K-Pop Fans Express Their Disappointment In The Extended Hiatus Of A Beloved Soloist
Long-lasting hiatuses of K-Pop artists can be hard for fans to handle, especially if it’s not for any known health or other serious reason. BLACKPINK, for example, has become basically expected to have over year-long gaps between releases by now, and more recently, fans have been complaining over aespa‘s unusually long break between comebacks. There are plenty of other examples too, with both understandable and unknown reasons for their extended breaks.
But it’s not just groups that go through lengthy hiatuses without clear reasoning. While it’s not uncommon for soloists who have been in the K-Pop industry for a while to take long breaks between comebacks, it’s less common for those who are earlier on in their career, yet that is just the case for Somi.
Somi originally debuted as a soloist with the song “BIRTHDAY” on June 13, 2019, after placing first on Produce 101, which landed her a spot in the temporary girl group I.O.I. Prior to becoming a soloist, she was a trainee under JYP Entertainment and could have ended up debuting as a member of ITZY had she not ended up leaving the label in 2018 and moved to YG Entertainment‘s subsidiary, THE BLACK LABEL.
During 2020 and early 2021, Somi only released two singles, “What You Waiting For” and “Dumb Dumb.” It wasn’t until October 14, 2021, that she finally released a “full-length” studio album, XOXO, though even that included four already-released songs and just eight tracks total. Since then, she hasn’t had a single comeback in nearly a year and a half.
Of course, YG Entertainment and its subsidiaries are already known for putting their artists on extended hiatuses, so many fans blame that reason alone for Somi’s extremely small discography (just eight songs, not including collaborations) in her nearly four years as a soloist.
Others brought up just how much has happened since her last comeback, which really puts things into perspective!
Some can’t help but wonder if she had stayed with JYP Entertainment, she might have had a much bigger discography with more frequent comebacks, whether she was a member of ITZY or a soloist.
It’s possible that she’s just focusing on non-music work, such as modeling and CFs, though it’s hard to say for sure.
Overall, though, it seems that Somi’s fans just worry that her talents are being wasted at a label like THE BLACK LABEL that’s notoriously known for its artists’ long hiatuses.
We hope if Somi does want to release new music soon, that she will be able to have a comeback in the near future, whether it’s just a single or a whole album!
