Blockberry Creative has announced that LOONA will not hold a comeback showcase for ‘The Origin Album: 0’, their next release and first as an 11-member group.
In a statement issued to South Korean press earlier today (December 16), the agency announced that the girl group will not stage a comeback showcase for fans and the media upon the release of ‘The Origin Album: 0’ next month. This is the first time the group will not be hosting a media and fan showcase for new music since debuting in 2016.
A report by YTN Star, however, claims that the agency is still discussing a potential live broadcast hosted by LOONA upon the release of their new record. Blockberry Creative has not responded to this claim at the time of publication.
Slated for release on January 3, ‘The Origin Album: 0’ is a five-song project featuring title track ‘Freesm’ and four B-sides: opener ‘0’, ‘Comet’, ‘B.U.R.N (Be U Right Now)’ and ‘Flash’.
It will mark LOONA’s first project since the release of mini-album ‘Flip That’ in June and their first release as an 11-member group, following Chuu’s removal last month. In a statement announcing the news, Blockberry Creative alleged that Chuu was “expelled” due to “violent language and misuse of power” towards its staff.
Following backlash and skepticism from fans, Blockberry later published a second statement responding to calls for the agency to substantiate its allegations of Chuu’s “misuse of power”, stating: “It is the rights of Chuu herself and the staff who was harmed to provide the truth or evidence of this.”
Days after she was fired from LOONA, Chuu broke her silence via her Instagram Stories, where she maintained in a brief message to followers that she “[hasn’t] done anything that would be shameful to [her] fans”. She added: “In the future, as my position is decided, I will share another statement. Thank you so much for your concern and for trusting in me.”