Hello Hallyuplussers and welcome to In Case You Missed It for another week! Throughout the past week, we saw comeback announcements from various artists such as K.will, Epik High, H1-KEY & more, while also witnessing the conclusion of Min Hee-jin’s injunction against HYBE’s motion to terminate her as the CEO of its sub-label, ADOR. We also saw various comebacks from LOONA’s Yves, ARTMS & Kenshi Yonezu. With all that said, let’s jump into another week’s worth of updates!
BY POLARIS_TAE
MONDAY
#1- There were various comeback announcements this week! Four artists — H1-KEY, Epik High, K.will & WOOAH — announced their intentions to come back in June! WOOAH will be dropping their new mini-album, UNFRAMED on the 17th of June, while H1-KEY & Epik High are set to make their return on the 19th & 20th respectively. K.will will also be making his return in June, however the exact comeback date is yet to be disclosed. Additionally, it’s been shared that the stars of the singer’s 2012 ‘Please Don’t…’ hit single, Ahn Jae-hyun & Seo Inguk will be returning to star in the singer’s upcoming music video as well! Then in August, fromis_9 will be making their return with brand new music. This will be the groups’ first release in over a year. Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming releases?
TUESDAY:
#1- We learned of another interesting celebrity relation this week! On Tuesday, it was discovered that the father of WJSN’s Soobin is currently the director of SM C&C. Additionally, it was revealed that he was a former manager of Kang Ho-dong. The idol reportedly divulged this information at the most recent episode of TV CHOSUN’s ‘아빠하고 나하고’.
#2- On Tuesday Soyou had shared that she had accidentally scratched her cornea due to a torn contact lens. We hope she recovers soon.
#3- The Yonsei University festival, AKARAKA shared on Tuesday that Jang Gyuri, Han Jihyun & Han Suah had each been appointed as honorary cheerleaders of the University festival. We congratulate them each on the exciting opportunity!
WEDNESDAY:
#1- f(x)’s Krystal had some exciting news to share with us this week! The idol-actress will be making a special apperance in an upcoming episode of the tvN drama, ‘Player 2: Master of Swindlers’. Are you looking forward to seeing her on TV again, and if you’ve been watching the show, then what are your thoughts so far?
THURSDAY:
#1- On Thursday, WAKEONE & Swing Entertainment stepped out to share that Kep1er would be continuing on as a seven-member group following a successful contract re-negotiation with seven of the groups’ nine members. Meanwhile, Yeseo & Mashiro will end their activities with Kep1er following the conclusion of Kep1 Going On promotions. The pair are expected to join the 143 Entertainment girl group LIMELIGHT once they conclude their activities with Kep1er. We had a few more contract updates this week! On Wednesday, former ALICE (ELRIS) member Yeonje renewed her contract with IOK Company and will continue her career as an actress with the label. Meanwhile, three former AOMG artists — Gray, Code Kunst & Woo Wonjae — have officially established a new agency. The label, officially titled duover (do-over) will have all three artists in the positions as co-CEO.
#2- On Thursday, in what seemed like an unexpected precedent, it was shared that Min Hee-jin had officially succeeded in her injunction against HYBE. This injunction was filed in order to stop the conglomerate from exercising its voting rights to terminate Min from her position as CEO of ADOR. Additionally, the court has set her termination costs at 20 million KRW should they violate this ruling. Later that same day, HYBE shared that they would comply to the ruling of the injunction.
FRIDAY:
#1- Two HYBE artists continued to share their generosity this week. NewJeans will be donating the profits from upcoming university festivals. It has not been, however, shared which charities the artist will be donating to. BTS’ Jimin donated 100 million KRW (~73K USD) towards supporting low-income students in the Gyeongnam area. A representative from the Provincial Office of Education stated that while Jimin grew up in Busan and has no connection to the area of Gyeongnam, they are aware that he made this donation “with pure intentions for students in the province.” The scholarship will be shared with students through the Gyeongsangnam-do Future Education Foundation. An organisation that is funded through the district’s Provincial Office of Education.
SATURDAY:
#1- On Saturday EXID’s Hani shared via Instagram that she would be getting married to her boyfriend of two years. This comes directly following Friday’s reports that she would be tying the knot. We congratulate the idol on her upcoming nuptials!
SUNDAY:
#1- There were no relevant updates on Sunday.
BY POLARIS_TAE
#1. Kenshi Yonezu – Mainichi
Japanese soloist Kenshi Yonezu made his return on the 29th of May with the music video for his brand new single, ‘Mainichi’ — or ‘Everyday’ — which is also set to act as the CM song for the Coca-Cola Japan ‘Georgia’ coffee beverage. It’s been two months since the soloist’s last release with ‘Sayonara Mata Itsuka’, and ‘Mainichi’ shows that he has not at all been slacking! Throughout the past few years, the singer-songwriter has been picking up a substantial amount of high-profile collaborative projects. Such as his commissioned release, ‘Spinning Globe’ for Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Boy and the Heron’, or even the smash hit OP, ‘Kickback’ from the 2022 MAPPA anime ‘Chainsaw Man’. These days, the soloist seems to be much more focused on releasing constant singles throughout the year, instead of sitting down to pump out another full-length album. The last of which, Stray Sheep, was released all the way back in 2020. This can be seen from his consistent release schedule throughout the past few years with singles such as ‘Kickback’, ‘Tsuki wo Miteita’, ‘Spinning Globe’, ‘Mainichi’ and more! The soloist’s latest release, ‘Mainichi’ plays much like ‘Campanella’ from his 2020 LP, Stray Sheep. It plays to the singer’s strengths as a vocalist, while also mixing various interesting elements to create an interesting and intricate backtrack for us to appreciate. Additionally, the upbeat tone that can be seen in last year’s ‘LADY’ can also be witnessed in ‘Mainichi’. Displaying a happy-go-lucky delivery, while also taking aim at today’s culture of stagnation. These elements, when combined with the genius one-shot direction of its accompanying music video make for yet another stunning release from Kenshi Yonezu. Did you enjoy ‘Mainichi’ just as much as we did?
#2. Yves – Loop
Our first Loona-associated release this week concerns Loona’s Yves, who made her official solo debut this week with ‘Loop’ a punchy synth-filled EDM release with a distinctive rap featuring by Lil Cherry. Following the idols’ departure from Blockberry Creative in 2023 — after a series of gross mismanagement of not just her, but the group itsel — Yves signed a contract with PAIX PER MIL in early 2024 in preparation for her solo debut. This week, she dropped her first official solo release since her 2017 pre-debut single album Yves. Following Loona’s various legal challenges against Blockberry Creative, in which every single member of the group — sans Chuu, who had already been forcibly removed from the group — filed an injunction with the label in order to leave the label and gain their independence, Yves has chosen to forgo joining one of the Loona-associated spin-off groups and try her luck at a solo career instead. Which was, in my opinion, probably the best choice for her. As it allows the idol to stand out and showcase her vocal abilities in a way that she was simply unable to during her time as a member of such a large group that Loona was.
Now moving on to the LOOP EP and, alongside the aforementioned title-track, ‘Loop’, this EP contains three more releases: ‘DIORAMA’, ‘Afterglow’ & ‘Goldfish’ for a total of four distinct tracks. ‘Afterglow’ & ‘Goldfish’ in particular were great additions to this release. ‘Afterglow’ was an electric guitar-dominated track that perfectly displayed the idol’s vocal strengths to the fullest alongside a nostalgic sound. Meanwhile, ‘Goldfish’ was on the other side of the spectrum. It had a magical acoustic feel that was perfectly paired with Yves soft vocals and an earworm of a hook acts as the perfect outro to LOOP. Overall, it’s a great release and we’re looking forward to more solo content from Yves in the future as well!
#3. ARTMS – Virtual Angel
Our second Loona-associated release of the week is ARTMS’s ‘Virtual Angel’. The Loona-spin-off group consisting of JinSoul, HaSeoul, Kim Lip, Choerry & Heejin made their debut on the 31st of May with their 1st LP, Dall alongside the epilepsy-inducing music video for ‘Virtual Angel’. Similarly to Yves, the ARTMS members left Blockberry Creative following a series of events that included the forced removal of Chuu from Loona, a successful boycott completed by the groups’ fans, and general mismanagement of the group. Their official debut album consists of a total of 11 tracks including the group’s four pre-release tracks: ‘Birth’, ‘Air’, ‘Flower Rhythm’ & ‘Candy Crush’ alongside the EL CAPITXN/Vendors-produced lead single, ‘Virtual Angel’. The single, with lyrics penned by former LOONA creative director — and current MODHAUS CEO — Jaden Jeong poses a question to us: what if the collective identity of idols that we regularly consume across sns via television or smartphone screens were virtual all along. Within the single, we also see them question the supposed parasocial relationship between fans and their idols. Declaring that, from an outside perspective, these emotions that we display towards our idols may not constitute as a true relationship, but between fans and their idols, the relationship was genuine love all along. As for Dall’s b-sides, I found myself enjoying the mystical trap-based ‘Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’, the Japanese city-pop inspired ‘Candy Crush’ & the laid-back and dreamy ‘Unf/Air’. What were your thoughts on ARTMS’s first release as a unit?
BY POLARIS_TAE
#1- #1. There were no relevant charts or achievements throughout the week.
BY POLARIS_TAE
For this week’s H+ Station Chart update, KISS OF LIFE took the #1 slot for the 6th week in a row with ‘Midas Touch’, while aespa & IVE’s ‘Supernova’ & ‘Accendio’ made their debuts on the chart at #3 & #4 respectively. Meanwhile, Cravity returned to the chart at #7 with ‘C’est La Vie’. Make sure to check out our chart to see where all of your favourite songs ranked!
Here are all the awards that were added to the system this week! You can request them here (don’t forget to follow the instructions in the OP)!
Additionally, our team recently added some new cute “Soft Pals” purchasable badges via the shop in the Purchasable Badges category for 20K +coins. After purchasing the badge(s) that you wish to own, make sure to also request the matching badge(s) through the Awards System here!
Our Social Media Team had a few updates to share throughout the week!
There were two new interview announcements for the male idol group PATTERN & Korean Math-rock group Cotoba.
chococo also shared two artist interview with DIA’s Eunice & the Korean band & Great Seoul Invasion participant, W24.
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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: Blog Team, Translations, Awards & Social Media Team – Press Division. As always, our full list of recruitments can be found in the General Staff Recruitment thread.
This brings us to the end of In Case You Missed It for another week! Were there any updates that surprised you? Or stories that you were unaware of prior to reading? What about this week’s comebacks? Did you discover any new artists, either through this article or via the forum, that you’ve been enjoying lately? As always, our staff teams — Social Media (Press), Blog Team & Awards — are currently looking for new team members to join our staff. So if any of these positions interest you, then feel free to apply through the linked recruitments above. Our In Case You Missed It team is still searching for a dedicated Kpop music reviewer. So why not consider pitching in? If you’re not aware, we are active on both Twitter — now known as x.com — and Instagram, so feel free to follow us there for more fantastic updates! We’re still accepting feature and promo requests via our feature thread here. Additionally, our press team is seeking submissions for our new self-producing musicians playlist here! So make sure to add your submission soon! Let us know what you enjoyed the most this week in the comments below, and we’ll see you again next week for another great update!
GFX BY @yerm
FEATURED ARTISTS Choerry (ARTMS), Kenshi Yonezu, Yves, Jimin, Min Heejin
