On May 21, YG Entertainment surprised fans with a new announcement, which introduced the upcoming solo debut of TREASURE's member, Bang Yedam, ahead of the group's debut.
In the official statement, the agency informed fans and netizens about its future plans about the debuting soloist idol and to the upcoming rookie group TREASURE. YG Entertainment wrote, "Hi. This is YG Entertainment. We would like to share with you further details about TREASURE. Before the official debut of TREASURE in July, Bang Yedam's first solo single will be released in June."
YG then explained that Bang Yedam's solo single is a surprise gift for the fans prior to the official debut of the rookie group. It was also stated that after winning in YG's "K-pop Star" Season 2 in 2012, the idol has been training for seven years, and it was already planned that he would be debuting as a solo act.
However, the firm decided to drop it as a pre-release as the songs were already prepared beforehand.
Not long after, fans of the male rookie expressed their joy and excitement to his well-deserved upcoming project, despite having no promotion in music shows, according to YG. The solo single album announcement came as a delight to fans, and they can't wish for more!
Also, Bang Yedam will become busier due to his debut along with TREASURE. That's why it is hectic to attend shows.
Meanwhile, on the contrary, a plethora of BLINKs expressed their disappointment to YG Entertainment as the agency's promised solo debuts for BLACKPINK's Rosé, Lisa, and Jisoo still haven't materialized for about two years now. There is no confirmation if each of these awaited debuts will even happen this year, and basing it on YG Entertainment's plans for BLACKPINK, there is yet to be an update about the solo debut of the female idols.
I'm a yg stan. And I'm really pissed and dissapointed at yge. This is so unfair for blackpink and rosé. They promise a lot to blinks but they keep ignoring them. But please don't hate on yedam and treasure. — nicole ❚❚ (@xcxwo) May 21, 2020
Rosé, Blackpink's Main Vocalist after 4 years since debut: -0 solos -0 collabs -0 Ost's Yedam, Treasure's Main Vocalist BEFORE debut: -1 solo — SAINT ROSÉ (@saintrose___) May 21, 2020
i don't understand why would YG give a solo to yedam when they have chaeyoung, lisa, jisoo their solos would sell more and do better bring more money to the company they are debuting a guy without promotions wasting blackpink money bcs he will flop... — beaniesbeani (@beaulyiana) May 21, 2020
This is why following the announcement of Bang Yedam's solo debut, BLACKPINK's alleged mistreatment came to light again as fans and netizens prompted to discuss such matters on social media.
In particular, BLACKPINK was initially reported to have their major return this June, but in the recent announcement of YG Entertainment, the girl group's full-album will be moved in September. A pre-release and second single will be dropped as well either in June or August. Other fans are questioning YG Entertainment about the sudden changes. And as of press time, there's no promotional teaser for BLACKPINK's pre-release track next month.
In line with the presumed mistreatment to BLACKPINK, BLINKs previously sent protest trucks. Plus, the fandom is currently using the hashtags #YG_RESPECT_BLACKPINK and #WE_WANT_ROSE_SOLO, which are trending on Twitter. It will be recalled that in November of 2019, Rosé revealed in a live stream that she was preparing for her solo. And several months later, it still hasn't pushed through.
What can you say about this?
