We’re holding fire on the December review until at least the 25th. In the meantime there will be some special topics in K-pop studies.
Way back in 2016, Blockberry Creative, a subsidiary of a large South Korean arms conglomerate, launched a 12 member girl group called LOONA. In order to introduce so many members, a series of solo, and smaller sub-unit, pre-debut singles were released over a period of 18 months. Behind this strategy was a creative director called Jaden Jeong.
The intricate mythology of LOONA developed through a series of surreal videos and teasers, largely produced by Digipedi. The Loonaverse, that was in some ways as much the fans (or Orbits) invention as that of Jaden Jeong, is one of the richest lores in K-pop, but by the time that the complete 12 member group debuted in 2018, not all was well between Blockberry and Jeong.
This dispute, concerning the importance of the Loonaverse to the future of the group, would lead to Jeong leaving Blockberry in 2019. This wasn’t the end of LOONA, and several iconic releases appeared during the early pandemic period, however now a string of contractual disputes between Blockberry and the group members, starting with Chuu, led to fans boycotting the group’s 2023 comeback, until all members had freed themselves from their exclusive contracts.
It looked like the end of LOONA. That was until Jaden Jeong’s new label, Modhaus, signed new contracts with the members of the trio ODD EYE CIRCLE plus Choerry, which led to an album and tour from ODD EYE CIRCLE+ later in the year. Another former Blockberry executive set up another label, CTDENM, who signed up another five ex-members who re-debuted as Loossemble.
Chuu had chosen a different course and re-emerged as a solo artist with the album Howl, which was probably the strongest post-LOONA release at that time. HaSeul also joined Jeong’s Modhaus, and by late 2023 eleven of twelve members were active again.
This year brought the return of the final ex-LOONA member, Yves, as a solo artist with the Paix Per Mil label. She released two EPs this year showing herself to be an increasingly confident performer and a rising K-pop star in her own right. Comparatively, Chuu’s piecemeal material in 2024 didn’t really show the potential of her debut the previous year.
Meanwhile, Jaden Jeong re-debuted the four members of ODD EYE CIRCLE+ plus HaSeul, as ARTMS. They released five “premium singles” this year ahead of their Dall album. These represented the logical expansion of the Loonaverse, both visually and musically, and have been acclaimed by Orbits as the second coming of LOONA.
However, the five girls with CTDENM, who were attempting to regather their friends through Loossemble, never quite achieved the same heights as ARTMS, although they released three perfectly enjoyable EPs, and in November their label announced that they would not be renewing their contracts, and their future remains in limbo at the time of writing.
Having said that, HyunJin of Loossemble has released a solo single, Thank You, in the last few weeks, and HaSeul of ARTMS also surprised us with an agreeable number entitled Fragile Eyes that continues the City Pop aesthetic which has informed some of ARTMS’s current trajectory.
So where does LOONA go from here? Will the Loossemble team join Jaden Jeong to form a ten-member unit? Will Chuu get her mojo back? And will she and Yves ever work with their former compatriots again?
Stay tuned to this channel.
APPENDIX I: LOONA members 2024
ARTMS (Modhaus) – Heejin, Haseul, Kim Lip, Jinsoul and Choerry
Loosemble (CTDENM) – HyunJin, YeoJin, ViVi, Go Won and HyeJu
Chuu (ATRP)
Yves (Paix Per Mil)
APPENDIX II: La Maison Loona.
In the period before leaving Blockberry, Jaden Jeong was rumoured to be working on a “ballads album” called La Maison Loona. This was ditched when he left, and he posted a note on his Instagram account: “delayed but sometime”.
There is speculation that with ARTMS Jeong may finally release or re-record the album.
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