When I'm in school, I have this internal clock that's connected to all my neural activities and emotion levels. Mondays feel like Mondays, hump days feel like hump days, Sundays feel like Sundays, so on and so forth. Accordingly, my emotions are crafted to tailor exclusively to each day of the week - for instance, Mondays (pmsing), Tuesdays (mild pmsing, but pmsing nonetheless), hump days...
...Thursdays (thirsty, anyone?), and finally, my dearly beloved Fridays: 
Understood, mother.
Anyways, my feel for the week is a masterfully disciplined art. But every summertime, a wave of amnesia hits and my internal schedule disappears - each day of the week blurs together and feels the same. Lost is my sense of time and here are the days of waking up every morning wondering how I got there and what month we're in.
And that's exactly how it was in terms of K-pop this week. There were some new MV releases, a couple of headliners, and a slew of brow-raising events that had us doing a double-take.
We'll get the elephant in the room out of the way first:
AHREUM LEAVING T-ARA FOR SOLO DEBUT
After joining T-ara as the 8th member last July, Ahreum has confirmed she'll be leaving T-ara to pursue a solo career. She posted a video to T-ara's official fan cafe thanking fans for showing her so much love during her promotions with T-ara N4. Core Contents Media has mentioned that Ahreum's solo career would allow her to more freely focus on hip hop, as well as possible acting gigs somewhere down the line.
With Ahreum leaving both T-ara and T-ara N4, Dani will be taking her place in the latter "Countryside Life" subunit and she won't be joining the actual group.
My two cents? Dani:
Why bury your career before it even takes off? T-ara hasn't been so stellar when it comes down to popular support in Korea. A Negative article on T-ara will receive thousands of likes on Korean news portal Nate while a Positive article will receive thousands of dislikes. Just recently, they went off to the States with Chris Brown (gross) to perform at some beer-fest poolside party. Ever since the Hwayoung bullying incident, CCM hasn't been handling T-ara's activities with the greatest of judgement. It's not classy anymore, and it sure as hell isn't something that recycling members is going to fix.
Now for the MV releases for this week:
2NE1 RELEASES MUSIC VIDEO FOR "FALLING IN LOVE"!
After a year away from the K-pop stratosphere, the fearsome foursome has returned to shake things up. Admittedly, the song staggers off course from 2NE1's trademark swagger and spikes, but I'm not complaining - the airiness is a nice change of pace.
But because I'm not one to gloss over my thought processes with daisies, teddy bears and unicorns, let me just say... CL, Minzy, and Dara look phenomenal in the MV. Bom, too... but from really, really far away. Don't get me wrong, I've loved her from the very beginning. And just until 2NE1's 'I Love You' promotions, I thought her face was the perfect amount of plastic (say what). It was just right, you know? *Le sigh* You were beautiful the way you were.
AILEE MAKES AN EYE-CATCHING RETURN WITH "U&I" MV + 'A's DOLL HOUSE' MINI ALBUM
Solo artist Ailee has been doing exceptionally well since her debut. It might be her powerhouse vocals or her wholesome looks - whatever it is, it's working. Her new 'U&I' MV conveys her as a super glamorous diva whilst showcasing a stronger dance set. I'm sure we can look forward to watching her grow as a performer.
And now for a couple of first-timers...
DYNAMIC DUO WIN THEIR FIRST EVER MUSIC SHOW ON 'SHOW CHAMPION'!
Choiza and Gaeko of Dynamic Duo have snagged their first trophy on a music show with their new track, "BAAAM"! The duo won the 'Show Champion' trophy on the July 10 episode, and they've been faring well on all the music show broadcasts with their new release. The win must have been particularly emotional, given it was their first time winning on a music show a whopping 14 years after they started out.
GIRL'S DAY WIN THEIR FIRST EVER MUSIC SHOW ON CANCELED JULY 7 'INKIGAYO'
After the catastrophic Asiana Airlines crash, the July 7 episode of SBS' 'Inkigayo' was canceled. Given such circumstances, the Girl's Day members were belatedly told about their win for the week. After all the tallies had been taken into account on the Weekly Chart points, it turns out they beat SISTAR's "Give It To Me" and Lee Seung Chul's "My Love" for the episode.
My sincerest congratulations goes out to these two groups.
Which brings me to a couple of random, sizable news bits:
EXO SELL 380,000 ALBUMS AND TAKE OVER TOP 2 SPOTS ON THE GAON MONTHY CHART FOR JUNE
For a rookie group, EXO isn't too shabby when it comes to album sales. The Korean and Chinese versions of the boys' firs studio album 'XOXO' sold 378,956 copies, which is the highest monthly total on Gaon for 2013. Quite impressive I must say.
EUNHYUK SPEAKS UP ABOUT ZHOUMI AND HENRY DURING THE SINGAPORE 'SUPER SHOW 5' SHOW
The boys of Super Junior have been busy traveling around the world for their 'Super Show 5' world tour, but lately they've been leaving a few fans disgruntled. Some ELF have been voicing their discontent with the fact that Zhoumi and Henry (members of Super Junior-M but not Super Junior) have been performing on some of the stages of 'Super Show 5' as they're caught up in the notion of 'ONLY 13'. Some have gone so far as to petition against their participation on concerts. An equally disgruntled Eunhyuk took it upon himself to address the crowd during a concert in Singapore, explaining that though Zhoumi and Henry did not participate in Super Junior albums, they're still considered part of the family, and so Super Junior members thought it would be fun to bring them on the stages while the members were interacting with the crowd.
Wait a moment - first let me address the fact that some fans have taken to drafting petitions against Zhoumi and Henry performing alongside the Super Junior members. I ask this because I'm earnestly curious... but who the hell has the time for that?
Preach it, Sweet Brown.
And I applaud the way Eunhyuk handled the negative energy. It was done in a way that was simultaneously confrontational and harmless. Nicely played by the veteran entertainer.
Now speaking of people who have way too much time on their hands...
16-YEAR-OLD WHO PHOTOSHOPPED SUZY AND J.Y. PARK ONTO A SEXUAL PHOTO ARRESTED BY POLICE
A 16-year-old who photoshopped Suzy and J.Y. Park onto a sexual image has been arrested by the police. The photo was uploaded onto the controversial Ilgan Best community back in December 24, along with a photoshopped image of former president Roh Moo Hyun. The image shows the former president telling Suzy, "Turn into a cat", and hypnotizes her. In the photo, she turns into a cat and performs sexual acts with J.Y. Park.
Seriously - how old are you? And what do you get out of doing this?
RAIN IS OFFICIALLY DISCHARGED FROM THE MILITARY
Rain was officially discharged from the military on July 10. He appeared before the crowd - which included 100 reporters and 800 fans - in his military attire and gave his final salute. As his reps had mentioned beforehand, the singer didn't waste time with a drawn out event, and got straight to the point as he stated, "I thank all of you for coming out to see me. I am always thankful and I will continue to do my best."
Rain will be starting anew with Cube Entertainment and I wish him a lot of luck. He has some image repairing to do.
What a romantic beginning to a happily ever after for these newlyweds - exactly what we look for in our own weddings. Han Hye Jin recently closed her mini-homepage after hate comments flooded her page regarding the controversy surrounding Ki Sung Yong's personal Facebook page.
The backlash traces back to the discoveries on his personal Facebook which featured posts that spoke ill of former soccer coach Choi Kang Hee. Ki Sung Yong later apologized through his agency and took down all his posts, but he resumed his activities on the page after a few days, leading netizens to believe he was not very sincere.
Netizens commented with things like, "Teach your young groom well", [Ki Sung Yong] must not know his limits since he married a much older woman" on Han Hye Jin's mini-homepage, leaving her with no choice but to close down her page.
Nevertheless, I have no doubt in my mind these flames are going to die down soon. People don't tend to have extensive attention spans, you see. What, Se7en was spotted where?
The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KOCSC) has given an official note of firm 'advice' to SBS' 'Inkigayo' for allowing CL to wear a 'swimsuit' outfit for her "The Baddest Female" stage.
SBS' Kim Yong Kwon PD explained that they should have regulated it more efficiently, but that they were told by those at their office [YG Entertainment] that they put in a lot of effort to her outfit, basically implying that the broadcast station shouldn't tamper with the choice. Kim Yong Kwon explained that "...when an agency is too strong, there's a limit to how much we can say. Depending on the situation, the production staff can either be the one in power or the one without the power."
At the end of the day you control what broadcasts on your show. You're crossing a dangerous line if you have entertainment companies dictating what they want broadcasted.
HaHa AND BYUL WELCOME THEIR NEWBORN SON INTO THE WORLD!
On a lighter note, HaHa and Byul have welcomed their newborn son, 'Dream', into the world on July 9. The new father shared the happy news on his Twitter with a series of ecstatic posts:
"2013.7.9 8:15 am. God's Dream,,, Right now,, Dream is laughing while looking at me~^^ I became a father!! My good son, Dream, who was born a week prior to his expected due date! This Tuesday was made possible by God's blessing~ I also had no schedule today due to cancellation! I am really thankful to God who has such amazing sense~"
"Glory to God the father~ I love you!! And more than anything else,,, My wife Go Eun,, The tiny baby is crying so much,, You don't know how much I was brought to tears by her courage,, Go Eun ah,, Thank you,, I love you,,"
Congratulations to the new parents! May you embark on this journey of diapers, uncalled for angst and a crap load of attitude with composure and sanity. Cheers!
That was a pretty interesting week, let's hope that next week can top it!
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