BY POLARIS_TAE

MONDAY:
#1- We had some concert announcements this week! On Monday, TWICE's official Japanese YouTube channel shared the news that the group would be adding additional concert dates to their 'Ready to Be' tour in Japan, including two dates in Nissan Stadium. The group will be performing on the 13th 14th of July at Yanmar Stadium, while they will be holding shows at Nissan Stadium on the 27th 28th of July. The group will be the first female foreign artist in history to hold a concert at Nissan Stadium. Then on Thursday, the Korean-American soloist, AleXa shared the dates for a few of her upcoming 'Sick of You' US Tour. The artist will be touring across various cities in the North-East, Mid-west, South and West of the country from the 29th of March to the 7th of April. Are you looking forward to any of these upcoming performances?

#2- SM has shared an update related to the Exo members' individual activities this week. On Monday, the agency shared a press release stating that the group would continue their group activities as an 8-membered group; with an upcoming fan meet scheduled for April this year along with new music and performances expected throughout the remainder of 2024. The company further elaborated that, when it comes to the member's solo activities, Exo members D.O, Chen, Baekhyun Xiumin will remain under SM for their group activities with Exo, but the management of their solo activities will fall under the management of their respective management companies. In addition to this announcement, it was shared that the Exo-CBX sub-unit would remain as an SM group, but their unit activities would fall under Baekhyun's newly founded agency, INB100. Chen Xiumin have also signed to INB100 for the management of their solo careers.



TUESDAY:
#1- We had a slew of new comeback and debut announcements throughout the week! Three artists will be making their return in February: fromis_9's Lee Seoyeon, MAMAMOO's Solar Weeekly. fromis_9's Lee Seyeon released a remake of Zico's 'I Am You, You Are Me' as an OST for the film, Our Secret Diary on Wednesday. Later in January, both Weeekly Solar will be making their return with new music. Weeekly will be returning on the 25th of January with the digital single, 'Stranger', while Solar will be resuming her Solar Emotion project for the first time in five years with the release of Solar Emotion Part 7  its title track, 'Love Has Gone' on the 18th of January. Then In February, P1Harmony will be making their return with their first full-length album. Now moving on to solo releases. It's been revealed that Astro's Cha Eunwoo will officially make his solo debut during the first half of 2024. Which of these upcoming music releases are you looking forward to the most?

#2- Following the announcement that Chungha had lost the copyright to her long-standing fandom name, ByulHarang after a dispute with her former company, it was announced on Tuesday that the soloist had officially chosen a new name for her fans! The idol officially took to YouTube this week to announce that her fans would now go by the name HAART. What are your thoughts on the name change? Do you like the new name? Or will you miss her original fandom name?



WEDNESDAY:
#1- Just when we thought that we left the news of the SM acquisition in 2023, we got thrown another curve ball! It was reported on Wednesday that Kakao has been exploring the option of selling its majority stake in the company. This comes following many legal risks that the company has faced in relation to its acquisition of SM Entertainment. The Financial Supervisor Service (FSS) referred Kakao, its subsidiary, Kakao Entertainment (formerly known as LOEN or KakaoM), as well as the executives who were involved in the stock manipulation to public prosecutors following a suspected violation of the Capital Markets Act. This was a result of the information that arose at the end of 2023 when a Kakao executive, Bae Jae-hyun — the Chief Investment Executive of the company — had been indicted and will be facing a trial for manipulating and inflating the stock price of SM Entertainment. This was a direct retaliation to HYBE's attempt to purchase a majority stake in the company and was a direct violation of the South Korean Capital Markets Act (2007). In addition to the possible sale of SM Entertainment, Kakao has responded to reports stating that the company's co-CEO's would be resigning from their positions. The company stated that nothing is confirmed concerning the report on the resignations of the company heads. Do you have any comments on the company's business strategy?

#2- On Wednesday SM Entertainment shared that NCT's Haechan would be going on a health-related hiatus following a severe diagnosis of tonsilitis. Then later in the week, the idol was caught on tape vaping in an SM behind-the-scenes practice video filmed within the practice rooms at the SM Entertainment building. Since 2013 South Korea has had a blanket ban on smoking and vaping in public spaces — such as bars, cafes, buildings and schools — and any individual caught consuming tobacco through either smoking or vaping — outside of designated smoking zones — will be held liable and issued a fine of ₩100,000, while liable companies are at risk of being fined ₩5 million. In response to the idol's vaping controversy, SM Entertainment shared an apology stating that "After the release of NCT 127's latest behind-the-scenes practice video content on January 10, we confirmed that Haechan was seen smoking an e-cigarette indoors." The company received a notice of penalty for the violation of South Korean smoking laws and the company fully intends to co-operate by paying the fine. Haechan, as the individual responsible, likely also received a fine of ₩100,000 in addition to the company's penalty notice. The company later stated that they "would like to deeply apologize for causing many people concerns with such careless actions. We will take precautions so that the same mistake does not happen again." What are your thoughts on this controversy? Do you think that South Korean smoking laws are too strict? Or was the idol rightfully punished for his inappropriate actions?

#3- On the 1st of January, Japan's Noto Peninsula was subject to a deadly earthquake that claimed over 100 lives. Following the disaster, various relief efforts were set up to help the region rebuild and alleviate the stress on its recovering residents. On Wednesday, it was shared that the popular idol group, ARASHI — who have been on an indefinite hiatus since 2021 — had donated over ¥67 million to aid in the relief efforts of the New Year's Day quake. The group members released a statement on their official social media: “We pray for the earliest possible restoration to normal life and peace of mind.” We thank the group for their overwhelming generosity and hope that those affected by the disaster can successfully recover from this incident.



THURSDAY:
#1- It's been shared that SF9's main rapper Zuho has signed an exclusive contract with Haewadal Entertainment for the management of his individual activities and solo career. The idol will remain signed to FNC for his group activities, while his individual activities will fall under the management of his new company.

#2- AOA's Yuna had some exciting news to share with us this week! It's been shared by EDaily that the idol will be tying the knot with her boyfriend next month on the 18th of February. It's been revealed that the AOA member's husband-to-be is Kang Junghoon from the music production group GALACTIKA. We congratulate the couple on their upcoming nuptials!



FRIDAY:
#1- We had a few more updates related to upcoming releases on Friday. Brave Entertainment has shared that they are preparing to debut a new 4-member girl group during the first half of 2024. The group will reportedly be named Candy Shop and will be the company's first girl group since BRAVE GIRLS in 2011. Now moving on and LE SSERAFIM's Huh Yunjin will be collaborating with US-based artist MAX in the singer's upcoming release 'Stupid In Love' from his 3rd studio album, LOVE IN STEREO. The singer has previously collaborated with HYBE artists on at least two occasions: first in 2020 on AGUST D's 2nd mixtape D-2 in 'Burn It' secondly in 2021 with BTS member Suga on his own single 'Blueberry Eyes'.

#2- M-Countdown has released a clarification concerning their chart counting methods. The music program has shared that they will now begin to count the number of videos made on short-form platforms such as Tik-Tok. It's unknown whether the counting method will include fan-made content — such as BGMs in fan edits — or more official content, like dance challenges or related videos posted by official artists' accounts. What are you expecting — if anything — from this new change to M-Countdown's chart system?



SATURDAY:
#1- There were no new updates on Saturday.



SUNDAY:
#1- On Sunday, Exo's Baekhyun shared that he was planning for a Summer solo comeback this year! This will be the idol's first solo release since the creation of his new solo agency INB100, which has the exclusive rights to manage the idol's solo career. Are you looking forward to his upcoming comeback?

Thanks for reading ~