BY POLARIS_TAE
MONDAY:
#1- We began the week with a few comeback announcements! BoA & BTS' V will be making their return with new material this March. V will release a new digital single, 'FRI(END)S' on the 15th of March, while BoA will make her return at the end of March. Meanwhile, RIIZE were later confirmed to make their comeback the following month in April. Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming releases?
#2- Now moving on, we have a new female vocal group survival program preparing to premiere very soon! The new program — 'Girls on Fire' — has just revealed its list of participating producers. The program will include a total of 6 producers including Apink's Eunji, DAY6's Young K, Yoon Jong-shin & Dynamic Duo's Gaeko. Will you be tuning in to watch this upcoming program?
#3- On Monday, it was announced that Big Planet Made — home to artists such as Viviz & Nu'est's Ren — had reported Kakao Entertainment to the South Korean Fair Trade Commission. A spokesperson for Big Planet Made further stated that they had secured testimonies that stated that Kakao had demanded distribution fees of around "20% from general companies, while charging around 5-6% to affiliated companies such as SM." What are your thoughts on this reported industry practice?
TUESDAY:
#1- We had various announcements related to contract expirations at the beginning of the week. On Monday it was shared that two VIXX members — Leo & Ken — had decided to not renew their contracts with Jellyfish Entertainment. Then the following day, it was announced that SHINee's Onew & Taemin would be leaving SM Entertainment following the expiration of their contracts. The pair will still reportedly be contracted under SM for group activities with SHINee, however, their individual activities will fall under separate agencies, which in Taemin's case, has been reported to be Big Planet Made. The idol stepped out on Wednesday to address the news via the Bubble SNS messaging service. The SHINee member did not confirm or deny having a professional relationship with Big Planet Made but instead shared that he thought the "news was surprising" and that he would have liked to tell the fans himself as he "didn’t want you to worry about unnecessary things." Finally, the idol shared that he believes that "There will be even better things in store for the future ㅎㅎ Please continue to look after me as a member of SHINee and as Taemin."
WEDNESDAY:
#1- Streamer & former DIA member, Somyi, is reportedly facing a one-year prison sentence after falsely accusing her management's CEO of sexual assault. The former idol reportedly filed a complaint against the CEO back in January of 2023 only for the case to later be dismissed. The former idol later appealed the decision which led to a deeper investigation into the incident. This included a deeper investigation into the CCTV footage relevant to the incident. The prosecution concluded that Somyi had fabricated the claims of sexual assault to pressure the CEO into breaking up with his girlfriend at the time. Meanwhile, her lawyer has stated that she shouldn't be held accountable as she was under the influence of alcohol and inebriated at the time. What are your thoughts on this situation?
THURSDAY:
#1- A few idols came under fire this week. Yuehua shared that TEMPEST member Hwarang would be taking a temporary hiatus in order to reflect on his actions after the idol was discovered clubbing. In addition, the idol would be departing from his MC position on KBS Show Champion with the MC line-up set to continue with two hosts, XDINARY HEROES' Gaon & EPEX's Keum Donghyun. Now moving on and Fantasy Boys' K-Soul also came under controversy. The idol went live to gossip about his fellow Fantasy Boys members including divulging that one of his teammates was in a relationship, as well as equating Kpop fans to domestic abuse victims. The following day the idol took to social media to apologise for his actions. K.Soul is currently on hiatus due to the deteriorating health of both his father and grandmother (the former of which has since passed).
FRIDAY:
#1- We received numerous comeback and debut announcements later in the week as well! For debuts, former WayV member Lucas will be making his solo debut this April. While BLACKPINK's Jennie, Cherry Bullet's Bora & aespa will all be releasing new music. BLACKPINK's Jennie will be collaborating with BROCKHAMPTON's Matt Champion on a new song titled 'Slow Motion'. Cherry Bullet's Bora released a new OST for the Studio U+ drama 'Branding in Seongsu' on Thursday. Then in March, aespa will be singing an OST for the Apple TV+ program 'Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock' on the 29th of March. Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming releases?
#2- H1-KEY had some exciting news for us this week! The group has just been appointed as ambassadors for the Korean Employment Agency for the Disabled. Congrats!
#3- The Seoul High Court came back with its ruling on Blockberry Creative's appeal against Loona's Chuu on Friday. It was shared that the court ruled in favour of Chuu regarding the non-validity of her exclusive contract with the company. What are your thoughts on the outcome of this situation?
#4- On Friday it was announced that 'Dragon Ball' creator Akira Toriyama had sadly passed away. The mangaka died of a subdural hematoma (a bleed in the brain) on the 1st of March. He was 68 years old.
SATURDAY:
#1- SNSD's leader Taeyeon shared some fun news this week! The idol announced the opening of her official TikTok account. She's already been posting regularly on the account, so make sure to check it out if you'd like to keep up with even more Taeyeon-filled content!
#2- Japanese celebrity couple Masaki Suda & Komatsu Nana welcomed their first child together this week. We congratulate the pair on the new addition to their family!
#3- It was reported on Saturday that a former idol group member — who has been rumoured to be TST's Choi Wooyoung — had admitted in court to illegally filming an ex-girlfriend without her consent while getting intimate. It's been reported that the former idol had illegally filmed her over 18 times throughout their relationship. But that's not all, as Choi has also been accused of illegally filming a second woman without her consent while she was undressed in his room. It's been reported that he used silent cameras and microphones during these acts so that the victims would not know that they had been recorded. The court case is still ongoing and the next update is set for sometime during May. What are your thoughts on this issue?
SUNDAY:
#1- There were no relevant updates on Sunday
BY DRAGON OF THE WEST
#1. There's even more achievements for PLAVE this week as they become the first virtual group to get music show wins on Show Champion and MBC's Show! Music Core, the latter of which makes them the first boy group who debuted post-2020 to win on the show. They have also surpassed 1 million total album copies sold in Korea and Japan, joining ZEROBASEONE and RIIZE as the only 5th gen groups to do so.
Thanks for reading ~
