Super Junior made an important reveal this weekend: the teaser for their first full-length Japanese album’s title track, “Hero” was released by Avex Network.
There are so many good things about this: a group ballad! Dark suits! Outside!! So many good things that will have to be set aside for later inspection, however, because SM has overshadowed this piece of marketing to do something quite unexpected: make a statement about Super Junior and Super Junior-M members Henry and Zhou Mi.
The group were in Singapore as part of their Super Show 5 world tour; and after the touring party, which included Henry and Zhou Mi, left the stage for the final time, current leader Eunhyuk returned to say this:
Firstly, Zhou Mi and Henry are not official Super Junior members, but Zhou Mi and Henry are official members of Super Junior M. And we … Henry and Zhou Mi as Super Junior M members, are important, and we`ve spent a long time together with them.We have a close friendship with them, and support them like they are family members.
There won`t be any change with their positions nor will they promote with Super Junior. They won’t participate in Super Junior’s albums, nor take photos with us for Super Show posters. They will not have official promotions with Super Junior. I hope you all won’t misunderstand. We just… those two… we truely support them; I hope there aren`t any more misunderstandings.
I think this talk started at last Super Show, when they stood with us for Super Junior stages. That did not have a different meaning. Doing Super Shows with them, and watching them wait for hours in the waiting room after performing only 3-4 songs made us sad. And knowing that they want to stand with us on stage instead of feeling lonely, we thought it`d be nice to bring them up for not all Super Junior stages but ones we.interact with fans. so we brought them up.
We hope you all will have same feelings as us, and look at them with warm hearts, and cheer for them. They will not become official Super Junior members. I hope you support them as Super Junior M members. Singapore ELF, sorry to talk about this here. I hope you will all leave safely. Thank you
The Only13 issue has long plagued Super Junior, and though the M members have been incorporated more into the main group’s activities, this has recently caused some Only13 supporters to speak out, and seemed to have led SM to take a stance on the issue. Undoubtedly, the statement has upset a lot of international fans, with the way it was delivered even more bewildering: in front of Henry and Zhou Mi by using a group member as a mouthpiece and at a concert. What kind of ending to a concert is that?
We have a more detailed post on the incident coming soon, but feel free to leave your first impressions about this issue (and the PV teaser, too) down below.
