I’m usually not one to post like this, but the amount of misinformation in the comments of the r/kpop post on the NU’EST anniversary dinner photos has really pissed me off.
I’ve been a LOVE since 2016 when I really vibed with Aron on After School Club and then discovered “Overcome” and “Love Paint” (bangers). I couldn’t bear to watch when they went on Produce 101 although I voted, but NU’EST W is one of my favorite eras of music from them. Not only did they capitalize off the newfound attention well, they truly found their sound with Baekho and Bumzu fully taking the wheel (“Help Me” was my alarm for two years). All this to say, I’ve been a fan for a long time, and I know a lot about their struggles with Pledis to not be surprised by their disbandment. Sad, shocked it actually happened, but no real surprise when I took a second to think about it.
For one, people have to recognize that their contract was 10 years long. This was not a premature disbandment a la Pristin (wee fucking woo). NU’EST fulfilled the terms of their original contract signed in 2012 and decided not to renew as a group. HYBE did NOT “force” them into disbanding. If they did then I highly doubt Minhyun and Baekho, two very capable individuals, would have renewed individual contracts. This has everything to do with the members’ own wishes during negotiation, and we have to respect their wishes to not continue. It doesn’t matter that they said they want to stay together for a long time; the fact is that they could not, and probably due to members’ visions for the future not aligning with Pledis, HYBE, and especially each other.
Do I think HYBE is entirely guiltless in this? No. But Pledis was pretty horrible with NU’EST. The trainee system was insanely brutal, yeah, but the real trouble was the mismanagement. Pledis clearly wanted NU’EST to be international hits but pushed it prematurely, sending them off to Japan only to not get much traction and lose Korean momentum. And don’t get me started with NU’EST M. I bet you 90% of the people pointing blind fingers at HYBE don’t know anything about Jason (aka Longfei, who actually appeared on the CYZJ show with Samuel, Jun, and THE8?? That was crazy). It took appearing on a survival show with trainees 5 years after debut(!!) to get back a stable Korean fandom. And at the end of the day, Pledis was still the one responsible for NU’EST after acquisition: planning concepts, album rollout, concerts, and establishing brand connections using HYBE’s resources.
Why would JR want to go back to the company who, after being their founding male trainee, literally turned away opportunities for the group? Why would Aron return to being pushed around to chase gains in the idol industry when he’s openly struggled with his mental health as a result? Why would Minhyun abandon acting, or Ren abandon theater, or Baekho have to stress over music bootcamps to write songs for his group as well as himself? Only groups with guaranteed, self-sufficient success have the luxury to focus on solo ventures as well as group activities, with the pace that all companies push their groups in order to survive in the public consciousness and sustain themselves. And for a group that had already been 10 long years into a rollercoaster career, I cannot blame them for not wanting that kind of stress.
So yes, I am so glad that NU’EST have taken the past three years to develop their individual careers and catch up on the personal time lost from being in the public eye. Their musical and theatrical output has been amazing and it’s clear that they’ve been chasing their dreams while staying close to each other. After they all come back from the military, I have hopes that they’ll pull a SHINHWA (who NU’EST admires greatly) and reunite under their own label. But regardless, I hope that all the people who endlessly namedrop NU’EST in an anti-HYBE agenda would shut the f**k up and support their individual activities instead. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
submitted by /u/intrepid_turtle
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