Somi's Fans Express Concern Over Limited Discography and Lengthy Hiatuses Under The Black Label
Her list of albums is very short.
Long breaks from music by K-Pop artists can be hard for fans to deal with, especially if they don't know it's for health or something else serious.
BLACKPINK, for example, usually takes more than a year between releases, and fans have recently been complaining about aespa's unusually long break between releases.
There are also a lot of other examples, some of which have clear reasons for their long breaks and some of which don't.
But it's not just bands that take long breaks without making it clear why. It's not unusual for K-pop soloists who have been around for a while to take long breaks between comebacks, but it's less common for soloists who are just starting out, like Somi.
Somi first came out as a solo artist on June 13, 2019, with the song "Birthday." Before that, she had been a member of the temporary girl group I.O.I because she had won Produce 101.
She was a trainee under JYP Entertainment before she became a solo artist.
She might have debuted as a member of ITZY if she hadn't left the label in 2018 and moved to YG Entertainment's subsidiary, The Black Label.
Somi only put out two singles in 2020 and early 2021. They were called "What You Waiting For" and "Dumb Dumb."
On October 14, 2021, she finally released a "full-length" studio album called XOXO. However, it only had eight tracks and four songs that had already been released.
Since then, it's been almost a year and a half since she came back.
YG Entertainment and its subsidiaries are known for putting their artists on long breaks, so many fans only blame that for Somi's small discography (just eight songs, not counting collaborations) in her nearly four years as a solo artist.
Others brought up how much has changed since her last comeback, which really puts things in perspective.
Some can't help but think that if she had stayed with JYP Entertainment, she might have had a much bigger discography and made more frequent comebacks, whether she was in ITZY or a solo artist.
It's hard to say for sure, but it's possible that she's just focusing on things other than music, like modeling and commercials.
Overall, though, it seems like Somi's fans are mostly worried that her talents are being wasted at a label like The Black Label, which is known for its artists' long breaks.
We hope that Somi can make a comeback soon, whether it's just a single or an entire album, if she wants to.
IVE Shatters Records With 5th Music Show Win for “Rebel Heart” & 2nd Consecutive Victory, Even Without M Countdown Airing - Here's How They Did It
IVE is on fire, winning big even when the odds are against them!
On January 30, IVE (Ahn Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Jang Wonyoung, Liz, and Leeseo) made waves by taking home their fifth music show win with their pre-release song “Rebel Heart.” Despite M Countdown being off the air and replaced with a highlight show, IVE still claimed the top spot for the final week of January.
The show revealed the winner at the end, and to everyone’s surprise, IVE secured their second consecutive #1 victory!
This major achievement marks a historic milestone for the group, reaching five music show wins with just their pre-release track.
Fans, known as DIVE, couldn’t be more excited, and IVE couldn’t be more grateful. In a statement from Starship Entertainment, the group expressed, "It feels like a surprise gift right before our official comeback. We've only had happy moments promoting 'Rebel Heart,' and we're so thankful for this 1st place win."
They went on to add, "Starting from February 3, we will bring even more happiness to DIVE. The title track 'Attitude' we will release then is a song that we all really love, and we hope DIVE will look forward to it."
“Rebel Heart,” released on January 13, is the pre-release track for IVE’s third mini-album IVE EMPATHY, which will drop on February 3. The song has already been making waves on both domestic and international music charts. It continues to perform well on Billboard, landing at 51st on Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and 97th on Billboard Global 200 as of February 1.
But it’s not just chart success that’s getting attention! The “Rebel Heart” dance challenge on TikTok has taken the internet by storm, with the members’ dance challenge videos collectively surpassing 24.96 million views with just two posts.
Additionally, viral challenges like the emoji challenge and the band challenge—where popular Korean bands perform the chorus of “Rebel Heart” in their own style—have sparked enthusiastic responses from fans all over the world.
With their official comeback just around the corner, IVE is poised for even greater success. Get ready for IVE EMPATHY and the double title tracks, including “Attitude,” coming on February 3.
