Soyou, a former member of SISTAR, has parted ways with her 11-year management agency, Starship Entertainment.
On Sept. 8, industry representatives reported that Soyou did not renew her exclusive contract with Starship Entertainment. The company issued an official statement later on the same day.
Soyou has been under Starship Entertainment since her trainee days and even after SISTAR's disbandment.
Former SISTAR Soyou Departs from Starship Entertainment after 11 Years
In their official statement, Starship Entertainment first expressed their gratitude to the fans for their unchanging love and support for Soyou.
The agency then shared that they had a thorough discussion with former SISTAR member Soyou for a long period, but ultimately, she decided not to renew her contract with them.
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Starship Entertainment later thanked Soyou for spending a long time with them since "she has been a trainee, a member of SISTAR, and a soloist."
The label further stated that they respect her decision and that even though her contract with them has ended, they will continue to support her.
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Before joining Starship Entertainment, former SISTAR member Soyou trained under CUBE Entertainment and was initially supposed to debut as a member of 4Minute.
Soyou explained that she didn't make it into the final lineup of trainees debuting in 4Minute because she was lacking in numerous ways. She was originally supposed to take Sohyun's place.
As a result, Soyou auditioned for Starship Entertainment, singing Navi's "On the Road." She succeeded in debuting as a member of SISTAR in June 2010. The band garnered extreme popularity in 2011 with their hit single "So Cool."
Best of luck to Soyou on her new beginnings!
Soyou's Solo Releases before Leaving Starship Entertainment
Soyou began her solo career under Starship Entertainment after SISTAR's disbandment in June 2017. She was featured on K.Wil''s fourth album, titled "Part.1 Nonfiction," for the B-side song "Let Me Hear You Say," dropped in September.
She then collaborated with Geeks' Loui in the track "Monitor Girl," their first collab in five years since "Officially Missing You" in 2012.
The former SISTAR member Soyou released her first official solo track as the lead singer in November 2017, entitled "I Still." In December of the same year, she dropped the first part of her solo album "RE:BORN" with the single "The Night," which features rapper duo Geeks.
"RE:BORN" peaked at No. 19 on the Gaon Album Chart, and sold more than 2,000 copies in December 2017.
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The second part of the album, titled "RE:FRESH" came out in October 2018, and it contains six songs including the title track "All Night" (featuring Sik-K).
"RE:FRESH" debuted and peaked at No. 19 on the Gaon Album Chart for the week ending on Oct. 6.
Nine months later, former SISTAR member Soyou released "Gotta Go" in June 2020. It has a music video that was uploaded to Starship Entertainment's YouTube channel.
After almost a year, Soyou made her comeback with the single "Good Night My Love," which contains lyrics penned by Lee Hyori and was composed by Babylon.
"Good Night My Love" becomes Soyou's last release under Starship Entertainment.
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Written by Mhaliya Scott
