Soobin Outed? IVE's Creativity Stall, Can Boy Groups Release Good Music? & LNGSHOT's Lukewarm Return + More

CAUGHT IN THE K-SPOT IS BACK! 📩 This week's dilemmas are MESSY. We've got friendship group drama that's spiralling out of control and a gay man trying to navigate a very confusing situation with a seemingly bicurious male colleague. Mixed signals, questionable behaviour and plenty of unsolicited advice from yours truly. 😭 GOT A DILEMMA? Send your relationship problems, friendship drama or general life chaos to [email protected]. You can remain anonymous! NOW, ONTO THE K-POP DRAMA… Is K-pop's so-called "dark side" really as straightforward as people make it out to be? Lee Soo-man's A2O Lite and A2O Soul have sparked some fascinating conversations about minors debuting, AI-generated content, exploitation and what makes a compelling fifth-generation K-pop group. This week we're unpacking: A2O Soul vs A2O Lite: Star quality, group chemistry, styling and whether Lee Soo-man's new groups are delivering.

CAUGHT IN THE K-SPOT IS HERE! 📩 Three dilemmas, three questionable situations, and apparently I'm now qualified to give relationship advice. This week we're tackling a college situationship, a long-distance relationship where someone's fallen in love after just ONE MONTH, and another dilemma that needs unpacking. GOT A DILEMMA OF YOUR OWN? Send your relationship problems, friendship drama, awkward situations or general life mess to [email protected] for a chance to have your dilemma featured on the podcast. You can stay anonymous! NOW, ONTO THE K-POP MESS... Lee Soo-man is officially making his return to K-pop with TWO new groups, A20 SOUL and A20 lite, preparing to debut before SM Entertainment's much-anticipated SMTR25. How has the man who helped build SM managed to get his new acts out first?! We're getting into his comeback, the new groups and what this means for the industry. Elsewhere, KATSEYE's Sophia finally has a confirmed return date following her hiatus, T.O.P and Nana are experiencing backlash after confirming their dating and BE BOYS member Takuma has sparked questions about his whereabouts following a vacation. New groups, old industry legends, dating speculation and listeners making questionable romantic decisions

This week we’re getting into the controversy surrounding aoen’s Ruka and his connection to a 13-year-old former dance student, the speculation that followed, and his response to everything being said online. Then there’s a VERY messy blind item alleging that girl groups under HYBE subsidiaries have been working against their own companies and even sabotaging their own releases. It’s an anonymous blind item, so obviously we’re treating it as speculation, but there is a LOT to unpack. I also get into why my next ALLDAY PROJECT reaction might be staying on Patreon, my growing frustration with THEBLACKLABEL’s musical direction, and why wanting more from a group you like is not the same thing as hating them. And for this week’s Hot Take: can we acknowledge that K-pop’s beauty standards can be harmful while also acknowledging that appearance is part of what idols are commercially hired to sell? NEW: CAUGHT IN THE K-SPOT 📩 Got a dilemma you want me to answer on the podcast? Send it anonymously or otherwise to: [email protected]

UNIS’ time as a group has come to an end, so we’re talking about their contract and what the future may hold Then Jackson Wang has officially signed with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation for management, and the timing gave me a LOT to talk about. What does Roc Nation actually offer Jackson at this stage of his career, and what are the wider connotations of aligning yourself with Jay-Z and his company right now? We also get into SM celebrating 100M views for Girls’ Generation’s Genie while editing Jessica out, Jessica slowly finding her way back into the Korean mainstream, and EXO’s Suho, SEVENTEEN’s S.Coups and BOYNEXTDOOR’s Jaehyun talking about the realities of being group leaders. And this week’s Micah’s Pick is CLOSE YOUR EYES with Open Your Eyes.

BLACKPINK’s Lisa has finally addressed the N-word controversy in her new documentary, so today we’re getting into what she actually said, the apology, and some of the wider conversation around it. Also, Seulgi & Irene have somehow dropped an entire Japanese EP with NO MV, teasers or much of a rollout at all... but the music is here, so obviously we need to talk about it. Taerae also spoke about actively working on his vocal technique, I’m wondering where on earth UNCHILD has gone, ALL DAY PROJECT are already coming back with CRASH and FIVE singles, and CYE have dropped their highlight medley. Plenty to yap about this week.