K-pop agency CUBE Entertainment has shared that leader and producer Soyeon of its girl group (G)I-DLE’s contract is set to expire this November.
Last weekend, the five-member group held their ‘iDOL’ world tour concert in Seoul. During the show, Soyeon performed her solo song ‘Is this bad b****** number?’ in which she rapped the new lyrics “Contract ends November, who’s to stop me? I don’t have to fucking tiptoe”.
After the concert, fans started speculating that the idol plans to leave the agency after her contract expires. A representative from CUBE followed up with a statement on August 5 claiming that the lyrics were a “spontaneous action” and it was unaware of its content, adding that her actions could “cause harm” to the agency.
CUBE has retracted its previous statement after Soyeon hit back at the company on Instagram, responding that she performed the lyrics in question in front of staff several times during rehearsals. It now claims that its previous statement was “the opinion of one individual” and that it was not its official position, per Soompi.
“We apologise for giving cause for concern to the many people who give Soyeon and (G)I-DLE their love and interest, and we are making an official statement regarding our position. We were aware of the lyrics [referencing Soyeon’s contract expiring] ahead of time,” it said.
The agency then confirmed that Soyeon’s contract is indeed due to expire this November. However, it added: “We are currently in the process of smoothly discussing a [potential] contract renewal.”
Elsewhere, NCT’s Jaehyun has released a trailer for his upcoming debut solo album ‘J’, which will be led by the title track ‘Smoke’. The record, which arrives later this month, will be preceded by the songs ‘Roses’ and ‘Dandelion’ next week.