Former BIGBANG member T.O.P. has revealed his stance regarding the cancellation of the DearMoon Project.

The DearMoon Project announced through its official account on June 1st, "Unfortunately, the first private lunar orbit project, DearMoon, has been canceled. We thank everyone who has supported us so far."

T.O.P., who participated as a crew member in the project, also stated on his personal account, "You may have heard, but unfortunately, the DearMoon Project has been canceled," and "However, I deeply appreciate Yusaku Maezawa, who conceptualized the DearMoon Project."

He continued, "It was the greatest and most beautiful art project for the advancement of humanity that no one in the world could have imagined. The courage to attempt this mission was truly an extraordinary witness," emphasizing, "My dream never ends."

He said, "Being selected as a crew member was one of the greatest honors of my life. I am filled with gratitude for the experiences and friendships I gained through this process. Joining the DearMoon Project for a few years, I felt a deep and direct connection between my body and soul with the moon. "

He added, "My body and soul, connected to the moon and space, have already inspired many new pieces of music. The moon will nourish my soul and fill it with meaning and inspiration forever."

Finally, T.O.P. stated, "My dream of traveling to the moon is not over. It has become the ultimate and greatest goal, the official challenge, and the core mission of my life," adding, "Through this process, I feel a deep sense of responsibility to all those who have supported and endorsed me."

Earlier, T.O.P. had announced his participation in the DearMoon project, a lunar tourism project conducted by SpaceX, a US space exploration company founded by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, in 2022.

The project aimed to involve a crew of eight, including T.O.P., in the first civilian lunar flight, which was scheduled to orbit the moon for about a week aboard a spacecraft developed by SpaceX.

However, in November of last year, the DearMoon project announced, "Although originally aimed for launch by the end of 2023, due to ongoing spacecraft development, the launch will not take place this year," and then, about six months later, announced the cancellation of the project.

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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.

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