Hello and welcome to another great edition of In Case You Missed It! This week, we saw new releases from artists such as IVE, Fantasy Boys, Leo/need and more! We also saw updates related to the second season of “Road To Kingdom”, plus a few comeback announcements. Thankfully, the Min Heejin x HYBE scandal seems to have quieted down over the past week. But with an ADOR board meeting set for the 10th of May, we can expect to receive some updates soon! Now, with that said, let’s jump into In Case You Missed It for another week!
BY POLARIS_TAE
MONDAY
#1- The Min Heejin x HYBE news continued well into the week. The subsidiary shared that they would not be convening a board of directors meeting on the 30th of May despite HYBE — ADOR’s major shareholder — requesting that the label hold one. As a result, it was shared that HYBE had pre-emptively filed a civil complaint against ADOR & scheduled a court hearing on the 30th of April to force an extraordinary shareholders meeting. The extraordinary shareholders meeting — as well as the upcoming board meeting — is required within 15 days of the initial court hearing. Then on Thursday, BigHit had an update in relation to the legal proceedings against the violation of the rights of HYBE’s cash cow, BTS. The label shared that they had identified and compiled several posts related to the dissemination of false information and defamation against BTS. This reportedly includes posts that have since been deleted. The company also shared that they plan on moving forward with legal proceedings against anyone caught spreading false or libellous information against the artist. Stating that they offer a zero-tolerance policy with no leniency or settlement opportunities throughout the legal proceedings. To finish, the label apologised to A.R.M.Y members who may have been upset during the targeted hate over the past week. What are your thoughts on these developments?
TUESDAY:
#1- We had a few relationship and pregnancy announcements this week! US-born Korean soloist NS Yoon-G shared that were expecting! The soloist, who married her non-celebrity husband, Choi Woo-sung in 2021 is currently 30 weeks into her pregnancy. Then on Friday, soloist Anda (AKA Andamiro) announced that she had gotten married in 2023 and is currently expecting a child with her husband. We congratulate the expectant parents-to-be!
WEDNESDAY:
#1- The second iteration of “Road To Kingdom” has officially shared its upcoming lineup! The six participants for this season are set to include: ATBO, 8TURN, Cravity, THE NEW SIX (TNX), YOUNITE & Xikers. What are your expectations for this season of “Road To Kingdom”, and what are your thoughts on the fairness of this season? Are you expecting Cravity to overshadow the other contestants? Or do you think we’ll eventually see a surprise winner?
#2- Yuki Kashiwagi finally said goodbye as a member of AKB48 this week following her graduation ceremony on the 30th of April. The idol has been an official member of AKB48 for almost two decades. We wish her the best of luck in her future endeavours!
THURSDAY:
#1- VIVIZ had some exciting news to share this week! It’s been revealed that the girl group will kick off their first world tour, “V.hind: Love and Tears” on the 1st of June in Seoul, South Korea. The group is yet to announce additional dates for their upcoming tour, but we’re expecting to hear an update from them soon. Are you excited to see VIVIZ in concert?
FRIDAY:
#1- We had a series of comeback and debut announcements this week! On Tuesday it was shared that LOONA’s Yves was preparing to make her solo debut later this month in May. Then in June, two artists will be making their comebacks! Sunmi will be making her comeback with a self-written release in June, while TWS will be dropping their first-ever comeback that same month. Then in Summer, NMIXX are expected to make their comeback with new music! Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming releases?
#2- TWICE’s Dahyun will be making her acting debut in an upcoming feature film. JYP Entertainment has shared that the TWICE member will be joining the cast of the independent feature film, “Sprint”. Are you looking forward to seeing Dahyun as an actress?
SATURDAY:
#1- There were no relevant updates on Saturday.
SUNDAY:
#1- There were no relevant updates on Sunday.
BY POLARIS_TAE
#1. Doh Kyungsoo – Popcorn
Exo’s D.O dropped “Popcorn” this week! A pre-release single for his upcoming album, Blossom. This release is also the idol’s first comeback following the establishment of his new company, COMPANYSOOSOO, which will be in charge of D.O’s solo activities outside of Exo and his first solo release since last year’s sleeper hit, “Somebody”. The Exo member has chosen to go by his birth name, Doh Kyung-soo — rather than the more commonly associated stage name, D.O — for this release. Perhaps in an effort to distinguish himself from his previously released solo content under SM Entertainment, or maybe even trying to keep the D.O persona under SM Entertainment instead? The idol has promoted previously under his birth name before, though mainly for his solo acting career. So this is a first for him! Now moving on to the pre-release, Exo’s D.O is often known to present a music style somewhere between the coffee house and easy listening genres. However, for this release, the idol has instead chosen to go all out by blessing us with the bright and upbeat pop-centric masterpiece that is “Popcorn”! As for the song itself, it describes the heart-fluttering feelings of love. This can be seen through the lyrics that describe the idol as becoming utterly blind and oblivious to the happenings of wider society in the face of love. This can be seen throughout the popcorn-filled music video as well. Overall, it’s a fantastic release, and I’m eagerly awaiting the release of Blossom to see if his title track can top this masterpiece!
#2. IVE – Heya
IVE made their return this week with IVE Switch, their first release since 2023’s triple-title track EP, Baddie as well as their first comeback of 2024. For this comeback, the group has decided to return with dual title tracks, “HEYA” — whose music video was officially launched alongside the release of IVE Switch — and “Accendio” a synth-focused 808 bass-filled track that has yet to receive a music video. Now moving on to the focus of today’s review and “HEYA” is a largely urban hip-hop-inspired release whose lyrics reportedly work to reconstruct the classic Korean tale of The Tiger Who Loved the Sun. Unlike last year’s Baddie EP, whose eponymous single ended up being probably the weakest single of that release — especially compared to my personal favourite “Off The Record” — I feel like the exact opposite has happened through the release of “HEYA”. The repetitive and chanting hook helped to establish the already addictive quality that the group presents throughout the entirety of “HEYA”. Overall, the 6-track EP that is IVE Switch is an eclectic mix, ranging from the great, Jang Wonyoung-penned “Blue Heart” & hip-hop-influenced “HEYA” to the slightly less than satisfactory all-over-the-place sounding “Ice Queen”. Nevertheless, it’s a solid release, and I’m interested in seeing whether the group will continue the hip-hop-focused musical direction that was established both through this release, as well as their 2023 hit, “Baddie”.
#3. Leo/Need – On The Verge
We have a new Vocaloid-related feature this week with Leo/need’s “On The Verge” from the Hatsune Miku-associated mobile game, Project SEKAI. “On The Verge” — or “Suresure” / “すれすれ” — is a Scop-commissioned release for the Parallel Harmonies event within the Project SEKAI mobile game. It also acts as Tenma Saki’s fifth focus song, with the other four being: JIN’s “Stella”, Natsushiro Takaaki and Takuya Watanabe’s “From Tokyo”, KurageP’s “Shimmering” & Yairi’s “Growing Up Together”. Leo/need — similarly to our previously covered Project SEKAI unit, WONDERLANDSxSHOWTIME — is a fictional group based within the world of Project SEKAI. However, unlike WONDERLANDSxSHOWTIME’s background — as part-time actors based at the Wonder Stage at Phoenix Wonderland — Leo/need are instead childhood friends seeking to rekindle their relationship through the formation of the band. Like our last two Project SEKAI-related releases, this release has once again acted as a collaboration between the virtual singers of Leo/need — Tenma Saki, Hoshino Ichika, Mochizuki Hanami & Hinomori Shiho, voiced by Isobe Karin, Noguchi Ruriko, Ueda Reina & Nakashima Yuki respectively — and the “Project Daisy” Vocaloid singer, MEIKO. Now let’s move on to the song, “On The Verge” is a stunning pop-ballad that tells a sweet but tragic story of heartbreak. Through this release, we can witness the heartbreak and regret to the fullest extent through both the stunning vocals and its accompanying 2D music video (produced by Yoruji of STUDIO KAIBA). However, it’s unclear whether the broken-down relationship within the song was romantic or not. Overall, it’s a fantastic release throughout both the visuals and vocal department in order to effectively showcase Leo/need’s skills as a group! What did you think of this release?
#4. Fantasy Boys – Pitter-Patter-Love
Fantasy Boys made their comeback this week with “Pitter-Pat-Love”, the lead single from their 3rd EP, MAKE SUNSHINE. This release marks the group’s first 2024 release and their first album-based release since last November’s Potential. K Soul is still sadly absent from group promotions again following the announcement by the group’s label last September that he would be sitting out of schedules so that he could return to China to take care of his ailing relatives. His father has since passed away from a currently undisclosed illness, but he has remained in China to take care of his grandmother and therefore was unable to take part in this comeback as well. For this release, the boy group has done a complete 180 in terms of concepts. Switching from the darker tone of last year’s “Potential” into the upbeat and summery feel of “Pitter-Patter-Love”. A song about struggling to come to terms with their feelings about a first love. Other than “Pitter-Patter-Love”, their MAKE SUNSHINE EP has blessed us with two additional b-sides: the equally bright bubblegum-pop-sounding “Make Sunshine” & the Hikaru-produced EDM masterpiece, “Feeling”. Overall, it’s a great new addition to the already stellar discography that Fantasy Boys has begun to craft for themselves. Overall, I found myself enjoying “Feeling” the most out of the three tracks, with “Pitter-Patter-Love” trailing closely behind. Are you a Fantasy Boys enjoyer? And if so, which concept do you find yourself gravitating towards? The upbeat “Pitter-Pat-Love” style, or a darker concept like last year’s “Potential”?
BY POLARIS_TAE
#1- There were no relevant charts updates this week.
BY POLARIS_TAE
Nominations for the May (2024) edition of User of the Month officially opened this week! The User of the Month for May has since been picked, so make sure to come back next week to learn just what lucky user was crowned for May!
For this week’s H+ Station Chart update, KISS OF LIFE took the #1 slot with ‘Midas Touch’, while ILLIT & RIIZE made their debuts on the chart with “Lucky Girl Syndrome” (#3) & “Impossible” (#5) respectively. Meanwhile, LE SSERAFIM’s 2024 hit, “EASY” returned to the chart this week at #6. Make sure to check out our chart to see where all of your favourite songs ranked!
The social media team will be back with a brand new playlist very soon! This time, we’ll be celebrating ‘Make Music Day’ in June with the theme of self-producing musicians and idols! As always, we’ll be doing a very special giveaway for users who have their songs chosen for our playlist. But that’s not all! We’ll also be giving away a +card pack to one special user who submits a song to us (either via DM to @polaris_tae or via the Google form) before the deadline (June 14, 2024). So make sure to submit your song if you’d like to go in the running to win any of these potential prizes!
Our Social Media team member chococo dropped an exciting interview this week. This time, we had the chance to sit down with the K-indie artist Luli Lee. In this interview, the artist discussed various topics, such as her favourite Western artists, what inspired her to pursue a career in music and more!
We also shared various interview announcements throughout the week! In the coming weeks we’ll be sitting down with three artists: the first open LGBT+ Kpop band, LIONESSES will be talking to us just in time for Pride Month, while we’ll also be finding out more about the former Girls Day member, Jang Hyeri & Dal Shabet’s Serri. Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming interviews, make sure to submit all of your questions for the artists before the dealing in their respective threads!
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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! Was there anything in particular that interested you this week? What about comebacks? Did you listen to any of the featured releases, and if so, which one was your favourite? As always, our staff teams — Social Media – Press, Blog Team & Awards — are currently on the lookout for new team members to join our teams. 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 on the lookout 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. 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 @bibbidi
FEATURED ARTISTS D.O, Tenma Saki, Seungkwan (Seventeen), Leeseo (IVE) & Hikari (Fantasy Boys)
