Welcome to another edition of SB Week in Review! Here’s all the news you might have missed:
Headlines
- Exo‘s Chen announced his upcoming marriage and his fiance’s pregnancy through a hand written letter. Some fans reacted better than others to the news — some even going to far as to petition SM to remove him from the group. We at Seoulbeats send our heart-felt congratulations to Chen for this new stage in his life.
- Bong Joon-ho‘s Parasite was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The Sewol tragedy documentary In the Absence also received a nomination.
- A judge dismissed a request for the pre-trail detention of Seungri for the second time.
- The same hacker who targeted Joo Jin-moo and Jang Dong-gun and released incriminating screen caps of their private conversations, is reportedly going after other, unnamed, male actors.
Debuts & Comebacks
- Zico‘s “Any Song” not only achieved a perfect all kill, but has become a viral dance meme with plenty of celebrities participating. Check out our review here!
- Taeyeon shared a hopeful message of self love in “Dear Me.”
- BTS shared the art film “Black Swan” as a pre-release to their February 21 Map of the Soul: 7 album.
- BTS also announced their global CONNECT, BTS project to bring artists together in five world cities.
- Solar collaborated with Kassy for the ballad, “This Song is Pretty Old.”
Teasers & Announcements
- Paul Kim and Chugnha will be collaborating for the track “Loveship,” due out on January 21.
- Ikon shared a sneak peak of their new music video, though an official release date has yet to be announced.
- G Friend will return on February 3 with Labyrinth.
- C9 Entertainment will be debuting their new girl group Cignature (formerly C9 Girls) in the near future.
Other News
- EXID‘s Hyelin has left Banana Culture Entertainment.
- A lot of health news this week:
- Oh My Girl‘s Jiho will be taking a break from group activities to focus on her health.
- Due to recent anxiety, Monsta X‘s Joohoney will also be taking a health break.
- VeriVery‘s Minchan sustained a minor head injury on January 13. Jellyfish Entertainment assured that he has received treatment and will be taking time to rest and recover.
- Red Velvet members have all come down with the flu and will be canceling upcoming schedules.
- Big Hit might be in the process of acquiring Pledis Entertainment. An official statement released by the company said nothing has been decided yet.
(YouTube: [1] [2]. Naver: [1] [2] [3] [4], Nate: [1] [2] [3], Sports Today. Images Via: SM Entertainment, .)
