IZONE News and Discussion Thread

It was reported by Hankyung, which is the premier business news agency in Korea. The fact that they reported an Kpop entertainment topic instead of a entertainment agency is very strange, and it's most likely true. This news is probably more discussed than IZ*ONE disbandment right now because it's such a huge wtf

 

I've watched PD48 not so long ago out of curiosity and I got a feeling out of the 'Jline' at IZONE, Sakura was the most ambitious. She had eyes glistening like she was craving really big things for herself in life and out of the 3 Japanese members, I think she has the least possibility to return to 48G

 

You are a good judge of character. Here's her legendary 2014 SSK speech that launched her into stardom within 48g.

 

Randomly found this in twitter - Bang Shi-Hyuk and Akimoto
Any info about this image?

 

Long story short: They once had contact because Aki-P wrote a song for BTS for their Japanese comeback. Armys didn't like Aki-P and protested against the song, so the song was never released. The end.

So it might be that the idea of Japanese gg or whatever BigHit is planning right now was somehow inspired by their meeting. Let's wait and see. I still don't know what to think of all those news right now, but I'm really curious about what happens next o__o

 

tbh. my thought was always, that without PD, Sakura would have graduated 2 years ago to pursue other stuff. She was likely already at or close to the peak of stuff she could achieve while in 48G. Always a good spot to leave.

 

I expected this thread to be busy but I still underestimated it lol.

I'm a WIZ*ONE, but I primarily consider myself a 48 Group fan, so I'm not very upset. If anything, I feel worried for the Korean members.

• Sakura – if she signs with BigHit, it might just be an agency change who will be in charge of her solo activities outside of HKT48. If she changes to a kpop group, there are rumours of BH releasing a girl group soon, and since BTS and TXT are doing well, it's highly anticipated. She'll be fine.
• Nako & Hitomi – I think they miss home and even though they really seem to love Korea, they might enjoy coming back to HKT and AKB. They both deserve to be front liners from now on. I don't think there'll be a Yuiyui x Hiichan rivalry, but maybe that's exactly what AKB needs. Miku also really missed Sakura
• Wonyoung & Yujin – there have been rumours that they might debut as a duo, or a trio. It would make sense for STARSHIP to debut a new group soon, since they don't have a 4th Generation girl group (WJSN debuted in 2016).
• Yuri – I actually have no idea what'll happen to her. I feel sorry for her. I looked on Stone Music's wikipedia page and haven't heard of any of the groups they've ever released.
• Yena – rumours say she might be added to Everglow, but I'm not sure how true that might be. If she gets added, she might have to face a lot of criticism from established Forevers, and if she doesn't, it'll take years until a new girl group comes along. Everglow hasn't had a comeback since September 2020 so May/June would be a good time if they wait for Yena.
• Eunbi & Chaewon – same as Yena, but with Rocket Punch. Also not sure Eunbi really fits the RCPC image. I could see it better with Chaewon. Also haven't had a comeback since August 2020, so would also work if they were waiting.
• Minju & Hyewon – honestly... I'm super worried about them. Neither of them have any notable singers. Minju might be fine going into acting, but I don't know if they consider Hyewon ready to be a model (and I don't think she'll go into acting but would love to be wrong).
• Chaeyeon – I can't tell what "Ggumnamu (WM Girls)" is, whether it's just a way to showcase their trainees or it's an actual group that is set to debut... Chaeyeon is part of it and was announced as a member in December 2017 (before PD48), so I don't have much hopes for them to actually debut.

Based on this (very biased, rumour-based) summary, from least to most likely to debut again, I'd say Yuri > Hyewon > Chaeyeon > Eunbi > Yena > Annyeongz > Chaewon > Minju > SakuNakoHii. Minju so high because she's been doing acting and MC'ing.

(Note: Annyeongz = Ahn Yujin and Jang Wonyoung. Sounds like Annyeong [Korean word for hello]).

 

i've just done a little digging and I've found a WM Trainee YT channel which has some dance videos with Chaeyeon. They're low definition and I thought they might be old (even though they were only posted a month ago) but in the following one she's dancing to 'Panorama' and 'Sequence':


if the video does not show watch the video here

There's also a Part 2 with a dance to a song medley which includes 'Highlight':


if the video does not show watch the video here

 

When Hii returns she will be coming back to the 48G fandom, not the K-Pop one. Think about it, Shitao reached the final but you don't see a rivalry between her and Yuiyui, or even Berin or Naru.

To be honest, the only real rivalry that AKB ever had was between Maeda and Yuko. Everything else was management-produced and it always felt fake.

P.S.: I don't think that any Korean agency wants Nako or Hii. You may not agree with me, but if it weren't for Produce 48 those two would never be in a K-Pop group.

Yuri is the one that sings very loud, right? She can become a eito. They will need someone like her for their future K-Pop releases (anyone but Yoko).

 

RWB used to have a youtube channel for dance and vocal covers for their female trainees, too. It was called 365 Practice and the only reason I kept up with them was because Na Goeun was part of 365 Practice and she was my favourite on Produce 48. It took ages for them to debut as a girl group, and then one of the members seems to have fallen ill before the debut release. On Monday, they're finally debuting as "Purple Kiss."

If WM does something similar, then that might mean Ggumnamu is just a temporary name for the trainees, and says nothing about how soon they might debut.

It may be a bit harsh to say agencies don't want Nako or Hitomi, but I do agree with that. Neither of them is really popular among WIZ*ONE, if you compare how well individual merch sold etc.

AKB48 tried to push rivalries a lot and I do think it worked for sousenkyo. It may have been management-produced, but even after Acchan and Yuko, there was tension between Mayu, Sasshi and Jurina (I also think they are/were very different idols with very different priorities), and Jurina and Sakura. I thought maybe they stopped Sousenkyo because there was no big rivalry; which means people wouldn't go all out for two or three specific members, like they used to in the past.

Yuiyui is by no means a top batter in sousenkyo, and neither is Hiichan, but if they can successfully push that narrative and then do another sousenkyo, it might catch the attention of Japan's general public, just how sousenkyo used to.

EDIT: if they somehow couple it with Miichan's gradcon (which must have original members attending), it could be one of the biggest events AKB has had.

 

While I think companies wouldn't be fighting to get Hitomi, I think a lot of companies wouldn't turn them away if asked, especially the ones who already have girls from IZ*ONE.
If they wanted to stay in Korea they would have no problems doing so

 

u can see on the channel info it says "FAN CHANNEL WM ENTERTAINMENT TRAINEE" its a fan acc
and that video is from her vlive not long ago
https://www.vlive.tv/post/0-21138218

 

If Juri was able to get a contract with Woolim JUST from PD48 exposure, I have no doubt that Nako and Hiichan will be able to after their time with IZ*ONE.

Regardless of their future plans, I’d love to see SaNakHii at the front of a 48G single with 48G styling one (last?) time lol.

 

Whenever I see a female K-Pop group on TV I have to stop and check twice (no pun intended) to see if it's someone I know or not. They're all very homogeneous, kinda like Sakamichi is for Japanese idol groups. Nako and Hii aren't anything like that, Sakura is. I'm not saying they're worse or better, just different. How often do you see someone of Nako's size (and skin colour cough) in other groups? Or someone with Hii's type of face? Not to mention that they look too young to do some... booty shaking and shit like that, at least from the perspective of most K-Pop fans. It's shocking when you realize that some of the other IZ*ONEs are 16.
Those guys at the Korean agencies must have lots of other girls ready to debut that can blend in better.

Even though Juri isn't exactly 100% K-Popish, she still fits a bit better. Is Miyu already an international superstar?

 

Hyewon would be signed to AKB48, promoted to Team A and become otaku type visual idol since Mayu, become senbatsu staple, and regularly doing questionable showroom with Satomina.

 

...I think you must have been looking at the wrong groups. I do admit there are some groups that are very similar in looks but the more successful groups more often than not have unique visuals and personalities. For example weeekly's (one of the more popular recent rookie groups) Jiyoon has a face that isn't necessarily similar to Hii-chan's but is similarly non-typical. Mamamoo is one of the top girlgroup and they look anything but the standard korean visual.

Also you do know not all of kpop is booty shaking? And they definitely don't look too young to do that either, if they are fine debuting 14 year olds, they will definitely be fine with debuting girls who are of age.

I admit that Nako's height is a BIT of an obstacle (but not one that can't be climbed) but she also strikes me as the one least likely to stay in Korea. But she wouldn't be the first shorty to debut in a kpop group! Not to mention taking in Nako wouldn't be a risk like taking in any normal short trainee. Nako has a guaranteed following attached to her, which is tempting.

 

Considering, Vernalossom is the company who organise Japanese activities: TV shows, various media appearences, schedule releases, handshake (and all the stuff that go with) etc ...
I dare to say they are surely the 2nd bigest financial contributor after CJ E&M. With this in mind, I believe they weight a lot in IZ*ONE, more than what they want to display.

 

She reminds me of Hidaka Yuzuki (SKE48) mixed with Kai Kokoa (STU48)

Hwasa is one scary looking chick

Yeah, there's not as much booty shaking as one would think but they definitely do swing their hips more than 48 group girls.

 

LOL Radical K-Wizones have been collecting money to send trucks to IZONE members' respective agencies with banners calling for explanation why disbandment was announced 3days prior to the online concert and requesting the concert be delayed. They collected more than 25000USD so are now saying stop sending money.

 

https://twitter.com/Buyluck/status/1370179470351474688

And.. they've sent trucks. They are planning huge giant balloons as well now..
I mean ok do what you gonna do but I don't agree with some of the words that are said on the trucks and apparently one of them is calling for postponing the concert..
Did they not know this group was for 2 and a half years?