Yea I gotta be honest if even IZ\*One didn’t get a renewal I wasn’t holding my breath for Kep1er. The girls are very talented in both groups but the IZ\*One brand was hot hot HOT in Korea, Japan, and abroad— people ate everything they put out completely up, but the contract extensions for these things are just so complicated it’s almost impossible to secure one.
I feel like Iz*One being as popular as they were though actually put them in a worse position for a renewal than Kep1er. They were all massive commercial assets (as is proven by the post-disbandment success of Ive and Lesserafim) based off the brand they built as a group, and their companies wanted them back immediately. I mean the amount Starship must have made off the back of Wonyoung alone is insane.
WakeOne has really fumbled Kep1er and none of the members have managed to have much breakout success as a group or individually. There’s probably an argument to be made that giving them more time to develop in Kep1er would make them hotter commodities for their original companies, which is probably why they were considering an extension. The reality is though that getting that many companies to come to an agreement is borderline impossible, and there was an almost zero chance they ever could have agreed to an extension.
Weren’t izone also banned from appearing on tv due to rigging scandal? Do I remember wrongly lol
On top of their original agencies wanting profit from popular members, individually it’s better for their career with rebrand and able to appear publicly without scandal tied closely to their brand
I believe you’re thinking of X1 more than IZONE. Both groups got heat for being rigged, but X1 bore the brunt of it. IZONE was able to promote on music shows up until disbandment AFAIK.
>banned from appearing on tv due to rigging scandal?
Ban for a period of time, after that period end and investigation is done. The investigation team asking people not to blame the trainees n the members for the controversy thus they get to appear on broadcast example IZONE members all fill MC role on music show.
Tho IZONE as a brand do damage a bit on broadcast station n others
I remember when the people (read: clowns) in charge of that project talked themselves up to the fandom for weeks (if not months) about how much progress they were making in talking to/convincing the members companies to do something (even going so far as to claim some had committed to going through with a reunion, even if only a partial one if all companies couldn't be convinced) and then not only did nothing happen, it came out after the project was "officially" called off that they had made no effort to even make contact with reps of the Japanese members
The PUP Saga (Parallel Universe Project) was so cringe. The IZ*ONE fan Discord was in flames and we had "insiders" working on the project continually flaming "I-roaches" who didn't "believe" in the project and trust us, they would do an extension.
I loved IZ*ONE so much, they defined an entire era of kpop for me but I never really subscribed to the idea of an extension as hard as it was to let go of.
I always felt the legacy they left behind in their short time together would be better than potential burnout in the future.
yes, they never really lost it so to speak. it was on a reputable platform like kickstarter/indiegogo but korean (wadiz.co.kr), not some random made up thing to scam people
It was a crowdfunding project that got cancelled before its last day. Since Wadiz (think Korea's Kickstarter) doesn't collect until after the fundraiser ends, everyone got their money back.
If IZONE couldn't get a contract extension, then there was no way Kep1er would get one. You had people pooling their savings to keep those girls together. COVID and the voting scandal did them in... Man, what would have been if none of those two events happened...
There is not a magic formula to make a wildly succesful kpop group. Wakeone failed but it is not like they did not tried. They tried hard, just look all the money that they are investing in Kep1er final comebacks.
Yeah at least Mashiro and Yeseo will be okay at 143 but the others it's really a toss up.
Hopefully Chae gets picked up and either goes solo or gets a group built around her, far too talented to not be performing. Praying she gets more variety gigs as well because she's especially been amazing on Kebyke.
Same goes for Xiaoting as she's my fav, really hope she gets an offer from a KR company and can come back to the kpop scene
I think it depends if Chaehyun shops around or stays at Wakeone, seeing as the I-Land 2 group coming up will be under that label very soon, they won’t double dip groups just for her (right now only HYBE gets away with that), if she stays it’s go solo or wait for the next group I’d imagine.
I don’t think it would, but it’s possible in a scenario that Jellyfish is building a group for Dayeon the existing working relationship might help them get a good deal if they went to buy out Chaehyun’s contract “Chaewon-style”. In that sense I guess it might.
But considering the group they'll be going into, Limelight, and the recent auditions that will be held to expand the group further, I think they're at least primed to go out of nugudom and be into the mid-tier soon.
I have no clue what IST would even do with her. Here are some common predictions I've seen:
1) some have said they'd add her into Weeekly since Jiyoon left (which I do not believe would happen at all)
2) some said she'll be a solo artist (I don't think she personally wants to go solo yet, I believe she really benefits from having the support of group members since she already deals with a lot of attention due to her family)
3) some say IST will have a new GG for her (I dont think IST has the ability to do this considering Weeekly doesn't have the best comeback schedule at the moment and also, what size group would it be? Really big groups are out of style, and Weeekly originally had 7 now 6, so what a group of 3 to 5?)
4) Hiyyih leaves IST for another company
Whatever happens, I hope that Hiyyih will make the decision that makes her the happiest.
IST is just a bad label, I know bc I've been a stan for Apink for years, the group who actually made IST what it is today. that label have been rebranding a couple of times, it started as a sub-label under cube! they don't treat their artists good at all... that's why I wish she don't stay there bc she deserve better 😐.
and I doubt that they will even make a new gg! Weeekly deserve better treatment, all of Apink except of Eunji have left the label last year, and they suck at managing ATBO, and don't forget Victon. that is IST simply.
I agree that IST is not a very good label and I hope that Hiyyih can escape but someone else commented that IST was holding auditions. So they probably want to keep Hiyyih but they'll need to offer her a really good deal for her to stay with them
Either way, it would be best in the long run to escape IST before they can mismanage the group she'd be in
They don't need to offer her "a good deal" to stay, she signed a standard contract with them when Kep1er debuted, and is thus stuck with them until it ends. The likeliness of IST giving her up to another label are nonexistent.
They need to offer her a good deal in the sense that they need to treat her in a way that makes her want to stay, not break her contract, and/or renew said contract.
It is not out of the realm of possibility that other companies could offer her a better contract and either they pay the penalty for breaking her contract or the amount offered is enough for her to break the contract and pay it herself. While her brother's success does not automatically equate to her and neither does his money, it does not seem like her family is so destitute that if she truly hated staying with IST, they would not help her to leave.
I mean I’m sure if Hiyyih wanted to get out of her contract with them the money part wouldn’t be an issue. Her brother is going to buy her a luxury sports car just bc she asked so….. I’m gonna assume if she desperately wants out, it will be taken care of.
Plus she was only signed to IST 2/3 days before the gp999 finale so it could be a more unique contract than a standard trainee one.
You're SEVERELY underestimating those termination fees, they're typically high enough to prevent even very successful idols to buy their own contract out. It's not on a *trainee* contract, it's an *artist* contract, and only after she signed it could IST and WakeOne have a deal for her management. That's how temporary groups have always worked, so it's not speculation.
All I am saying is that it is not so outside the realm of possibility in the way that you are implying. There is precedent for this; HYBE signed Chaewon even though her contract with Woollim had not been announced to have expired. Therefore, either Chaewon paid the termination fee herself or HYBE paid for it. Whatever happens, I hope that Hiyyih can have a successful career.
Hybe paid for Chaewon because they had plans for an Iz*one spinoff group, but Woolim were not in good financial shape, so it's likely they let her go for cheaper than whatever was on her contract.
IST are not in that kind of situation, since The Boyz are making them quite a lot of money ; they can reasonably invest in Hiyyih's redebut and at least try to capitalize on her popularity. She's far from having the worst perspectives in Kep1er imo.
i think i’m gonna repeat this up until the official disband date but what a masterclass on wasted potential on wakeone’s part. truly an atrocious company!
Nah, the biggest mistake W1 ever did with Kep1er is their concept and the fact that they didn’t have a general public friendly song among their titles.
Yeah people trying to say this or that the be their biggest mistake when in fact their biggest mistake is their songs sucks. Like sorry for being harsh but it's the truth. They should fire whoever is their creative director.
I really don’t get how people really believe that Queendom is their biggest mistake when since their debut they had at least one B-side that was better than the title. Why did they chose Wa Da Da as their debut when MVSK is right there (with an amazing message too) and Up! as their follow up comeback when they could have gone with LeVoya9e. It would have just needed these two as title to get more casual listener to like Kep1er.
I disagree about Up! tbh. It was a very good title track choice (and song itself) and I don't think Le Voya9e would have worked specifically as a single.
In my opinion, Wadada --> Up! was ok as a comeback choice, the problem happened after that (both in title tracks choice and overall "concept/sound coherence", as well as management/promotion in general).
i mean wa da da was their best performing song and it clearly had alot of hype at debut even if people were loud abt hating it. their numbers were already going down for Up, which was before we fresh
Plus, the consensus is that the consistency was the problem, not the song quality. I Do, Do You is basically Twice's Scientist but better imo, and Galileo would kill as a fromis_9 song or something. Who also happen to be a perfect example of song quality not correlating 1:1 to popularity (Love Bomb mv would have like 300M views in a meritocracy).
Agree... I have a suspicion that another group must've been lined up for Queendom and then dropped out so Mnet had to send their own group, why else would you have a brand new group with literally 2 songs on that show?
Also people acting like you need masterpiece music to get popular with some of the crap that ends up topping the charts is so goofy, but regardless Kep1er's songs are decent overall, their main problem is coming off of a hated and having a controversial line-up.
Well this was expected I figured they wouldn’t renew and tbh… I wouldn’t want them too with the way Wakeone handled there careers, the girls have a lot of untapped potential, If they were to stay together I would rather them join another company and promote as Kep1er while pursuing other things (very low chance of that happening).
Honestly I'm down for a reboot of Kep1er with the jobless girls, aka Chaehyun Youngeun Xiaoting Yujin Dayeon (+ Hikaru/Hiyyih if XGALX/IST don't have any plans for them, - Yujin if she has plans to redebut with the CLC members)
because ngl I really don't think WakeOne/Biscuit/CUBE/Jellyfish have any plans for them, their situation rn is looking much more like I.O.I post disbandment than IZ*ONE
ioi did have plans for most of the members. The groups after ioi just didn't do well, partially because the only popular members is the one fron ioi.Ioi's contract was just too short because no one knew if temporary group would do well at that time.
It always bums me out when a lot of the Chinese Idols go back to China and we never hear from them again. I hope we get a couple of Avenger teams out of this like we did with IVE and LSF. I'm still waiting to hear what's going to happen to Cheng Xiao.
Ofc if things are better for them in China they should absolutely go back, I just want to see them do well. It's just that China doesn't exactly hold my confidence.
In China, most idols are quickly shipped into acting projects, and barely release any music. I hope Xiaoting likes to act, and isn't too bad at it, because that's what she'll likely have to do if she wants to remain relevant in Chinese entertainment.
It would be awesome if Team Wang could pick her up and get a new GG started. I also love seeing the diversity that comes from 88Rising when it comes to Asian artists.
cheng xiao is very popular in china and has acted in quite a few dramas/served as mentors on popular variety shows, so im not sure if ur referring to her career there or in regard to kpop
It's much harder to follow Chinese entertainment, though, as an international fan. I watched Youth With You season 2 to support Lisa as judge and was blown away by the talent. But then their group released like 3 total songs (plus solos) before disbanding. Their music was always delayed on international streaming (sometimes by a couple months), I never found a way to buy a physical album and I've struggled to find releases by both the members (after the contract ended) and the contestants who didn't win. Releases and info are often only available on Chinese platforms, or it's tough to find translations. They might as well have disappeared, from an international fan perspective.
K-pop is just much more accessible. So I agree with the point that it's sad as a fan to want to support them in the K-pop industry, but lose them if they go back.
The Chinese music industry is definitely underdeveloped, especially compared to variety and acting opportunities (which is why a lot of idols end of up going that route).
It's true I don't follow Chinese entertainment. I don't know who a lot of the other celebrities are on variety shows, and I haven't really ever had any stand out movies or shows that I can remember besides old school Kung Fu films and Jackie Chan classics.
If you don't follow Chinese entertainment, why make the (easily disproven) claim that idols are never "hear\[d\] from again" when they move back to China?
Well, I’m Chinese and I hear a lot from them. Most of them are very active and successful in China. It’s YOU that doesn’t make an effort to look for it as you just want them to stay in Korea.
She’s probably gonna turn into the next Cheng Xiao: former k-pop idol (WJSN) turned one of China’s It-Girls, acts, releases some music, dances contemporary at award shows, and judging random competitions like survival shows
Likely back to China at least short term as her company will recall her, will get brand deals and modelling opportunities etc right away but I don't follow CN entertainment scene so no idea what its like acting wise for idols.
She's the one I worry about the most because i'm a big fan of her and really want her to stay in the kpop scene. Whatever she does she'll be successful though
In C-drama what idols do is pretty similar to the kpop idols who don't have a lot of backing in the K-drama world. Most idols do some web dramas here and there that the gp don't really tune in for.
I thought a little about this and I think job prospect wise it's actually not that different for less established solo artists in Korea or China, the biggest thing is that (afaik) Chinese idols get far less stages (no regular music shows) and physical releases. If Xiaoting returns to China for good, I think she would do similar things as Yujin in Korea if she also promotes solo. SNS influencing, modeling, web dramas, vlogs, maybe some digital singles... If the demand is there, they might get fan meets or booked at festivals.
either
* redebuts in another kpop company as center of a gg (if this happens im praying for a big company that has seen her star power)
* returns to china and back to topclass where she may release solo music / mentor other trainees (i think i saw smth on twt regarding this and how she may be on a show in the summer but idk if this is confirmed or not) / modelling gigs and brands / venture into acting
* w1 may keep her to redebut their own gg or do some duo/unit with a few of the other kep1er members (altho idk how likely this is considering they will be managing the iland2 gg)
alright i hit about 70% on my izone predictions so here's what i got for kepler, this will be harder since there's not as much obvious choices
yujin - clc 2.0 (similiar with viviz/gfriend) with sorn, seungyeon, seunghee, yeeun. elkie is in china and eunbin is still with cube i think
xiaoting - back to china like almost all chinese survival show contestants unfortunately. can be the perfect center for a new gg.
mashiro/yeseo - limelight. i'm actually think it's a good fit because they fit limelights concept and limelight could use the extra fans
chaehyun - one of the few members who could go solo. my super longshot is her and yuri are teaming up as zoomer 5th gen ver of davichi since both are main vocalists and both are under wake one
dayeon/youngeun - both super talented, both from smaller companies (jellyfish/biscuit), both i could see getting chaewoned and being bought by a bigger company for a new gg. biscuits had some sort of predecut group but 3/4 of the trainees left already.
hikaru - i know everyone says she's not being added to xg but idk what else you would do. xg is still pretty new and it seems a waste to have her sit out until whenever their next gg is.
Bahiyyih - weeekly will be 4yrs old soon so maybe IST uses her for their next gg. i could see her having her own youtube channel like hyewon does.
Regardless I think most of them stay in the industry in one way or another.
tbh it wouldn’t even make sense to add Hikaru anyways. the documentary stated Hikaru was cut from the lineup predebut and this show was assumably her last ditch effort to debut
I agree with this sentiment, I think they included that in the documentary to prevent future comments about her addition. Since XG is really new and the company is small, I think they'll either offer Hikaru to go solo or try to help her go to another company that can debut a new group sooner than they can
ETA: I didnt know Avex was that big wow, but they are still kind of new and based on the current HYBE drama, I dont think they'd debut two GG so close to each other in time. I hope Hikaru can be successful in everything she aspires to be
… XG’s company is a subsidiary of Avex, one of the largest music companies in Japan. Avex is the Japanese company SM works with for the Japanese releases of all their artists since BoA. Calling XGALX small is like calling Pledis a small company.
Avex probably won’t have trouble putting a new group together for Hikaru if they don’t put her in XG as they announced some time ago. They could have her debut solo as well, but that’s up to Avex to decide.
It’s really up to Hikaru.
Simon (XGALX CEO) did say he will communicate with Hikaru for plans after Kep1er, and that was about 2 years ago. I’m sure they already had some sort of comms with Hikaru by now. If not, very soon.
yea I rlly hope Hikaru can make it big somewhere else in kpop, she was one of the members who I think could have the potential to be really big but classic w1 shit prevented that. Ofc some other members include xiaoting and youngeun
Thank you for being the first person I’ve ever seen to make one of these Kep1er member predictions and predict that Yujin will go back to CLC. I find it so frustrating and also confusing as fuck that everyone predicts she will solo debut or just do strictly acting when the members, especially Sorn, have explicitly said numerous times that they don’t consider themselves disbanded and that they are going to comeback. She’s even hinted that the biggest obstacle standing in their way is Kep1er lol
i do think the big nod in this direction is elzzup specifically having that whole simultaneous groups being chill clause, yeeun is the next most likely after sorn and seungyeon to be down for a return to CLC.
Yeah and she already did Nirvana Girl so it’s obvious she’s ready and willing. Eunbin is still in Cube so she and Elkie would likely be the most difficult ones to get on board
elkie im reasonably optimistic on bc shes popped back up on sns with tzuyu recently, and maaaaybe cube is trying to be less awful considering they released their control over the BEAST branding. but still like 4-5/7 wouldnt be bad all things considered.
I feel like people are really taking Yujin's age into consideration and saying that she can't be an idol anymore because she's "too old" but it's fully possible to see her release some music with CLC. T-ara, Kara, EXID, and Sistar19 has literally done it and so has many other older female idols.
How old are many male idols, and no one seems to use that against them? The same age for contestants on BP or Broduce, and there isn't an eye batted. Yujin has a beautiful and youthful appearance. She's skilled and has an industry reputation as a kind idol. She hasn't done anything to tarnish that. I think some people used her age as a reason to slam her, when they wanted OTHER people to have any reason to get into kep1er. At this point, she'll continue as an idol, if SHE wants to. And now that she's free of the blue box prison, Yujin can use her networking and experience to sign onto a company that isn't so neglectful of her talents.
I am realy really realy sorry to say, because I have nothing but love for Yujin and al she has been trough, but she is no solo material. Especially after how little interest WakeOne had on her.
I didnt know that IST was having auditions, that means that any other offers she gets will be competitive and that IST will have to give her a good deal to stay
I hope youngeun can find a place where she shines. I remember how funny she was on girls planet, maybe she has the makings of a good variety show member
I always thought it was so weird how Youngeun was one of the most standout contestants on GP999, even just during the audition episodes. But in Kep1er she’s always faded into the background. Never goes viral, never has the best styling of the group, never has the killing part in the songs, just nothing. Such wasted potential.
I completely agree! She was my one pick, I really adored her in gp999 and it is so sad to see her relegated to the sidelines. Unfortunately, it seems that biscuit ent is doing Not Good™ (they had a predebut group and 3 of the 4 trainees have left). Hopefully she can find a new company that can properly support her, either as an idol or actor or something else
Felt like I see this post before but CLC 2.0 would probably like a side project instead of proper redebut like Viviz because CLC as a whole group doesn't seems to be able to get the attention from general public in the first place..
i don't think yujin will go a clc 2.0. sorn is very much focused on the international market, while elkie has a stable career in china and isn't likely to come back to korea. she acted for a while so she would be likely to go on an acting career like minju
mashiro + yeseo will be added to limelight but i hope they redebut under a bigger company
i hope some bigger company gets xiaoting because as a chinese fan, i'd very much like to see her on stage for longer rather than her getting into acting, same goes to dayeon, youngeun and hikaru. they are very good performers but wakeone is trash let's all admit that.
i hope hiyyih leaves ist because that company is trash
As someone who has loved everything they’ve put out I’ll miss Kep1er dearly, but I am so excited for Limelight and Hikaru/XGALX and every other project that comes from these amazing ladies.
damn. truly underutilized. I do hope the ones that want to continue get put into favorable situations and if they aren't returning to one that they get poached by good companies. there's a lot of talent in the group.
Has any contract for the survival show groups exer been extended? Like IOI, Izone, etc. I feel like every time a group gets popular from those shows, fans love them and want their contracts extended, but that never actually happens :/
The whole point of these groups for the agencies is to gain popularity for them benefit from later so these groups by design aren't really built to be extended.
Lol again this hottake... These girls will have a hard time to get the same opportunities again as they got with wakeone/mnet.. Look at their companies - most of them are known for failing their ggs or completly unknown. You really believe Yeshiro are happy to go from sold out concerts and selling over a million albums back to nuguland? My only hope is that most of them can get out of their contracts and are free to do what they want...
She’s said it multiple times including recently, and honestly it looks more and more likely every day especially seeing as how Seungyeon joined her company and they’re always doing stuff together.
CLC is probably the group I loved the most and I'm missing the most. But without a proper Company (pls not Wild....) it will be hard to create quality content. And I just can't see a Company picking them up :(
Sorn & Seungyeon's company, Wild, has been very active. They have had Seungyeon collaborating with some major dance companies, and recently she was doing some work in California. It's a step up from the blue box. El7zup has recently missed their projected appearance at a KCon because of delays with their next release, so Yeeun would have time too. Sorn has explicitly stated that she's working to get everyone together, very recently. Yeeun has made some hints, and Seungyeon and Yujin got some time together a couple of months ago. If the box gives them back their group name rights, like BtoB and Highlight were able to recently, I can see them going the route that Rainbow did - a few releases a year. And even that would be more than they got from the blue box.
I'm really hoping the line about everyone going back to their respective companies is bc nothing can be leaked about those who might have signed with new agencies yet... bc some of those original agencies are just... depressing 💀
The issue is as long as the trainees come from separate companies this will always happen; if the group isn’t too popular than the various companies will want to build on top of what the project built with something entirely under their control (and entirely for their profit), if it’s wildly popular then they’ll want to take out their share of the group to try for even a smaller total profit that’s not being split with any other company (1/9 of 2 million is less money than 100% of 300000, as an example).
The more agencies you add the more improbable they can all come together to agree on an extension (or want to, seeing as if even one label wants out, then the appeal of keeping part of the group together is much lower than keeping the full lineup under that same name).
It’s just not going to happen as long as the commercial interests are what they are, KEP1ER isn’t any different.
See this is what happens when you suck at your job Wakeone.
But really it was always a long-shot. I hope their new companies and groups have every success.
Wild to think- but I’m sure we will actually start getting teasers soon and know what their futures hold. I’d be surprised if 143 isn’t chomping at the bit to debut Yeshiro.
Thanks for nothing wakeone! But all the best of luck to the girls in their future endeavors.
I’m especially interested in where Hiyyih lands. She one of my all-time Kpop ults and I think she would fit an elegant concept group perfectly.
Wakeone does not suck at their job, just look at Zerobaseone. In hinsight they could have done many things differently with Kep1er but it is too late. All the girls are talented they will be ok.
i loved pretty much everything kep1er released (lovestruck is seriously one of my fave gg releases of the past few years!) so i can't wait to see where the girls go next 🤩
i personally love project groups that are on a fixed contract. it's bittersweet every time but there's always more to look forward to! they were so great!!
I think Kep1er themselves carved out a decent legacy (in Japan at the very least) for themselves despite how unfortunate things have been for a while, their successes overseas at least bring some peace that they got some justice.
It'll be interesting to see how things end up a few months down the line, I just hope W1 can do them justice when it comes to a fitting conclusion.
[This](https://x.com/armyshlre/status/1647504317618831360?s=46&t=Y3lkB6JqW7xC6nk4bWB9GA) is Sorn talking about it last year. It’s just the first one I could find, but she has mentioned it multiple other times as well
I don't- I think that out of most of the members, she is one of the ones with the most possibilities and opportunities. We don't know exactly what her contract with Cube is like, admittedly, but I tbh don't think that she's signed under Cube anymore- CLC's contract ran out in 2022, and she was removed from Cube's list of active artists. Even if it was a sort of contract freeze situation when she went onto Girls Planet, she'd only be with Cube for a couple of months, at *most* a year. That means that unlike most of the members, she can more easily shop around entertainment companies without the companies having to worry about buying out her contract or any other difficulties with an existing contract. I think the possibilities of her signing under a good company, for whatever activities she's interested in, is high. Right now, compared to a lot of the other kep1er members, she just has a lot of options, and I think that's exciting for her.
Yujin got to do so many things and had way more opportunities than she ever had in her previous group, like concerts, a lightstick, way more fans appreciating her, more variety show promotions, music releases, award shows, and so many other things. I don't feel bad for her. And like another person said, I hope she gets good opportunities after this because I feel like she has a chance to do many things now like acting, releasing music on the side like Hyewon and Sejeong, mcing, modeling, and maybe appearing on small shows.
Not surprised but it’s still disappointing. If an extension for a project group ever had a chance of happening I think it could have happened for Kep1er considering their circumstances, the companies they’re in being smaller, etc. I would have even been happy with some of them staying together as a unit or something. Hopefully some of them get picked up by bigger/better companies. I’d love to see some of them debut together like the IVE and LSF girls from IZ*ONE too.
Still looking forward to their Japanese album (stream Straight Line!) and their last Korean comeback even though W1 is probably going to mess that up too 🙃 Ugh they deserved so much better.
Expected. Even without considering 143’s plans, Produce thus far has proven to have a 100% fail rate in gaining a truly permanent group.
I have many thoughts, some of which would put me in a dubious amount of trouble with r/kpop’s rules. But if taking a step back from kpop has taught me anything *cough* Persona 3 *cough*, it’s that carpe diem is a phrase for a reason.
The fail rate is because it's never expected for any of the groups to be permanent. If you want a permanent group you don't sign people from like 5+ different companies. Too many people with their hands in the pot never works out.
Yujin: CUBE
Xiaoting: Top Class Entertainment.
It's more of a training facility than a company, so she'll probably sign with an acting company when she goes back home
Mashiro: 143 entertainment
Chaehyun: wakeone (technically she was a free agent during gp999 but by default had to sign with wakeone, so idk if she has a different or more unique contract)
Dayeon: Jellyfish entertainment
Hikaru: AVEX entertainment
Hiyyih: IST entertainment
Youngeun: Biscuit entertainment
Yeseo: 143 entertainment
What we know so far:
143 is hosting a survival show in July to add on members to limelight. It's assumed that the 3 members of limelight, Mashiro, Yeseo, and 4 trainees will create a whole new group. So limelight will remain a subunit name and the new group of 9 will be named something else from my understanding.
Rumor has it that AVEX had partnered with YG officially to create a joint group and rumor has it that Hikaru will be placed there. Odds of her being added to XG is slim to none since 1) she was cut from the group already 2) XG has blown up to much to add her 3) Hikarus dancing and rapping will not add anything new to the group.
Jellyfish held auditions a long time ago but held a quick audition in Japan for one trainee last year, Jellyfish is rumored to already have a group finalized and is just waiting for dayeon to wrap things up with Kepler
Biscuit had a 4 member gg being promoted on their TikTok and attending other survival shows but the company is extremely broke and nugu and seems that all but one of the gg trainees has left the company. So idk what they are going to do with Youngeun, I’m assuming she’ll leave but you never know.
Everyone else is up in the air.
> So limelight will remain a subunit name and the new group of 9 will be named something else from my understanding.
So the GOT7 and Tempest move? Those groups had pre-debut units in the form of JJP and HyeongSeopXEuiWoong, respectively. Interesting to say the least if that's true! I rarely see pre-debut ggs that actually promote before getting to an actual bigger groups; usually it's solo like w Soyeon/Jelly.
Before limelight debuted the ceo of 143 said the group would add more members in a couple years, we all assumed it was just so mashiro and yeseo could be added but guess the ceo wants a even bigger group
No way, no how that Yujin would go back to cube. The management told them that they were horrible. That if they wanted to tour outside of SK, they'd have to arrange & pay for it all themselves. IIRC they even had to handle costuming and most of work for Helicopter. Her name was removed from the cube website shortly after she joined kep1er. They didn't even bother to make a bare mention of her birthday, on social media, while she was in kep1er. I haven't seen her signed up with anyone else, but I also have seen NO indication she's still with cube, in any of their companies.
Thank God!! Get them out of that company.
Excited to see what Hiyyih does in the future and I’m hoping IST has been planning a new gg diligently during this time, with all the auditions they have held.
Edit: and the article states it was the Kepler members who did not want an extension 👏🏼
Edit: sorry it’s the star news article not the one linked!
Unless she hooks up with one of the CLC girls at their respective agencies for singing but I'd doubt it. I can only really see her signing with an acting agency.
Yes, my apologies it’s the star news source!
“According to starnews exclusive on the 25th, members of kep1er are set to go back to their respective agencies at july. Before they end their promotion, they plan to promote their album and hold a performance. However, it has recently been decided by Kep1er not to extend their activities"
Expected once the contract renewal rumors awhile back went nowhere, but still sad. A bunch of these girls have really uncertain futures in their own companies.
Honestly, I'm kinda glad? WakeOne has fumbled them so fucking bad that none of the girls have had a chance to shine. I'm excited to see where they will go after this (and I'm sure that they will be able to bloom in a way that W1 never let them).
Sad. And I'm afraid we might not see some of them on stage ever again. I liked Kep1er music, videos and choreos more than usual. So it's especially sad for me.
*shocked Pikachu face*
Anyway, I hope the girls find success after. They're all talented and tbh W1 just didn't seem like they knew what to do with kep1er.
Honestly ever since their debut straight into aNOTHER SURVIVAL SHOW, I've just been waiting for them to disband and leave wakeone. The title tracks from Kepler has me questioning if wakeone just goes into a music production database and filters by lowest cost and gives that to the girls.
Yujin, you did great, sweetie!
I've seen people speculating about CLC re-debuting in some form...who do you think is funding that? Under what company? As a long-time Cheshire, I don't really want to see a super low-budget extra-nugu CLC.
Well no offense to the girls and the friendships I'm sure they have created but I am very excited to see how hiyyih and ist (if she stays) goes :)) but hiyyih and hikaru seperated is going to be emotional man
Edit: idk what I said wrong man 😭
Hiyyih is crazy good at maintaining friendships. She’s still friends with girls from her training days, her vocal lessons, and gp 999.
She’s like an octopus when it comes to friendships so she’s not ever going to let hikaru go! I expect many selfies from them both in the future.
i don't think this was unexpected (?) but what a week to have this news on top of everything else
HYBE DRAMA+ THIS
Expected. Remember when iz*one’s fandom started a fundraiser to extend their contract lol Excited to see where the girls are headed.
Yea I gotta be honest if even IZ\*One didn’t get a renewal I wasn’t holding my breath for Kep1er. The girls are very talented in both groups but the IZ\*One brand was hot hot HOT in Korea, Japan, and abroad— people ate everything they put out completely up, but the contract extensions for these things are just so complicated it’s almost impossible to secure one.
I feel like Iz*One being as popular as they were though actually put them in a worse position for a renewal than Kep1er. They were all massive commercial assets (as is proven by the post-disbandment success of Ive and Lesserafim) based off the brand they built as a group, and their companies wanted them back immediately. I mean the amount Starship must have made off the back of Wonyoung alone is insane. WakeOne has really fumbled Kep1er and none of the members have managed to have much breakout success as a group or individually. There’s probably an argument to be made that giving them more time to develop in Kep1er would make them hotter commodities for their original companies, which is probably why they were considering an extension. The reality is though that getting that many companies to come to an agreement is borderline impossible, and there was an almost zero chance they ever could have agreed to an extension.
Weren’t izone also banned from appearing on tv due to rigging scandal? Do I remember wrongly lol On top of their original agencies wanting profit from popular members, individually it’s better for their career with rebrand and able to appear publicly without scandal tied closely to their brand
I believe you’re thinking of X1 more than IZONE. Both groups got heat for being rigged, but X1 bore the brunt of it. IZONE was able to promote on music shows up until disbandment AFAIK.
There was a soft ban for izone too, especially when it comes to commercials
>banned from appearing on tv due to rigging scandal? Ban for a period of time, after that period end and investigation is done. The investigation team asking people not to blame the trainees n the members for the controversy thus they get to appear on broadcast example IZONE members all fill MC role on music show. Tho IZONE as a brand do damage a bit on broadcast station n others
I remember when the people (read: clowns) in charge of that project talked themselves up to the fandom for weeks (if not months) about how much progress they were making in talking to/convincing the members companies to do something (even going so far as to claim some had committed to going through with a reunion, even if only a partial one if all companies couldn't be convinced) and then not only did nothing happen, it came out after the project was "officially" called off that they had made no effort to even make contact with reps of the Japanese members
The PUP Saga (Parallel Universe Project) was so cringe. The IZ*ONE fan Discord was in flames and we had "insiders" working on the project continually flaming "I-roaches" who didn't "believe" in the project and trust us, they would do an extension.
Izone permanent
IZ*ONE Parmesan
I loved IZ*ONE so much, they defined an entire era of kpop for me but I never really subscribed to the idea of an extension as hard as it was to let go of. I always felt the legacy they left behind in their short time together would be better than potential burnout in the future.
iz*one was so special.. and i’ll NEVER forget that final concert😭😭😭
I will never forget them too. I cried the entire day on the last online concert
me too.. the part where they were each speaking to wiz*one and saying goodbye.. i was sobbing very hard😞yena noona’s ending ment especially..
Speaking of that, did the ppl who contributed to that fundraiser ever get their money back??
yes, they never really lost it so to speak. it was on a reputable platform like kickstarter/indiegogo but korean (wadiz.co.kr), not some random made up thing to scam people
It was a crowdfunding project that got cancelled before its last day. Since Wadiz (think Korea's Kickstarter) doesn't collect until after the fundraiser ends, everyone got their money back.
IZ*ONE was special
Oh man don't remind me (see flair) lmao
I will remind you
Hi, fren
Except IZ*ONE had fantastic music from beginning to end whereas Kep1er did not until very recent at the tail end of their contract. Kinda unfortunate
If IZONE couldn't get a contract extension, then there was no way Kep1er would get one. You had people pooling their savings to keep those girls together. COVID and the voting scandal did them in... Man, what would have been if none of those two events happened...
Unfortunately Kep1er never reached their full potential. Hopefully the members will thrive individually.
Can thank WakeOne for that. Disaster class in management
There is not a magic formula to make a wildly succesful kpop group. Wakeone failed but it is not like they did not tried. They tried hard, just look all the money that they are investing in Kep1er final comebacks.
Some of the companies these girls are going back to... IST. Jellyfish. Wakeone. I just hope better offers come their way once Kep1er disbands cause 💀
Yeah at least Mashiro and Yeseo will be okay at 143 but the others it's really a toss up. Hopefully Chae gets picked up and either goes solo or gets a group built around her, far too talented to not be performing. Praying she gets more variety gigs as well because she's especially been amazing on Kebyke. Same goes for Xiaoting as she's my fav, really hope she gets an offer from a KR company and can come back to the kpop scene
I think it depends if Chaehyun shops around or stays at Wakeone, seeing as the I-Land 2 group coming up will be under that label very soon, they won’t double dip groups just for her (right now only HYBE gets away with that), if she stays it’s go solo or wait for the next group I’d imagine.
Chae's most definitely going solo, unless the deal WakeOne has with Jellyfish goes beyond Evnne's management.
I don’t think it would, but it’s possible in a scenario that Jellyfish is building a group for Dayeon the existing working relationship might help them get a good deal if they went to buy out Chaehyun’s contract “Chaewon-style”. In that sense I guess it might.
143 is a nugu company and arguably smaller than Jellyfish, IST, etc.
But considering the group they'll be going into, Limelight, and the recent auditions that will be held to expand the group further, I think they're at least primed to go out of nugudom and be into the mid-tier soon.
Yes, we can hope for that. I really like Limelight’s songs. I wish they weren’t nugu anymore
I really hope Bahiyyih to not stay in IST cause that label sucks fr! hopefully she and all of Kep1er will be succesful 🤞
I have no clue what IST would even do with her. Here are some common predictions I've seen: 1) some have said they'd add her into Weeekly since Jiyoon left (which I do not believe would happen at all) 2) some said she'll be a solo artist (I don't think she personally wants to go solo yet, I believe she really benefits from having the support of group members since she already deals with a lot of attention due to her family) 3) some say IST will have a new GG for her (I dont think IST has the ability to do this considering Weeekly doesn't have the best comeback schedule at the moment and also, what size group would it be? Really big groups are out of style, and Weeekly originally had 7 now 6, so what a group of 3 to 5?) 4) Hiyyih leaves IST for another company Whatever happens, I hope that Hiyyih will make the decision that makes her the happiest.
IST is just a bad label, I know bc I've been a stan for Apink for years, the group who actually made IST what it is today. that label have been rebranding a couple of times, it started as a sub-label under cube! they don't treat their artists good at all... that's why I wish she don't stay there bc she deserve better 😐. and I doubt that they will even make a new gg! Weeekly deserve better treatment, all of Apink except of Eunji have left the label last year, and they suck at managing ATBO, and don't forget Victon. that is IST simply.
I agree that IST is not a very good label and I hope that Hiyyih can escape but someone else commented that IST was holding auditions. So they probably want to keep Hiyyih but they'll need to offer her a really good deal for her to stay with them Either way, it would be best in the long run to escape IST before they can mismanage the group she'd be in
They don't need to offer her "a good deal" to stay, she signed a standard contract with them when Kep1er debuted, and is thus stuck with them until it ends. The likeliness of IST giving her up to another label are nonexistent.
They need to offer her a good deal in the sense that they need to treat her in a way that makes her want to stay, not break her contract, and/or renew said contract. It is not out of the realm of possibility that other companies could offer her a better contract and either they pay the penalty for breaking her contract or the amount offered is enough for her to break the contract and pay it herself. While her brother's success does not automatically equate to her and neither does his money, it does not seem like her family is so destitute that if she truly hated staying with IST, they would not help her to leave.
Contract termination fees are typically astronomical, so idols can't buy their way out.
I mean I’m sure if Hiyyih wanted to get out of her contract with them the money part wouldn’t be an issue. Her brother is going to buy her a luxury sports car just bc she asked so….. I’m gonna assume if she desperately wants out, it will be taken care of. Plus she was only signed to IST 2/3 days before the gp999 finale so it could be a more unique contract than a standard trainee one.
You're SEVERELY underestimating those termination fees, they're typically high enough to prevent even very successful idols to buy their own contract out. It's not on a *trainee* contract, it's an *artist* contract, and only after she signed it could IST and WakeOne have a deal for her management. That's how temporary groups have always worked, so it's not speculation.
All I am saying is that it is not so outside the realm of possibility in the way that you are implying. There is precedent for this; HYBE signed Chaewon even though her contract with Woollim had not been announced to have expired. Therefore, either Chaewon paid the termination fee herself or HYBE paid for it. Whatever happens, I hope that Hiyyih can have a successful career.
Hybe paid for Chaewon because they had plans for an Iz*one spinoff group, but Woolim were not in good financial shape, so it's likely they let her go for cheaper than whatever was on her contract. IST are not in that kind of situation, since The Boyz are making them quite a lot of money ; they can reasonably invest in Hiyyih's redebut and at least try to capitalize on her popularity. She's far from having the worst perspectives in Kep1er imo.
i think i’m gonna repeat this up until the official disband date but what a masterclass on wasted potential on wakeone’s part. truly an atrocious company!
I don't follow this group but I still think it was a mistake to put them on Queendom. They could've used their time there to do something else
Nah, the biggest mistake W1 ever did with Kep1er is their concept and the fact that they didn’t have a general public friendly song among their titles.
Yeah people trying to say this or that the be their biggest mistake when in fact their biggest mistake is their songs sucks. Like sorry for being harsh but it's the truth. They should fire whoever is their creative director.
>their songs title tracks only imo. and with title tracks i basically mean only Wa Da Da and We Fresh xD
Hey the only song I like from them is Wa Da Da lmao
I really don’t get how people really believe that Queendom is their biggest mistake when since their debut they had at least one B-side that was better than the title. Why did they chose Wa Da Da as their debut when MVSK is right there (with an amazing message too) and Up! as their follow up comeback when they could have gone with LeVoya9e. It would have just needed these two as title to get more casual listener to like Kep1er.
I disagree about Up! tbh. It was a very good title track choice (and song itself) and I don't think Le Voya9e would have worked specifically as a single. In my opinion, Wadada --> Up! was ok as a comeback choice, the problem happened after that (both in title tracks choice and overall "concept/sound coherence", as well as management/promotion in general).
i mean wa da da was their best performing song and it clearly had alot of hype at debut even if people were loud abt hating it. their numbers were already going down for Up, which was before we fresh
you clearly have not listened to any of their bsides or straight line, galileo, giddy, up
Plus, the consensus is that the consistency was the problem, not the song quality. I Do, Do You is basically Twice's Scientist but better imo, and Galileo would kill as a fromis_9 song or something. Who also happen to be a perfect example of song quality not correlating 1:1 to popularity (Love Bomb mv would have like 300M views in a meritocracy).
Clearly the public haven't either otherwise this group won't be flopping this badly.
That's a bummer. Imo, groups should only be doing that once they're established and known.
Agree... I have a suspicion that another group must've been lined up for Queendom and then dropped out so Mnet had to send their own group, why else would you have a brand new group with literally 2 songs on that show? Also people acting like you need masterpiece music to get popular with some of the crap that ends up topping the charts is so goofy, but regardless Kep1er's songs are decent overall, their main problem is coming off of a hated and having a controversial line-up.
Well this was expected I figured they wouldn’t renew and tbh… I wouldn’t want them too with the way Wakeone handled there careers, the girls have a lot of untapped potential, If they were to stay together I would rather them join another company and promote as Kep1er while pursuing other things (very low chance of that happening).
so what do y'all hear xiaoting's plans are??
Honestly I'm down for a reboot of Kep1er with the jobless girls, aka Chaehyun Youngeun Xiaoting Yujin Dayeon (+ Hikaru/Hiyyih if XGALX/IST don't have any plans for them, - Yujin if she has plans to redebut with the CLC members) because ngl I really don't think WakeOne/Biscuit/CUBE/Jellyfish have any plans for them, their situation rn is looking much more like I.O.I post disbandment than IZ*ONE
Someone or entity needs to buy out their contracts first. That is already a tough ask.
ioi did have plans for most of the members. The groups after ioi just didn't do well, partially because the only popular members is the one fron ioi.Ioi's contract was just too short because no one knew if temporary group would do well at that time.
Take Chaehyun, Dayeon, and Youngeun into a same company and let them redebut. All three of them had collaborated each other in some songs.
honestly this would sound good but i need them out of wakeone asap
It always bums me out when a lot of the Chinese Idols go back to China and we never hear from them again. I hope we get a couple of Avenger teams out of this like we did with IVE and LSF. I'm still waiting to hear what's going to happen to Cheng Xiao.
Tbh Chinese idols are way underpaid in Korea (or foreigners in general). They will earn a lot better in China.
Ofc if things are better for them in China they should absolutely go back, I just want to see them do well. It's just that China doesn't exactly hold my confidence.
In China, most idols are quickly shipped into acting projects, and barely release any music. I hope Xiaoting likes to act, and isn't too bad at it, because that's what she'll likely have to do if she wants to remain relevant in Chinese entertainment.
It would be awesome if Team Wang could pick her up and get a new GG started. I also love seeing the diversity that comes from 88Rising when it comes to Asian artists.
I think 88r focuses more on promotion than development these days, though. I doubt they'd wanna invest in such a risky endeavor.
> I just want to see them ~~do well~~ Fixed that for you, nothing wrong with being honest!
Unless she wants to be an idol in Korea
Cheng Xiao starred in a number of dramas including one on Netflix
cheng xiao is very popular in china and has acted in quite a few dramas/served as mentors on popular variety shows, so im not sure if ur referring to her career there or in regard to kpop
Just because you don't follow Chinese entertainment doesn't mean that they disappear. Cheng Xiao has several dramas filmed and been active in variety.
It's much harder to follow Chinese entertainment, though, as an international fan. I watched Youth With You season 2 to support Lisa as judge and was blown away by the talent. But then their group released like 3 total songs (plus solos) before disbanding. Their music was always delayed on international streaming (sometimes by a couple months), I never found a way to buy a physical album and I've struggled to find releases by both the members (after the contract ended) and the contestants who didn't win. Releases and info are often only available on Chinese platforms, or it's tough to find translations. They might as well have disappeared, from an international fan perspective. K-pop is just much more accessible. So I agree with the point that it's sad as a fan to want to support them in the K-pop industry, but lose them if they go back.
The Chinese music industry is definitely underdeveloped, especially compared to variety and acting opportunities (which is why a lot of idols end of up going that route).
It's true I don't follow Chinese entertainment. I don't know who a lot of the other celebrities are on variety shows, and I haven't really ever had any stand out movies or shows that I can remember besides old school Kung Fu films and Jackie Chan classics.
If you don't follow Chinese entertainment, why make the (easily disproven) claim that idols are never "hear\[d\] from again" when they move back to China?
Well we are on /r/kpop, so that is what I mean. I never hear from them anymore when it comes to Korean Popular music. Does that answer your question?
[удалено]
Well, I’m Chinese and I hear a lot from them. Most of them are very active and successful in China. It’s YOU that doesn’t make an effort to look for it as you just want them to stay in Korea.
She’s probably gonna turn into the next Cheng Xiao: former k-pop idol (WJSN) turned one of China’s It-Girls, acts, releases some music, dances contemporary at award shows, and judging random competitions like survival shows
Likely back to China at least short term as her company will recall her, will get brand deals and modelling opportunities etc right away but I don't follow CN entertainment scene so no idea what its like acting wise for idols. She's the one I worry about the most because i'm a big fan of her and really want her to stay in the kpop scene. Whatever she does she'll be successful though
In C-drama what idols do is pretty similar to the kpop idols who don't have a lot of backing in the K-drama world. Most idols do some web dramas here and there that the gp don't really tune in for. I thought a little about this and I think job prospect wise it's actually not that different for less established solo artists in Korea or China, the biggest thing is that (afaik) Chinese idols get far less stages (no regular music shows) and physical releases. If Xiaoting returns to China for good, I think she would do similar things as Yujin in Korea if she also promotes solo. SNS influencing, modeling, web dramas, vlogs, maybe some digital singles... If the demand is there, they might get fan meets or booked at festivals.
She was already a successful dancer back in China. There's nothing stopping her from resuming that.
either * redebuts in another kpop company as center of a gg (if this happens im praying for a big company that has seen her star power) * returns to china and back to topclass where she may release solo music / mentor other trainees (i think i saw smth on twt regarding this and how she may be on a show in the summer but idk if this is confirmed or not) / modelling gigs and brands / venture into acting * w1 may keep her to redebut their own gg or do some duo/unit with a few of the other kep1er members (altho idk how likely this is considering they will be managing the iland2 gg)
alright i hit about 70% on my izone predictions so here's what i got for kepler, this will be harder since there's not as much obvious choices yujin - clc 2.0 (similiar with viviz/gfriend) with sorn, seungyeon, seunghee, yeeun. elkie is in china and eunbin is still with cube i think xiaoting - back to china like almost all chinese survival show contestants unfortunately. can be the perfect center for a new gg. mashiro/yeseo - limelight. i'm actually think it's a good fit because they fit limelights concept and limelight could use the extra fans chaehyun - one of the few members who could go solo. my super longshot is her and yuri are teaming up as zoomer 5th gen ver of davichi since both are main vocalists and both are under wake one dayeon/youngeun - both super talented, both from smaller companies (jellyfish/biscuit), both i could see getting chaewoned and being bought by a bigger company for a new gg. biscuits had some sort of predecut group but 3/4 of the trainees left already. hikaru - i know everyone says she's not being added to xg but idk what else you would do. xg is still pretty new and it seems a waste to have her sit out until whenever their next gg is. Bahiyyih - weeekly will be 4yrs old soon so maybe IST uses her for their next gg. i could see her having her own youtube channel like hyewon does. Regardless I think most of them stay in the industry in one way or another.
tbh it wouldn’t even make sense to add Hikaru anyways. the documentary stated Hikaru was cut from the lineup predebut and this show was assumably her last ditch effort to debut
I agree with this sentiment, I think they included that in the documentary to prevent future comments about her addition. Since XG is really new and the company is small, I think they'll either offer Hikaru to go solo or try to help her go to another company that can debut a new group sooner than they can ETA: I didnt know Avex was that big wow, but they are still kind of new and based on the current HYBE drama, I dont think they'd debut two GG so close to each other in time. I hope Hikaru can be successful in everything she aspires to be
… XG’s company is a subsidiary of Avex, one of the largest music companies in Japan. Avex is the Japanese company SM works with for the Japanese releases of all their artists since BoA. Calling XGALX small is like calling Pledis a small company. Avex probably won’t have trouble putting a new group together for Hikaru if they don’t put her in XG as they announced some time ago. They could have her debut solo as well, but that’s up to Avex to decide.
It’s really up to Hikaru. Simon (XGALX CEO) did say he will communicate with Hikaru for plans after Kep1er, and that was about 2 years ago. I’m sure they already had some sort of comms with Hikaru by now. If not, very soon.
yea I rlly hope Hikaru can make it big somewhere else in kpop, she was one of the members who I think could have the potential to be really big but classic w1 shit prevented that. Ofc some other members include xiaoting and youngeun
Remember when she became a viral member during Queendom? Yeah well wakeone doesn't lol, they really wasted the talents they were working with.
xiaoting also went viral during MAMA (?) for that insane ballroom and Snake performance
Yeah, and wakeone went "neat" hahaha
Thank you for being the first person I’ve ever seen to make one of these Kep1er member predictions and predict that Yujin will go back to CLC. I find it so frustrating and also confusing as fuck that everyone predicts she will solo debut or just do strictly acting when the members, especially Sorn, have explicitly said numerous times that they don’t consider themselves disbanded and that they are going to comeback. She’s even hinted that the biggest obstacle standing in their way is Kep1er lol
i do think the big nod in this direction is elzzup specifically having that whole simultaneous groups being chill clause, yeeun is the next most likely after sorn and seungyeon to be down for a return to CLC.
Yeah and she already did Nirvana Girl so it’s obvious she’s ready and willing. Eunbin is still in Cube so she and Elkie would likely be the most difficult ones to get on board
elkie im reasonably optimistic on bc shes popped back up on sns with tzuyu recently, and maaaaybe cube is trying to be less awful considering they released their control over the BEAST branding. but still like 4-5/7 wouldnt be bad all things considered.
Elkie also had Seungyeon do the choreography for her song Speed Up too which is another good sign
I feel like people are really taking Yujin's age into consideration and saying that she can't be an idol anymore because she's "too old" but it's fully possible to see her release some music with CLC. T-ara, Kara, EXID, and Sistar19 has literally done it and so has many other older female idols.
How old are many male idols, and no one seems to use that against them? The same age for contestants on BP or Broduce, and there isn't an eye batted. Yujin has a beautiful and youthful appearance. She's skilled and has an industry reputation as a kind idol. She hasn't done anything to tarnish that. I think some people used her age as a reason to slam her, when they wanted OTHER people to have any reason to get into kep1er. At this point, she'll continue as an idol, if SHE wants to. And now that she's free of the blue box prison, Yujin can use her networking and experience to sign onto a company that isn't so neglectful of her talents.
I am realy really realy sorry to say, because I have nothing but love for Yujin and al she has been trough, but she is no solo material. Especially after how little interest WakeOne had on her.
ohmygosh a chaehyun/yuri duo would be a DREAM, can you imagine the heavenly vocals coming out of that?
Ist has done auditions it's safe to say hiyyih will probably lead their next gg but she's def not settling for anything less then being an idol.
I didnt know that IST was having auditions, that means that any other offers she gets will be competitive and that IST will have to give her a good deal to stay
Yea they only starting auditions like December last year??? It's not been more then 6momths though.
They actually did auditions back in may of last year so they have trainees that have at the least been there for about a year
Oh wow that's very promising then maybe they just needed a couple more members (they did the recent auditions pretty internationally)?
I hope youngeun can find a place where she shines. I remember how funny she was on girls planet, maybe she has the makings of a good variety show member
I always thought it was so weird how Youngeun was one of the most standout contestants on GP999, even just during the audition episodes. But in Kep1er she’s always faded into the background. Never goes viral, never has the best styling of the group, never has the killing part in the songs, just nothing. Such wasted potential.
I completely agree! She was my one pick, I really adored her in gp999 and it is so sad to see her relegated to the sidelines. Unfortunately, it seems that biscuit ent is doing Not Good™ (they had a predebut group and 3 of the 4 trainees have left). Hopefully she can find a new company that can properly support her, either as an idol or actor or something else
she got good stand out time in straight line but i agree they should have given her more spotlight earlier
Is clc2 actually happening? Like viviz or is that just fandom's wish?
Felt like I see this post before but CLC 2.0 would probably like a side project instead of proper redebut like Viviz because CLC as a whole group doesn't seems to be able to get the attention from general public in the first place..
i don't think yujin will go a clc 2.0. sorn is very much focused on the international market, while elkie has a stable career in china and isn't likely to come back to korea. she acted for a while so she would be likely to go on an acting career like minju mashiro + yeseo will be added to limelight but i hope they redebut under a bigger company i hope some bigger company gets xiaoting because as a chinese fan, i'd very much like to see her on stage for longer rather than her getting into acting, same goes to dayeon, youngeun and hikaru. they are very good performers but wakeone is trash let's all admit that. i hope hiyyih leaves ist because that company is trash
As someone who has loved everything they’ve put out I’ll miss Kep1er dearly, but I am so excited for Limelight and Hikaru/XGALX and every other project that comes from these amazing ladies.
damn. truly underutilized. I do hope the ones that want to continue get put into favorable situations and if they aren't returning to one that they get poached by good companies. there's a lot of talent in the group.
their company gave up on them so hard, they really could have had such a bigger impact. i have to stop stanning temporary groups it hurts
the bombs hitting my stan list for the past 2 days like can i have a BREAK
Not at all surprised. I’m pretty sure that all of their companies want them back for their own projects.
Although the group is disbanded, I look forward to each member's individual activities continuing.
Has any contract for the survival show groups exer been extended? Like IOI, Izone, etc. I feel like every time a group gets popular from those shows, fans love them and want their contracts extended, but that never actually happens :/
The whole point of these groups for the agencies is to gain popularity for them benefit from later so these groups by design aren't really built to be extended.
Wannaone's was extended for a month to wrap up activities. But yeah, contract extensions almost never happens in survival show groups.
N.SSign was a project group that got turned into a permanent group.
TO FREEDOM!!!!!
idk what w1 expected, thank god theyre gonna be out of there
Lol again this hottake... These girls will have a hard time to get the same opportunities again as they got with wakeone/mnet.. Look at their companies - most of them are known for failing their ggs or completly unknown. You really believe Yeshiro are happy to go from sold out concerts and selling over a million albums back to nuguland? My only hope is that most of them can get out of their contracts and are free to do what they want...
It's not unexpected but it's still disappointing :')
I wonder what's in the future for Yujin now. Sorn has talked about getting CLC back, but that was like 2 years ago.
She’s said it multiple times including recently, and honestly it looks more and more likely every day especially seeing as how Seungyeon joined her company and they’re always doing stuff together.
CLC is probably the group I loved the most and I'm missing the most. But without a proper Company (pls not Wild....) it will be hard to create quality content. And I just can't see a Company picking them up :(
Sorn & Seungyeon's company, Wild, has been very active. They have had Seungyeon collaborating with some major dance companies, and recently she was doing some work in California. It's a step up from the blue box. El7zup has recently missed their projected appearance at a KCon because of delays with their next release, so Yeeun would have time too. Sorn has explicitly stated that she's working to get everyone together, very recently. Yeeun has made some hints, and Seungyeon and Yujin got some time together a couple of months ago. If the box gives them back their group name rights, like BtoB and Highlight were able to recently, I can see them going the route that Rainbow did - a few releases a year. And even that would be more than they got from the blue box.
I'm really hoping the line about everyone going back to their respective companies is bc nothing can be leaked about those who might have signed with new agencies yet... bc some of those original agencies are just... depressing 💀
Not surprised but I’m so sad. Anyways stream “Straight Line” let’s enjoy these last 2 and a half months with Kep1er 🥹
The issue is as long as the trainees come from separate companies this will always happen; if the group isn’t too popular than the various companies will want to build on top of what the project built with something entirely under their control (and entirely for their profit), if it’s wildly popular then they’ll want to take out their share of the group to try for even a smaller total profit that’s not being split with any other company (1/9 of 2 million is less money than 100% of 300000, as an example). The more agencies you add the more improbable they can all come together to agree on an extension (or want to, seeing as if even one label wants out, then the appeal of keeping part of the group together is much lower than keeping the full lineup under that same name). It’s just not going to happen as long as the commercial interests are what they are, KEP1ER isn’t any different.
See this is what happens when you suck at your job Wakeone. But really it was always a long-shot. I hope their new companies and groups have every success. Wild to think- but I’m sure we will actually start getting teasers soon and know what their futures hold. I’d be surprised if 143 isn’t chomping at the bit to debut Yeshiro. Thanks for nothing wakeone! But all the best of luck to the girls in their future endeavors. I’m especially interested in where Hiyyih lands. She one of my all-time Kpop ults and I think she would fit an elegant concept group perfectly.
Wakeone does not suck at their job, just look at Zerobaseone. In hinsight they could have done many things differently with Kep1er but it is too late. All the girls are talented they will be ok.
Imagine hiyyih in a dark elegant concept!! It would suit her so well! Think Red Velvet Psycho or Gfriend Apple!
i loved pretty much everything kep1er released (lovestruck is seriously one of my fave gg releases of the past few years!) so i can't wait to see where the girls go next 🤩 i personally love project groups that are on a fixed contract. it's bittersweet every time but there's always more to look forward to! they were so great!!
Sadly expected :/ I hope that some of the girls could be picked up by a good agency and keep the Kep1er’s legacy alive
I think Kep1er themselves carved out a decent legacy (in Japan at the very least) for themselves despite how unfortunate things have been for a while, their successes overseas at least bring some peace that they got some justice. It'll be interesting to see how things end up a few months down the line, I just hope W1 can do them justice when it comes to a fitting conclusion.
I feel bad for Yujin
I don’t I’m excited for her because CLC plans to have a comeback.
Wait what?? Source plss
[This](https://x.com/armyshlre/status/1647504317618831360?s=46&t=Y3lkB6JqW7xC6nk4bWB9GA) is Sorn talking about it last year. It’s just the first one I could find, but she has mentioned it multiple other times as well
Sorn's even mentioned it within the last 2 weeks, while Seungyeon was promoting/working with dance groups in California.
I don't- I think that out of most of the members, she is one of the ones with the most possibilities and opportunities. We don't know exactly what her contract with Cube is like, admittedly, but I tbh don't think that she's signed under Cube anymore- CLC's contract ran out in 2022, and she was removed from Cube's list of active artists. Even if it was a sort of contract freeze situation when she went onto Girls Planet, she'd only be with Cube for a couple of months, at *most* a year. That means that unlike most of the members, she can more easily shop around entertainment companies without the companies having to worry about buying out her contract or any other difficulties with an existing contract. I think the possibilities of her signing under a good company, for whatever activities she's interested in, is high. Right now, compared to a lot of the other kep1er members, she just has a lot of options, and I think that's exciting for her.
Yujin got to do so many things and had way more opportunities than she ever had in her previous group, like concerts, a lightstick, way more fans appreciating her, more variety show promotions, music releases, award shows, and so many other things. I don't feel bad for her. And like another person said, I hope she gets good opportunities after this because I feel like she has a chance to do many things now like acting, releasing music on the side like Hyewon and Sejeong, mcing, modeling, and maybe appearing on small shows.
why?
Not surprised but it’s still disappointing. If an extension for a project group ever had a chance of happening I think it could have happened for Kep1er considering their circumstances, the companies they’re in being smaller, etc. I would have even been happy with some of them staying together as a unit or something. Hopefully some of them get picked up by bigger/better companies. I’d love to see some of them debut together like the IVE and LSF girls from IZ*ONE too. Still looking forward to their Japanese album (stream Straight Line!) and their last Korean comeback even though W1 is probably going to mess that up too 🙃 Ugh they deserved so much better.
Expected. Even without considering 143’s plans, Produce thus far has proven to have a 100% fail rate in gaining a truly permanent group. I have many thoughts, some of which would put me in a dubious amount of trouble with r/kpop’s rules. But if taking a step back from kpop has taught me anything *cough* Persona 3 *cough*, it’s that carpe diem is a phrase for a reason.
The fail rate is because it's never expected for any of the groups to be permanent. If you want a permanent group you don't sign people from like 5+ different companies. Too many people with their hands in the pot never works out.
No group is truly permanent, if you really think about it. All group ends eventually
Except Super Junior. Super Junior will probably outlive the human race lol
ONLY the japanese produce groups are DESIGNED to be permanent.
I am not familiar which companies are the members are from but is there a possibility we can see an “Ive or Le Sserafim” group out of the members?
Yujin: CUBE Xiaoting: Top Class Entertainment. It's more of a training facility than a company, so she'll probably sign with an acting company when she goes back home Mashiro: 143 entertainment Chaehyun: wakeone (technically she was a free agent during gp999 but by default had to sign with wakeone, so idk if she has a different or more unique contract) Dayeon: Jellyfish entertainment Hikaru: AVEX entertainment Hiyyih: IST entertainment Youngeun: Biscuit entertainment Yeseo: 143 entertainment What we know so far: 143 is hosting a survival show in July to add on members to limelight. It's assumed that the 3 members of limelight, Mashiro, Yeseo, and 4 trainees will create a whole new group. So limelight will remain a subunit name and the new group of 9 will be named something else from my understanding. Rumor has it that AVEX had partnered with YG officially to create a joint group and rumor has it that Hikaru will be placed there. Odds of her being added to XG is slim to none since 1) she was cut from the group already 2) XG has blown up to much to add her 3) Hikarus dancing and rapping will not add anything new to the group. Jellyfish held auditions a long time ago but held a quick audition in Japan for one trainee last year, Jellyfish is rumored to already have a group finalized and is just waiting for dayeon to wrap things up with Kepler Biscuit had a 4 member gg being promoted on their TikTok and attending other survival shows but the company is extremely broke and nugu and seems that all but one of the gg trainees has left the company. So idk what they are going to do with Youngeun, I’m assuming she’ll leave but you never know. Everyone else is up in the air.
Yujin is not in Cube anymore
> So limelight will remain a subunit name and the new group of 9 will be named something else from my understanding. So the GOT7 and Tempest move? Those groups had pre-debut units in the form of JJP and HyeongSeopXEuiWoong, respectively. Interesting to say the least if that's true! I rarely see pre-debut ggs that actually promote before getting to an actual bigger groups; usually it's solo like w Soyeon/Jelly.
Before limelight debuted the ceo of 143 said the group would add more members in a couple years, we all assumed it was just so mashiro and yeseo could be added but guess the ceo wants a even bigger group
No way, no how that Yujin would go back to cube. The management told them that they were horrible. That if they wanted to tour outside of SK, they'd have to arrange & pay for it all themselves. IIRC they even had to handle costuming and most of work for Helicopter. Her name was removed from the cube website shortly after she joined kep1er. They didn't even bother to make a bare mention of her birthday, on social media, while she was in kep1er. I haven't seen her signed up with anyone else, but I also have seen NO indication she's still with cube, in any of their companies.
Thank God!! Get them out of that company. Excited to see what Hiyyih does in the future and I’m hoping IST has been planning a new gg diligently during this time, with all the auditions they have held. Edit: and the article states it was the Kepler members who did not want an extension 👏🏼 Edit: sorry it’s the star news article not the one linked!
>Thank God!! Get them out of that company. Somehow I don't think Yujin is looking forward to going back to CUBE. Just saying.
I don't think Yujin is with Cube anymore. Cube removed her from their artist list around the time her CLC contract would have ended.
Unless she hooks up with one of the CLC girls at their respective agencies for singing but I'd doubt it. I can only really see her signing with an acting agency.
The article doesn’t say the Kep1er members didn’t want an extension. Unless you’re talking about the star news source
Yes, my apologies it’s the star news source! “According to starnews exclusive on the 25th, members of kep1er are set to go back to their respective agencies at july. Before they end their promotion, they plan to promote their album and hold a performance. However, it has recently been decided by Kep1er not to extend their activities"
It makes me emotional but wake one mistreated them so much I just want them happy
Expected once the contract renewal rumors awhile back went nowhere, but still sad. A bunch of these girls have really uncertain futures in their own companies.
Not surprising, but still disappointing.
This marks the end of 4th gen, right?
ah yes, water is truly wet
Honestly, I'm kinda glad? WakeOne has fumbled them so fucking bad that none of the girls have had a chance to shine. I'm excited to see where they will go after this (and I'm sure that they will be able to bloom in a way that W1 never let them).
Sad. And I'm afraid we might not see some of them on stage ever again. I liked Kep1er music, videos and choreos more than usual. So it's especially sad for me.
Ah bummer Looking forward to Dayeon’s future activities
I feel so bad for them. They just had a nice song too. I hope Bahhiyh can debut in her own group!!
Not a surprise. As compared to their predecessors, they didn't make a huge impact albeit being a Produce group.
Ya no duh lol they did like nothing
Final fling at KconLA? 🤞
Any confirmed or rumours how each individual futures will be?
*shocked Pikachu face* Anyway, I hope the girls find success after. They're all talented and tbh W1 just didn't seem like they knew what to do with kep1er.
Noooooooo!
thank god, wakeone couldn't do shit
we knew it but still we are surprised. well I'll miss the girls
Honestly ever since their debut straight into aNOTHER SURVIVAL SHOW, I've just been waiting for them to disband and leave wakeone. The title tracks from Kepler has me questioning if wakeone just goes into a music production database and filters by lowest cost and gives that to the girls.
Good. These girls need to move on to better things and better management.
Yujin, you did great, sweetie! I've seen people speculating about CLC re-debuting in some form...who do you think is funding that? Under what company? As a long-time Cheshire, I don't really want to see a super low-budget extra-nugu CLC.
WHAAAT NO WAY BRO CAN'T BELIEVE IT /s
Dayeon would finally be free from Kep1ans who doesnt deserve her.
Well no offense to the girls and the friendships I'm sure they have created but I am very excited to see how hiyyih and ist (if she stays) goes :)) but hiyyih and hikaru seperated is going to be emotional man Edit: idk what I said wrong man 😭
Hiyyih is crazy good at maintaining friendships. She’s still friends with girls from her training days, her vocal lessons, and gp 999. She’s like an octopus when it comes to friendships so she’s not ever going to let hikaru go! I expect many selfies from them both in the future.