K-Pop

iKON left, 1st girl group after BLACKPINK is coming: YG’s lineup change 

YG Entertainment is going through a major lineup change ahead of 2023.

YG Entertainment, one of the largest music companies in Korea, hints at a major reorganization of its artist lineup in 2023 with the news of a series of updates at the end of 2022. Excluding BLACKPINK and TREASURE, who are going on world tours, YG is quickly sorting out contract issues with artists whose hiatus is getting longer.

blackpink time magazine

YG Entertainment mentioned a total of three contract-related announcements on December 30th. First, the termination of YG’s contract with top actor Kang Dong Won was announced, followed by the termination of the contract with 6 iKON members, who were considered the backbone of YG’s boy groups. Immediately after that, YG officially announced the launch of a new girl group 7 years after BLACKPINK.

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Normally, YG has been stingy with artists’ activities, refusing to let their artists have frequent comebacks like other companies’ artists and making them go on long breaks between promotions that frustrate fans and the public. 

First of all, the expiry of the contract of iKON, the group once introduced by YG as “The Next BIGBANG”, is regrettable in many ways.

Ikon

Formed in 2013 as Team B of Mnet’s “WIN: Who Is Next” and after losing to Team A Winner, iKON went through “Mix and Match” to become a 7-member group and officially debuted in 2015. iKON succeeded in standing out with a melody line based on the hip-hop genre. “My Type” and “Love Scenario” hit the jackpot on the music charts. On top of that, iKON was a super rookie who successfully completed the dome tour in Japan, quickly won first place on music shows right after their debut, won the rookie of the year title at year-end awards ceremonies, and also won Daesang. 

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However, core member B.I’s drug scandal and Bobby’s premarital pregnancy eventually put a brake on iKON’s success. As the hiatus eventually lengthened, iKON’s position in YG decreased at some point. Of course, there were performances and album activities to communicate with fans from time to time, but iKON could not recover as much popularity as before, and eventually reached a sad ending where they could no longer stay at YG.

yg next movement

On the other hand, the official announcement about YG’s next-generation girl group, which had only been rumored, was made abruptly today. Along with the “YG NEXT MOVEMENT” poster released on YG’s official SNS at 3:00 pm KST on December 30th, the silhouettes of 7 members along with the date 2023.01.01 0AM heralds YG’s new girl group project in 2023. 

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YG has confirmed that it will launch a next-generation girl group that has been secretly prepared for years. An official debut in the first half of 2023 is expected. 

YG’s new girl group launch is about 7 years after BLACKPINK. With the great success of 2NE1 and BLACKPINK, YG’s next girl group is drawing great curiosity. 

Source: Daum. 

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