The PRODUCE CURSE (iz*one edition)

[@lemonade0627]

there is no produce curse imo. some companies/artists thrive after produce while others don't, but pretty much everyone who has been on the show would be worse off if they hadn't had that exposure.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, might wanna do a video on this later about the origins of this because it's pretty true that it's not really a curse like how my video queendom curse isn't a real curse. The curse really originates just from the sheer success gained within produce groups that don't really translate into after produce. My interpretation of the curse was kinda explained in the intro and I just used that term more for the appeal of viewers

[@kingmanic]

You would have to compare it to the success rate of idols in general vs produce idols. As opposed to just looking at the winners outcomes. The general case is people work for years, get no money at the end, and it all ends in tears. That's 95% of the stories of idols.

[@aizen3347]

Have to disagree with nako tbh ,she was the center for all the remaining hkt48 comebacks until her graduation unlike hitomi who would be on and off the center position because she has yet to the be the most popular member. I feel she had a steady career in hkt48 and will see now how her as an actress will correlate if she has what it takes to become successful outside of hkt48. So currently I don’t think she was cursed with the produce cursed specifically during her time with hkt48. Although out of all the girls you said hit the produce cursed chaeyeon has the potential to leave out of there since knock is actually stating to chart higher and higher so she might get out of there sooner rather than later.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Ohh for sure about Chaeyeon considering; it's happening in the current times while this video was being edited and released. Things might change and is not set in stone. As for Nako and Hitomi, those two were the hardest for me to gage just because I don't follow their careers as heavily or get to see much for them since I don't follow J-idol things. Hitomi for me fell under the jack of all trades, master of none vibes where she was just able to do way more considering how low in popularity she was before even produce. Nako was climbing the ranks within HKT48 and popped off in produce too. Just felt that level of already decent popularity translated decently after iz*one but maybe not too what I thought she could have done.

[@AmericanGBoyDiego]

I think big part of that has to do with the fact that Nako was a center for HKT48 before izone happened, so her returning to her position was a no brainer, while Hitomi was not even in senbatsu, and she came back at a time where a lot of more prominent member were graduating, so it just seems like they were testing the waters with the different centers, the way she is back in the position is a good indicator cause members like zukki or yuiyui have not had the chance to be centers again

[@kimberlyvuong6396]

​@@cloudchungxiaoI disagree with you

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, that's kinda a more legitness way to explain a part of how I thought regarding the difference between Hitomi and Nako. But yea, what's your opinion Kimberly?

[@Tenshikichi1]

I think for one of the members who pursue acting Nako is doing decently since she is still doing many MC ing for different events kpop related or just in Japanese talk shows.

[@AllycatlovesAG]

I will say Eunbi's solo discography is underrated and Lethality is an amazing no skip album! I wish more people listened to her

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, she has my fav title track catalogue from the soloist iz*one members. Haven't delved into her b-sides just because sometimes they don't put much effort into them but might just have to give lethality a listen then

[@AllycatlovesAG]

@@cloudchungxiao Croquis is my favourite lethality b-side but they’re all good!

[@ponponderp]

@@AllycatlovesAG Croquis is a literal banger - and it goes so well when played after Glitch

[@AllycatlovesAG]

@@ponponderp I know!!! That made me fall in love with it

[@cloudchungxiao]

Damm, gave the album a listen and croquis is literally the chill sibling to glitch hahaha. Really like it overall and probably my fav b-side from that would be Flash but simulation is real close too.

[@jungwons]

noone shines brighter than wonyoung

[@draculena]

she is theeeee it girl

[@cloudchungxiao]

In terms of being known, ohh for sure. But there are defs other shines that other iz*one members have been able to achieve

[@annana8980]

@@cloudchungxiao I’m just curious-because I don’t have a good objective perspective on this and only know things from my own observations-but is sakura just as (if not more,) popular than wonyoung? At first I thought it was wonyoung for sure, but now that I’m going back to pd48 vids and seeing how much fans sakura has, i am not sure. I know that sakura does have a VERY large fanbase, but wonyoung gets more media attention and appears so much on media in general, so I really can’t tell who is more known or more popular.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Ngl, this is my opinion so it'll be more subjective than objective, but I think both have massive popularity just in general. Sakura had it immediately with her iz*one days seeing the large extent of it. Wonyoung surely had some considering she ranked first but she was defs overshadowed and had to grow into her popularity. But during the later stages of iz*one is when it started creeping up and then debuting in IVE just exponentially increased Wonyoungs popularity. I haven't been able to keep up with either on a individual basis to see what the fanbases are doing but do note that Wonyoung had nationality as an advantage as to why she gets more media attention BUT also it's not always the best media attention too. So despite maybe always being in the news, how much of that is related or converts people to becoming fans of her. So yea, wanna say based on what we see, Wonyoung might currently have a more noticable fanbase, but Sakura still has one too but jsut be more lowkey about it.

[@no-thanks]

@@draculenay’all want her to be so bad and That is your opinion and I shall respect it

[@kenyz.hiireath]

oh, and also I belive it was put out a few days ago, chaeyeon dropped out of queendom quzzle

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, literally. Was about to finalise the upload but then saw the news and had to put the little extra info under that part of the video. A lot of people are saying it's because Knock is doing well; do you think that might be the reason why?

[@shanliekpop]

Good for her!! Queendom is kind of like a death sentence. The last round with Brave Girls, Hyolyn, Viviz, wjsn etc feels like it hurt their reputation. It's like holding a sign on your head "please Help me, I'm flopping" Fake it till you make it is golden for a lot of groups, fans want to support idols who looks like they're rising, not falling.

[@xlavenderskies]

@@shanliekpop looking at viviz sales, they’re doing fine

[@cloudchungxiao]

I mean Queendom Puzzle seems like a mixture of girls planet x what road to queendom may have looked like so maybe viewers will look at it through a different perspective.

[@orionlionheart9449]

I saw in an interview that Chaeyon said that if her company would have make her debut right after Street Woman Fighter, she would have at least one, maybe two more comebacks to this day. But they made her wait even more and she lost the fame and momentum she gained from the TV show. Also, her first album is not bad, it's indie, different. But I think she lost so many fans because of it. Chaeyon is considered to be one of the best - if not the best - female idol dancer of the 4th gen. So using a song that showcases none of her dancing abilities, that was - to me - kinda dumb ... I loved Knock and I think it should have been her first album or something similar. Chaeyon being in Queendom Puzzle is both exciting and sad, I just hope she'll be ok and be able to win this show or at least gather even more fans. For Nako, I disagree because she was center all the HKT48 comebacks. She also was a MC in a korean show, Superband I think, like the 2nd season of Superband with a member of SF9. I think she's safe and she played her cards well. Eunbi, I'm so sad for her. I wish her to be as succesful as Chungha. I wish that her next comeback will be THE SONG that will skyrocket her into stardom and win her several trophies. She has everything. Vocals. Dancing. Visuals. An elegant and mesmerizing concept. I loved all of her comebacks, but it's not enough for the public and I'm sad for her.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Ohh for sure. They kinda lost a lot of momentum by not getting a debut for Chaeyeon ASAP. Then the whole not utilising her dancing during her debut with such a mellow vibing song like Hush Rush. She showcased a lot in iz*one in that she could have gone many places musically and at no point did I think it would have sounded like Hush Rush. But yea, as for Queendom Puzzle, she's withdrawn which people are saying might be because of Knock climbing the charts. But yea, hopefully they can take notes and move forwards with this positive reception. For Nako, maybe I should have put her in that Sakura route. Lot of people are saying similar things, which it doesn't help that I looked at each of there careers in a general sense. Sounds like she has reinforced her popularity considering how popular she was getting before produce. Yea, Eunbi has my fav title tracks from all the soloists. Saw a funny meme where they compared Stay Tonight with Glitch and then how Chungha did a mermaid concept with Eunbi releasing underwater hahaha. But yea, I do wonder where all the hype went for her because I swear everyone was saying that she would do so well as a soloist and then it's kinda like no one wants to be there for her as a soloist or not as much.

[@orionlionheart9449]

@@cloudchungxiao I just read that Chaeyeon withdrew from Queendom Puzzle, I don't know if it's a good thing, but I hope so ! I can now cheer for Miru who was in the PD48 finale ! My question with Nako, and maybe Hitomi, is : did korean companies didn't want to hire them and make them debut in a group ? Or did the girls reject every offer because they wanted to go back to Japan. And maybe because the life of a kpop idol and trainee was way too hard so they'd rather now focus on other jobs in the entertainment industry, just like Minju and Hyewon. That's what I'm saying ! Everything about Eunbi and her music direction is amazing. I really don't know why she hasn't gain the fame and success she deserves.

[@cloudchungxiao]

People are saying it's a good thing because Knock has been charting way more better and so maybe they're utilising that success into preparing for a quicker comeback or doing more promotion to extend the success. But yea, I'm surprised Miru is coming back to Korea to promote. Yea, it could be a mix of both. I feel like both of them were kinda set aside during iz*one and didn't get to be in the spotlight as much as they could have. So as a result maybe not much korean companies necessarily wanted them and/or Nako and Hitomi thought they might receive a similar treatment and so thought it would be best to go back to Japan. But yea, Eunbi though. Literally don't get it too. In saying that, her album sales as a soloist are pretty good though. She's in the middle of the pack compared with the iz*one soloist and pretty above average in comparison to second and third gen soloist too. But the longevity and impact of her song kinda is just not the same

[@orionlionheart9449]

@@cloudchungxiao Good for Chaeyeon then ! Af for Miru, I'm surprised too. She was one of the few japanese members in PD48 that I thought at the time had more talent than the others (along with Miyu, Miho and Juri. And maybe Sae for her visual and dancing skills). But I thought that this experience would traumatize her and pretty much the majority of japanese members, so they wouldn't go back at all. I understand what you mean and maybe you're right. Japan was the safest route to be really appreciated after Iz*One success instead of being a "back up dancer" and "sub vocalist" for a korean group. I think it certainly is Woolim's fault for not managing her well enough. I'm sure if Eunbi was in one of the 4 big companies, she would have known even more success.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, I think the PD48 Japanese contestants were kinda split with the surprised what the hell is this type of contestants who didn't realise what they signed up for and then the skilled and "favorable" contestants who were able to bounce back and kinda do well and get in the books of Produce. She was probably on the latter but didn't get enough attention to get signed in Korea or she probably wanted to give Korea a try once more. Yea, I mean there history with female idols. Like lovelyz was doing decent but then ended weirdly. Rocket Punch is kinda not doing well but I don't follow them enough to know why exactly that is. But yea, Woolim's association might not be that strong to have great connections

[@mellow_doodle3998]

Well kang hyewon also have many gigs& brand endorsement definitely upgrade for my girl.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Ohh yea, she's been doing things but it's real lowkey af. I guess for me the upgrade is the fact that it puts her in the forefront when she does that but it's just really not widely talked about

[@avsambart]

Nako was NOT impacted by the "produce curse" you just don't follow JPop and Japanese entertainment enough. She has so many gigs on Japanese tv, she mcs, endorses, and her being center til she chose to graduate is all amazing for her. She's doing so well.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Ohhh for sure, Hitomi and Nako were gonna be hard for me to gage since I really don't follow japanese entertainment like that. A little extra factor that made me think the way I did was her not doing much within the acting industry considering that was her path she wants to pursue now. We just see things differently which is alright too

[@leo309]

​@@cloudchungxiaothen why say it in the first place?

[@kenyz.hiireath]

i know you don't upload often but I really do enjoy ur channel. the videos are always done well and I love the perspective you give to everything

[@cloudchungxiao]

Thanks, wish I could spend more time into uploading more long and in depth videos but with full time work, it's a real struggle trying to do all of that. Do have plans to upload some relatively low effort topics but still with strong discussion points though

[@Chuuyiy]

I love eunbi so much I feel like she should’ve debuted in another group and I feel like she would’ve been more successful

[@cloudchungxiao]

Hahaha, I mean she technically is in another group with Feverse but that is a virtual girl group. But yea, I think in iz*one, she just seemed like she would thrive so much as a soloist and like also she's my fav soloist of the iz*one soloist too. But yea, you think they would have formed a new group with Eunbi in it or should she have been added into Rocket Punch?

[@Chuuyiy]

@@cloudchungxiao I think they would’ve put her in rocket punch

[@cloudchungxiao]

ohh really? The only issue I could kinda see with that is their concept maybe not necessarily fitting Eunbi so lowkey would have wondered whether they would have pivoted to a different concept or whether they would have continued with Eunbi having to adapt.

[@Rip_izgone]

Hyewon became a blogger with almost 500k subscribers and yuri isn’t affected by the curse just because of album sales dropping it doesn’t mean she lost her hype ur just looking at the album sales and not the streaming

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, I mean all of them do way more beyond music and acting for sure. I just only focused on their "main" career just because that's kinda where they put most of their attention. Wasn't sure what Hyewon's main career wise. Did see the youtube channel but she'd been a bit infrequent and inactive so I thought maybe it was being redirected to her main career. As for Yuri, yea you cant truly make a decision based one release not doing as well. For the purpose of the video, I did though which doesn't mean its fact though. The sales dropping was very dramatic though which did lead to my decision to saying that but doesn't mean she can't bounce back. As for streaming, are you refering to spotify or korean streaming? In terms of spotify, it kinda reflects a gradual decrease in terms of her title tracks but also I do see that her last two releases had better streaming numbers from b-sides than her title tracks so maybe she might not be picking the right title tracks?

[@knowlesknowles1356]

I'm glad you break is over Bestie .... As usual another great video..... I feel like the whole bunch of Izone girlies would be successful.. however the ones in the red line for me are Eunbi, Yuri, Hitomi and Hyewon..... I feel like Hyewon would blow up big as an actress with more opportunities.... However Yuri for me didn't have enough fame or not yet ready to be a soloist ( the sejeong curse seemed to follow her. ... Where the best vocalist doesn't shine solo the same case of Yuju exGfriend)....in comparison to Eunbi, Yena and Chaeyeon.... I find that this three might still have a chance of success as they were the main all rounders dance, vocals and rap .... Plus variety.. I'm interested in following up with the careers of Lesserafirm the most, then Chaeyeon, Yena and IVE.... In the acting spectrum Minju and Hyewon will blow up I'm certain.... Hyewon was in my bias line....I always wanted to protect her for some weird reason. I'm honestly nervous for Hitomi, Eunbi and Yuri

[@cloudchungxiao]

Thanks, rested and ready to continue to just do a bit more with this. Completely agree with that Yuri comment. She was praised for her vocals within the group, but it wasn't enough to the point where people would actively wanna solo support her like that. Her title tracks have been pretty decent too so it's unfortunate that she isn't really making noise like that. But yea, in terms of music wise; I'm probably gonna follow IVE, Le Sserafim, and Eunbi a bit more while the rest, i'll just kinda glance. How are you feeling about the recent releases from Chaeyeon and Yena though? Both different from their previous releases

[@knowlesknowles1356]

@@cloudchungxiao I'm glad, welcome back to the interwebs...I didn't like their debut tracks 😂😂... Smile was too childish for me at first but the chorus grew on me... Love war is my jam I love the feels of the music and the overall production.... If she continues like this I might be a Yena Stan and I initially only liked her as a variety queen while in Izone .. Hush Rush was super disappointing... Her essence was not felt.... I expected her to go a bit dark and establish her own colour identity as Chaeyeon is an all rounder... I was hoping she would join the likes of Chungha, Somi, Hyuna and Jessi ... Where just by the best you can tell the artist... Knock is okay a better improvement.... It might sound rush but I feel if we had a sub unit of Eunbi and Chaeyeon they would be extremely successful

[@cloudchungxiao]

Oooo same feelings too in that I didn't like both debut tracks too. Still haven't gotten into Yena's recent release but we'll just have to see what she does next because Love War was a definite change up which I wonder whether this was a one off or is that the direction she wants to go to. As for Chaeyeon, I enjoyed Knock but probably not something I would actively search. But yea, wish she would have had more impact on that debut. Something where she can show off her dancing at the minimum like a real good dance break. But still keen to see what happens with her since it hasn't been a year since she debuted.

[@knowlesknowles1356]

@@cloudchungxiao yes, but I think the chart performance of Knock Knock was impressive enough for her to withdraw from Queendom Puzzle... She needs a comeback asap!! For Eunbi underwater was my favourite song for her but it wasn't promoted well

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, Chaeyeon needs a relatively quick comeback to support the success of Knock. Eunbi just needs a strategic promotion that works effectively to get more attention because yea, they aren't getting promoted as well.

[@ravenn532]

chaeyeon is one of my favorite idols EVER personally i love all the music she has released

[@cloudchungxiao]

I starting to slowly get Knock ngl. Hush Rush was not my vibe though but it wasn't bad. Did you have a preference or a sound you wanna see her go towards?

[@acebase555]

I know! I swear she can pull off any concept.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Is there a concept that you wanna see her do next?

[@ravenn532]

@@cloudchungxiao Honestly she is so versatile, I think she could get away with anything.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, excited to see what's next though. Plus, we'll get to see bits of her in queendom puzzle from the looks of the teaser.

[@jejudoislander]

No curse , because so many of them have succeeded.

[@cloudchungxiao]

What's your measure of success? I think for sure, they've all been able to pivot and doing things post-iz*one. All to severing degrees but my focus was more on the ability to surpass the only association of iz*one when thinking about their new careers.

[@jessiehuysman7955]

In general the izone members just haven't had that same bad luck as the ioi girls especially when looking at pristin & gugudan being so missmanaged. The ioi members have mostly faded from the public eye (chungha and somi come back pls!) While a lot of izone girls are part of the main groups and soloists of 4th gen

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, for sure. I think izone post-groups are really popping off. The soloist though, are still kinda not solidified yet for me. But that really is a feels bad for IOI and their situation. Somi has a confirmed comeback sometime within June or July and then Chungha is kinda doing her thing while she is in search for a company to sign with.

[@lonslons]

izone are a perfect example of how they dodged the produce curse what are i talking abt

[@cloudchungxiao]

I wouldn't say all of them. But there has been so many pivot changes with some of the members where their trajectory looks pretty different from when I first researched for this video.

[@lonslons]

@@cloudchungxiao every single members has found success in some other way and much more compared to any other izone group during and after you have made this video. u clearly just don't know what ur talking about :/

[@cloudchungxiao]

I mean I guess success is subjective depending on how people define it, but yea to me, I wouldn't say every single member has found success. I mean Minju and Hyewon who both decided to pursue other things that's not the idol life. I would say their careers have still yet to truly take off. Minju has had a bit of momentum but Hyewon hasn't done too much. Then the whole Yena and Olivia Rodrigo which hopefully that was just a temporary impact because she did have pretty good songs. Yuri's idol career has slowly not been doing well too but she has been getting more recogntion than Minju for her acting and even more opportunities too. Just a bit of my thoughts, but yea maybe that's not how you see it.

[@lonslons]

@@cloudchungxiao Success isn't really subjective though. The ones who decided to not pursue the idol life was quite literally because they wanted a simpler life as they've stated before. Had they chose the idol life they would have a similar outcome as the others because all the remaining members are doing well. Mind you both Yuri and Minju have gotten casted in one of the most anticipated shows/movie of the upcoming year. I don't really find that as unsuccessful at all. Especially if their casting alone is making buzz. Yuris solo career has also been doing pretty well despite her promo, she has a steady fan base and is still one of the better selling solo artists. I'm also not sure how the olivia and yena thing makes any sense cause if you had done research you'd know that Yena debuted and peaked with a top 3 hit and has kept her momentum like ..be serious

[@cloudchungxiao]

If we’re thinking black and white then yea success is ultimately whether you can make a career out of it which as long as the idols don’t disband or quit because they can’t anymore, then yea all post-izone members are successful by that definition. But if we ask multiple different to define kpop success, we would get different ideas and aspects in how they judge the level of success. Minju is still new to acting and so there isn’t enough info to really say that she’s doing that well. Plus the reception of her future upcoming activities can explain a bit of hype but doesn’t mean that it’s gonna uplift her like that. We don’t really know until it comes out. We also don’t the extent of Yuris involvement to Squid Games too. She’s doing kinda better as an actress for sure but I wanna say her solo career is potentially what she was banking on which is not doing as well. But it’s obviously not just completely her because the promotions are real lacklustre on Wakeone’s end. Then for Yena, she debuted really well but doesn’t mean she’s been matching that same debut success. That Olivia thing is more of a netizen problem that some feel a bit weird about how it was initially promoted using her name and the whole mv using her likeness without informing Olivia’s team or anything because it initially sounded like a diss. That left a sour taste for some people and with her ending promotions real quick, we’ll just kinda have to see the reception next comeback or if she performs or goes on variety elsewhere

[@sparklepink4ever]

I'd argue and say that none of the Iz*One girls are impacted by the "Produce Curse" because they're still in much better positions than other idols. I follow Jo Yuri the most, and I disagree that her measure of success is faltering because of Loveable's sales. Loveable was the second part of her duology of her OP Waltz series with Love Shh! being her first. They were both released in the same year and Love Shh!! sold and charted better than Glassy. Her company has also been pushing her to pursue acting, her first being in Work Now, Drink Later. And she's going to be part of the main cast in Squid Game 2. Whether this drama will do well is up in the air, but it's still impressive that she's going to be part of on the the biggest K-Dramas on Netflix. I've seen your replies to others and you've mentioned that you've measured some of these members success due to their "main focus". However, being an idol isn't a single job. You aren't simply, a singer, an actor, or MC host etc. It encompasses all of these things. Yes, they might have some gravitation towards one job over the other, but you're limiting yourself otherwise.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, with a decent amount of these girls. there still relatively fresh within their careers where the judgement is not solid. It's really a "pattern" that I've noticed within a lot of careers for post-produce groups. They get their burst of popularity before quickly falling into kinda a form of non-existent type thing where they're known but not at the level while they were in their MNET group. With Jo Yuri, she is kinda starting to focus on acting which could be her new thing. It was just at the time, she had only done one notable acting role which doesn't really make it her main thing. And then for the second part, defs know what you mean. I just used the main focus as a way to easily focus on the "big chunk" of their career. Being an MC, modelling, doing youtube and some other gigs are way harder to quantify or make an assessment as to whether they're doing well. Usually idols mainly focus on being a singer or they transition to being more of an actress which is relatively measurable in many ways which is why I focused on that.

[@Nicolesid1]

I know Yena is doing amazingly but I sort of hope she goes the way of Soyeon (of gidle) and uses this popularity to move into a group that fits her silly vibes.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Ohhh, you think she suits more of a group vibe? But also, would you want the group to go for either of the two concepts she's pulled? Her debut or even the most recent release?

[@hiyylight]

​@@cloudchungxiao] personally I would want her to debut in a group with a cuter concept. Even though she can fit the dark concept it doesn't suit her as much

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, it's looking like 2023 is the year of experimenting or atleast deviating from her bubbly concept. Her next release is looking potentially like a mix of the two concepts or more girl crushy. But yea, would be interesting to see what her being in a group would look like but also Yuehua and girl groups are not looking the best atm so idk about that too

[@hiyylight]

@@cloudchungxiao yena definitely works best with bubbly or even elegant concepts. Also love your videos

[@cloudchungxiao]

Thanks :) Ohh yea, I can kinda see that. Bubbly for sure and then kinda like panorama elgance?

[@avsambart]

It's not a curse. It's all to do with the companies being shxt or not.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, I used that term just because it was kinda a better term to describe the purpose of the video. Did include my interpretation of it but would be cool to eventually kinda debunk or go into the whole term and break it down.

[@avsambart]

Ps. Chaeyeon already dropped out of Queendom cos Knock popped off.

[@cloudchungxiao]

Yea, added that little note at that section since that was recent news

[@Nicolesid1]

J-line surviving and thriving (Nako has a sweet gig with kcon) Members who joined group rocking hard Soloist and actresses there

[@cloudchungxiao]

Omg yea, K-Con Japan seeing the Nako x Le Sserafim interactions though. Lowkey would be cool for either Hitomi and Nako or the other korean members to get more activities in the other countries just for more reuniting.

[@Nicolesid1]

Just looked up that show Eunbi was on, and only going by the results the final line up seems interesting. Now I'll have to watch it to see if it is as sus as it looks😅

[@cloudchungxiao]

Hahahaha does it look sus?

[@idkyouho]

Yena, Chaeyeon and Yurok should’ve debuted in groups

[@cloudchungxiao]

Chaeyeon did have a pre-debut group being prepared within WM Ent, but not sure what happened with that. Yena could have been added to Everglow but they got to popular that it was real 50/50 about that. Then Yuri; I mean idk hahaha. She could have gone that Jaehwan route but yea being in Stone Music is a hard thing considering they manage all the produce groups and now the planet groups too.

[@queenlea4412]

Chaeyeon's group was probably scraped when rbw acquired wm

[@cloudchungxiao]

Ohh for sure. I wanna say I heard that they did scrap the group because they didn't want anymore debuts within WM for a certain period and so they terminated all their contracts. I think that's what I heard though

[@Willows201]

I don't believe in a Produce curse because I think a lot of the success & failures of the girls lie in the business decisions made by the companies the girls returned back to. I also just think its a harder industry for soloists than if they were in a group with finding a solid fanbase and a likability with the general public. I do disagree about Nako since she was often center while she was still in HKT and is always booked and busy with guesting on shows (sometimes w/Hitomi) & mc roles. Im also in the small minority of people that liked Hush Rush but Knock is currently charting pretty well so good for Chaeyeon!

[@cloudchungxiao]

Ohh for sure. The produce curse just boils down to the fact that all members from produce groups have received this big leg up within the industry from the experience and exposure and so to not see them do well or not surpass their former days; there's this assumed curse but there are defs other factors to this. Soloist do have it hard for sure because they really can't share the repsonsibility with it all just being placed on them which is wild that the soloist of IOI were the ones to pop off instead. For Hush Rush, it's an okay song that I wouldn't skip but idk if I would actively search it. But yea, can't tell if the initial kinda underwhelming feeling was just how different it sounded comapred to where she could have gone in terms of music direction

[@Willows201]

@@cloudchungxiao It is pretty interesting to see the difference in solo/group success when it comes to ioi and izone. (Though I hope Somi gets out the dungeon and Chungha can find a new company that she trusts 😢) Hush Rush certainly wasn’t for everyone but I still have love for it 😂

[@cloudchungxiao]

Omg yea, I wonder if Somi knew about YG's dungeon. I feel like that term was coined by potentially international fans, not sure about Koreans, but yea to go to the black label; I wonder if she thought she was gonna get utilised differently or is this her choice too and she wants to focus on make music for herself too. Hush Rush though.... I wanna say I was one of the people who didn't understand it as well but I can appreciate it for what it was. For trying something different

[@timotejgabris9162]

I hope you will name names in the filler members video :DD

[@cloudchungxiao]

Hahaha, I will, which is why I'm like a little wary about it. My most "controversial" video is reacting to the finale of boys planet and the debut line up and that was really tame in what I said, but people like to go red for their favs which I hope won't be the same when I share my opinions.

[@Underwaterrrrr]

please make a video on X1 members curses

[@cloudchungxiao]

Might consider that; didn't follow them or get to experience much from them. However, I have heard that post-X1 has not been the greatest for a good chunk of them

[@haewonized]

What is the virtual group Eunbi is supposed to be the center of? What is a virtual group…?

[@cloudchungxiao]

They're called Feverse. The VR-ing of their characters is ... yea, it's a thing. But the song really feels real 2nd-ish gen vibes.

[@almondm1lkk]

As someone who wasn't around for Produce 48 but is now a fan of a lot of the member's solo/group activities it's crazy to me that Jo Yuri came in 3rd place bc to me (from today's viewpoint) she's the most forgettable member. For the longest time, I didn't even know she was one of the ex-IZ*ONE members bc her impact, at least from my perspective, is just so so small compared to every other member who continued to release music. Like Chaeyeon, Yena, and in my opinion also Eunbi, are now well-known and well-established names in the kpop industry, even for newer fans, but I don't think you will find a lot of people who became fans since 2020 that will know who Yuri is, sadly.

[@cloudchungxiao]

When you say forgettable, do you mena during her time in Iz*one? In produce 48? or as a soloist?

[@almondm1lkk]

@@cloudchungxiao Sorry, english is not my first language, but I meant that a lot of newer fans probably don't know her as a soloist, like if you don't know her from produce/iz*one, you will probably not know her at all because her solo music isn't as popular. And I probably should've clarified that I don't mean it in a mean way, not that she as a person is easily forgettable, I only meant her music and how her new agency manages her + her fanbase 😅 For someone who came 3rd in produce I would've expected her to have a lot more fans and her music to be a lot more popular, like Yena or Chaeyeon, but that might just be because of the kpop bubble I am in

[@cloudchungxiao]

Ahhh right. Yea, Jo Yuri has not had the same impact you would expect from someone who came third. She's also a soloist too so it's just her and it's not like people are less inclined because of the "group." Her acting career seems to be the thing that might be establishing her once again which is kinda suprising but yea; people could honestly not realise she was ever in Iz*one

[@izonexbae]

I usually agree with alot but there are for sure some idols who aren’t really talented or do well in any aspect. The industry is very visual based, so a remotely attractive person with no talent can still get in

[@cloudchungxiao]

Ohh for sure. Being in the kpop idol industry means more than talent. Like talent can only get you so far before they expect other things from you. Plus talent sometime can't even open the doors for you.

[@izonexbae]

@@cloudchungxiao facts, great video as usual

[@cloudchungxiao]

Thanks :)

[@jichhuu]

tf is a produce curse

[@cloudchungxiao]

Hahaha, so basically, the produce curse is the idea that debuting in the produce groups real result in some form of "bad luck" after that temporary group has finished. We've seen it clearly within IOI, Wannaone and even X1, with a few exceptions. But most of them have not managed to use that fame to do even better. This contrast makes it seems like they've all kidna jsut fallen from the public. But also, there have been varying factors at play to explain why they've fallen which is why produce curse lowkey isn't a thing too. Like a lot of them have jsut been mismanged which is not a produce-exclusive thing. Hope that kinda explains a bit about it

[@timmy9503]

so this video is completely pointless and ridiculous

[@cloudchungxiao]

Hahaha not completely. Did have some great discussion with people about Iz*one. But yea, really didn't do the concept of Produce curse as justice by forcing the need to make a "conclusive statement" towards each member.