YG Entertainment has made a statement regarding BIGBANG’s G-Dragon’s contract with them.

On June 6, YG Entertainment announced, “G-Dragon’s exclusive contract with us has expired but we are collaborating with him through a separate contract for his other activities such as advertisement, etc.”

YG Entertainment added, “There will be discussions regarding additional contracts if he resumes his music activities. We will spare no effort to provide support for this.”

Previously, speculations began to arise among fans that G-Dragon did not renew his contract with the agency after noticing his name wasn’t on the list of artists and actors under YG Entertainment as of March 31 according to a quarterly report released by YG Entertainment in April.

Back in January, G-Dragon announced through his official YouTube channel he was gearing up for a new album. Later in March, he also teased that he’s currently preparing for a project and that several things are underway.

Fellow BIGBANG members Taeyang and Daesungparted ways with YG Entertainment following the expiration of their contracts with the agency in December 2022. Afterward, Taeyang joined THEBLACKLABEL while Daesung signed with R&D Company under D-LABLE, a dedicated team for Daesung.

Meanwhile, T.O.Pleft YG Entertainment in February 2022. At the time, the agency explained that T.O.P would continue to partake in BIGBANG’s group activities when he is able to. However, just a few days ago, T.O.P took to Instagram to personally announce he has withdrawn from BIGBANG.

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T.O.P has personally announced his withdrawal from BIGBANG.

On May 30, T.O.P shared an Instagram post with one photo captioned “still making my albums.” The following day, a fan commented to ask T.O.P if he had left BIGBANG, to which he responded, “I’ve already withdrawn.”

T.O.P elaborated, “I’ve already told you guys that I’m leaving and I’m now facing a new chapter in my life since last year.”

Another fan commented to ask whether it was true that he was coming back and T.O.P clarified, “solo.”

Last February, T.O.P parted ways with YG Entertainment after 16 years. At the time, the agency explained that T.O.P would continue to partake in BIGBANG’s group activities when he is able to, beginning with their last comeback with “Still Life.”

In December, it was confirmed that T.O.P will be participating as one of eight crew members for the dearMoon Project, SpaceX’s lunar tourism project.

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The Korean Business Research Institute has revealed this month’s brand reputation rankings for all idol groups!

The rankings were determined through an analysis of the consumer participation, media coverage, interaction, and community awareness indexes of various idol groups, using big data collected from March 20 to April 20.

BTS rose to the top of the list this month with a brand reputation index of 8,645,890, marking a 26.06 percent increase in their score since March.

High-ranking phrases in BTS’s keyword analysis included “Jimin,” “J-Hope,” and “Jungkook,” while their highest-ranking related terms included “record,” “enlist,” and “donate.” The group’s positivity-negativity analysis also revealed a score of 92.38 percent positive reactions.

BLACKPINK climbed to second place in the rankings with a brand reputation index of 7,136,906, marking a 28.21 percent rise in their score since last month.

Meanwhile, NewJeans came in at a close third with a brand reputation index of 6,931,633 for April.

IVE rose to fourth place after seeing an impressive 108.29 percent increase in their brand reputation index since March, bringing their total score for the month to 5,717,670.

Finally, SEVENTEEN rounded out the top five for April with a brand reputatoin index of 2,393,596.

Check out the top 30 for March below!

1. BTS
2. BLACKPINK
3. NewJeans
4. IVE
5. SEVENTEEN
6. Teen Top
7. TWICE
8. MONSTA X
9. FIFTY FIFTY
10. (G)I-DLE
11. NCT
12. H1-KEY
13. STAYC
14. SHINee
15. Girls’ Generation
16. EXO
17. Apink
18. Kep1er
19. BTOB
20. LE SSERAFIM
21. TXT
22. PENTAGON
23. Stray Kids
24. THE BOYZ
25. aespa
26. BIGBANG
27. Red Velvet
28. ENHYPEN
29. Oh My Girl
30. ASTRO

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BIGBANG’s Taeyang has just set a new personal record with his latest solo music video!

On April 22 at 11:54 p.m. KST, Taeyang’s music video for his song “VIBE” featuring BTS’s Jimin surpassed 100 million views on YouTube, making it his third solo music video to do so after “Eyes, Nose, Lips” and “Ringa Linga.”

Taeyang originally released the music video for “VIBE” on January 13 at 2 p.m. KST, meaning that it took the video just under 98 days and 22 hours to reach the milestone.

“VIBE” is now Taeyang’s fastest solo music video ever to hit the 100 million mark, breaking the previous record set by “Eyes, Nose, Lips” (which took over three years to achieve the feat).

Congratulations to both Taeyang and Jimin!

Watch the stylish music video for “VIBE” again below: