BOY group iKON left YG Entertainment on Friday, December 30, just days after the departure of two members of the group BIGBANG.
iKON is a six-member group that debuted in 2015, with members Jay, Song, Bobby, DK, Ju-ne, and Chan. Originally, the boy band had seven members but the group’s leader B.I. left in 2019.
Photo courtesy: iKON’s Twitter account
According to YG Entertainment, all six members mutually agreed to terminate their contract with the agency after seven years.
“We would like to announce that after a long and careful discussion with iKON (Kim Jin Hwan, Bobby, Song Yun Hyeong, Koo Jun Hoe, Donghyuk, and Chanwoo), we have all mutually agreed to end the group’s exclusive contract with respect to one another’s opinions,” YG said in a statement.
YG said that it is looking forward to seeing the members’ activities in diverse fields.
The group has yet to disclose other details of its future activities.
iKON debuted with the album Welcome Back and is well-known for its songs RHYTHM TA (2015), LOVE SCENARIO (2018), and KILLING ME (2019).
Other artists who left YG
Several artists have departed YG in 2022.
These include BIGBANG’s T.O.P (Choi Seung-hyun), Daesung (Kang Dae-sung), and Taeyang (Dong Young-bae), TREASURE’s Bang Ye-dam and Mashiho (Mashiho Takata), and actor Kang Dong-won.
The only active YG artists left are WINNER, BLACKPINK, TREASURE, AKMU, and Sechs Kies.
BLACKPINK to leave YG?
After the announcement of iKON’s departure, rumors about BLACKPINK leaving YG Entertainment spread on social media.
According to local Korean media outlets, the internationally-acclaimed four-piece girl group will not renew their contract with the label and will transfer to THE BLACK LABEL instead.
THE BLACK LABEL is an associate company under YG Entertainment which also manages artists Jeon Somi, Zion.T, Løren, Vince, Okasian, R.Tee, 24, and more.
BLACKPINK consists of members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa.
The group debuted in 2016 with the hit single WHISTLE. It became popular for its songs DDU-DU DDU-DU (2018), Kill This Love (2019), How You Like That (2020), and its recent release Pink Venom (2022).
BLACKPINK is set to visit the Philippines for the Born Pink World Tour on March 25 and 26 at the Philippine Arena.
Photo courtesy: BLACKPINK’s Jennie on Instagram
YG’s new group
YG Entertainment recently teased fans with a new project called YG NEXT MOVEMENT, with the hashtag #YG_NEW_GROUP.
Fans speculatrd that the entertainment label will let another KPop fourth generation girl group debut in 2023.
According to the poster released by YG, the project will kick-off on January 1.
Banner courtesy: iKON’s Twitter
