K-Pop's Biggest Waste of Talent: Shannon Williams

Shannon Williams had all the potential in the world, even singing on stage with SHINee and IU at a young age - and then she was dungeoned by her label. Discover her curious story in this K-Pop deep dive!
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[@HallyUKPop]

*Who else comes to mind for you when you think of missed opportunities in K-Pop?* Show off your bias group and have your say in weekly videos by supporting me on Patreon! www.patreon.com/hallyuyoutube Facebook: facebook.com/HallyUKZbin Twitter: twitter.com/HallyUYT

[@JinefferEnerlan]

True wasted

[@Kapradie]

Fx's Luna's solo career

[@ridgetomas7804]

Pro trick : watch series at instaflixxer. Me and my gf have been using them for watching loads of movies lately.

[@yousefmatthew9879]

@Ridge Tomas yup, I have been watching on instaflixxer for since november myself :)

[@akdlg9sjjslk8]

Please do Kriesha Chu! It feels like it’s been years since we heard anything from her 😭

[@randomsheep1165]

She's literally on the same level as Ailee and Son Seungyeon, amazing for someone of her age

[@irsyad8898]

yeah, she even better from some soloist like somi and other from my opinion but they waste her talent very stupid

[@randomsheep1165]

@@irsyad8898 well of course she's a better vocalist than Somi. Somi is hardly a vocalist at all 😅

[@yaniehernandez4190]

SOVA said: "I agree"

[@xaviers1048]

@@yaniehernandez4190 LMAOOO

[@jeongzz3817]

This girl is even than Wendy

[@kantuo]

Who else knows her as jett

[@carolineyulina4936]

me

[@notfunny8031]

i just looked her up and saw this and was just kinda like sure

[@JBTriple8]

Me Love Valorant

[@dymc_o]

🤚

[@badoodstv2353]

me

[@joosuy]

she can produce resonance with her voice. RESONANCE. one of the best vocalists in kpop and her talent went to waste with this terrible management

[@KitsuneMale]

The way you screamed resonance twice LOL it’s so funny lol yes emphasize go off

[@alisonvu2812]

She has an incredible vocal, i think it's hard to find someone like her in mainstream kpop today. It was such a shame that her company is terrible at managing their artists 😔 It makes me so angry to see how MBK can find and train a lot of great idols with so much potential, but got wasted away cause they just dont know how to treat their idols right (literally what happened to T-ara is enough to get them a punch in the face)

[@mkay5132]

im happy for shannon and im happy that shes my main in valorant she deserves all the love

[@iadtag1853]

Funny to say that you main Shannon instead of Jett.

[@lancypancy0921]

@@iadtag1853 🤣🤣

[@taewithkookieandsuga2088]

What's valorant

[@Amari18]

@@taewithkookieandsuga2088 you're missing so much but in summary Valorant is First person shooter game with 5v5 match it depends to the mode on how many scores you need to win it's made by Riot Games.

[@johnpauljonesisabadass8134]

@@taewithkookieandsuga2088 humans and superhumans fight each other with guns and superhuman abilities. Shannon voices a character named Jett, she a windy girl

[@ultrakwon]

She signed with the wrong label, unfortunately. She probably signed with MBK, because of T-ara, but MBK caught lighting in a bottle with T-ara. They haven't been able to replicate T-ara's success since, and apparently they even had a falling out with T-ara. MBK is a sh!t show for lack of a better word. Ultimately, I'm actually happy for Shannon. She sounds like a chill, laidback person, and I heard she loves streaming video games. If she still has a passion for singing and song writing, she can pursue it anytime, because she has a platform.

[@HallyUKPop]

Great insights! I definitely agreed MBK weren't prepared to support and manage other artists properly.

[@tsunchina3040]

yeah MBK is horrible

[@ziqdam1396]

REBIBE ME JETT

[@TofuBebe]

Valorant players be like

[@user-cu6nt2tj1e]

WATCH THIS

[@chrysos]

COME ON JETT, USE U'RE ULT

[@cet_froz2249]

No

[@winterapplegamingYT203]

There you are you little sh*t

[@friolle]

Bruh I just want to hear her sing again :(

[@HallyUKPop]

Me too :(

[@bruhbro1181]

@@HallyUKPop under riot

[@relast3864]

Same but maybe she had trauma in mbk so I guess quiting from singing is her option

[@melp6583]

I am so happy she does what she wants and have a happy relationship with Ethos. She is so talented, she could be huge without shitty management but still, I feel like she found her road. She is free, happy and that is the only thing that matters.

[@Un1234l]

I thought Ethos + Shannon was a troll ship by chat. Played up by Ethos himself. IIRC he even says "Chat, think about it logically. I'm in the States, she's in the UK/Korea."

[@melp6583]

@@Un1234l Many people thought that at first but look at em now, dating for almost 9 months and has the cutest photos together ✨

[@makesparkzfly]

They broke up :(

[@sabinotrujillo4976]

@@makesparkzfly lmfao

[@saff4997]

As someone who was a fan of Shannon pre-debut I have some corrections: She didn't debut in 2011. She debuted in 2015. For a year or so she was slated to be joining 5dolls and was briefly confirmed before they changed their minds and allowed her to debut as a soloist but even then it took too long.

[@alien_fairy1973]

She debuted on 29th of November 2014, not 2015

[@tsvnade]

I only knew of her via Valorant and Twitch but to know that she was THIS INSANELY talented? Bruh, I'm happy she's doing something she likes now, though but goddamn the fact that, that amount of talent didn't really lead her to anywhere in the kpop industry and how she was treated etc is way beyond me

[@shaze976]

Riot’s gonna start a kpop group in valorant if they see this video

[@hades8073]

Now also known as Shannon JETT Williams

[@patilsavita1104]

Yes bruv!! It feels sooo wowwww

[@florian7121996]

I don’t really know a lot of wasted talent. But Shannon here clearly has an amazing voice. It’s so sad even if it’s not with MBK that she was not able to do what she wanted artistically.

[@epicexcalibur6445]

She isnt wasted talent she got hired as a voice actor for a videogame named valorant, she plays the character named jett

[@ForeverWinxy]

I don't even know who she is but the vocals that you showed really showed that her talent was wasted. Like does the company not hear her voice like I don't understand the company sometimes (not just this company but many more that are wasting talent for no reason).

[@HallyUKPop]

It's baffling that they didn't realize how special her voice was

[@ForeverWinxy]

@@HallyUKPop it's probably because I wasn't I'm the kpop community when she was around I only joined in 2018 so that's probably why.

[@tcplush5197]

she is now a voice actor for a game name valorant

[@relast3864]

Racism I think

[@kiriyoplay]

Still so sad that she wasn't given the recognition she deserves. Her singing is just so good! I wonder if it's because back then Korean isn't as accepting of non-Korean (or mix) as idols like nowadays? Or would she gotten more popular if she promoted with a Korean name? Or if she were in a different company? I hope she comes back. But I'm happy if she decides to stay where she is now and be successful in whatever makes her happy.

[@tsunchina3040]

one of the reasons why she left was because of xenophobia from Koreans because of her being mixed

[@escritora84]

I'd only heard of her when she announced she was leaving MBK, but given MBK's treatment of T-ara during and after the scandal, I'm not surprised. She deserved so much better.

[@tuipaopao]

Lol even davichi can’t stand mbk.

[@mc3331]

All because of Hater believe the Bitch Hwayoung...Which is the true bully to all other members.

[@frozenlightthequietviking489]

I wonder how many other artists we've forgotten about because they got dungeoned?

[@HallyUKPop]

Too many :(

[@fubuki908]

I wait for Valorant comments here tbh

[@UnknownHunter]

Rebibing omen is not a talent???

[@fubuki908]

@@UnknownHunter XDDDDD

[@mailajanemamalo4128]

Couldn't agree more.. My heart still aches for this baby girl..

[@siennachristine8157]

Sad she joined a company that treated her so horribly. If only she had gone with a better company, maybe things would have been different. However she seems to really be enjoying her life now so I'm happy for her.

[@catherinev1698]

i genuinely hope that she makes music on her own now that she’s free of that horrible contract... her voice is heavenly

[@Gha_da1998]

If she meet the right company she would be the best now

[@LockingToni]

I was there when she talked about WHY WHY and for those who plans to watch her stream She said this herself DO NOT! mention WHY WHY to her. That much pretty much sums up how much she don't like the song. It was because of that song that her vocals were overused. She was young when she sang the song in the MV and they were forcing her to sing the song at that such high noteyears after even tho she can't anymore.

[@y-yyy]

ohhhhh that explains it! I thought people in the chat were telling Shannon to stop talking about Why Why and was confused af lol.

[@usedpidemo]

You forget to mention that she also voices Akali from KDA! Great video; definitely one of the biggest wasted potentials. Would love to hear about other cases in the near future

[@vinne4995]

She doesn't voice Akali.

[@khanhhuynh5434]

She does, however, voice act Jett from Valorant!

[@kazunarifujiwara9599]

She voiced the translation about explaining some parts of the song. Akali in KDA was voiced by Soyeon. She only subbed for her because she speaks fluent english and korean.

[@paulangelopineda2534]

in-game akali is voiced by laura bailey professional voice actress and a member of critical role, in the kda music she is voiced by soyeon and in the translation explanation lyrics voiced by shanon explained by @katetkyokotsu

[@bruhbro1181]

Jett and Akali may have similar abilities and are from Riot games, 1 is in league and another in valorant kthxbai

[@mr.ccberries9056]

She's a real singer, unlike other girl groups, they're just cute and famous by their looks, they can't even sing, their voices were just being edited by autotune when recording albums.

[@leigh2964]

No hesitation she has the most powerful vocal in kpop industry. She deserves better

[@yaniehernandez4190]

Jett to MBK: "There you are little shit!" Sova: "I agree!"

[@axolotl3425]

Shannon was one of my childhood crushes. I really loved her songs.

[@JamitMan]

Last year around in April, somewhere on her Twitch channel she mentioned that the girls had a fall out with Shannon for some unknown reason and the manager decided to put Shannon as a solo. Wikipedia isn't accurate because anybody can edit things out.

[@user-qz5yj9cr7n]

3:22 yow... higher than my grades will ever be, and the fact that she impersonated IU's voice completely well. wow

[@shanmango]

I only discovered her through hatred farewell from Spotify discover. Holy crap her voice is incredible. The kpop industry missed out big time

[@dayday9414]

I remember how she know how to sing opera as a kid 😢❤ maybe if she signed with SM she will success 😔 but now I know she’s happy in the gaming world, I just miss her voice, I hope she released an album

[@alien_fairy1973]

Thank you for the video mini-documentary about Shannon!!! Nowadays it's sad for me that people more know her as Jett's VA and Akali's too. Plus they hate on her voice, I just want her to know that there were people who were fans of hers during kpop days but she said on the stream that she's flop😢 And when she said it, she laughed it off but still I think she was sad by these comments...

[@Discontinuedalready7372]

_Hate? Ppl love her voicing Jett_

[@StarSpirit]

When I heard Why Why, I was like wHAT that's not Shannon at all! Thanks for clearing it all out, I was just wondering what had happened to her

[@HallyUKPop]

You're welcome!

[@ouibaguette1041]

I remember thinking back then why Somi took off when Shannon was just as, if not more, talented as she is? (This is no way in hate to Somi, just an honest comparison) Shannon’s vocals were one of the best among her generation to be honest. I did remember ppl saying that her technique was one of the healthiest too. 🥺 Years after, I realized that it really just comes down to how a company manages their idols. And MBC is shitty at it

[@alien_fairy1973]

*MBK

[@tamurayui3672]

I only know her as the girl who sang IU's note. I was in a phase obsessed with her in 2020 and I just randomly thought of her. Just glad and hope she's doing well

[@leehunts5204]

I don't know much about Shannon But after watching this video I came to know that She was an amazing singer 😍 Literally she was amazing talent What a powerful voice omg I was surprised by her voice She should join bighit But I respect her choice

[@HallyUKPop]

Her voice is absolutely incredible!

[@jaeidrs3910]

I've been her fan since Daybreak Rain because her singing is great ✨. Honestly, if she got into one of the top 3 big companies I bet she will be very famous. Sadly, her company stupidly wasted her talent. But I'm glad that she is happy now.

[@alien_fairy1973]

I am since 2016, it's so strange that it's been 6 years... Now she's just common twitch streamer

[@Abigail.444]

I just found Shannon and I can’t get enough of her voice!!! I’m so sad that it seems that she’s done with music now😭😭😭😭

[@jediborj]

She is awesome in her Kpop prime. Definitely a top tier singer but I am happy seeing her much happier on her gaming/streaming career. Simplier and "less" pressure life.

[@kermit9555]

She is now a VA and known for voicing Jett from the game Valorant 😊

[@velezsbn]

One of the biggest what ifs in kpop history. JYP, YG, SM, or Big Hit signs her and gives her a comeback. The next IU I would say when it comes to talent and beauty

[@Bugzilla021]

If you are not familiar with the Kpop scene and how it's structured, this type of management is very common amongst most record labels. You basically sign away your freedom and you aren't allowed to have a personal life. Oh, and creative freedom? That concept doesn't exist in the Kpop world.

[@dianabarton5598]

I remember hearing Why Why, but I never came across any of her other songs. Does MBK have other groups I need to worry about? T-ara fell off the face of the Earth!

[@HallyUKPop]

DIA too :( But they re coming back in January thankfully

[@crashiecorbashie]

@@HallyUKPop this aged badly

[@TwinsFantastic]

Davichi comes from MBK, Speed, The Seeyah

[@user-oy2qd3nd8v]

I first met her at moorim school 2016 and loved her....when i heard she left korea i was really sad but am happy for her,there is just something about that country and how they treat their celebrities (actors,singers etc)

[@undrgrnd734]

ah. so thats what happened. I knew her from her work with t-ara and why why. She fell off the map after her singles didn't do so well. There was a lot of potential but theres an equally lot of singers who have fantastic talent but just don't make it big. Like Kang Mi-Jin when she got really popular in the voice. When I saw shannon was the VA of jett, I was like whaaa thats insane. Good to see her rebound from MBK, they are notorious for mismanaging their singers

[@MrsJanetMustang]

Omg she has a beautiful voice! She kinda reminds me of Ailee.

[@HallyUKPop]

Absolutely, I see a lot of Ailee in her especially in the Beyoncé performance!

[@bruhbro1181]

@your baguette wow, Jett can sing

[@bwbble1842]

literally, if she signed with any company that cared about their idols she wouldve been the next IU with those vocals. glad shes happy now tho

[@HallyUKPop]

Agreed. What could've been :(

[@galaxyo2538]

I know her from kpop star 6 and i really want to see her comeback for years

[@Zurarovsky]

I know her from 2015 when she sing listen, and then she debut, join kpop star idol contest , and till now I keep support her as a gamer. Its so sad she cant be known by many people ): her voice is so soft, and her technic vocal is incredible in her young age.

[@bokzmae]

Do you think one of the factors they ignored Shannon is because she is not full Korean? Companies tend to exclude them as well...

[@Darkangelike]

I really was rooting for her back when she debuted. I did not really like Waeyo waeyo but I loved her voice. I thought it was weird how there was no news of her so I decided to check it out and how sad it is she was mismanaged. I would have loved to see her showcase her true vocal talent and music genre. And to see her on shows with Jessi too or like collaborations with Mamamoo and other great artists. Now that I know she is on Twitch though, I think I will watch her play =D this is awesome ! I do not know Valorant but I might try it kkk

[@nataliea8194]

I wish she could have another chance again but she's probably happy as a gamer now

[@yaniehernandez4190]

Yep MBK wasted this precious and talented idol. no Wonder i kept waiting for her next comeback after Waeyo Waeyo! But waeyo they didn't gave her a big break again? i'm also sad that the song that I love the most was forced to her and she doesn't like what she's doing that time. it must be hard for her to hide her feelings while doing the promotion and mv just to make a fan like me feel so happy from that cute song. Shannon Arum Williams wherever you are and whatever you do, i hope that someday your name will once again rise above the sing and dance industry under a good and caring company. I love you Shannon!

[@TofuBebe]

I've stanned her from her debut till now when she streams on Valorant Twitch. She seems much happier now.

[@yoimama647]

Sad how she never pursued her singing career after leaving mbk

[@unklmonk651]

The problem was that she went to mbk. She should've gone to one of the big 3 and if she didn't make it...it just wasn't meant to be. And I really like shannon and was rooting for her during kpopstar.

[@verde629]

JYP was way critical of her. She would’ve succeeded more in the US. They don’t care about the emotional aspect unlike Korea.

[@almaofearthia6785]

I just came across her videos last year. She's soooo good! I never occurred to me that she was no longer in K-pop!

[@badoodstv2353]

the people who don't know what Valorant is and clicked because they like Kpop Shannon and not gamer/Va of Valorant character Jett , I'm proud of you.

[@alien_fairy1973]

I am her fan since 2016, because of her I got into kpop😭😭😭 And now she left for her own good but still I hope she will come back as a singer someday

[@vincently7339]

That doesn’t include you right

[@Walklikeaduck111]

Im watching her story when she was still trying to make it in korea, on 'my friend charles'. episodes 5- 9 on youtube kbs worldtv.

[@pambarab5506]

I only know her from the extremely straight forward statements that were released right before she left. I did go back and listen to a couple of her songs, and enjoyed her voice, and was really impressed with her candid recap of her career,.

[@rommelbatula788]

She has a bit similar with somi, a foreign artist and has the ability to round in different positions 😳

[@BBarNavi]

Shannon to MBK: "Let's get these idiots. Enemy spotted!"

[@roslolian11]

Kpop is a very competitive scene, maybe Shannon was indeed mismanaged but I also think she had a lot of chances to make it big and unfortunately just being able to sing really well isnt enough. Not winning kpop star is the biggest evidence, she received a lot of criticism on that show and YG and JYP know what sells

[@Stethoscoups]

I still have her own playlist until now.☺️

[@dudeman3]

she is so talented dudeeeeeeee, kpop industry is really bad. no creative freedom? sucks. but she was strong for standing up for herself, some people dont

[@SEPAKPALE]

what title song you say just listen to the high notes ?

[@carolineyulina4936]

good day?

[@mellisawidianingsih594]

Good Day by IU

[@dayazzi]

it's 'i know' from the album eighteen

[@musicallystoned7489]

Voice of an angel and beauty akin to a young Jane Asher.

[@be.7224]

just imagine if she signed to YG

[@SuperPianogirl123]

Similar results. Look at Lee Hi.

[@Kafz30]

I miss her she was such a talented singer !!

[@Qulize]

Korean label screwing up talents just because? What a surprise.

[@qpkwsxcb8277]

Riot! MAKE Jett SINGGGGG!

[@PlatonicPurplePanda]

Now there's an idea!

[@PlatonicPurplePanda]

I love playing games and to see her move onto gaming is fantastic, but I wish she can also continue her music. I love her song Why Why even even though it was forced on her. I've watched her stream on twitch a few times and notice she vapes, not sure how that'll effect her voice/vocals on the long run, but it's her choice. I love how carefree she now and does what she wants.

[@beautiful_davika6958]

I love Shannon William, her vocals were incredible strong....Yes what a waste of talent for sure....Fighting!!!!

[@asbm7343]

She's deserved so much more! Shes really talend, her vocals are insane, she's definitely one of the best vocalist on Kpop ever!

[@Walkinnever6987]

Kriesha Tiu/Chu is also wasted by her own company (who really sucks at handling her)

[@chokentertainment4379]

MBK ENTERTAINMENT destroy many life.. but.. I'm not understand why still have new boy group debut under MBK ENTERTAINMENT.. I feel pity with BAE173

[@serenityq26]

you say most people dont know her first album but i ONLY know her first album. never heard of her since. no idea about any of these singles or shows she was on. first saw her on star king, remembered her cause she was so amazing. grabbed up that first album (fabu) and waited for a sequel that never came

[@sushyto]

I miss Shannon 😔😔

[@Poppy_love59]

I so totally agree, she could have been one of Koreas best talents ever !

[@eee_wo]

If only Psynation was made during this era, that's like the idol heaven for mistreated idols 😭

[@angelsinstyle]

omg i love her😭

[@dauniestream]

She really has a nice voice and i loved her so much bc she sang really well❤ so sad tht she didn't get any recognition 😞 her talent in singing was awesome

[@cydulaca7583]

I got to know her when she sang one ost of show called Dunia.. She sang the song titled Blue with dindin on of the cast of the said show.. i really love that song, i have it in my spotify..

[@Secret-lu6mw]

Ethos, youre one lucky guy :)

[@echiwav]

never knew jett had such a beautiful voice

[@myst6490]

All this has made her Jett, I lover her Jett voice❤️

[@kimedits22]

wow I just realized how old I am because I knew her when she sang with onew 😅

[@anniee2424]

AHH I LOVED WHY WHY

[@shaze976]

Alt title: irl lore of Jett’s va

[@wqsyrc]

ฉันสงสัยมาตลอดเพราะเธอดูมีแววมากจนมารู้นี่ทำกับเธอได้แย่สมกับข่าวลือเสียๆของค่ายเพลงกำหลี แต่ฉันชื่นชอบการกำกับฉากของmv shannon why whyมากน่าเสียดายประกายของเธอ

[@hirodesu2907]

Shes not a waste she looks even more cooler doing some voice acting

[@KamisatoAkihito]

The Reason She Quitted Kpop Because Of Why Why The Company Force Her To Do That Song And She recorded That when shes 14 and she need to release it when shes 18

[@light_bit]

And now. They can't even managed class:y right. And the funny thing is. Their CEO was member of 5dolls.

[@gabselle5739]

WAIT IS THIS SHANNON WILLIAMS AS IN JETT VA???? wtf she was a kpop talent damn

[@bongbong0000]

I COMPLETELY 100000% AGREE. SHE WAS EXPECTED TO BE NEXT IU AND HER INCREDIBLE TALENT GOT WASTED

[@kaldiaris]

I do know Jett, I do know Shannon is VA for Jett, and I do know shannon from korea. the fact that I dont know is, shannon was idol ? really ? damn...

[@irsalenamonika]

This is so trueeeee she's complete.