nd gen boy groups making comebacks, Highlight — formerly known as Beast — have released their 3rd mini-album The Blowing and the title track 'Not The End'. The song plays more like a promise — a recommitment to the career they’ve chosen. Its verses are largely forgettable, trudging along with a measured hesitance rather than embracing the bombast of the chorus. The synth-heavy instrumental drapes the track in drama, paying off with a grand drop and the song smartly tacks on a melodic refrain. At its best, 'Not The End' surges with a majestic drive. It boasts a few satisfying touches that keep it from sounding like a dated copycat, such as the influx of filtered guitar that fuels the bridge. The instrumental is the star of the show here. It’s derivative at every turn but harnesses a welcome sense of optimism. Overall, it is a tame comeback, which was perhaps to be expected with this being the group's first release since 2018.





#2. YESUNG - BEAUTIFUL NIGHT
Super Junior's Yesung has released his 4th mini-album Beautiful Night, with its eponymous title track, just one week after dropping the pre-release track 'Phantom Pain'. 'Beautiful Night' firmly lodges itself within current K-pop trends. A touch of city pop influence drives its retro appeal as it plays off the genre's satisfying synths and even throws in a saxophone solo for good measure. The song is smooth and relaxing. It builds to a nice climax, with Yesung’s vocal matching the intensity of that ever-present saxophone. He’s skilled enough to elevate tame material, but here's hoping he pushed outside his comfort zone with future releases. The standout b-side track on this EP would be 'No More Love' which perfectly utilizes Yesung's vocal color and is the kind of song you'd listen to in the background while sipping coffee at a café.





#3. AILEE - MAKE UP YOUR MIND
Powerhouse vocalist Ailee has made her return as she released LOVIN' — which has been dubbed as being a pre-release mini-album — and the title track 'Make Up Your Mind'. It is a perfectly polished modern pop song and yet suffers from a lack of melodic and structural diversity. Ailee is gifted enough to elevate any material, and she occasionally goes off-script during 'Make Up Your Mind', gliding into head voice or finishing a phrase with a satisfying flourish. But, too many lines point toward the same endpoint, giving the final product a plodding, predictable feel. This is compounded by an EDM drop that, while sonically interesting, only accentuates the lockstep repetition of the song’s melodies.







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BY NARA


#1- Congrats to these artists who received certifications on Gaon Chart: TWICE's 'Fancy' and Hwasa's 'Maria' have both received Platinum certification on Gaon Chart for surpassing 100 million streams, and ROSÉ's single album 'R' has been certified Double Platinum for surpassing 500K in sales.

#2- ITZY made a comeback this week with their newest mini-album 'Guess Who'! Congrats on reaching
200K sales on Hanteo on their first week! Also, their title track 'Mafia In The Morning' has already reached 50 million views on YouTube!

#3- NCT DREAM's 1st Full Album
"맛 (Hot Sauce)" has recorded 1,078,843 Million copies stock pre-order sales, making it their highest personal record! Congrats to the group for becoming million-sellers ahead of their long-awaited comeback!

#4- Enhypen's 2nd mini-album 'BORDER: CARNIVAL' crosses over 500,000 copies sold on Gaon! It is now eligible to receive Double Platinum Certification in Gaon in just 5 tracking days!

#5- Red Velvet's MV for 'Peek-A-Boo' has surpassed 200 million views on YouTube! Congrats to the group!

#6- TXT's second full=length album 'The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE' records more than 520,000 pre-order album copies! Congrats to the group and look forward to their upcoming album!

#7- Weeekly's
'After School' has surpassed 50 Million Views on YouTube becoming their first music video to reach this milestone! Congratulations to the rookie group who seem to be growing with each comeback.





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BY POLARIS_TAE


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The PR Team gave us a slew of new content this week!

Our PR Lead, Saint Ren gave us a new video review of the first two episodes of
Produce 101 Japan Season 2.

They also announced a new interview series where they will be
interviewing our fellow Hallyu+ users. If you would like to nominate any users this month, make sure to do so soon!


+


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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: GFX, Public Relations - Video & Outreach Divisions, Translations and SM Team - Press Division.



You've now reached the end of the article, which is where we bid you goodbye for another week! As always, if you found anything that piqued your interest, or if you want to provide us with any feedback be sure to sound off in the comments. We'll see you again next week and hope you enjoyed the article! Apologies for the delay in posting today, one of our writers had some technical difficulties




GFX BY @yerm
PROOFREAD BY @Dragon of the West
FEATURED ARTISTS: Tanaka Miku (HKT48), Gikwang (Highlight), Ailee, Yesung (Super Junior), Kim Goeun
 
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boo

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Thanks for the update!!

My girl MIYU :peepoblanket::peepoblanket: can’t believe they make her waste so many years in Mystic. I was looking forward to her debut.
 
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