Lee Yoo Rin IMO

Lee Yoo Rin isn't a name that you'd find on the internet for anything positive.  To be honest, until recently, if you googled her name, the only thing that would come up is her Twitter account.

Dongho Leaves U-Kiss

I'm sure that by now, all of my readers have heard the news that Dongho is leaving U-Kiss and that the group will continue as a six member group.  It's not a rare thing that a member of any particular group would decide to leave the group in order to grow as an artist or to focus on studies for a while.  But Dongho's reason for leaving is because he wants to live as a regular person.

Dongho's lifestyle as a celebrity must have been really burdensome for him, since he's even been getting sick.  For once, NH Media has done something smart by allowing Dongho to leave the company despite the fact that he has three years left on his contract.

I'm sure most of us will miss Dongho, but since it's his wish to live normally, I guess there's not much we can do about it.  He's still young, so I guess he can take any direction he wants when it comes to starting a new career.  I wish him the best of luck with all of his future endeavours.

Nicole Leaving KARA IMO

This is going to be a short one, I promise.  So Nicole isn't going to renew her contract with DSP Media, which means that in January, she will no longer be a member of KARA.  Fans are speculating that this is because she has been discriminated against since 2011, when she and two other members, Jiyoung and Seungyeon, entered a legal battle in an attempt to nullify their contracts.  However, they decided to remain a part of the group in the end.

I have only one thing to say.  These netizens need to stop assuming.  Every time someone leaves a group, they assume that it's because of some mistreatment. They were wrong about T-Ara, they were wrong about SNSD.  For the love of everything pink and adorable, just STOP!!!! It's annoying.


Update: Nicole has released a statement via her Twitter account explaining that she decided to leave DSP Media because she wants to do different things and grow as an artist.  She hopes that she can somehow work out a group contract with DSP so that she can remain a part of KARA, but she wants to sign a personal contract with a different company.

For those who are wondering if this is even possible, it is.  Former DSP artists, SS501, all left DSP Media.  Although they have yet to do any group promotions, they have worked out conditions where they can continue to promote as SS501 should they so choose.

Good luck to Nicole on pursuing her future career, wherever that may take her!

CJ E&M, Superstar K3 and Brad Controversy IMO

I've been unable to use the internet recently, thanks to my very reliable internet provider.  But it's back now and so am I.  

Today's post is about the whole Superstar K3, CJ E&M scandal with Brad Moore, including his interview and then later his Twitter response.  For those of you who haven't heard the story, this is the basic outline. Busker Busker's drummer (a white American named Brad) had an interview with a music site named Noisey.  During the interview, more than a few controversial statements came out about Superstar K3 and CJ E&M.  The points were:

1. Busker Busker had actually been invited to the show to add variety and fun. They didn't actually audition.

2. The performances that were aired on television weren't actually completely live, and many of them had to be edited after the initial recording due to low quality mics.

3. All the money earned by the contestants during the show (for advertising different products and guest appearances etc.) went to CJ E&M/Mnet.

4. Dorm life was strict and domineering, and that they were constantly pressured to take botox shots as well as wear makeup whenever going out in public.

5. The result of the show was scripted, i.e. Ulala Session was scripted to win.

6. Busker Busker's haitus after releasing their first album was simply because the trio wanted to rest after being overworked.

You can read the full interview here. It's in English, so you'll be able to get the full scope of what was said and the amount of damage it has done to all those parties involved.

Reps from both companies responded almost immediately.  The official stance of Superstar K3 was that Brad doesn't have a full understanding of the Korean entertainment industry.  Not only that, but he probably also didn't intend for the interview to come out in such a negative way. They explained the whole advertising funds issue away by stating that the contract to do certain advertisements (e.g Coca-Cola) was between the show and the company, and that it was a part of the contestants duty as a part of the show. And in response to the dorm life and cosmetic processes, they said that the show aired the members going to receive different cosmetic treatments and that this is just a part of the training to become a professional singer in the Korean entertainment industry.

CJ E&M made it clear that they have already paid out those involved with the ad that Moore mentioned and that there is no bad blood between the company that was in charge of their first national tour and the band. They also stated that many music programs do a bit of "touching up" when it comes to live performances.  

Reps from both parties went on to explain that Busker Busker was not scouted, but invited to attend the audition. And that they had not told them that Ulala Session would win, but what they would be expected to do if Ulala Session did win.

Busker Busker's agency responded to the article, saying that Brad had said that there were a lot of misunderstandings back then, and that a lot of the issues he spoke about were due to a lack of understanding of the culture.  

Brad also released a personal response via Twitter, stating that he really didn't understand how the industry worked back then and is now learning not only the language, but the culture and that all three members are happy. 

IMO: Honestly speaking, after reading the interview, I thought it was brave of him to speak up about the evils in the industry.  A lot of us enjoy kpop without knowing just how much our idols have to sacrifice to make us happy.  It was a great eye opener.  

I also believe that the reps dealt with this issue in a clean, positive way.  No one called anyone a liar.  While there may be a lot more under the surface, the face of peace is at the forefront, which is the way I probably would handle the situation as well.

That being said, a lot of people who read the three articles associated with this scandal had a mouthful to say about Moore's final statement. They seem to feel as if he's apologizing for what he said in the article and trying to eat his words.  They seem to be implying that there might be some pressure applied from the bigger companies involved. 

That's not the way I see it, though.  In the initial article and interview, Brad made a statement that pretty much says they have a lot more freedom than most artists in mainstream kpop do.  He also stated that they had to fight for it, but they're happy.  His Twitter response does not contradict those statements.  He's saying that a lot of the issues that he viewed as major problems are norms in the industry, and that he didn't know this because he didn't understand the culture.  He never said that they have had to returned to the lifestyle of normal kpop celebrities.  They are still enjoying the contractual terms that they fought for, but now he has a better understanding of what is going on in the industry.

My closing statements are that we all have an idea of what it's like in the kpop industry.  The celebrities give up a lot of their freedoms to give us what we love.  They work hard, even if they don't write and produce their own music, and often times they are underpaid.  This is all general knowledge to kpoppers.  Knowing this, we can either to continue to support the artists that we love and respect, and, by extension, support the companies and the industry itself, or we can protest and boycott and let the industry die.  The choice is yours.  Clicking your tongue at these companies won't help the situation if you continue to buy albums, watch music video and cast votes.  However, if you think about the artists who have chosen this lifestyle, I think it's best to continue to love and support them.  To many of them, seeing their fans watching them as they perform and smiling and waving at fan signings is the reason they enjoy what they do, and continue what they do.  So now I present to you the two choices, make everyone sad by abandoning the industry, or accept the industry for what it is and make everyone happy.  Quite frankly, the change will come as more artists step up and fight for their rights.  I'm personally going to just keep on supporting and wait quietly for the time when things really change.