† The Official SPICA Thread - Bohyung releases solo "Hwol Hwol", OT5 reunion † MERCURIES will stand by SPICA members forever! †

[Hoku]

So the CJ E&M deal with B2M isn't a merger or a partnership, it's a "cooperation". Their management will help B2M artists with promotion and marketing.

 

http://isplus.live.joins.com/news/article/article.asp?total_id=18695631&cloc=

 

 

Eric Nam does these V-app vids and he did one with Boa a couple weeks back. Thankfully some one transferred it to YT. It's nothing deep, just Eric Nam cooking some jacked up grilled cheese sandwiches with Boa. lol

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p72Zue-o4zY

 

Narae is doing a project, I'm not sure what it is, maybe the movie. 

 

 

[Trans] #JungMeamMool #Mojji face completing makeupðŸ»ðŸ» so good morning     

trans by Spica_Tweets

 

 

And jiwon is turning into Narae.....she has somehow picked up building legos....

 

 

[Trans] go and fight! it's so cool, right? the LEGO world that doesn't allow one inch of mistake #Ironman #LEGO

trans by Spica_Tweets

 

Also, an OST was released from her kids show Fairies in my Arms titled " I Love You"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bbo's back from Shanghai and immediately does the Unistella thing

 

 

 

And Sihyun is still in Guam eating pretty much everything....

 

 

 

 

[Hoku]

Bbo covering a little Whitney for us.

 

[Trans by Spica_Tweets] "be attention of the volume. the resonance is like staying in a cave. having live myself...amazing practice room that we dont need a mic"  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvmfARXGEGk&feature=youtu.be

 

cr: Turn Up Speaker

Edited September 19, 2015 by Hoku

[Hoku]

I was surprised to find this on YT today. Tonight era behind the scenes eng sub...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1AAhRKdV8g

 

cr: Mercury Subs

[Hoku]

Click here to view the Tweet

 

Headliner EP4 preview - HEADLINER [헤드ë¼ì´ë„ˆ] 3ë¼ìš´ë“œ 미션! Shock Wave Party! 150929 EP.4

 

 

 

[Hoku]

Will they perform?

Click here to view the Tweet

 

 

 

 

This is the Mnet "Headliner" show I posted above, it airs tonight at 11pm on Korea (tomorrow morning for US folks). It's supposed to be Boa and Sihyun but only Boa is actually mentioned. Not sure how Sihyun fits in since this episode will team one DJ with one idol, and looking at that announcement, it seems they already have at least 4 idols (one from each group and G.NA). 

[Hoku]

 

Does anyone ever crave Boa/Narae interactions?  They both interact with Jiwon and Sihyun the most and interact with each other the least. Or is it just me who thinks that?

 

 

I live for BoRae interactions, they are hilarious with their dumb and dumber routine.

 

 

 

 

They actually interact quite a bit if they are next to each other when doing activities, but it's mostly in the background.

 

Narae/Bohyung interactions are rare.

[Hoku]

So it was actually 4 of them on headliner, everyone except Bbo. 

 

 

[Hoku]

Boa sang at the Doowon University Festival a couple days ago. Here is an audio recording of the 4 songs she sang: Bruno Mars' "When I was Your Man", two songs she sang on Masked Singer "So That's It" and Music Is My Life", and she ended with a mostly solo "Tonight". cr: happyhh2 on SounCloud

 

 

 

 

She also spoke before she started singing and here's a translation by Spica_Tweets on Twitter of what she said:

 

"recently I'm just staying at home, eating snacks and ice cream for a whole day"

 

"I still feel nervous when having activities or standing on stage alone"

 

"We've been a team for 3 three years and seems I depend on my members a lot"

 

"coz all our members have the parts they're good at, so we can complement each other"

 

"it seems to be hard to have CB within this year"

 

"maybe some people may ask if we're disbanded, but the answer is no"

 

"we really thought that we'll have CB and we were really planning for that"

 

"we were not lying but sorry that it becomes a lie at the end.Thanks for waiting for us.I also feel sad recently"

 

"I was thinking if I should sing SPICA's song or not, coz SPICA is a team and there're many high notes"

 

 

 

 

So it looks like there won't be a comeback this year. That means if they comeback early next year it will have been 2 years since OT5 SPICA had a promotion in Korea, which by then will be half the time since they debuted! Really sad to hear, but at least it's an answer which is better than being in the dark like we always are. And it was good to hear Boa address the disbanding rumor with a definite no. Coming from her that means a lot.

 

I don't know what's going on with B2M but it is tragic what they have done to this group. Also don't know what happened with ASA Music and all their plans. They couldn't honestly have been expecting SPICA to be an overnight success with a morning TV show appearance and a singing a couple of songs at a nightclub. So I can't understand why they haven't done any follow up activities with them since KCON last year. 

 

As bad as I feel for all of B2M's artists, it's really their yet to debut boy group I feel the worst for. They have been ready to debut for years yet nothing has happened for them. B2M even has other trainees in line behind them too. 

Edited October 5, 2015 by Hoku

[Hoku]

What can we Mercuries do about this? Can't we organize to trend something on twitter?

 

 

 

I don't think there's anything we can do because I think it comes down to B2M not having the money to do a promotion. If you think about it B2M as a whole hasn't done much this year. Eric Nam had a promotion early in the year and then there was the cancelled US concert tour (I imagine they lost a good amount of money on that). Nicole did a fair amount of promoting in Japan but you don't hear much about that. So it would seem they have the time to promote SPICA, but not the money.

 

I'm going to speculate that B2M thought the CJ E&M deal was going to be bigger than it was so they planned a SPICA comeback in hopes of it. Timing seemed to coincide with the announcement that a deal was in the works. And it seemed a perfect opportunity with Sihyun on her variety show, Boa coming off Masked Singer, and Jiwon on her kids show. But when the CJ E&M deal didn't happen the way they had hoped, they cancelled the comeback. 

 

But it still amazes me how terrible B2M is at promoting their artist. Here's Eric Nam, one of the most recognizable faces for international fans, and no one ever talks about him. The guy interviews all the big name Hollywood stars that go to Korea and still Koreans don't even know him. I remember his appearance on Running Man and how only Haha vaguely recognized him when he walked out and when his song was playing, Yoo Jae Suk said he had never heard it before (that's the first and only time I have ever heard him say that to anyone).Nicole was brought in because she had a large following but she has all but disappeared, I never even hear about her activities. B2M is like a black hole and the only reason SPICA still has a fighting chance is because of all their talent.

Edited October 6, 2015 by Hoku

[Hoku]

If the issue is money why are they sitting at home eating ice cream? When's the last time OT5 had a performance? Why is their schedule so empty if they need money? SPICA had no bookings until just recently.

 

 

Bookings pretty much relate to popularity, and SPICA isn't popular enough to have a really busy schedule right now. When their popularity was rising, like after the YDLM comeback, they were busy (then B2M cut their schedules for what was supposed to be a June comeback that never happened so they did almost nothing until KCON). Considering how low their popularity and fancafe ranking is, it's pretty amazing they manage to have the schedules they do. There are tons of not so popular groups that you never hear from outside of comebacks. And again, I think that's largely because of their talent that SPICA gets the work they do. That's not to say B2M and the SPICA members themselves couldn't do more and be more creative in promoting SPICA, because they obviously could, it's just that in general there has to be a demand for them. Almost all of their bookings in the last three months have been with Mnet or MBC, both of which have a relationship with CJ E&M. So I'm guessing it all started off as part of that deal that has now settled into the "cooperation" agreement. 

 

As for the whole OT5 thing, it does bother me. Sometimes I'm sure there probably is an explanation a to why a member is missing (like I think the reason why Bbo missed the Headliner DJ event was because she was still doing the Baechigi promotion when the group started the project) but then there was the whole Boa not being there for most of a year. I mean even now they are part of a concert this weekend and fans aren't sure if all of them will be there because Bbo is still vacationing in China (Hopefully she is and she comes back today so she has time to rehearse and rest). But it's still weird that we've gotten to the point that we are always wondering if all of them will be there for a performance. 

[Hoku]

Do you really beleive that or are you playing devils advocate?

 

 

Which part? I believe everything in the first paragraph. SPICA usually only does shows where singing matters, like Masked Singer, 1000 song challenge, Immortal Challenge, that Yesterday show where they did "Breakaway" and "It's Raining Men", and that speaks to their vocal talent. But they have never done a Dream Concert, a year end awards show for a network, or even any of the large variety shows like RunningMan, Infinity Challenge, Real Men, etc. Most of the variety shows they have done have been following promotions when they're in the spotlight. B2M just can't capitalize and keep the momentum going.

 

I never heard of Hani and only kinds knew about EXID a year ago. But after the fancam and they became popular they were everywhere. I'm sure they would've have liked to have worked more before the fancam but they just weren't in demand because they weren't popular then. 

 

Nine Muses is more popular than SPICA in Korea, and they hardly had any schedule all last year. 

[Hoku]

SPICA is going to KCON...........in Jeju!?!?

 

Seems weird because I always thought KCONs were for foreign countries. Other groups and artist confirmed so far are Shinhwa, BlockB, SG Wannabe, Kangnam, Poten, Roy Kim, Park Boram, and  Oh My Girl.

 

[Hoku]

 

I'm not saying they should have an EXID schedule but I know nugus who have festival or concert events every week. There's even one rookie group I'm following, they don't even have a company, they're independent, have under 500 fancafe members and yet they manage to get bookings nearly every week. I don't know if B2M is just super selective about what they allow SPICA to participate in but if they're in a position where they can't afford a CB should they really be that picky? They don't have perform at high profile events all the time. Mix some festivals and small scale stuff in there. It doesn't always have to be a KCON or Dream Concert, etc. If its paid and there are other mid tier groups there like Fiestar, Stellar, and Hello Venus, I should see SPICA there too. There was a point where SPICA had nothing in their schedule except radio. There's no excuse for that imo. I know SPICA can get bookings because suddenly they're getting them now. If they can get roles on dramas and other tv appearances they can get plenty of performance opportunities. When 'Ghost' came out they should have been performing it everywhere.

 

 

 

I think B2M is probably being a little selective, but I also think they just aren't being offered a whole lot either. I would love to see SPICA doing more but given that they haven't done a promotion of any kind in a year and an OT5 promotion in well over a year and a half, it's not likely given the huge amount of groups out there that are promoting. All those groups you mentioned promoted recently or semi recently, meaning they have some relevancy (I hate using that term but I couldn't think of anything else). SPICA has been out of the game so long and the only music they have put out all year as a group is a single OST(a very good one though). Kpop is driven by popularity, I hate it but it's the reality.

 

Is there more that B2M could do? Absolutely. I personally don't think B2M takes the international fanbase seriously. The fact SPICA has never even been on After School Club speaks volumes. The fact that the "Ghost" physical was never even made available for i-fans says a lot too. The fact that B2M either didn't make any type of agreement with ASA Music, or chose not to promote "I Did It" in any way in Korea was also a big mistake. The very least they could have SPICA do is release covers. I find it questionable that they only have SPICA do covers when they are already promoting a song. It would make better sense to have them do it when they are off promotions. ANd last they should be teaming up their artist to help each other during each other's promotions. Like when Nicole was in Japan, have SPICA or Eric Nam there, even if it's just for public support. 

 

Like I said, it is amazing SPICA gets the bookings they do because I think if they were just a run of the mill typical kpop girl group, they probably wouldn't even have had any schedule this year. It's their immense talent keeping them as busy as they are. I often see people use SPICA as an example as to why being a vocally talented group is a hindrance. They forget all the other regular kpop groups that have not made it or straight out disbanded. As little activity as SPICA has had is the last year, and as nugu as they are, people around here still talk about them. The only other girl group that I can think of who is like that is Nine Muses.

[Hoku]

151009  SPICA @ One K Concert

 

cr: Starry Five

 

 

cr: Dark Sniper

 

 

Click here to view the Tweet

 

Click here to view the Tweet

[Trans by Spica-Tweets]] #OneKConcert #SPICA #JungSaemMool #JungMiYoung #SeoHiTeacher it's been long since last time we were all being together it's been long since last time I used eyelashes no. 33

 

Click here to view the Tweet

Edited October 10, 2015 by Hoku

[Hoku]

not sure what this is but I'm posting it anyway

 

 

That was from last year when SPICA.S did Let's Go Dream Team.

 

 

151010 ì˜ê´‘ 굴비축제 You Don't Love Me - 스피카 박시현

 

 

 

cr: Let It Fly?

[Hoku]

 

 Does anyone know if they're planning a comeback at all?

 

Boa did an appearance two weeks ago and said it would be "difficult" for them to comeback this year. So I would be looking to early next year for a comeback, probably around their 4 year anniversary.

 

As far as Boa's solo, I think it got bumped when B2M signed Nicole to their label. At this point it will probably have to wait until after a SPICA comeback. And even then it would depend on what else B2M has going on. 

[Hoku]

What kind of music would she release?

 

I'm hoping it's more Rock oriented (been hoping for the same from SPICA as a group too), she's been showing more of that side of herself lately. But I don't know how much say she gets in what she wants to make, especially as a solo debut album.

 

Hey, well a comeback next year is better than none at all!

 

But I can't wait to hear them do something new. They just need a really solid jam to get everyones attention. Though I don't know how songs like Russian Roulette haven't done that already.

 

The good news is that they are more actively lately as a group. It started with their appearance on that DJ show (even though Bbo was missing) and then the two concerts last weekend. They also will be at KCON in Jeju island next month. 

 

I think SPICA was just to new to pull off Russian Roulette. R&B is very polarizing in kpop, you either love it or you hate it. If they were popular then their fans would have stuck by them no matter what, much like Red Velvet with Automatic. The fact that it was more pop R&B helped, but it was book-ended by two true R&B songs in "Doggedly/Potently" and "Painkiller". All great songs in my opinion but there's really not a lot R&B fans in kpop.

[Hoku]

Narae did a commercial for a bank

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXq4SvFzSBo&feature=youtu.be

 

Sihyun dyed her hair.......again!

 

Click here to view the Tweet

 

Jiwon continues her fascination with Legos

 

Click here to view the Tweet

[Hoku]

Wait what?! Bohyung and Aziatix collab?? Daebak!!

 

 

Hey Lufffy, good to see you!

 

Anyway, turns out it's a collab with just Flowsik. Very cool. He is releasing two songs on 10/27 and the second one, "Can't Sleep", features Bohyung

 

 

[Hoku]

I'm still wondering how B2M managed to slip away from CJ E&M. CJ E&M just aquired High Lite, Paloalto's label. CJ E&M absorb smaller companies all the time like Pacman. Its nothing to them, thats what they're known for. They could have bought B2M if they wanted to. Its fishy. Why didn't it happen? Business experts please offer your insights.

 

 

I figured something was off when the article came out saying they were working on a deal together and B2M made the point of saying it wasn't finalized exactly what it would be. I'm thinking B2M values it's singers higher than CJ E&M does, which is kinda understandable considering it has very talented people, but none of their acts seem to be very profitable right now. I think CJ E&M is helping them promote to see if their acts can indeed breakthrough with their help. If that happens they may partner up with them. But that theory has the flaw that if one of the acts, like SPICA, has a major breakthrough then they won't need a partnership. But then again they would still need CJ E&M's help with promotion because they are so big you can't cut them out either.

 

As for the next comeback. I always found it weird how kpop acts, and I think this goes for all Korean entertainment singers, don't constantly work on their next album like western acts do. They always seem to be cramming it in right before the comeback date. Even full albums aren't put together until right before a release. The companies are always gathering songs (like B2M had "Give Your Love" 9 months before the SPICA.S debut) but they don't let the singers work on the songs until they are actually preparing the comeback (except if they wrote the song themselves of course).

 

At this point B2M needs to to give SPICA it's full album and let them go for broke with it. Next year will be there 4 year celebration which means it will be their 5th year of existence, and they already started off late (as far as their individual ages) as it was.  Just trust in the members to pick/write the songs like they did with secondary songs on the mini albums. That way it's all on the table and the public can decided whether or not they want to support them. I agree it needs to be a original concept because at this point catering to trends and waves is not going to get them a breakthrough.

[Hoku]

Merry Christmas SPICA! It sounds like 2016 should be a good one for them.

[Hoku]

 

Lots of duos and soloists. Spica, Eric Nam, and Produce 101 group will be the only idols under CJ E&M.

 

 

Interesting.....I don't know Produce 101 but to me SPICA and Eric Nam have always been borderline idols because they are known far more for their singing and mature sound (minus SPICA's I'll Be There and maybe Lonely). Neither is known for their dancing, although SPICA's isn't as bad as some Mercuries like to tease them about. So it would seem CJ E&M isn't aiming for mainstream idol talent.

[Hoku]

2015.12.25 Park NaRae Christmas message on SPICA Daum cafe

translation by Spica_Tweets

 

Click here to view the Tweet

 

Mercuries~~~^_^
It's been long since last time I left a message ㅜㅡㅜ
You all should get know about it yesterday from news. We're now in the process of changing the agency and we're finding the music that suits SPICA, so it takes time for us coming out and meeting with you guys (crys) ㅜㅜ We'll sure show up with better music and more awesome performance in front of you~ Please wait for a little bit more! We'll work hard to have different activities and communicate with all of you to make the album waiting time less tiring!! So please don't leave us•_•!!! 
HEHE Today is the happy Christmas, so I come here to leave a message~ No matter you're with your family, friends, lover or alone at home with Harry Potter, I hope you will have a joyful Christmas>_<!! 
Our members are all being good~ Boa unnie makes a short hair cut and she looks very charm and charismatic.(gasps) SiHyun unnie is eating a lot of delicious food, but at the same time she's losing weight amazingly. JiWon is training her body by doing Pilates and yoga, and she even buys salad!!! and then says it doesn't taste good and gets back to rice. BoHyung is flying her black hair and comes back from her happy overseas travelings~ For me, I also have a good time with Jolie (or Brad)~ 
Let's have fun in the remaining days of 2015, and meet in 2016>_<!!!!

http://cafe.daum.net/spicaofficial/1ukW/45

Edited December 25, 2015 by Hoku

[Hoku]

Hi guys!!! I posted in this thread a while ago under a different account, which I forgot the password for, but I got too busy to post anymore. I think I only posted once lol. Now that I'm on break from school I want to contribute to this thread. Spica is my bias female group but I've only known about them for about 2 years. I hope you guys welcome me again!!

 

Welcome back! Same thing sorta happened to me. My computer crashed in October and I was too lazy to retrieve the password I had forgotten. Since SPICA hasn't had much going on this whole past year and my life was busy I just left it like that for awhile. But now that they have signed with CJ E&M I suspect that SPICA will be getting very busy very soon and hopefully it stays that way. 

[Hoku]

I agree with Entropy, there's nothing wrong with Jiwon doing that show, especially as an individual activity. The only thing wrong I saw was that she look worse after the makeover. lol

 

For a group that has been on hiatus for so long SPICA did pretty well for themselves last year with every member managing to have some individual activities. Even some of the more popular groups wouldn't be able to say the same, and I think that's a testament to SPICA's versatility and talent. But I do wish they had more group activities involving music. They only had one musical release of any kind as a group all last year, and that was an OST (albeit a very good one). I wish they would at least do a cover but for whatever reason they only do those when they are doing a promotion.