Hello all and welcome back to SB Week in Review! Here’s all the news you might have missed this week.
Serious News
- This week, Super Junior‘s Kangin was involved in his second DUI incident. Reportedly, the incident was another hit and run, in which Kangin crashed his car into a pole and fled the scene. Kangin later willingly turned himself in for investigation and was found to have a blood alcohol level above the legal limit. SM has since announced that he’s gone into reflection, but some fans are demanding he leave the group all together.
- Jang Hyunseung might be officially out of Beast, but that doesn’t mean the drama is over yet. His fan union are now planning to take legal action against malicious online commenters.
- The shocking Gangnam murder that took place last week has extended beyond a post-it memorial of the victim and into a very public discussion of misogyny and the treatment of women. While it’s sad that such a tragic act had to happen to provoke such discussions, it’s still encouraging to see them taking place at all.
Debuts & Comebacks
- Romeo is back with the deceptively titled single, “Nightmare.”
- Baek A Yeon dominated charts this week with the release of “So So.”
- Tahiti came back with “Alssong Dalssong.”
- Jonghyun returned with the colorful, “She Is” and his first studio album of the same name. Let’s talk about those boots. Also, happy 8th anniversary to Shinee!
- K-pop Star 2 contestant Shin Ji-hoon returned with “Jungle Gym.”
- It’s finally “Swagger Time,” and I still maintain that that’s a horrible title for Map6‘s latest single.
- Amber dropped her next self-produced single “Need to be Needed.” Did the playful MV make you smile?
- Block B‘s Park Kyung teamed up with G-Friend‘s Eun-ha for “Inferiority Complex.”
- Oh My Girl are back with their repackaged album and the charming single, “Windy Day.”
- To celebrate their fifth anniversary, Boyfriend released the MV “To My Best Friend.”
- The quirky dance version of Twice‘s “Cheer Up” might even be better than the original.
- Our SM Station track of the week is Exo Lay‘s “Monodrama.”
- Urban Zakapa are back with Still. The MV for the lead single, “I Don’t Love You” stars actors Yoo Seung-ho and Lee Ho-jung.
Teasers & Announcements
- Former Wonder Girls member Sunye will return briefly to the recording studio to lend her voice to United Korea 4 the World.
- U-KISS will make their much-anticipated Korean comeback on June 7. They’ve also begun to drop teasers.
- VIXX‘s Ken will release a solo track through Yoon Jong-shin‘s music project.
- Are you ready for Junsu (Xia) to “Rock the World?” Check out the highlight medley as well!
- AA‘s Aoora has withdrawn from the group.
- We can expect a solo comeback from former After School leader, Jung-ah sometime soon.
- A knockout collaboration featuring Gil, Verbal Jint, and Lee Hi titled “Refrigerator,” is due out May 28.
- The time has come for YG to renew the Who’s Next campaign. iKon is up first with “What You Doing” (#WYD) on May 30.
- In other YG news, their roster keeps growing as they’ve now signed another actress, Kim Hee-jung. Also, this week Big Bang both announced and cancelled a guerrilla concert in Seoul.
- Taeyeon will hold her first solo concert this July and August in Seoul and Busan. She also reportedly filmed the MV for her upcoming comeback in the USA. In the meantime, Taeyeon also released a teaser for her cover of BoA‘s “Atlantis Princess.” The release comes as part of the promotions for Sword and Magic.
- The tracklist for EXID‘s Street is here! Anyone else shaking with anticipation?
- DSP‘s Chaewon (April) and Chae-kyung (Produce 101) plan to release the single, “Clock” together.
- The time has finally come for f(x)‘s Luna‘s solo debut! Look out for “Free Somebody” on May 31.
- Rania members Xia, T-ae and Di have officially withdrawn from the group and DR Music. The three former members will be switching over to Hama Entertainment to debut under the name Ela8te. Best of luck, ladies!
- Exciting news for west-coasters: it’s been announced that Shinee will headline K-con LA!
- ZE:A leader Moon Junyoung will be making his solo debut with “Too Late” on May 28.
- SM confirmed that we can expect a Red Velvet comeback this summer!
- Epik High never fails to release the most… epic concert posters. Check out the posters for their Now Playing concert this summer.
- Casting news: Kim Ha-neul and Lee Sang-yoon will team up for KBS‘ At the Airport. Park Bo-gum will star alongside Kim Joo-young in KBS2‘s Moonlight Drawn by Clouds. The pair will also be joined by B1A4‘s Jin-young and actress Chae soo-bin. Park Hae-jin has been confirmed as the male lead in the Cheese in the Trap movie adaptation.
Other News
- VIXX members Ravi and Leo fainted during a concert in Mexico last weekend. Jellyfish quickly explained the two suffered from altitude sickness as well as the high temperatures. Leo later released a statement assuring they are alright, and apologizing for causing concern.
- Unfortunately, the VIXX members weren’t the only ones who had issues on stage this week. Red Velvet’s Joy also collapsed while performing at a college festival. Fans are blaming a technical malfunction for the incident.
- In sasaeng news of the week, some fans not only followed I.O.I. members into the bathroom but also snapped some pictures.
- In a strange bit of news, N.Sonic members reportedly disappeared from their schedules earlier this week. C2K Entertainment announced that they are taking legal action for damages, while leader J.Heart posted an apology on Instagram before he reportedly begins his military enlistment.
- Following the “scandal” with fellow member, Jimin, AOA‘s Seolhyun has been removed from the Visit Korea website. The commission came forward to ensure that her position as cultural ambassador has not be revoked.
- Lee Jung-soo came under fire for a posting a controversial series of photos and captions about his daughter on Instagram.
- And the best news of the week, singer Crush came in first place in a “Spacing Out” competition. Too bad he can’t celebrate his victory with Zion.T.
(Naver: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [11] [13], Nate: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6], TVDaily, JTBC News, SportsDongA, Newsen: [1] [2], TV Report, Insight, Osen, ET News, News1, MyDaily. Images via: Yedang Company, SM Entertianment, Report Star, WM Entertainment, Visit Korea.)