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glitteryvGonna kick off my YAYS TO K-POP GIRL GROUPS with Chuu's "Howl". This is a song that's left me rolling all over my FEEEEEEEEEEEEEELS every. single. time. I've listened to it.
But, in order to explain why I love it so much, I first need to add some much needed context. I've tried to summarize things as best as I can. However, I'm (at best) a casual LOONA listener, so feel free to correct me if I've gotten a detail or two wrong. :D?
2018
* August - Chuu debuts alongside 11 other young women in Blockberry Creative (or BBC for short)'s newest girl group called LOONA. They do fine in Korea, are possibly a smidgen more popular internationally.
2021
* September - Reports pop up stating that BBC is in financial trouble. As they own a ton of money to their own staff (!) as well as outside contractors (such as MUAs, hairstylists, choreographers, etc). It's estimated that the total amount can be up to $1-1.5M US.
* Late fall - News mention that Chuu has filed some paperwork with the courts regarding her contract (PUT A PIN ON THIS)
2022
* January - Having somehow navigated the debt from the previous year, BBC announces that LOONA will have a 2-day concert in Seoul. This is a big deal cuz it's their first in-person concert in 3 years (due to Panini.) And they also drop that Chuu won't be participating in the concerts due to health reasons. Per what I remember, she showed up at some point but didn't perform? IDEK, y'all.
* Late March - It's reported that Chuu has filed to break her contract with BBC. That said, she's still participating in certain things including the survival show Queendom alongside LOONA.
* Late May - BBC announces that LOONA will be doing their first world tour (yays). Then, 20 MINUTES BEFORE THE TICKETS GO ON SALE, BBC tells folks that Chuu won't be participating in the ENTIRE tour cuz of "scheduling conflicts"--which, um, what???
* October - Chuu appears in an episode of Dr. Oh's Golden Clinic. This is a show lead by a female psychiatrist called Dr. Oh Eun Young in which she counsels ppl who talk to her abt their problems.
Among the many things abt Chuu's episode (including her breaking down in tears), three things stood out as WTF:
1. Training (from pre-debut onwards) has been so grueling that there had been times in which members only get a maximum of 20 mins to go outside and get some fresh air. Sometimes, they don't get any free time at all. This, obvs, has taken a toll on Chuu's mental health.
2. Chuu is v. frank abt her ED but I'm choosing not to go into detail here.
3. (Again, remember this episode aired in October 2022) Chuu mentions that she's yet to get paid for the ENTIRETY of 2021. o__O?!
Ppl are, ofc, pissed off and demand BBC to do something abt this.
* Nov. 25 - BBC releases a notif abt Chuu getting kicked out LOONA basically due to her being a "bad" person.
RECORD SCRATCH MOMENT CUZ WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK?!
This (rightfully) pissed off Orbit (LOONA fandom). Things get even more heated three days later when Chuu herself posts on her Insta that she's not sure of what's happening but that she thanks folks for their support and trust. This is followed by fellow LOONA member Hyunjin going on an app (or maybe it was a fancafe? I truly don't remember where I saw this) saying that her head and heart hurt. She also mentioned being v. angry (at the situation.)
By then, all but 2 of the members had filed to break their contracts too!
IIRC, Orbit began a dual hashtag campaign ( #IStandWithChuu and #JusticeForChuu) that became extremely popular. To the point hat there's this massive outpouring of support for Chuu from Korean celebs and folks from behind-the-scenes (photographers, producers, etc) in the form of social media posts stating how sweet Chuu is and include either (usually both) of the hashtags
* December - For some weird-ass reason, BBC decided to announce LOONA's upcoming album. NO idea why they thought this would go over well? (SPOILER: It didn't.)
Orbit started to put pressure on BBC via boycotting the upcoming album AND spreading the word to NOT buy anything LOONA related + avoid streaming LOONA music. Then this spread to other fandoms. It was a really neat to see (considering how...contentious all K-Pop fandoms can be. Every so often we all get it right.)
ANYWAYS, by the end of the month, BBC announced the cancellation of the upcoming album. BUT THINGS HAD JUST STARTED.
2023
* August - EVERY SINGLE LOONA MEMBER IS FREE FROM THEIR CURSED CONTRACT WITH BBC!!! HOOORAYYYYYYY! (this was a lengthy and delicate process. Some members had to appeal the initial rulings, etc.)
As a bonus, LOONA members were granted the right to use the LOONA name for their activities. Oh, and some of the members are able to perform LOONA songs w/o incurring in any penalties (though this has to do with the agency they're signed to and other stuff regarding legalities, etc.)
Now, according to the members themselves, LOONA HAS NOT DISBANDED. It's just that things are, well, complicated. Everyone's signed to different agencies. Though, fwiw, there's a steadying idea that everything they do is connected to the LOONA lore at large.
Regarding BBC, well, once LOONA was free from their clutches, they had one (1) female artist who also left the company. #DESERVED
(Oof, that wasn't much of a summary, was it?) /o\
ANYWAYS, fast forward to October 2023 in which Chuu debuts under her new agency. My fave song (and the one that inspired this whole post) is "Howl".
The first time I watched this video (I don't think it even had captions on), I was incredibly moved. It was so great to see Chuu smiling, enjoying the sun, and reuniting with her friends.
WHEN I READ THE LYRICS, THO? I was a mess of tears. The song is abt Chuu having had to build walls around herself/put on a mask in order to protect herself while going thru a v. dark moment. As the song progresses, she realizes that her friend had her back and that, as two ppl with scars, the best thing they can do for each other is be each other's heroes. There's this line "Even if God turns his back on me, you're there". ;______;
I was already in the K-Pop fandom when the sleazy news abt BBC started to appear. And I deffo remember keeping an eye on the LOONA stuff. So, at least for me, seeing Chuu (as well as the rest of the LOONA members) come out the other side and be free to do what they want do (PLUS GET PAID) deffo adds a layer of emotion to this song.
She did a showcase for her new mini (also titled "Howl") and talked abt the support from her fans and the other members while she worked on the album.
Here she is performing the song live
She also has her official YT channel and another channel called Chuu Can Do It that's got to do some stuff with environmental stuff.
FWIW, I'm not quite done talking abt LOONA as I'm sure there will be another mention in a near future post. ;)
STAN LOONA! (hahah, pardon the cheesy moment.)
But, in order to explain why I love it so much, I first need to add some much needed context. I've tried to summarize things as best as I can. However, I'm (at best) a casual LOONA listener, so feel free to correct me if I've gotten a detail or two wrong. :D?
2018
* August - Chuu debuts alongside 11 other young women in Blockberry Creative (or BBC for short)'s newest girl group called LOONA. They do fine in Korea, are possibly a smidgen more popular internationally.
2021
* September - Reports pop up stating that BBC is in financial trouble. As they own a ton of money to their own staff (!) as well as outside contractors (such as MUAs, hairstylists, choreographers, etc). It's estimated that the total amount can be up to $1-1.5M US.
* Late fall - News mention that Chuu has filed some paperwork with the courts regarding her contract (PUT A PIN ON THIS)
2022
* January - Having somehow navigated the debt from the previous year, BBC announces that LOONA will have a 2-day concert in Seoul. This is a big deal cuz it's their first in-person concert in 3 years (due to Panini.) And they also drop that Chuu won't be participating in the concerts due to health reasons. Per what I remember, she showed up at some point but didn't perform? IDEK, y'all.
* Late March - It's reported that Chuu has filed to break her contract with BBC. That said, she's still participating in certain things including the survival show Queendom alongside LOONA.
* Late May - BBC announces that LOONA will be doing their first world tour (yays). Then, 20 MINUTES BEFORE THE TICKETS GO ON SALE, BBC tells folks that Chuu won't be participating in the ENTIRE tour cuz of "scheduling conflicts"--which, um, what???
* October - Chuu appears in an episode of Dr. Oh's Golden Clinic. This is a show lead by a female psychiatrist called Dr. Oh Eun Young in which she counsels ppl who talk to her abt their problems.
Among the many things abt Chuu's episode (including her breaking down in tears), three things stood out as WTF:
1. Training (from pre-debut onwards) has been so grueling that there had been times in which members only get a maximum of 20 mins to go outside and get some fresh air. Sometimes, they don't get any free time at all. This, obvs, has taken a toll on Chuu's mental health.
2. Chuu is v. frank abt her ED but I'm choosing not to go into detail here.
3. (Again, remember this episode aired in October 2022) Chuu mentions that she's yet to get paid for the ENTIRETY of 2021. o__O?!
Ppl are, ofc, pissed off and demand BBC to do something abt this.
* Nov. 25 - BBC releases a notif abt Chuu getting kicked out LOONA basically due to her being a "bad" person.
RECORD SCRATCH MOMENT CUZ WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK?!
This (rightfully) pissed off Orbit (LOONA fandom). Things get even more heated three days later when Chuu herself posts on her Insta that she's not sure of what's happening but that she thanks folks for their support and trust. This is followed by fellow LOONA member Hyunjin going on an app (or maybe it was a fancafe? I truly don't remember where I saw this) saying that her head and heart hurt. She also mentioned being v. angry (at the situation.)
By then, all but 2 of the members had filed to break their contracts too!
IIRC, Orbit began a dual hashtag campaign ( #IStandWithChuu and #JusticeForChuu) that became extremely popular. To the point hat there's this massive outpouring of support for Chuu from Korean celebs and folks from behind-the-scenes (photographers, producers, etc) in the form of social media posts stating how sweet Chuu is and include either (usually both) of the hashtags
* December - For some weird-ass reason, BBC decided to announce LOONA's upcoming album. NO idea why they thought this would go over well? (SPOILER: It didn't.)
Orbit started to put pressure on BBC via boycotting the upcoming album AND spreading the word to NOT buy anything LOONA related + avoid streaming LOONA music. Then this spread to other fandoms. It was a really neat to see (considering how...contentious all K-Pop fandoms can be. Every so often we all get it right.)
ANYWAYS, by the end of the month, BBC announced the cancellation of the upcoming album. BUT THINGS HAD JUST STARTED.
2023
* August - EVERY SINGLE LOONA MEMBER IS FREE FROM THEIR CURSED CONTRACT WITH BBC!!! HOOORAYYYYYYY! (this was a lengthy and delicate process. Some members had to appeal the initial rulings, etc.)
As a bonus, LOONA members were granted the right to use the LOONA name for their activities. Oh, and some of the members are able to perform LOONA songs w/o incurring in any penalties (though this has to do with the agency they're signed to and other stuff regarding legalities, etc.)
Now, according to the members themselves, LOONA HAS NOT DISBANDED. It's just that things are, well, complicated. Everyone's signed to different agencies. Though, fwiw, there's a steadying idea that everything they do is connected to the LOONA lore at large.
Regarding BBC, well, once LOONA was free from their clutches, they had one (1) female artist who also left the company. #DESERVED
(Oof, that wasn't much of a summary, was it?) /o\
ANYWAYS, fast forward to October 2023 in which Chuu debuts under her new agency. My fave song (and the one that inspired this whole post) is "Howl".
The first time I watched this video (I don't think it even had captions on), I was incredibly moved. It was so great to see Chuu smiling, enjoying the sun, and reuniting with her friends.
WHEN I READ THE LYRICS, THO? I was a mess of tears. The song is abt Chuu having had to build walls around herself/put on a mask in order to protect herself while going thru a v. dark moment. As the song progresses, she realizes that her friend had her back and that, as two ppl with scars, the best thing they can do for each other is be each other's heroes. There's this line "Even if God turns his back on me, you're there". ;______;
I was already in the K-Pop fandom when the sleazy news abt BBC started to appear. And I deffo remember keeping an eye on the LOONA stuff. So, at least for me, seeing Chuu (as well as the rest of the LOONA members) come out the other side and be free to do what they want do (PLUS GET PAID) deffo adds a layer of emotion to this song.
She did a showcase for her new mini (also titled "Howl") and talked abt the support from her fans and the other members while she worked on the album.
Here she is performing the song live
She also has her official YT channel and another channel called Chuu Can Do It that's got to do some stuff with environmental stuff.
FWIW, I'm not quite done talking abt LOONA as I'm sure there will be another mention in a near future post. ;)
STAN LOONA! (hahah, pardon the cheesy moment.)
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Date: 2023-11-15 03:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-11-15 05:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-11-15 03:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-11-15 05:09 pm (UTC)Now that the terribleness of the past couple of years are behind them, I know that LOONA will keep being awesome in all of their configurations, LOL. :D