This week has been everything BUT boring in the K-Popverse. From huge comebacks lining up at the door to couple formations blowing people's minds, K-Pop news has been pretty overwhelming these past couple of days.
Re-introducing an allkpop feature 'Weekly Recap,' where we aim to update those with busy schedules with some of the most interesting news pieces of the week in one article, featuring some side-commentary from me, an allkpop writer, but more importantly, a fellow K-Pop fan.
So, K-Pop fans. Let's review all the craziness that has happened this week and digest the info together. Leggo.
SEE ALSO: Winners from the 1st 'TikTok Awards Korea'!
SPICA Jiwon's name randomly brought up in DUI incident?
Back on March 21, a drunk idiot identified as Yeon caused a five-car crash when he drove his Audi R8 into a taxi and started a chain reaction. The attention weirdly shifted from the driver, however, to that of his girlfriend who was reportedly just as drunk in the passenger seat as witnesses and the driver himself claimed she was a famous girl group member. Yeon asked the police to keep his girlfriend's name a secret, before dropping the fact that her name had the letter 'J' in it. Um...
Bruh. I don't think you really know how secrets work....
Anyways, the press ended up using a blurred picture of SPICA's Jiwon as Yeon's alleged female idol girlfriend aaaand of course, Jiwon had issue with that, especially when it turned out that the whole "female idol girlfriend" part of the incident turned out to be a misreport.
Police said: "It is a false report. She was not in a girl group. The passenger must have looked a bit pretty, so somebody mentioned a girl group and it became an incorrect report. She is not in a girl group, a celebrity, or anything. She's an ordinary citizen."
What? So... what was that about the boyfriend claiming she was a girl group member? And what possessed 'channel A'--the news outlet that originally reported this incident--to think it's okay to use Jiwon's picture? Is this just a gross misreport or is something else going on? I just can't fathom how this happened. Like. What?!
The Big 3 are coming back!
Looking through the news through this past week, I came to the slow-as-a-tortoise realization that the big three companies are unleashing their Pokemon artists back onto the stage!
JYP: miss A
Soooo I've been pretty pumped for miss A. I need more of their silky voices in ma life after the awesomeness that was "Hush."
Buuut to be honest, I can't say I'm not very comfortable with what I'm seeing so far, at least from that MV teaser. Now before you wave your banners that read, "PAKMAN IS A SLUT-SHAMER," let me clarify that I'm not against girls showing skin. Show all the skin you want, it's your body. Run around butt naked for all I care. It's just that I hate Peeping Tom concepts. Boys will be boys and try to spy on undressed girls, but I really prefer not to encourage that behavior ever, even in an innocent MV teaser. It may be hot for guys, but it's really creepy for me. Sorry. Still excited for miss A's "Only You" comeback nonetheless.
YG: "Who's Next?" Uhh IDK, CAN YOU JUST TELL ME?
Ever the troll, YG loves to keep us guessing. Most recently, they updated their website with a digital time bomb that counts down to April 1, the same day as April Fool's. Coincidence? I think not. Whether YG actually gives us a real comeback or not, I'm sure YG will manage to blow our minds one way or another.
Some are guessing that it may be hip hop legends Jinusean who will be making their comeback as multiple insiders state that they'll be returning sometime mid-April. And you know what? I ain't falling for that. No disrespect to Jinusean at all, but who knows how YG's mind works?! Maybe this is just YG's way of distracting us from the actual artist coming out. I see through you YG, I SEE THROUGH YOU.
SM: EXO and Girls' Generation
Speaking of guessing games, SM has stepped up their teaser game for EXO's "Call Me Baby" comeback. Not only are the video teasers of cinematic, top-notch quality--as if they were movie trailers--SM is making fans work for the teaser pictures, requiring them to figure out passwords to unlock the pictures for themselves. Wow.
On top of that, netizens have recently found that the locations at which the EXO members filmed their teaser clips actually spell out the title song, "Call Me Baby." I don't know what to be more impressed by--the fact that SM planned this out or the fact that SM has that much money just to fly their members out to random countries for one comeback. Dang.
SM has actually released "Call Me Baby" ahead of the MV and it's already making an all-kill on the charts. I'm waiting for the MV before really giving the song a listen, but for those who just can't wait, you can listen to it in the clip above!
Meanwhile, Girls' Generation is also making a comeback for May with a new Korean album! This will be their first album since Jessica's departure from the group. While SONEs have been keeping an eye on how the group has filled in Jessica's parts for their tour, it'll be interesting--and weird I'm sure--to see how Girls' Generation works officially as eight. Can it work? Can they fill the void Jessica left? Guess we'll see soon.
Other comebacks to look forward to:
- KARA (Japanese comeback)
- EXID
- MAMAMOO
- B1A4's sister group
- MBLAQ
- Zelo's special song for the fans
- Yongguk's upcoming MV
- Eunjung's solo debut
Lee Min Ho and Suzy sitting in a tree
Some of you might be sick of seeing news about these two together, and I wouldn't blame ya. Ever since Dispatch released picture evidence of the two rendezvousing at a London hotel, the press has been exploding with more and more news about the one-month-old couple. Dude, even ordinary couples have a hard time coming out to the public, imagine the immense amount of pressure these two are under?!
Nevertheless, reports are coming out one right after the other--even some inaccurate ones. While some reports clarify that Lee Min Ho and Suzy were definitely not alone and with family while in London together, a local Indonesian newspaper seems to have entirely missed the mark, saying that Suzy is actually dating SHINee's Minho.
As the press still has even more questions for the couple, Suzy has stated she will answer them at miss A's showcase. Some fans seem to think that might be unfair for the other miss A members, as the showcase will become more about Suzy's dating news rather than their comeback. I'm inclined to agree, but I also feel that either way, the media will focus on Lee Min Ho and Suzy no matter what. Bad timing for the girls unfortunately.
Too many dating news is bad news
Lee Min Ho and Suzy may be the biggest dating news of the week--but they're not the only couples fresh on the Korean celebrity scene. In this same week, 'Real Men's Ryu Soo Young and Park Ha Sun as well as 'Surplus Princess's On Joo Wan and Jo Bo Ah were also revealed to be dating! Is love in the air? Or is it something else?
Netizens believe that all these dating news can only mean one thing--celebrities are being used to cover up political corruption. More specifically, news of the former President Lee Myung Bak misusing funds. Considering how dirty politics and even the entertainment business can get, I wouldn't be surprised if that was actually the case.
'Boys Over Flowers' or 'Boys Over Military'?
Can you believe it's been six years since 'Boys Over Flowers' aired? And yet the phrase, "Almost paaaradiiiise," continues to linger in our minds.
Looks like paradise is not in the military for our former F4 members, as Lee Min Ho and Kim Hyun Joong both have chosen to delay their enlistment. Child actor Park Ji Bin, on the other hand, will be facing his mandatory military service head on this coming May, which brings me to this gem of a comment:
Nailed it.
Soul Shop says: 'Make it Stop'
Megan Lee may have won the lawsuit against Soul Shop to nullify her contract without a cancellation fee, but that doesn't mean Soul Shop is letting her off easy. While Megan Lee continues to film for her Nickelodeon show 'Make it Pop,' Soul Shop is appealing for another trial on the grounds that Megan Lee is taking their investments and leaving them feeling cheated--an "eat-and-run" scenario according to them.
Sounds like Soul Shop is feeling pretty salty after losing all that money. Can't say I blame them, but can't say I want them to win either.
What is happening with 2AM?
2AM members Jo Kwon, Seulong, and Jinwoon's contracts with JYP have recently expired, and the members are signing with different agencies. Although Jo Kwon decided to stay with Papa JYP along with Changmin, whose contract has yet to expire, Seulong opted for SidusHQ while Jinwoon is negotiating with Mystic Entertainment.
It's not unheard of for a group to stick together despite being a part of different agencies, but JYP seems to suggest that the future remains murky for the group.
A representative stated: "[...] This was all wrapped up with no ill feelings between the members. It seems they'll all be focusing on their individual activities for the time being, but because the members have a great relationship and are also on good terms with JYP, if the conditions and requirements are right, there is the possibility that they can carry on group activities. So it's not that they've officially ended group activities."
I don't know about you guys, but the words "if" and "possibility" make me feel a bit uneasy. Jo Kwon has taken to his fan cafe however to assure fans that 2AM will still always support each other.
Lee Tae Im vs. Yewon: things just got way more complicated
Just when we thought we got this whole Lee Tae Im vs. Yewon fiasco sorted out, it's turning out to be much more complicated than it originally seemed.
Despite Star Empire Entertainment's claims that Yewon did not speak informally to Lee Tae Im at all, leaked footage of the actual incident shows otherwise. As a Korean-American, I actually am not a fan of the concept that you must respect and kowtow to your sunbae no matter what, but Yewon's definitely giving Lee Tae Im some attitude in the clip. My guess is that there's more to the story than just this clip. It's possible the two just have never liked each other, and tension has just led up to this point. It happens. People don't always get along. But it's unfortunate for both parties that this incident became such a public issue like this.
Wonder what will happen to Yewon's spot on 'We Got Married'? That poor show can't catch a break, huh?
Well, that was it for this week's 'Weekly Recap'! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! (Preferably not too many "TL;DR"s. That would break ma heart guys.)
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