10/16 Kpop news roundup (SM, Dawn redebut, BPM, etc)

Author: Russlan Roulette

∘•ʚ Howdy Howdy ɞ•∘

I know I said I wouldn't make this a regular thing (mostly cause I don't want to step on ICYMI's toes with kpop news roundups) but I once again woke up to a billion kpop news alerts so here is a roundup of today's news.

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Taeil Officially Kicked Out Of SM

SM announced today that former NCT Taeil is officially no longer with SM ent.
They said they ended his exclusive contract not just because of his criminal case, but because of broken trust that cannot be repaired.
Here is the full statement:

This is SM Entertainment.

We would like to inform you that our exclusive contract with Taeil has been terminated as of October 15, 2024.

Taeil is currently under investigation by the prosecution for a criminal case. This not only constitutes grounds for termination under our contract but also makes it impossible to maintain trust in him as an artist. As a result, both parties have mutually agreed to terminate the contract.

We sincerely apologize once again for any concern caused by Taeil, who was previously one of our artists.

Twitter Source

Kpop Stores Worldwide Boycott SM

Over the past 24 hours literally TONS of kpop stores worldwide have been announcing that following the mistreatment of Seunghan from RIIZE they will no longer be selling any RIIZE products.

For some of them they have explained that any already ordered/preordered products will still be hitting shelves due to the fact that they cannot cancel the orders by now, but as of right now they will not be restocking their shelves of RIIZE albums or ordering any more.

What is probably the most popular us kpop store, SubK shop, is also participating in this boycott which is a huge deal.

Former Pentagon Dawn Re-Debut's As Virtual AI Idol

This has probably been the most controversial thing talked about right now.

Former pentagon and now soloist Dawn has announced that he will be re-debuting as a virtual AI singer called "Edan Maverick"

The entire 3D aspect of his virtual idol-ness is done through AI.

He apparently made his debut through social media back in May.

He was also featured in Saatchi art gallery in london this month from the 10-13th in an exhibition with the theme "black sheep"

Through debuting as this virtual ai idol, they are hoping to collab with artists including various fields such as art, sculpture, fashion, pottery, and illustration.

News Article

Rose To Collab With Bruno Mars

Rose and Bruno Mars has just teased a song collab with each other on social media.

Rose is currently working on her first solo album which is set to release I believe on December 6th?

This collab is going to slap, and I can also see this blowing up in Korea as well because of how popular Bruno Mars is there. I'm excited.

BPM Artists Personal Information Leaked

It was in the news today that pretty much all BPM artists, including personal information of 1,200 employees, has been leaked in a loan scandle.

Long story story, a BPM manager was taking out illegal personal loans and used the personal phone numbers and information of their artists including Lee Seung Gi and Taemin as collateral. The manager took out loans from 40 illegal loan companies/people.

On september 30th, the loan shark started to contact BPM ent to pay back the loan on the person's behalf and has been very verbally abusive and wearing at them.

The manager handed the loan sharks over 1,200 phone numbers as collateral, including " Big Planet Made employees, celebrities affiliated with the company, people from the agency Mr. A (the manager) previously worked for, people in the entertainment industry including those he knew in the past, celebrities from other agencies, and managers."

I believe almost everyone who has their phone number and information leaked has been getting threatening phone calls from the loan sharks.

I won't translate BPM's full statement on this because it's very long but you can read it all in the Source Article.

I will though include this small blurb from BPM:

“We take the seriousness of the situation very seriously and are preparing to take legal action, including reporting it to the police, against the illegal loan companies that have continued to make threatening phone calls up to this day. We bow our heads in apology for causing innocent victims to become victims due to the mistake of an employee who worked for our company.”

“In the future, there may be victims like us due to the phone number that Mr. A gave up as collateral. In the future, if you receive threatening phone calls or text messages from illegal loan companies regarding Mr. A’s loans, please report them to the police immediately. We will do our best to resolve this situation.”

Jessi Brought In For Investigation

Jessi has been brought to the police for investigation reguarding the fight that broke out between a fan of hers and someone in her entourage.

Jessi released the statement: "I hope they find the person who hit him quickly, and that he gets punished. I will speak honestly about everything."
And once again apologized. Her lawyer released a statement saying they will provide an additional explanation after the investigation is over.

Jessi has been getting major backlash in South Korea over this with many netizens even wanting her to leave Korea and move back to the US.

News Article

New Fifty Fifty Announces US Tour

The new fifty fifty has announced that they will be going on a US tour.

Ticket sales start on the 18th and the tour starts November 27th.

As you can imagine, the tour has been receiving very negative reactions from kpop fans in the US.
I'm honestly betting right now that the tour is going to get canceled due to low ticket sales :sip:

Apink to hold first solo concert in 4 years

We were blessed enough to get info that Apink will be having a comeback next year, and now we received news that Apink will be holding their first solo concert in 4 years on December 21st and 22nd!

I know the girls have been performing at smaller events such as school festivals in the meantime (over the summer they performed at my friend's uni in Korea along with EXID and I am still jealous over this :weep: