Hello and welcome to another great edition of In Case You Missed It! This week, we saw comebacks from artists such as ANGERME, &TEAM, TripleS & more! We also have some comeback announcements from a slew of different artists, as well as numerous health-related updates throughout the week. Now, with all that said, let’s jump into another great In Case You Missed It update!
BY POLARIS_TAE
MONDAY
#1- There were no relevant updates on Monday.
TUESDAY:
#1- On Tuesday SM Entertainment shared that they had launched a new sub-label by the name of KRUCIALIZE. This label will focus on signing and developing RnB artists. This is SM Entertainment’s third official sub-label following SM Classics & ScreaM Records.
WEDNESDAY:
#1- We had various health-related updates throughout the week. On Wednesday, it was shared that KARA’s Nicole had sustained an injury to her chin during the filming of a Chinese variety. Later that same day, it was also reported that NewJeans’ Hyein will unfortunately be sitting out of upcoming NewJeans promotions due to her ongoing foot injury. Then on Thursday, Brave Entertainment shared that Yuina will be taking a break from Candy Shop group activities due to health reasons. In addition, the label shared that they would be recruiting a new member so that the group can continue as a four-members. Our last health-related update comes from Jung Yumi’s team. It was shared that the actress had been absent from the press conference for the film, “Wonderland” due to poor health conditions. We hope each of these celebrities is given adequate time in order to recover from their injuries and illnesses effectively.
#2- SHINee’s Taemin has just announced the new name of his fan club! This comes directly following his departure from SM Entertainment for Big Planet Made earlier this year. From this week onwards, fans of Taemin will now go by the title TAEMATES! What are your thoughts on the idol’s new fandom name? Do you like the new name, or are you mourning the fandom name that was Taemints?
#3- BoA shared her wealth this week after it was revealed that the soloist had donated 50 million KRW to the Seoul Asan Medical Center in order to celebrate the Children’s Day holiday in South Korea. We thank her for her overwhelming generosity.
THURSDAY:
#1- There were various comeback announcements over the past week! To start, BIG NAUGHTY, alongside Red Velvet’s Joy will be remaking the 2001 S#ARP single, “My Lips Like Warm Coffee” on the 15th of May. Then in June, we’ll see four new releases throughout the month! VICTON’s Han Seungwoo & TWICE’s Nayeon will be making their solo comebacks on the 5th & 14th of June respectively. Meanwhile, WayV & Kwon Eunbi will also be making their return in the month of June. Then on the 19th of July, Stray Kids will return with new music! But that’s not all! On Thursday SM Entertainment shared their release schedule for the 3rd quarter of 2024. Within this announcement, it was shared that we’ll be receiving a total of eight NCT-related releases, including solos from NCT127’s Jaehyun & Mark, as well as new releases from NCT Wish, 127, Dream & WayV. Also making their comeback will be RIIZE, Red Velvet, aespa & more. Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming releases?
FRIDAY:
#1- Following threats against IVE’s Jang Wonyoung, Starship has shared that they will be enlisting additional security for the protection of their artists and will be requesting a police investigation into the incident. What are your thoughts on this matter?
#2- Designated Survivor: 60 Days actor, Son Suk-ku will be joining Burberry as their newest brand ambassador. We congratulate the actor on the new opportunity!
#3- Byeon Woo-seok has stepped out to clarify dating rumours between the actor and South Korean model, Jeon Ji-su. His label shared that rather than being couple, the two were friends from University. Additionally, it was also shared by his label that Jeon Ji-su is currently in a relationship with a DJ. Do you think his label outing the models’ relationship status was a step too far?
#4- Our final update of the day concerns the well-known THE BLACK LABEL trainee, Annie Moon, who also happens to be the granddaughter of Samsung’s Chairman. It’s been reported that the trainee has reportedly dropped out of the running for the Teddy’s upcoming girl group. What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it’s for the best?
SATURDAY:
#1- Now we’re up to our final updates of the week. On Saturday it was shared that WJSN’s Dayoung had gained a license to operate a small excavator. Additionally, the idol is also the current global ambassador for HD Hyundai, a company under the Hyundai conglomerate that specializes in heavy machinery production, petroleum refinement and more. Were you surprised to hear about Dayoung’s new license?
SUNDAY:
#1- There were no relevant updates on Sunday.
BY POLARIS_TAE
#1. &TEAM – SAMIDARE
&TEAM is a global Jpop idol group formed through the HYBE audition program, &AUDITION -The Howling-. Which aired between July & September 2022. The group later made their debut as an 9-member group in December of that same year with First Howling: ME. The group made their return this week with a new single album, Samidare, alongside the title track of the same name. This is the groups’ first release since last November’s LP, First Howling: NOW & its accompanying title track, “War Cry”. In total, Samidare is a three-track release consisting of the aforementioned “Samidare” alongside its two b-sides, “Scar To Scar” & “Maybe”, the latter of which acted as their pre-release. Now moving onto the official releases of Samidare, I found myself enjoying all three tracks included in this release! “Samidare” was a solid choice for the title due to it’s anthem like feel that helped to showcase all each of their performance abilities, while also presenting a compelling story through its accompanying music video. “Scar To Scar” started out sounding like and NCT127-lite release with all of its EDM- & Hip-Hop influences, only to change it up in the chorus with its rock-influenced chord progression in order to make it an effective blend between the hip-hop & rock genres. Their final track on Samidare, “Maybe” is an emotional ballad that showcases the group members impressive vocals in a way that is often lost on the group’s title tracks. Overall, Samidare is a fantastic release whose b-sides are just as compelling as its title and we’ll be keeping an eye out for even more great &TEAM releases in the future as well!
#2. ANGERME – Beautiful Strike
The Hello! Project-associated idol group ANGERME recently made their return with “Beautiful Strike”. Their first release in five months following November’s “Life Is Beautiful” and the final release with outgoing 3rd gen member Rikako Sasaki who will make her graduation on the 19th of June at the finale of their 2024 Spring Concert Tour, Secret Secret in Yokohama. ANGERME initially made their debut in 2009 as S/mileage under Hello Pro Egg (the Hello! Project trainee/student-based system) as a four-member unit. The group would later graduate from the Hello Project Egg label in 2010 into felly fledged Hello! Project members. It wasn’t until 2014 that the group would change rebrand from S/mileage into ANGERME following the addition of a 3rd generation to the group. Now as for the group’s latest release, “Beautiful Strike” is a Yamazaki Aoi penned release. A Japanese singer-songwriter who has previously contributed towards the lyrics and composition of various ANGERME releases such as last year’s “RED LINE” & “Top!” Through the release of “Beautiful Strike” the members have brought us back to the nostalgic era of the 80s that has been commonly seen across other recent Hello! Pro releases such as Morning Musume ’23’s “Wake Up Call”. Overall, it’s a fantastic release that both showcases the members vocal and performance abilities, as well as acting as the perfect send-off track for Rikako Sasaki. What were your thoughts on this release, and will you be missing Rikako from ANGERME’s future releases?
#3. Vivid BAD SQUAD x Megurine Luka – Rekka (Inferno)
For a second week running, we have another ProjectSEKAI release. This time we’re looking at Vivid BAD SQUAD. Their latest release, “Inferno” — or “Rekka” / “烈火”— is a niki-produced release for the recent Whip the Wimp Girl!! event within the mobile game. It is also considered as Shiraishi An’s fifth focus song, with the other four being “Forward”, “Awake Now”, “Machi” & “Gekokujou”. Within the world of ProjectSEKAI, Vivid BAD SQUAD is a unit consisting of four street musicians with the goal of conquering the legendary music event, RAD WEEKEND. The 4-member permanent line-up consists of Shiraishi An, Azusawa Kohane, Shinonome Akito & Aoyagi Toya — voiced by Sumi Tomomi Jiena, Akina, Imai Fumiya & Itou Kent respectively — and, like other ProjectSEKAI units, are often accompanied by various VOCALOID artists throughout their discography. With “Rekka”, the group has joined hands with Megurine Luka in order to cement their status as the street-fashion-influenced group that we have come to know as Vivid BAD SQUAD! Now moving onto this week’s release and “Rekka” is an urban hip-hop hype song with EDM influences that effortlessly allows this release’s focus, Shiraishi An, to be the centre of attention! Overall, “Rekka” is a fantastic song that showcases how well the voices of each of the Vivid BAD SQUAD members effectively blend together, while also giving us another fantastic visual display through the release of the “Rekka” 2D mv.
BY POLARIS_TAE
#1- ILLIT had something to celebrate this week after it was revealed that their debut album, SUPER REAL ME had made its debut on the Billboard 200 at #93. Congrats!
BY POLARIS_TAE
For this week’s H+ Station Chart update, KISS OF LIFE took the #1 slot again with ‘Midas Touch’, while three new groups made their debut on the chart this week: ZEROBASEONE with “Sweat” (#8), Cravity with “C’est La Vie” (#9) & BOYNEXTDOOR with their latest release, “Earth, Wind & Fire” (#10). Meanwhile, LE SSERAFIM made their return to the chart at #7 with their hit follow-up release, “SMART”. Make sure to check out our chart to see where all of your favourite songs ranked!
The May Giveaway was posted this week! Make sure to interact with the post to try your hand at winning some orbs or +cards!
WordsHere are all of the awards that were added to our database this week. You can request them here!
Our Hallyu+ Press Team dropped some exclusive news related to EVNNE’s upcoming North American showcase, Ride with EVNNE! Make sure to check it out if you’re interested in seeing EVNNE in the near future!
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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 suprised you? 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 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. Additionally, our press team is seeking submissions for our new self-producing musicians playlist here! So make sure to add your submission before the deadline (June 14). 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 Hyein (NewJeans), Aoyagi Toya (Vivid BAD SQUAD), Sasaki Rikako (ANGERME), Fuma (&TEAM) & Moka (ILLIT)
