After a hiatus of six and a half years, B.A.P. reunited on stage as a group. Unfortunately, they could not use their original name for THIS reason, causing the members to become emotional.
On August 8, the first EP “CURTAIN CALL”brought together the original members of B.A.P (Best Absolute Perfect), a 3rd-generation boy group, to meet their fandom, BABYs, as a whole group.
This marks their first release since MA Entertainment reformed the original six-member team into a quintet in June.
This time, they came back with just four members, not including Zelo who is currently fulfilling his military service.
To celebrate their comeback, a live media event was hosted at Ilchi Art Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The four members warmly greeted reporters and a few lucky fans, sharing their thoughts and emotions after returning to the stage after a hiatus of over 6 years since their 8th single album, “EGO”, was released in 2017.
Despite all being members of B.A.P., the quartet caught attention for choosing to use their last names, BANG&JUNG&YOO&MOON, during their activities.
Upon hearing this, Yoo Young Jae explained the reason, stating:
“In our opinion, it would have been nice to come out using our original team name, but realistically, it was difficult. We thought a lot about how to set a direction, and our idea was to decide on a new team name rather than the existing one. But, we’ve been active as a team for a long time, so it’s a bit much to decide on a new team name.”
Despite Young Jae’s inability to contain his tears, Jung Daehyun took over and continued to provide further explanation:
“Many of our fans remember us that way, and if we can’t use that name, we thought it might be better to meet the public and find our fans under our own name.”
Despite their promising debut in 2012 under T.S. Entertainment, B.A.P. faced challenges in maintaining their success. Their “bad boy”concept quickly gained popularity and they were even seen as rivals to the well-known groups E.X.O. and B.T.S. However, their reign in Korea, Japan, and other countries was cut short when they filed a lawsuit against T.S. Entertainment for mistreatment and unfair profit distribution.
In 2015, the matter was resolved and they continued with their group activities. However, their progress had already been hindered by the arrival of new younger boy groups.
The final decision before initially disbanding in 2019 was triggered by accusations against former member Himchan for sexual misconduct towards a woman in 2018. Although T.S. officially shut down in 2021, B.A.P. members are reportedly still hoping to regain their trademark rights from the label in order to reclaim their original name.
Fortunately for their fans, the four members assured BABYs that this would not be their final release, and they intend to release a new album upon Zelo’s return from military service.
The incident that ultimately led to their initial disbandment in 2019 was the accusation of sexual molestation against former member Himchan in 2018.
Despite formally disbanding in 2021, TS Entertainment, the agency of B.A.P, is currently in the process of returning trademark rights to the group’s members so that they may once again use their original name.
Fortunately for their fans, the four members assured BABYs that this would not be their final release and that they have plans to release a new album after Zelo returns from his military service.
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