NOVEMBER 4 - NOVEMBER 10
Hello Hallyuplussers and welcome back to another edition of In Case You Missed It. Where our team works hard to keep you up-to-date with everything happening in the Asian Entertainment sphere! This week, we saw new releases from TRiDENT, VIVIZ & SHINee's Choi Minho, while we also saw updates related to SM Entertainment's release schedule, as well as legal updates related to Jessie & Min Hee-jin. With all that said, let's jump into In Case You Missed It for another week!
BY POLARIS_TAE
MONDAY:
#1- There were no relevant updates on Monday.
TUESDAY:
#1- We had several comeback and debut announcements throughout the week. To begin, SM Entertainment shared the artist lineup for their final quarter of 2024 and unfortunately, the label has shared that they will be postponing the debut of their upcoming girl group to the first half of 2025. Additionally, the label's TV Chosun co-produced trot group, MYRTO dropped a new single 'BOMB BOMB BOMB' ahead of their official debut. Meanwhile, three artists will return this month with new music! 2NE1's Park Bom dropped an OST for the KBS drama 'Face Me' on Thursday, while Lovelyz will be making their return on the 12th of November with the aptly titled 'November'. Also in November, we'll be seeing new music from BIBI who will be releasing a new double single sometime during November. One of which is set to feature a collaboration with K-R&B soloist DEAN. Additionally, it was later shared that Jeon Jeongseo will be starring in the music video for the soloist's November 14 release, 'DERRE'. Then in 2025, we'll be seeing new music from GYUBIN, who has shared that she will be returning with her first EP next year. Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming releases?
#2- There were also several personal updates throughout the beginning of the week. NCT's Jaehyun became the second overall NCT member to enlist in the military following Taeyong's enlistment earlier this year in April. Meanwhile, it's been shared that Fiestar's Hyemi has officially tied the knot with her non-celebrity businessman-producer fiance. We congratulate the happy couple on their recent nuptials!
#3- Twice's Dahyun had some exciting news for us on Tuesday! It's been shared that the Twice member will be joining the cast of the Seo Hyunjin-led South Korean drama, Love Me. The drama is based on the Swedish series of the same name and explores the story of a woman who has everything and her journey of self-discovery loneliness, love, and family conflicts. Dahyun will be playing the role of Yun Sol. Are you looking forward to seeing Dahyun make her drama debut in Love Me?
WEDNESDAY:
#1- We received several updates related to SM artists this week. the 2024 Q4 & 2025 Q1 schedules were officially shared with the public on Wednesday. In addition to comebacks from artists including WayV, NCT Dream & nævis, we'll be seeing another SM Town concert. The 'SM Town Live 2025' In Seoul concert will take place at the beginning of 2025 and a new world tour from NCT127. This comes as the group is down three members. Taeil was booted from the group and, subsequently, the label after it was discovered that he was being investigated for quasi-rape, while Taeyong & Jaehyun are currently undertaking their mandatory military service. Later in the week, it was also shared that SM will be revealing their new girl group to the public for the first time at the 'SM Town Live 2025' at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on January 11-12. Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming releases or concerts?
THURSDAY:
#1- Now moving on to Entertainment updates and it's been shared that Fiestar has recently taken part in the filming of an upcoming episode of the KBS sketch-comedy series, Gag Concert. Meanwhile, the Road To Kingdom season 2 results officially dropped this week! Unlike the first edition of the series, which was more of a prequel series to the Kingdom competition series, where the overall winner would attain a spot to compete in its sequel series Kingdom, season two of Road To Kingdom would be turning into a standalone series where lesser known boy groups would compete for the chance to receive a prize money worth ₩100 million and an opportunity to attend KCON as a musical guest. This season, Cravity came out as the overall winner. Did you watch Road To Kingdom this year? What were your thoughts on the overall results?
FRIDAY:
#1- There were more comeback updates at the end of the week! MAMAMOO's Hwasa and Baek Jiyoung will both be returning later this year. MAMAMOO's Hwasa will be dropping the LOGOS-produced single, 'Star' on the 14th of November, while Baek Ji-young will be making her return on the 2nd of December in order to commemorate her 25th anniversary since debut. Meanwhile, it was rumored that BLACKPINK's Jisoo would also be returning with new music before the end of the year. The idol's label, BLISOO later stepped out to deny the rumors. Sharing a statement saying that the rumors were "different from the truth". Are there any upcoming comebacks that you are looking forward to seeing soon?
#2- On Friday, we also had several legal updates come out. To start, the South Korean police have dropped all charges against Jessi related to the assault of a fan by one of her associates, Koala. Jessi's attorney shared with SBS that the soloist "expresses deep regret for the distress caused to the victim and is truly sorry for the incident" and that a member of her entourage, Koala would be indicted for prosecution. Moving on to our other major legal update. We have more updates to the never-ending legal saga that is Min Hee-jin and HYBE. On Friday, it was revealed by employees from the label — citing a HYBE security notice — that the recent HYBE leaks had been released by Min Hee-jin's faction within the label. Additionally, it was shared that the NewJean's creative director has had her house placed under a provisional seizure by the Korean courts. What are your thoughts on these developments?
SATURDAY:
#1- Beenzino & his wife, Stefanie Michova had some exciting news to share with us on Sunday. The couple revealed that they had recently welcomed their first child, a son named Rubin. We congratulate the couple on the cute new addition to their family!
SUNDAY:
#1- There were no relevant updates on Sunday.
BY POLARIS_TAE
#1. MINHO - CALL BACK
SHINee's Minho came back this week with 'Call Back' from the idol's 10-track solo LP of the same name. Which also happens to be the SHINee members' first official LP since his solo debut in 2022. The SHINee member opens his album with the album's lead single, 'Call Back' is a bass-heavy urban dance confession song that perfectly utilizes Minho's deep and energetic vocal tone. While the song itself tells the listener that being straightforward about your feelings is the only way to go. Now as we move on to the b-sides I found myself thoroughly enjoying several other tracks on CALL BACK. With several sleeper hits throughout the album's entirety. The album's second track, 'Slow Down' was one that I particularly enjoyed. The R&B pop release is an interesting piano-heavy release with fantastic vocal layering sprinkled with effects that, at some points, create an almost distortionate effect within the instrumental. Then there's the dance-pop guitar-heavy breakup track, 'Came and Left Me' which is likely one of my favourite tracks on the album. Additionally, the idol will be holding his first solo concert series in Seoul at the end of the year between November 30-December 1, an extension of the idol's fan concert: 2024 BEST CHOI's MINHO FAN-CON Multi-Chase held at the beginning of the year from January to May. Overall, it's a fantastic new release from Minho and we're looking forward to seeing more content from the idol in the future, we only hope that his next concert series will take place outside of Asia as well.
#2. VIVIZ - SHH!
VIVIZ made their return after a little over a year this week with their 5th mini-album, Voyage alongside its ultra-catchy lead single, 'Shh!' The trio, who following the disbandment of GFRIEND in 2021, made their debut in 2022 with 'Bop Bop' and have been consistently promoting together as a group since their formation as a unit. With this release, the trio has returned with a 5-track EP with four b-sides: 'Cliché', 'Full Moon', 'Hypnotize' & 'Love & Tears' to accompany their 'Shh!' title track. Two of which, 'Hypnotize' & 'Love & Tears' had music and lyrics penned by Viviz member Umji, while 'Hypnotize' was additionally composed by KISS OF LIFE's Belle. With their lead single, the group has further branched into a more mature sound than we witnessed during their time as members of GFriend — who are set to reunite as a full group for their 10th anniversary in 2025 — as they grow as artists and advance into their late 20s (yes, I feel old now). 'Shh!' similarly to their 2023 release, 'Untie' is a moody dance track that consists of a catchy hook to showcase their individual charms. Despite this, 'Shh!' still somehow managed to feel like the weakest track on the album. Now moving on to their b-sides, I found myself enjoying the over-the-top brass heavy trap anthem 'Cliche' & the bright and poppy Umji-composed b-side, 'Love & Tears'. Overall, Voyage was yet another solid release from the group and they've once again managed to make another album with zero skippable tracks!
#3. TRiDENT - HAHA!
TRiDENT is a Japanese three-member band formed in 2020 and signed to the Flying Dog Label. The band consists of three members: ASAKA, SERINA & NAGISA. ASAKA & SERINA were members of the band's precursor group, Girls Rock Band Kakumei. The group was formed alongside former members Lora & JUNNA, who were all members of the same light music club in high school. Meanwhile, NAGISA joined TRiDENT in 2020 as their new drummer. The group came back this week with a new single, 'Haha!' ahead of their 12-track LP, DUX that officially dropped on the 6th of November. With that said, let's move on to the content of this release! DUX consists of a total of 12 tracks including standout tracks like the anime OP-sounding 'KICKASS' with its chant-heavy and powerful vocals or 'iCON' through its unique composition that only serves to highlight the vocalist's stunning vocals. As for this week's promotional single, 'Haha!' is a classic J-rock release that any enjoyer of the genre is guaranteed to enjoy and works as another great addition to the group's already stellar discography.
BY POLARIS_TAE
#1. PLAVE's 2024 mini album, ASTERUM:134-1 became the groups' latest album to gain double platinum certification on the Korean Circle (Gaon) Chart. Congrats!
