Welcome to another edition of SB Week in Review. Here’s all the news you might have missed over the past week:
Headlines
- The members of NewJeans called a press conference Thursday to announce that they are unilaterally terminating their contract with Ador, citing breach of contract. The members also stated that there would be no need for them to pay a penalty for early termination. Ador responded Friday by claiming there has been no breach and the contract is still valid.
- Although many saw this coming, the lack of a legal injunction for contract termination filed by NewJeans, alongside their promise to complete all previously scheduled commitments, leaves the future unclear for both sides.
- FT Island‘s Minhwan was cleared on charges of solicitation and sexual assault.
Debuts & Comebacks
- Izna introduced themselves with “Izna.” Don’t miss our review of the debut mini album N/a.
- TWS shared the single “Last Festival.”
- BtoB continued their string of special releases with “Be Alright.”
- Irene made her long-awaited solo debut with “Like a Flower.”
- Kyuhyun returned with “Unending Days.”
- V released the mysterious MV for “Winter Ahead.”
Teasers & Announcements
- MONT share the seasonal single “When Winter Comes” on December 2.
- Cravity will put out the single album Find the Orbit on December 5.
- Rose‘s Rosie is out on December 6.
- Twice continue to tease their December 6 album Strategy.
- Fifty Fifty release the single “Winter Glow” on December 9.
- Younite‘s first single album Y is out on December 11.
- Stray Kids return with the mini album Hop on December 13. In the meantime, they’ve been unveiling tracks one by one.
- IVE will return in January.
Other News
- The Melon Music Awards were held Saturday. Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year all went to Aespa, while (G) I-dle took home record of the year and TWS and Illit were awarded New Artist of the Year.
- At the Blue Dragon Film Awards, 12:12 The Day was awarded Best Picture, and Jang Jae-hyun was chosen as Best Director. Kim Go-eun and Hwang Jung-min won best actress and actor, respectively.
- CTDENM announced that Loossemble‘s contracts with the company have ended after a little over a year.
- Fromis_9 have left Pledis Entertainment.
- Gaeun has left Madein. Upon her departure, 143 Entertainment denied recent allegations of the CEO sexually harassing her.
(YouTube: [1] [2], Naver: [1] [2] [3], Chosun Ilbo, Korea Times, Top Star News, JoongAng Daily, Weverse. Images via: SM Entertainment, Pledis Entertainment.)
