Welcome to another edition of SB Week in Review! Here’s all the news you might have missed:
Headlines
- JYJ‘s Kim Jaejoong shocked fans and the industry alike when he announced via Instagram that he had tested positive for COVID-19. Approximately an hour later however, he updated his post to clarify that the announcement had been an April Fools’ joke, and that he was simply trying to “raise awareness” about the issue.
- At the time of the false announcement, Jaejoong had been promoting his newly released single in Japan. Unsurprisingly, his “prank” has not gone down well, and multiple appearances — NHK Radio’s Furuya Masayuki’s PopA, TV Asahi’s Music Station, and more — have been cancelled.
- Following her injury on the set of 2019 SBS Gayo Daejeon on December 25, 2019, Red Velvet‘s Wendy has been discharged from the hospital.
- In addition to his prison sentence (six years for aggravated rape), Jung Joon-young has been slapped with a fine of ₩1,000,000 (~$810) for violation of laws concerning prostitution.
- Singer Wheesung has been found passed out on two separate occasions just within the last week, having used a legal anesthetic which reported has a similar effect to that of the illegal drug propofol — the use of which he is currently under investigation for. Wheesung’s agency released a statement to the effect that he has been going through a difficult time following his father’s recent passing.
Debuts & Comebacks
- Hong Jin-young adopted a flowery theme for her comeback with “Love is like a Petal“.
- Mnet‘s latest boygroup, Ten Oriented Orchestra, or simply TOO — formed on survival show To Be World Klass — debuted with the distinctly un-flowery “Magnolia“, and mini album, Reason for Being: 仁 (Rememberance).
- AleXa dropped her latest EP “Do or Die“, the title track MV for which was released on March 6.
- Onewe returned with single album 3/4 and its title ft. Hwasa, “Q“.
- Play M Entertainment‘s idol band Bandage debuted with the beautiful “Invisibles“.
- Code Kunst also went down a flowery route in a gentle MV for “Flower” ft. Jay Park, Woo and Giriboy, the title track to his latest album People.
- Yaeji returned with a tribute to her friends in the MV for “What We Drew“.
Teasers & Announcements
- TVXQ‘s Changmin is gearing up for his Korean solo debut on April 6, with the release of teasers, mood samplers and MV Teaser for “Chocolate”. Keep an eye out for our review!
- (G)i-dle ramped up promotions with an intriguing concept preview leading up to their April 6 comeback, I Trust.
- Returning on April 7, shortly after their debut in February, are Cignature. The group dropped a colorful MV Teaser and Performance Preview for “Assa” ahead of the release.
- In a similarly tight schedule, MCND has announced a comeback slated for April 9, i.e. within less than two weeks after closing promotions for their debut.
- Winner‘s Jinwoo enlisted in the military ahead of the group’s April 9 release, Remember.
- Apink began promotions with image teasers in anticipation of the group’s April 13 comeback, Look.
- Starship Entertainment‘s new boygroup, the unfortunately named Cravity (cavity, anyone?), which includes former X1 members Kang Min-hee and Song Hyeong-jun, shared a dramatic prologue film and teasers ahead of their debut on April 14.
- Former X1 members Lee Han-gyul and Nam Do-hyun are set to make their official debut as a duo just a week after, on April 21.
- KNK announced a campaign on the global crowdfunding platform Makestar to help fund their next comeback.
Other News
- In other Coronavirus-related news,
- A member of Everglow‘s staff tested positive, following which the idols were also tested, the results of which were all negative.
- By way of abundant caution, Everglow’s Sihyeon‘s fellow MCs on SBS‘s The Show, The Boyz‘ Juyeon and Kim Min-kyu, were also tested for coronavirus. Juyeon’s agency has since announced that his test was negative.
- Yoon Hak of Supernova has tested positive for COVID-19. We wish him, and Everglow’s staff member, a speedy recovery.
- The petition by Goo Hara‘s brother Goo Ho-in, to change inheritance laws was submitted to the National Assembly after it reached 100,000 signatures.
- Woo Ji-yoon has left Bol4. Ahn Ji-young will continue to promote under the Bol4 name.
(Instagram, Naver [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10], SBS, Topstar News, Twitter, YouTube [1] [2]; Images via C-JeS Entertainment, Cube Entertainment, Shofar Music)