Fans have been very excited about LOONA’s upcoming tour. However, the news that Chuu won’t be part of the tour has fans asking what is going on with the singer and wondering just why she isn’t going to be present at these events.
Who are LOONA?
LOONA is a South Korean all-girl pop group formed and managed by record label Blockberry Creative. The group made their full debut as a collective with their album [+ +] in 2018 after releasing a series of solo pre-debut singles.
Since then, the band has gone from strength to strength, releasing 4 more extended plays. The latest of which, titled Flip That, landed in 2022. The band has also won several awards. This includes taking home awards at the Asia Artist Awards and the MTV Europe Music Awards.
The band has 12 members. These members are:
- HaSeul [The band’s leader]
- HeeJin
- HyunJin
- YeoJin
- ViVi
- Kim Lip
- JinSoul
- Choerry
- Yves
- Go Won
- Olivia Hye
- Chuu
Why is Chuu not on the current tour?
Blockberry creative made an announcement on the LOONA website on July 25th that read:
“LOONA member Chuu has not participated in the activities of LOONA Japan’s 2nd single “LUMINOUS” and LOONA’s first “LOONA THE WORLD in TOKYO” concert on Saturday, October 1 due to a predetermined personal schedule for the second half of the year. Will be reported here.
We apologize for the sudden announcement to all the fans who have been waiting for LOONA’s activities in Japan.
In addition, all the members are doing their best to prepare for activities in Japan, so please continue to support us in the future.
We sincerely apologize for the sudden announcement to all the fans who support LOONA. We will do our best to support LOONA’s activities in Japan.
We appreciate your understanding.”
However, the label has not clarified what a “predetermined personal schedule for the second half of the year” means in practice. However, this has sent the rumor mill into overdrive. With fans throwing theories back and forth, the current tour is a big deal, making it very unlikely the band would embark on it while lacking a member unless there was a massive reason.
Many fans believe this might be due to a recent controversy. It was recently reported that the musician filed a lawsuit against Blockberry Creative to get her exclusive contract with the agency suspended. And according to many sources, she was granted a preliminary injunction.
Neither side has commented on the case at the current time. But fans have wondered if this case links to Blockberry Creative’s ownership of the copyright on Chuu’s name and if the star wants more personal control of her distribution rights for non-music projects.
This was further compounded by reports that said that Chuu was leaving Blockberry Creative and signing with BY4M Studios in the near future – which would explain why the singer was dropped from the tour.
However, we will not know until one of the parties involved makes an official statement addressing the situation and explaining what will happen moving forward. Until then, LOONA fans should not expect to see Chuu take to the stage with her bandmates. So for the foreseeable future, Chuu’s status with the band will remain a mystery.