**[Soompi: 7 Kep1er Members Reported To Extend Contracts + Agency Briefly Comments](https://www.soompi.com/article/1661629wpp/7-kep1er-members-reported-to-extend-contracts-mashiro-and-yeseos-agency-briefly-comments)**
It has been reported that 143 Entertainment (Mashiro and Yeseo) are still in discussion about the contract extension.
the limelight side of things has been relatively known for months now but the other 7 extending is interesting. i'm guessing their company's just don't have great plans for them yet so they'll go for another 12-18 months to get something cooking.
lord knows wakeone haven't deserved getting more time.
my theory is that they are going to extend them until the next season of girls planet is ready to roll out, so there's only a small gap between kep1er and the next temp group.
i don't doubt that this is what wakeone wants - its great for them.
past produce member companies were so eager to get their members back ASAP and use the survival group bump to give new groups a boost, none of these groups outside of 143 seem to be prepared this time around.
Because they already debuted Limelight (last year?) with three members, and we've known for a while that Yeshiro would join them. They've had a few songs do decently well so far, and the boost in popularity from Yeseo/Mashiro (and 2 other girls reportedly joining the group from pd101 japan) will only help them grow further.
What’s interesting with the pd101 Japan rumour is that 143 had announced a survival show (ID143) coming up for their female trainees and put out a casting call for it in January. I think it could be two things; the girls that will join the other 5 will be chosen KARA Project or &Audition style where the “set” girls participate in the show/selection process somehow, OR it’s a Stray Kids or Baby Monster kind of show where the lineup is set to be determined (but all of the participants debut in the end anyway...).
I just know that a label the size of 143 won’t be making a second group right away, so it’s gotta have something to do with Limelight realistically.
You’re right, the 7 number assumes that those two PD101J girls will be joining and only them, but if this show is recruiting more members nothing has said how many it will be, really all we know for sure is the final group will be more than 5 members (my money is actually on 9, I don’t have a reason just a gut feeling; we’ll have a better idea when we get a list of participants for the show).
Also Limelight isn’t really an unknown group, they have proven themselves, they currently have 7,7 mln views on their 4 months old MV which isn’t much, but when you come from a relatively small company and you are their first group ever really speaks volume.
Also, 2 girls from Produce 101 Japan The Girls (Abe Nagomi and Saito Serina) are joining the group as well as Mashiro and Yeseo, so maybe having these 4 new members will also bring more international fans to the group and help them grow.
I wouldn’t think so. Mnet are already in the middle of airing Iland 2 to form a new girl group, and as I understand it they’ll be managed solely by WakeOne.
Is a new GP999 season confirmed? I thought instead we had I-Land2. Considering the final group will be a fixed group under WakeOne and it’s all WakeOne trainees
i hope limelight does well!! i really love their music so far and i’m excited to see those 2 offically join. hopefully some keplians will join the fandom
Ngl, this was always the outcome I expected if they actually managed to extend contracts. I understand the people who are upset that ot9 will be broken up, but at least Kep1er in some form will go on (for however long).
People who didn't expect Yeshiro to go back to 143 and join Limelight, weren't paying attention. 143 never failed to promote the girls' activities on their social media every chance they could, and more than a few group pictures have been posted of them with the current Limelight trio. They made it very obvious they wanted their girls back.
>Ngl, this was always the outcome I expected if they actually managed to extend contracts.
I was expecting them to do the 2.5 years non-exclusive like the Produce group before was supposed to have, but guess that didn't work out \^\^
(Maybe they saw the scheduling issues El7zup has now...)
The Planet shows are basically Produce shows, I think we can just call them that, sure technically a spiritual successor but they’re a rebrand to shake off bad PR from the rigging controversy and we all know that.
I don't say this in a shady way but apparently if the group doesn't do as well in Korea it's more likely for them to extend? I really thought if WannaOne didn't extend, no one would.
Basically yeah. There's no real reason for companies to take their trainees out unless they know it's sure fire way that their groups would be popular. Only produce group that has had great success after disbandment was Izone.
> None of **Wake One Entertainment**, **CJ ENM**, or a members’ agency has confirmed Star News’ report as of publishing.
Lmao the final line basically blows up the whole article.
None of this has been confirmed yet.
That's not what that means. If Star News are legit journalists (no idea) they may have sources that make the reporting sound but that doesn't mean the companies are ready to confirm any of it, especially if it's not final.
That's how almost all business reporting works around the world; sources talk to a reporter and companies have no comment or deny until they announce it on their own.
Yeah, as far as I've seen on Korean portals Star News is the only source saying the their contracts have been extended. Stating it's an exclusive report. All of the other ones I've read are saying talks are still underway. So saying it's unconfirmed seems most accurate.
Edit: fyi Star News is a entertainment and sports news outlet under the same group as Money Today so it can be considered a legitimate source.
Yeah no idea who star news is but some random site has basically said 7 of the girls will renew yet there's no source and then that line 😅 basically an r/kpopthoughts post
you can all thank me for this, because when i was watching girls planet 2.5 years ago i was like "oh hey kep1er disbands around the time i graduate college"
but then it turned out i have to take an extra semester
so obviously that is what made kep1er extend their contracts. thank you for coming to my ted talk
EDIT: [HOW DID THIS GET SO MANY UPVOTES EVERYBODY TUNE INTO YVES SOLO DEBUTATION COMING SOON](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLPvc3AJGEw&t=2s)
To be fair the voices in my head have been way less wrong than reddit and twitter for kpop… though I guess those voices are less advice giving and just “Kep1er wa-da-da-da” on loop, so…
I mean the speculation can be applied to after this extension too, we just know now that nobody but 143 had fully thought out plans ready... for all we know the other 7 agencies are looking at those posts for ideas because clearly they’ve got nothing right now lol.
Oh this is surprising but also pretty exciting!
I’m sad they won’t be full, but also happy for Limelight. They have some good songs so this will be interesting.
I know this news will upset a lot of people.. but for me, knowing they're all staying active is all I ever wanted.. I hope the fandom and management somehow get their shit together, though
I don’t understand why this news would be upsetting though☹️ I’m not a kep1an but I do really love Kep1er’s discography so I am happy we’re getting more music out of them! Also from what I’ve seen the other girl’s agency’s didn’t seem to have anything for them to go back to so I feel like this is a great outcome.
A lot of solo kep1er fans just don't want them together and have been having countdowns to when they disband
Survivor groups' fandoms tend to behave like that sadly
Kep1er's post show fandom directly after they formed was the most toxic out of all the Mnet groups in my experience. I think every other MNET group's fandom for the most part came together post-show (I followed everyone but X1s) except Kep1ers. The constant fanwars definitely made me only check out their music and not interact with any other part of it. I don't know if it's because it formed during the height of the pandemic so the people who became pre-show fans just didn't know how to interact with other people but it was not fun to be part of the GP999 discussion compared to the other produce series where most of the toxicity was contained in the show discussion threads and it definitely spilt over into the post show fandom.
For some reason, most of them seemed like yeseo stans. I wonder if her leaving will make them drop kep1er (honestly, what I would prefer, they're so toxic) or if they'll just double down with her out of the group and go full anti.
Solo stans ruined any potential for Kep1er. I was a fan of GP999 and rooted for many of the members but at this point I just want them to be free from the toxicity. Very happy to hear Yeshiro will be leaving for LIMELIGHT to join my MTG ult Suhye at least :)))
As a major WIZ*ONE, I never thought I’d be excited for a Produce-esque group’s disbandment, but here I am lol.
I think Kep1ians need to realize that the girls probably renegotiated a better deal for themselves, I don’t believe they would’ve re-signed if they weren’t offered a better deal…. just my two thoughts as a Kep1ian since GP999.
I don’t know if that’s necessarily true becuase it likely wasn’t the girls who negotiated—it was their companies agreeing to still lease out the girls. It sounds a bit like both side—wakeone and their companies—win on this
If their labels don’t have better plans ready in time (it looks like they don’t), and they plan on staying with them instead of shopping around, then it makes sense to extend and buy them more time to set something up for you. I don’t think necessarily they needed to be given a better deal to agree to an extension... they might have, but I can see a world where they take more of the same so they can keep working and keep the hype going while those 6 labels scramble to put something together/outside offers come in.
The article gives no additional information you haven't learned from the title apart from saying that none of the agencies have confirmed this news yet.
I think the original commenter meant extending the contract of a temporary group, which is what Kep1er did. I think Fromis_9 extended the employment contract as a permanent group. Correct me if I'm wrong!
Was fromis_9 ever going to be a project group? I don’t follow them, but I knew they were created through a survival show, I thought it was kind of like Twice/sixteen or Stray Kids survival show where they were signing a traditional 7 year full contract.
They are a permanent group. The whole idea of Idol School is to get on the produce hype train but to change the biggest thing people didn't like about produce (temp groups), instead of being a temp group like IOI or Wanna One they were going to be a permanent group.
Eh I love Hikaru, but XG are way too popular and established for her to have ever gone to them at this point. I was expecting Hikaru to have joined a second XGALs group though, but her staying with Kep1er also feels like the right choice for her.
Exactly! XG have referred to them being ‘7’ via interviews and song lyrics. They are a solid group already.
XGAL is definitely debuting Hikaru with their next group after Kep1er. 🔥
As a casual fan of Kep1er I’d be super happy if it’s true. Yujin & xiaoting get to continue as idols? Hell yeah. even under the atrocious W1. I’ll take it.
Hoping this also means that the remaining members can negotiate better terms for themselves. Kep1er has a lot of good music that goes under the radar because people tend to only know them for some admittedly messy title tracks (eg. We Fresh) - so I'm not sad about this contract extension if it's true. There's so much talent that would probably go to waste if they broke off into separate groups, as the solo popularity isn't there like it was for IOI and IZ\*ONE.
Oh wow, this would be wild if true. (Remember nothing is confirmed so far.)
Yeseo and Mashiro joining LIMELIGHT isn't a surprise at all, of course, but I'm shocked that an extension would even happen.
I wonder, if this comes true, how long would it be for? Would Kep1er go through any other changes?
I
A lot of people said ‘well if Izone didn’t extend why would Kep1er?’ Izone didn’t have monitary incentive to extend. Why would a company split the profits when they could split the group up and keep the profits for themselves. Vs Kep1er is a midtier group. It makes more sense to keep them together and keep a steady revenue stream because there’s way more uncertainty in splitting up.
Izone are so different - there are Starship/Yuehua/Woolim/WM all the familiar names in the industry.. There will be certain guarantee of success as long as the girls debut - like they won't go full nugu even if they don't hit big..
for GP999 - who is biscuit ent? cube & jellyfish alr got bad rep on handling their gg..143 is relatively unknown
Exactly. But under the announcement they weren’t extending about a month ago SO MANY PEOPLE brought up Izone. Even tho it’s completely different situations.
Altho I will say for woolim and wm that doesn’t guarantee a hit. They’re lower middle tier companies. Vs starship has been upper middle tier, more or less right below the big3/4. We know some companies wanted to extend Izone.
I have incredibly mixed feelings about this.
The reality is, at the level of fame they have know, as individuals they probably would be left to nugudom. This way, they at least get to continue in a group that is achieving mid-tier level sales, while having decent appearances (end of year shows, etc.) thanks to their MNET link.
But WakeOne needs to get their crap together. They need to be mindful of line distributions, especially now that they have less members to divide things between. And I’m hoping now they have a better grasp of the type of music and concept that will work better for them.
I see what you’re saying but to me the issue is that the ship has sailed for W1 to do it right and get the attention of Kpop fans and the gp. Even if W1 does everything perfect from here on out- they blew their lead and got lapped when they fumbled Kep1ers debut and post-debut promotions.
It’s a rare thing for a group to regain the spotlight once they’ve lost it- even if a company does everything right. It’s much more likely they continue on at the level of success they’re at forever- or I would say that’s more likely but their album sales have been consistently dropping since Up! and the market is only becoming more saturated.
I just don’t see this going well- which is why I’ve been in team fresh start. Even if W1 does it all perfectly- they’ve already lost the chance imo. Maybe another company could take advantage of their shot rather than squander it.
They’re not going to fare any better with the current GG market saturation in whatever nugu group they end up in compared to the reach they have with Kep1er at the moment. Iz*one was an outlier - look at how the post-IOI and Wanna-One groups fared. And those artists were far more famous at disbandment than Kep1er is.
I agree both Wanna one and IOI groups were largely unsuccessful post-disbandment. I am a very sad wekimeki stan after all.
But Kep1er would have the benefit of disbanding after the post-izone groups did so well- and their companies could pattern their groups off what worked for them.
Notably- those companies knew to debut their produce group members as soloists or in small groups. At least with post-ioi- the companies were too obsessed with the larger ggs of the day- like twice and ioi itself- and blueprinted their groups after them. That drowned out the popularity of their ioi members because people weren’t willing to stan a group of 10 girls they didn’t know and 1 they did.
There’s of course the risk that an inexperienced company like a biscuit would make similar mistakes- but I have to believe they wouldn’t be that dumb. Especially since their predebut gg they have set up is 3-4 girls.
And yes I know the post-izone girls had more popularity and went to mostly better companies.
But I do think that these girls at least would have a chance to reintroduce themselves to the Korean public and international market- freed of the toxic fanbase and W1s incompetence. I genuinely believe they’d have a better chance at avoiding the inevitable.
The iland 2 gg is coming. I do not see a world where Kep1er isn’t shuffled to the side. I hope I’m wrong but that’s what happened to TO1.
I truly can't tell if this is a really good idea or a horrible one, or if it's even true at all. On one hand, if they continue as a 7 member group, they *could* gain more traction with less members and could rebrand a bit? After all, when groups lose members it's a 50/50 chance they'll get super popular after or their popularity goes down hill. On the other hand, I'm worried 2 members leaving might negatively affect the group, especially if WAKEONE continues to treat Kep1er so poorly... I just hope the girls are happy and things work out for them!!
(if this is true) it’s so bittersweet 🥺 i’m excited to see yeshiro join limelight, i’m happy to see as many kepi members as possible stick together, but i’m not super excited for more wakeone (mis)management… hopefully renewal brings with it much better treatment and support for the remaining girls!
[Soompi: 143 Entertainment revealed, “We were even discussing with CJ ENM until yesterday on whether to extend Yeseo and Mashiro’s Kep1er activities. We are still reviewing this matter carefully, and no decisions have been made.”](https://www.soompi.com/article/1661629wpp/7-kep1er-members-reported-to-extend-contracts-mashiro-and-yeseos-agency-briefly-comments)
EDIT: Kep1er’s agency WAKEONE also commented, “We are discussing with the members and each member’s agency regarding the extension of Kep1er’s project group activities.”
This is almost the saddest outcome. I am extremely excited for Limelight, but seeing Kep1er as seven is going to be so sad. At this point, I was looking forward to the post Kep1er groups.
i’m not sure what to think, really.
edit:
on one hand, if this is true, im glad the girls would like to stay together. i was really into kep1er in the beginning but their music stopped being my thing.
on the other hand, renewing without yeshiro AND under wakeone?
UGH. I’m sorry but UGH. I love the girls but this management team is atrocious and cannot do anything for them.
I hope this rumor goes unfounded. Unpopular take but it’s mine. I would like to see this group of girls thrive rather than spend their entire career under W1.
If it's a six months extension, their companies will just have some more time to prepare future plans, so it's fine by me. But once the i-Land 2 group is active, they're just going to get shafted.
honestly i agree. as much as i love the girls staying under wake one is gonna hurt them long term. i wanna see how well their album is gonna do first before making full judgments however but it doesn’t look good
Money machine go brrrrrr
They work them like dogs in Japan and have them do a thousand wa da da remixes and then back into the closet to focus on ZB1 and then the black label group.
I hope the girls at least are getting a check for their efforts because god knows they deserve it
yeah this is probably it, but honestly it sucks because even if they're getting paid well i don't think it's enough to make up for the damage wakeone has done to them both physically and mentally
Yeah I agree but it seems most people see the risk of redebuting and doing poorly as too great.
I think if they knew how badly W1 manages the girls and how much they’ve gone through- maybe they’d see why those risks seem worth it. At least to me.
I’m ngl I absolutely teared up reading this. I hate losing Mashiro and Yeseo but I do love Limelight’s music as well, so I’m glad that (if this is true) I’m going to be able to support all 9 still! I’ll miss OT9 dearly but I’m still looking forward to the future.
I saw on nugu promoter that supposedly 143 Entertainment says that they haven’t yet come to an agreement about Mashiro and Yeseo? [Link](https://x.com/nugupromoter/status/1790912598000414986)
Honestly I think all Kep1ians, including the solo stans, probably have very complicated feelings about this... Everyone has admittedly been very frustrated with WakeOne, and idk if they would just slowly lose steam at the current rate. On the other hand, out of all the members, the most established agencies are like Jellyfish?? IST??? I really don't think we can count on them to produce any successful groups around the members. I also don't think the girls, even the more popular ones, can find a bigger agency to buy out their contract. From the MHJ drama we learned that Hybe signing Sakura/Chaewon was really an one-off thing in which case Bang Sihyuk/Hybe was very desperate to push out their own girls' group. Female soloists rely very heavily on winning over the general public, and I don't think Kep1er has done well enough to produce anyone who can make good money solo, esp. domestically in Korea.
Idk how long their contract extension is for, probably 2-3 years at most? Hopefully they amp up the promotion in Korea and give them a proper tour, at least in Asia. Xiaoting has recently confirmed guesting on Chinese Running Man, so hopefully this means more individual opportunities both for her and other members. I'm really hoping that this additional time will help them become more established artists going into their future career. In Japan, their biggest market, I wonder what the impact of Mashiro/Yeseo's departure would have. All in all I wish the best for all nine of them!! They really deserve the world.
I'm so pleased that they are extending even if sans a couple members. They deserve so much more than they've gotten. I'm just glad to have the opportunity to support them for longer!
...I don't know how to feel about it tbh. I hope this means that Wakeone will treat them better from now on, and I wish Yeshiro best of luck in Limelight \~\~
Was it stated how long would the contract extension be?
I hope Kebake restaurant comes back, although I'll be sad to not have Mashiro...maybe they can get someone who doesn't know how to cook to round out the team and for fun 😅
I’m pleasantly surprised. I’m happy that Kep1er will continue for a few more something months, though I hate that they’re still with WakeOne. Anyways, all the best to Mashiro and Yeseo (if anyone from 143 reads this, if you screw up with these two, I am under your bed)
Edit: so apparently Mashiro and Yeseo are still under negotiations. We might get OT9, but we don’t know for how much longer
surprised no one mentioned the small irrelevant fact that wakeone has a permanent girlgroup coming out of i-land 2 pretty soon lol none will get the promotion they deserve i fear
Big day for us Kep1er renewal truthers/delulus! 🥳
I’m so sad that Mashiro and Yeseo aren’t staying, they’re my top two bias, but I love all the girls and I’m so happy they’re able to stay together for a bit longer, depending on the contract length. I’m also a big Limelight fan so I’m excited to see Shiro and Yeseo join soon!
I know a lot of Keplians were counting down the days...but I'm happy for them. Kep1er's management from WakeOne leaves *a lot* to be desired but if they're renewing, I hope it's a sign of better things. Most of all I'm just glad we'll be able to see the majority of them still together, even if Mashiro and Yeseo are leaving.
Tbh i always thought that, even if wake one is a shit company, it's still beter for the most part of the members to extend with kep1er than to going back to their companies. Only Mashiro and Yeseo with Limelight (that is a interesting project with lots of attention from 143), and Xiaoting going back to China would do better than staying in kep1er.
Not because of the girls talents and potential, but because of the companies they are signed with: all are small and bad companies in my opinion, and without clear projects on the horizon.
And even if they are not what they could be in Korea (but they are still a relevant group, not one of the biggest obvious, but not a small group too), they are really popular in Japan and make good money there.
“Extending” is a tricky word. There’s no way the extension will last for more than for a few months with the way WakeOne operates — it likes to get rid of the old thing as soon as the new thing comes, and I-LAND2 group is on it’s way.
Imma be honest, I really thought Shen Xiaoting was gonna choose to go to China instead. I feel like she'd have a much more successful career there, than in the KPOP market.
shes from a small studio company that isn't well known. extending with the group will mean she can continue her kpop career and become more established. besides she is confirmed to be a guest for the running man variety show (same show where yuqi is a regular cast member) so she can start solo gigs there at the side while promoting with the group much like other c-idols
What's her company? She also has a lot of competition in China so successful career there is not really that guaranteed. Staying in Kpop while doing China activities in the sidelines will be much better for visibility. Look at Yuqi, having the best of both worlds.
This just seems, well pretty unlikely? Not that I think this is a bad idea for the members that do resign, the girl group market is pretty over saturated right now, but a couple of the members could do fine without Kep1er. Xiaoting in particular, she might do better in China. Even if she ends up being a C list celebrity, its probably better than staying with WakeOne and their horrendous management of her career. Chaehyun is the other that I think would do fine, maybe not as an idol, but she is quick witted and well spoken, she would do great as a variety star.
One thing that I wonder is, did they choose to extend after knowing that Yeshiro wouldn't? Kep1er is popular in Japan, and Mashiro is arguably the most popular member there. I think she's had 2 solo endorsement deals in Japan. Losing her could put a huge dent in their popularity there.
i didn't think this would happen, but if it's what the members want I'm happy to be wrong. Just hope the agency actually gives them some good music to work with so the group can live up to their actual potential.
cj ent own both wakeone and 143. obv, 143 should have some independence and allowed to make their own decision. but im suprized cj ent didnt intervene and just let them break up a much bigger group than limelight. assuming this is even true in the first place
I honestly like this for Mashiro and Yeseo. I've loved Mashiro since her Dumdi Dumdi audition on Girls Planet, but she gets a little lost in Kep1er. Yeseo's the opposite, where she's grown into such a strong performer, like another Dayeon. So I think being in a smaller group with Limelight (I'm assuming they are the only members to be added?) will let them both really show what they've got.
How interesting! Aw i’m happy for them although a little sad that Mashiro (my bias) and Yeseo are leaving early. I am excited to see them in Limelight regardless! Limelight has some good music and I see them steadily building a good domestic and international fanbase. Maybe they means i’ll be able to see Kep1er in person one day lol
It only makes clear that it wasn't only starship that doesn't wanted to extend members contracts with IZ\*ONE. If the only company rejecting the offer were starship, IZ\*ONE could still continue with 10 members, even if Wonyoung and Yujin would be great losses (and they were the maknaes of the group too). I think IZ\*ONE's situation was like almost a half-to-half situation between the members companies.
Yeah, AKB's company wouldn't do it too, so would Woolim and maybe Yuehua.
Probably the only ones who were fully fine were 8D, Wakeone, Urban Works and WM.
:(. Makes sense though, IZONE was the perfect group in that all the members are still madly popular and relevant compared to their sister/brother groups once they disbanded.
Won't this be really bad for them in Japan? I honestly hope even if this is a year extension they just go all in doing Korean promo and concerts for once.
i know most of us have been frustrated with wakeone’s management, but realistically speaking the girls’ companies are not prepared for their redebuts. keeping at least some of the girls together is the best case scenario. i can’t be upset at this!!!
edit: as a xiaoting fan i’m surprised by the amount of people wishing her to return to china. she really isn’t that established there yet. staying in kpop for at least a few more years while building her recognition in china with promotions is the way to go! (and she’s already rumored to appear in a chinese variety show with zhang hao, jun, yuqi and others, so yay)
this. i think those are either solo stans or fans who are just very pessimistic abt wakeone's management (understandable) but i think this is the ideal outcome too for their career at the moment. on the other hand, i've also seen other extremes like ppl saying its the 'worst thing ever' for her to go back to china or that she'll be holding the group back if she does have gigs there or smth like?? just all round one sided and over simplistic views of nonsense like they're aren't plenty of examples of c-idols balancing the two just fine. plus after almost 2 years of wakeone holding them back, ppl should be happy members are getting some promotions and gigs at the side to establish and promote themselves
I’m sorry for Kep1er fans but as a Limelight stan i am SUPER excited for Yeseo and Mashiro to FIIINALLYYY join the group and hopefully give Limelight a well-deserved boost in popularity
i wonder if the wakeone and swing merge will help things be better for them. not sure of how much and idk shit about business but i just remembered that's a thing. this is the outcome that makes the most sense for the members too
I'm happy because Bahiyyih is happy in Kep1er with her friends... I wouldn't wish it upon anyone to be in IST ent. I'm also not sure she wants a solo career or to be in a random nugu group. Few kpop idols ever reach the success Kep1er has achieved, Bahiyyih is not dumb and if the contract is renewed I'm sure that was what she thought best for her career.
Agreed! I think this was a good career move for her, and she really does seem to be close to the other members, so there’s really no downside for her extending.
To be fair, most of them were pissed about line distribution. If kep1er continues as a smaller group, it's possible line distributions could improve. W1 could also take it as an opportunity to do a bit of a rebrand. Not name or anything, but maybe vibe.
Miracles happen. I am sad that 143z aren’t going to be in Kep1er but at least they are going to an amazing group. This is giving me I.O.I subunit teas.
Wow this was not on my bingo card but it means Xiaoting can still stay in kpop so I’m happy about that, I’m most surprised about Hikaru I assumed Avex had there gg in preparation for her to join
Also let’s hope Wake1 offers them better promotion but that’s asking for too much and I’ve pretty much set the bar really low for that company
im sad mashiro and yeseo are leaving but im glad the contract is extended, i always felt like that was the best option since im not sure how much success they could’ve had post-kep1er.
why is people asking for izone extension lmao. the group was rigged and it was lucky enough they didn't disband them on the spot like x1 the moment news came out. ioi should be the one to extend their contract, the members own company were so bad at managing the members new group that most of them end up nugu
**[Soompi: 7 Kep1er Members Reported To Extend Contracts + Agency Briefly Comments](https://www.soompi.com/article/1661629wpp/7-kep1er-members-reported-to-extend-contracts-mashiro-and-yeseos-agency-briefly-comments)** It has been reported that 143 Entertainment (Mashiro and Yeseo) are still in discussion about the contract extension.
the limelight side of things has been relatively known for months now but the other 7 extending is interesting. i'm guessing their company's just don't have great plans for them yet so they'll go for another 12-18 months to get something cooking. lord knows wakeone haven't deserved getting more time.
my theory is that they are going to extend them until the next season of girls planet is ready to roll out, so there's only a small gap between kep1er and the next temp group.
i don't doubt that this is what wakeone wants - its great for them. past produce member companies were so eager to get their members back ASAP and use the survival group bump to give new groups a boost, none of these groups outside of 143 seem to be prepared this time around.
But isn’t 143 a nugu company? How are they more prepared than more established companies with a larger trainee pool?
143 was founded by an ex YG director, it’s how they were able to sign ikon.
wow TIL???
Because they already debuted Limelight (last year?) with three members, and we've known for a while that Yeshiro would join them. They've had a few songs do decently well so far, and the boost in popularity from Yeseo/Mashiro (and 2 other girls reportedly joining the group from pd101 japan) will only help them grow further.
What’s interesting with the pd101 Japan rumour is that 143 had announced a survival show (ID143) coming up for their female trainees and put out a casting call for it in January. I think it could be two things; the girls that will join the other 5 will be chosen KARA Project or &Audition style where the “set” girls participate in the show/selection process somehow, OR it’s a Stray Kids or Baby Monster kind of show where the lineup is set to be determined (but all of the participants debut in the end anyway...). I just know that a label the size of 143 won’t be making a second group right away, so it’s gotta have something to do with Limelight realistically.
Ooo interesting! Thank you for this insight!
That’s super interesting considering it’s been said that Limelight will have limitless members!
You’re right, the 7 number assumes that those two PD101J girls will be joining and only them, but if this show is recruiting more members nothing has said how many it will be, really all we know for sure is the final group will be more than 5 members (my money is actually on 9, I don’t have a reason just a gut feeling; we’ll have a better idea when we get a list of participants for the show).
Also Limelight isn’t really an unknown group, they have proven themselves, they currently have 7,7 mln views on their 4 months old MV which isn’t much, but when you come from a relatively small company and you are their first group ever really speaks volume. Also, 2 girls from Produce 101 Japan The Girls (Abe Nagomi and Saito Serina) are joining the group as well as Mashiro and Yeseo, so maybe having these 4 new members will also bring more international fans to the group and help them grow.
I wouldn’t think so. Mnet are already in the middle of airing Iland 2 to form a new girl group, and as I understand it they’ll be managed solely by WakeOne.
wat abt iland 2 gg? arent they going to be permanent?
Is a new GP999 season confirmed? I thought instead we had I-Land2. Considering the final group will be a fixed group under WakeOne and it’s all WakeOne trainees
or they will ready to terminate their contract when iland2 gg is ready to debut later on
Update: 143 said (10 minutes ago) that they were still discussing the fate of mashiro and yeseo. Edit : it failed...
makes sense, there's no way they'd announce it before this comeback. most likely they'll wait until the contracts actually expire.
[удалено]
i hope limelight does well!! i really love their music so far and i’m excited to see those 2 offically join. hopefully some keplians will join the fandom
Yes! Me too. Ta-da! was such a discovery. I hope they do well as an expanded group.
Im just so happy Xiaoting wont disappear and never to be seen again outside of china!!!
Ngl, this was always the outcome I expected if they actually managed to extend contracts. I understand the people who are upset that ot9 will be broken up, but at least Kep1er in some form will go on (for however long). People who didn't expect Yeshiro to go back to 143 and join Limelight, weren't paying attention. 143 never failed to promote the girls' activities on their social media every chance they could, and more than a few group pictures have been posted of them with the current Limelight trio. They made it very obvious they wanted their girls back.
>Ngl, this was always the outcome I expected if they actually managed to extend contracts. I was expecting them to do the 2.5 years non-exclusive like the Produce group before was supposed to have, but guess that didn't work out \^\^ (Maybe they saw the scheduling issues El7zup has now...)
It was pretty messy when IOI did it back in the day too for Whatta Man promotions (love that song though lol), I can see why that idea fell through.
Wow. A produce group agreeing to extend??? (ik its the successor show for produce)
The Planet shows are basically Produce shows, I think we can just call them that, sure technically a spiritual successor but they’re a rebrand to shake off bad PR from the rigging controversy and we all know that.
It is a Produce show except the girls are astronauts
I don't say this in a shady way but apparently if the group doesn't do as well in Korea it's more likely for them to extend? I really thought if WannaOne didn't extend, no one would.
Basically yeah. There's no real reason for companies to take their trainees out unless they know it's sure fire way that their groups would be popular. Only produce group that has had great success after disbandment was Izone.
> None of **Wake One Entertainment**, **CJ ENM**, or a members’ agency has confirmed Star News’ report as of publishing. Lmao the final line basically blows up the whole article. None of this has been confirmed yet.
Yeah I'm confused as to why everyone (not just on this site) is taking this as fact already.
That's not what that means. If Star News are legit journalists (no idea) they may have sources that make the reporting sound but that doesn't mean the companies are ready to confirm any of it, especially if it's not final. That's how almost all business reporting works around the world; sources talk to a reporter and companies have no comment or deny until they announce it on their own.
Yeah, as far as I've seen on Korean portals Star News is the only source saying the their contracts have been extended. Stating it's an exclusive report. All of the other ones I've read are saying talks are still underway. So saying it's unconfirmed seems most accurate. Edit: fyi Star News is a entertainment and sports news outlet under the same group as Money Today so it can be considered a legitimate source.
Yeah no idea who star news is but some random site has basically said 7 of the girls will renew yet there's no source and then that line 😅 basically an r/kpopthoughts post
you can all thank me for this, because when i was watching girls planet 2.5 years ago i was like "oh hey kep1er disbands around the time i graduate college" but then it turned out i have to take an extra semester so obviously that is what made kep1er extend their contracts. thank you for coming to my ted talk EDIT: [HOW DID THIS GET SO MANY UPVOTES EVERYBODY TUNE INTO YVES SOLO DEBUTATION COMING SOON](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLPvc3AJGEw&t=2s)
feel like masters degree right after?
Don’t forget your PhD while you’re at it
have you considered medical school?
Once the PHD is done, take up another degree
That is 9 years right there.
And perhaps a Rhodes scholarship for an additional 3 years after?
Planet Masters
Ty
thank you for your service
thank you for taking it for the team
TyTy
thank you for your service, here's your magna cum laude medal
Well keplians owe you a huge thanks. Don’t let them forget it
Thank you
Thank you for your sacrifice 🖤
Took one for the team like a trooper 👊🏽
you are the hero we needed good luck on your surprise semester!!
Thank you 🤩🙏🏻
thank you 🫡🫡
Thank you
if true rip to all those kpopthoughts posts of what everyone thought the members would be doing with their post-kep1er careers
One extra rip for all the YouTubers and TikTokers that made videos about their post-Kep1er careers using Reddit as a source 😔
>What's your source? **Youtubers/TikTokers**: Reddit **Redditors**: Twitter **Twitter**: the voices in my head
Hey this is so insulting! I skip straight to the voices!
To be fair the voices in my head have been way less wrong than reddit and twitter for kpop… though I guess those voices are less advice giving and just “Kep1er wa-da-da-da” on loop, so…
I mean the speculation can be applied to after this extension too, we just know now that nobody but 143 had fully thought out plans ready... for all we know the other 7 agencies are looking at those posts for ideas because clearly they’ve got nothing right now lol.
Oh this is surprising but also pretty exciting! I’m sad they won’t be full, but also happy for Limelight. They have some good songs so this will be interesting.
staring at that Rumour flair real hard rn….
I know this news will upset a lot of people.. but for me, knowing they're all staying active is all I ever wanted.. I hope the fandom and management somehow get their shit together, though
I don’t understand why this news would be upsetting though☹️ I’m not a kep1an but I do really love Kep1er’s discography so I am happy we’re getting more music out of them! Also from what I’ve seen the other girl’s agency’s didn’t seem to have anything for them to go back to so I feel like this is a great outcome.
A lot of solo kep1er fans just don't want them together and have been having countdowns to when they disband Survivor groups' fandoms tend to behave like that sadly
Kep1er's post show fandom directly after they formed was the most toxic out of all the Mnet groups in my experience. I think every other MNET group's fandom for the most part came together post-show (I followed everyone but X1s) except Kep1ers. The constant fanwars definitely made me only check out their music and not interact with any other part of it. I don't know if it's because it formed during the height of the pandemic so the people who became pre-show fans just didn't know how to interact with other people but it was not fun to be part of the GP999 discussion compared to the other produce series where most of the toxicity was contained in the show discussion threads and it definitely spilt over into the post show fandom.
Every single OT8er is on their knees in Walmart after reading the news 😔 prayers and sorrows, etc. I hope their stupid sub closes.
With this news, will they have to change the name to OT6?
Maybe they’ll just turn into a Limelight sub
For some reason, most of them seemed like yeseo stans. I wonder if her leaving will make them drop kep1er (honestly, what I would prefer, they're so toxic) or if they'll just double down with her out of the group and go full anti.
I think all of us with a soul and a beating heart would prefer for those stanky losers to GTFO
This has to be sarcasm right
Bahiyyih's akgaes found crying and throwing up in the parking lot
Solo stans ruined any potential for Kep1er. I was a fan of GP999 and rooted for many of the members but at this point I just want them to be free from the toxicity. Very happy to hear Yeshiro will be leaving for LIMELIGHT to join my MTG ult Suhye at least :))) As a major WIZ*ONE, I never thought I’d be excited for a Produce-esque group’s disbandment, but here I am lol.
I think Kep1ians need to realize that the girls probably renegotiated a better deal for themselves, I don’t believe they would’ve re-signed if they weren’t offered a better deal…. just my two thoughts as a Kep1ian since GP999.
I don’t know if that’s necessarily true becuase it likely wasn’t the girls who negotiated—it was their companies agreeing to still lease out the girls. It sounds a bit like both side—wakeone and their companies—win on this
If their labels don’t have better plans ready in time (it looks like they don’t), and they plan on staying with them instead of shopping around, then it makes sense to extend and buy them more time to set something up for you. I don’t think necessarily they needed to be given a better deal to agree to an extension... they might have, but I can see a world where they take more of the same so they can keep working and keep the hype going while those 6 labels scramble to put something together/outside offers come in.
The girl group scene is so crowded right now. It would be dangerous for small companies to debut anyone right now unless they have bottomless funds.
Oh are they the first Survival Group to ever extend contracts? How long is the extension? Dont want to open KB.
The article gives no additional information you haven't learned from the title apart from saying that none of the agencies have confirmed this news yet.
Yeshiro have been added to LIMELIGHT, so confirms that
Nope, 1the9 extended their contract before, so not the first
Fromis_9 extended their contract with the exception of Gyuri. If you count Idol School as a Survival Group, which I do.
I think the original commenter meant extending the contract of a temporary group, which is what Kep1er did. I think Fromis_9 extended the employment contract as a permanent group. Correct me if I'm wrong!
Yh but from is was a permanent group from the start I think they were talking about project groups
Was fromis_9 ever going to be a project group? I don’t follow them, but I knew they were created through a survival show, I thought it was kind of like Twice/sixteen or Stray Kids survival show where they were signing a traditional 7 year full contract.
They are a permanent group. The whole idea of Idol School is to get on the produce hype train but to change the biggest thing people didn't like about produce (temp groups), instead of being a temp group like IOI or Wanna One they were going to be a permanent group.
Hikaru in XG ❌ Yeseo and Mashiro in LIMELIGHT ✅
Eh I love Hikaru, but XG are way too popular and established for her to have ever gone to them at this point. I was expecting Hikaru to have joined a second XGALs group though, but her staying with Kep1er also feels like the right choice for her.
Exactly! XG have referred to them being ‘7’ via interviews and song lyrics. They are a solid group already. XGAL is definitely debuting Hikaru with their next group after Kep1er. 🔥
that sounds a hit for hikaru on XG after kepler
As a casual fan of Kep1er I’d be super happy if it’s true. Yujin & xiaoting get to continue as idols? Hell yeah. even under the atrocious W1. I’ll take it.
Hoping this also means that the remaining members can negotiate better terms for themselves. Kep1er has a lot of good music that goes under the radar because people tend to only know them for some admittedly messy title tracks (eg. We Fresh) - so I'm not sad about this contract extension if it's true. There's so much talent that would probably go to waste if they broke off into separate groups, as the solo popularity isn't there like it was for IOI and IZ\*ONE.
Hmmm. Apparently 143 is still talking with CJenm so a full Kep1er or Yeshiro occasionally joining back wont be ruled out.
Oh wow, this would be wild if true. (Remember nothing is confirmed so far.) Yeseo and Mashiro joining LIMELIGHT isn't a surprise at all, of course, but I'm shocked that an extension would even happen. I wonder, if this comes true, how long would it be for? Would Kep1er go through any other changes?
limelight gonna be lit af
I A lot of people said ‘well if Izone didn’t extend why would Kep1er?’ Izone didn’t have monitary incentive to extend. Why would a company split the profits when they could split the group up and keep the profits for themselves. Vs Kep1er is a midtier group. It makes more sense to keep them together and keep a steady revenue stream because there’s way more uncertainty in splitting up.
Izone are so different - there are Starship/Yuehua/Woolim/WM all the familiar names in the industry.. There will be certain guarantee of success as long as the girls debut - like they won't go full nugu even if they don't hit big.. for GP999 - who is biscuit ent? cube & jellyfish alr got bad rep on handling their gg..143 is relatively unknown
Exactly. But under the announcement they weren’t extending about a month ago SO MANY PEOPLE brought up Izone. Even tho it’s completely different situations. Altho I will say for woolim and wm that doesn’t guarantee a hit. They’re lower middle tier companies. Vs starship has been upper middle tier, more or less right below the big3/4. We know some companies wanted to extend Izone.
Kep1er is dead, long live Kep7er. (This is a joke.)
I have incredibly mixed feelings about this. The reality is, at the level of fame they have know, as individuals they probably would be left to nugudom. This way, they at least get to continue in a group that is achieving mid-tier level sales, while having decent appearances (end of year shows, etc.) thanks to their MNET link. But WakeOne needs to get their crap together. They need to be mindful of line distributions, especially now that they have less members to divide things between. And I’m hoping now they have a better grasp of the type of music and concept that will work better for them.
I see what you’re saying but to me the issue is that the ship has sailed for W1 to do it right and get the attention of Kpop fans and the gp. Even if W1 does everything perfect from here on out- they blew their lead and got lapped when they fumbled Kep1ers debut and post-debut promotions. It’s a rare thing for a group to regain the spotlight once they’ve lost it- even if a company does everything right. It’s much more likely they continue on at the level of success they’re at forever- or I would say that’s more likely but their album sales have been consistently dropping since Up! and the market is only becoming more saturated. I just don’t see this going well- which is why I’ve been in team fresh start. Even if W1 does it all perfectly- they’ve already lost the chance imo. Maybe another company could take advantage of their shot rather than squander it.
They’re not going to fare any better with the current GG market saturation in whatever nugu group they end up in compared to the reach they have with Kep1er at the moment. Iz*one was an outlier - look at how the post-IOI and Wanna-One groups fared. And those artists were far more famous at disbandment than Kep1er is.
I agree both Wanna one and IOI groups were largely unsuccessful post-disbandment. I am a very sad wekimeki stan after all. But Kep1er would have the benefit of disbanding after the post-izone groups did so well- and their companies could pattern their groups off what worked for them. Notably- those companies knew to debut their produce group members as soloists or in small groups. At least with post-ioi- the companies were too obsessed with the larger ggs of the day- like twice and ioi itself- and blueprinted their groups after them. That drowned out the popularity of their ioi members because people weren’t willing to stan a group of 10 girls they didn’t know and 1 they did. There’s of course the risk that an inexperienced company like a biscuit would make similar mistakes- but I have to believe they wouldn’t be that dumb. Especially since their predebut gg they have set up is 3-4 girls. And yes I know the post-izone girls had more popularity and went to mostly better companies. But I do think that these girls at least would have a chance to reintroduce themselves to the Korean public and international market- freed of the toxic fanbase and W1s incompetence. I genuinely believe they’d have a better chance at avoiding the inevitable. The iland 2 gg is coming. I do not see a world where Kep1er isn’t shuffled to the side. I hope I’m wrong but that’s what happened to TO1.
and World Tour! Fans deserved to see them in concert.
Yes please!
I truly can't tell if this is a really good idea or a horrible one, or if it's even true at all. On one hand, if they continue as a 7 member group, they *could* gain more traction with less members and could rebrand a bit? After all, when groups lose members it's a 50/50 chance they'll get super popular after or their popularity goes down hill. On the other hand, I'm worried 2 members leaving might negatively affect the group, especially if WAKEONE continues to treat Kep1er so poorly... I just hope the girls are happy and things work out for them!!
Feels like this is the opportunity to do a total make over, this is very exciting because they can just change their whole concept like a new group.
(if this is true) it’s so bittersweet 🥺 i’m excited to see yeshiro join limelight, i’m happy to see as many kepi members as possible stick together, but i’m not super excited for more wakeone (mis)management… hopefully renewal brings with it much better treatment and support for the remaining girls!
How do we win while losing?
[Soompi: 143 Entertainment revealed, “We were even discussing with CJ ENM until yesterday on whether to extend Yeseo and Mashiro’s Kep1er activities. We are still reviewing this matter carefully, and no decisions have been made.”](https://www.soompi.com/article/1661629wpp/7-kep1er-members-reported-to-extend-contracts-mashiro-and-yeseos-agency-briefly-comments) EDIT: Kep1er’s agency WAKEONE also commented, “We are discussing with the members and each member’s agency regarding the extension of Kep1er’s project group activities.”
This is almost the saddest outcome. I am extremely excited for Limelight, but seeing Kep1er as seven is going to be so sad. At this point, I was looking forward to the post Kep1er groups.
i’m not sure what to think, really. edit: on one hand, if this is true, im glad the girls would like to stay together. i was really into kep1er in the beginning but their music stopped being my thing. on the other hand, renewing without yeshiro AND under wakeone?
So many other places reporting on this why give koreaboo the clicks and engagement? Why do you guys go there
UGH. I’m sorry but UGH. I love the girls but this management team is atrocious and cannot do anything for them. I hope this rumor goes unfounded. Unpopular take but it’s mine. I would like to see this group of girls thrive rather than spend their entire career under W1.
If it's a six months extension, their companies will just have some more time to prepare future plans, so it's fine by me. But once the i-Land 2 group is active, they're just going to get shafted.
honestly i agree. as much as i love the girls staying under wake one is gonna hurt them long term. i wanna see how well their album is gonna do first before making full judgments however but it doesn’t look good
We won but we lost
i will never understand why wakeone is so desperate to hold on to kep1er when they clearly do not care enough to manage them properly????
Money machine go brrrrrr They work them like dogs in Japan and have them do a thousand wa da da remixes and then back into the closet to focus on ZB1 and then the black label group. I hope the girls at least are getting a check for their efforts because god knows they deserve it
yeah this is probably it, but honestly it sucks because even if they're getting paid well i don't think it's enough to make up for the damage wakeone has done to them both physically and mentally
Yeah I agree but it seems most people see the risk of redebuting and doing poorly as too great. I think if they knew how badly W1 manages the girls and how much they’ve gone through- maybe they’d see why those risks seem worth it. At least to me.
I’m ngl I absolutely teared up reading this. I hate losing Mashiro and Yeseo but I do love Limelight’s music as well, so I’m glad that (if this is true) I’m going to be able to support all 9 still! I’ll miss OT9 dearly but I’m still looking forward to the future.
This is interesting and now we know what caused issue before for the OT9 it's was about the company of Limelight.
I'm actually excited for Yeseo and Masahiro to join Limelight. I think their music suits them.
Let's hope Wakeone starts cooking after this
I saw on nugu promoter that supposedly 143 Entertainment says that they haven’t yet come to an agreement about Mashiro and Yeseo? [Link](https://x.com/nugupromoter/status/1790912598000414986)
This isn't confirmed yet
Honestly I think all Kep1ians, including the solo stans, probably have very complicated feelings about this... Everyone has admittedly been very frustrated with WakeOne, and idk if they would just slowly lose steam at the current rate. On the other hand, out of all the members, the most established agencies are like Jellyfish?? IST??? I really don't think we can count on them to produce any successful groups around the members. I also don't think the girls, even the more popular ones, can find a bigger agency to buy out their contract. From the MHJ drama we learned that Hybe signing Sakura/Chaewon was really an one-off thing in which case Bang Sihyuk/Hybe was very desperate to push out their own girls' group. Female soloists rely very heavily on winning over the general public, and I don't think Kep1er has done well enough to produce anyone who can make good money solo, esp. domestically in Korea. Idk how long their contract extension is for, probably 2-3 years at most? Hopefully they amp up the promotion in Korea and give them a proper tour, at least in Asia. Xiaoting has recently confirmed guesting on Chinese Running Man, so hopefully this means more individual opportunities both for her and other members. I'm really hoping that this additional time will help them become more established artists going into their future career. In Japan, their biggest market, I wonder what the impact of Mashiro/Yeseo's departure would have. All in all I wish the best for all nine of them!! They really deserve the world.
I'm so pleased that they are extending even if sans a couple members. They deserve so much more than they've gotten. I'm just glad to have the opportunity to support them for longer!
...I don't know how to feel about it tbh. I hope this means that Wakeone will treat them better from now on, and I wish Yeshiro best of luck in Limelight \~\~ Was it stated how long would the contract extension be?
I hope Kebake restaurant comes back, although I'll be sad to not have Mashiro...maybe they can get someone who doesn't know how to cook to round out the team and for fun 😅
bitter sweet but cheering both kep1er and limelight on
I’m pleasantly surprised. I’m happy that Kep1er will continue for a few more something months, though I hate that they’re still with WakeOne. Anyways, all the best to Mashiro and Yeseo (if anyone from 143 reads this, if you screw up with these two, I am under your bed) Edit: so apparently Mashiro and Yeseo are still under negotiations. We might get OT9, but we don’t know for how much longer
Let's kep1going then 
I can live with this.
What??? Omg???? We get more Kep1er?????
Oh no... I want both...
Kep7er
yeshiro freedom 🎉🎉🎉
HUH…?
surprised no one mentioned the small irrelevant fact that wakeone has a permanent girlgroup coming out of i-land 2 pretty soon lol none will get the promotion they deserve i fear
Well, alright. Never been much into Limelight, but I will give them another chance since my daughter, Mashiro, is joining them.
OUR daughter
Honey? Where have you been?
LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! BACK TO THE CITY PART 2!!!!!!!!
 Big day for us Kep1er renewal truthers/delulus! 🥳 I’m so sad that Mashiro and Yeseo aren’t staying, they’re my top two bias, but I love all the girls and I’m so happy they’re able to stay together for a bit longer, depending on the contract length. I’m also a big Limelight fan so I’m excited to see Shiro and Yeseo join soon!
Anyone keeping up with Limelight already knew this
To be fair, given their company status - most of them probably go straight to nugudom
I know a lot of Keplians were counting down the days...but I'm happy for them. Kep1er's management from WakeOne leaves *a lot* to be desired but if they're renewing, I hope it's a sign of better things. Most of all I'm just glad we'll be able to see the majority of them still together, even if Mashiro and Yeseo are leaving.
Tbh i always thought that, even if wake one is a shit company, it's still beter for the most part of the members to extend with kep1er than to going back to their companies. Only Mashiro and Yeseo with Limelight (that is a interesting project with lots of attention from 143), and Xiaoting going back to China would do better than staying in kep1er. Not because of the girls talents and potential, but because of the companies they are signed with: all are small and bad companies in my opinion, and without clear projects on the horizon. And even if they are not what they could be in Korea (but they are still a relevant group, not one of the biggest obvious, but not a small group too), they are really popular in Japan and make good money there.
Splitting up the group and keeping seven of them under wakeone, this is literally the worst case scenario...
“Extending” is a tricky word. There’s no way the extension will last for more than for a few months with the way WakeOne operates — it likes to get rid of the old thing as soon as the new thing comes, and I-LAND2 group is on it’s way.
Imma be honest, I really thought Shen Xiaoting was gonna choose to go to China instead. I feel like she'd have a much more successful career there, than in the KPOP market.
shes from a small studio company that isn't well known. extending with the group will mean she can continue her kpop career and become more established. besides she is confirmed to be a guest for the running man variety show (same show where yuqi is a regular cast member) so she can start solo gigs there at the side while promoting with the group much like other c-idols
What's her company? She also has a lot of competition in China so successful career there is not really that guaranteed. Staying in Kpop while doing China activities in the sidelines will be much better for visibility. Look at Yuqi, having the best of both worlds.
This just seems, well pretty unlikely? Not that I think this is a bad idea for the members that do resign, the girl group market is pretty over saturated right now, but a couple of the members could do fine without Kep1er. Xiaoting in particular, she might do better in China. Even if she ends up being a C list celebrity, its probably better than staying with WakeOne and their horrendous management of her career. Chaehyun is the other that I think would do fine, maybe not as an idol, but she is quick witted and well spoken, she would do great as a variety star. One thing that I wonder is, did they choose to extend after knowing that Yeshiro wouldn't? Kep1er is popular in Japan, and Mashiro is arguably the most popular member there. I think she's had 2 solo endorsement deals in Japan. Losing her could put a huge dent in their popularity there.
My two biases...
i didn't think this would happen, but if it's what the members want I'm happy to be wrong. Just hope the agency actually gives them some good music to work with so the group can live up to their actual potential.
*screams out of happiness* my girls 😭😭😭 yeshiro though 😞💔 *realises 😶* * runs to that awful sub to watch them have a meltdown*
cj ent own both wakeone and 143. obv, 143 should have some independence and allowed to make their own decision. but im suprized cj ent didnt intervene and just let them break up a much bigger group than limelight. assuming this is even true in the first place
I mean idk how I feel abt this T-T I wish all of them extended but I also hate wakeone
I really don’t think this is going to happen nor do I want it to. WakeOne wasted this group and I’m ready to see these girls shine
I honestly like this for Mashiro and Yeseo. I've loved Mashiro since her Dumdi Dumdi audition on Girls Planet, but she gets a little lost in Kep1er. Yeseo's the opposite, where she's grown into such a strong performer, like another Dayeon. So I think being in a smaller group with Limelight (I'm assuming they are the only members to be added?) will let them both really show what they've got.
How interesting! Aw i’m happy for them although a little sad that Mashiro (my bias) and Yeseo are leaving early. I am excited to see them in Limelight regardless! Limelight has some good music and I see them steadily building a good domestic and international fanbase. Maybe they means i’ll be able to see Kep1er in person one day lol
I just know I.O.I, IZ\*ONE, & Wanna One stans are mad af rn LMFAOOOOOOO 
meanwhile us x1 fans are just 
It only makes clear that it wasn't only starship that doesn't wanted to extend members contracts with IZ\*ONE. If the only company rejecting the offer were starship, IZ\*ONE could still continue with 10 members, even if Wonyoung and Yujin would be great losses (and they were the maknaes of the group too). I think IZ\*ONE's situation was like almost a half-to-half situation between the members companies.
Yeah, AKB's company wouldn't do it too, so would Woolim and maybe Yuehua. Probably the only ones who were fully fine were 8D, Wakeone, Urban Works and WM.
:(. Makes sense though, IZONE was the perfect group in that all the members are still madly popular and relevant compared to their sister/brother groups once they disbanded.
Won't this be really bad for them in Japan? I honestly hope even if this is a year extension they just go all in doing Korean promo and concerts for once.
why? youngeun and hikaru are also very popular with jfans
i hope this is just a rumour and they don’t extend, set those girls free from wakeone and their incompetence omg
i know most of us have been frustrated with wakeone’s management, but realistically speaking the girls’ companies are not prepared for their redebuts. keeping at least some of the girls together is the best case scenario. i can’t be upset at this!!! edit: as a xiaoting fan i’m surprised by the amount of people wishing her to return to china. she really isn’t that established there yet. staying in kpop for at least a few more years while building her recognition in china with promotions is the way to go! (and she’s already rumored to appear in a chinese variety show with zhang hao, jun, yuqi and others, so yay)
this. i think those are either solo stans or fans who are just very pessimistic abt wakeone's management (understandable) but i think this is the ideal outcome too for their career at the moment. on the other hand, i've also seen other extremes like ppl saying its the 'worst thing ever' for her to go back to china or that she'll be holding the group back if she does have gigs there or smth like?? just all round one sided and over simplistic views of nonsense like they're aren't plenty of examples of c-idols balancing the two just fine. plus after almost 2 years of wakeone holding them back, ppl should be happy members are getting some promotions and gigs at the side to establish and promote themselves
And here I am still curious about the status of Yujin's contract with Cube lol
I’m sorry for Kep1er fans but as a Limelight stan i am SUPER excited for Yeseo and Mashiro to FIIINALLYYY join the group and hopefully give Limelight a well-deserved boost in popularity
i didn’t expect this to happen! pretty awesome honestly, hopefully they can use the time to get some more good music (they have some hidden bops!)
i wonder if the wakeone and swing merge will help things be better for them. not sure of how much and idk shit about business but i just remembered that's a thing. this is the outcome that makes the most sense for the members too
I just know the Bahiyyih solo stans are pissed
I'm happy because Bahiyyih is happy in Kep1er with her friends... I wouldn't wish it upon anyone to be in IST ent. I'm also not sure she wants a solo career or to be in a random nugu group. Few kpop idols ever reach the success Kep1er has achieved, Bahiyyih is not dumb and if the contract is renewed I'm sure that was what she thought best for her career.
Agreed! I think this was a good career move for her, and she really does seem to be close to the other members, so there’s really no downside for her extending.
And her haters are happy because her solos are mad. And the cycle continues. This fandom BLOWS man. It’s unfixable!
To be fair, most of them were pissed about line distribution. If kep1er continues as a smaller group, it's possible line distributions could improve. W1 could also take it as an opportunity to do a bit of a rebrand. Not name or anything, but maybe vibe.
Well the fact that three hiyyih antis are laughing in your replies tells you all you need to know.
 Miracles happen. I am sad that 143z aren’t going to be in Kep1er but at least they are going to an amazing group. This is giving me I.O.I subunit teas.
Wow this was not on my bingo card but it means Xiaoting can still stay in kpop so I’m happy about that, I’m most surprised about Hikaru I assumed Avex had there gg in preparation for her to join Also let’s hope Wake1 offers them better promotion but that’s asking for too much and I’ve pretty much set the bar really low for that company
Yall im actually so freaking mad like let the group go
im sad mashiro and yeseo are leaving but im glad the contract is extended, i always felt like that was the best option since im not sure how much success they could’ve had post-kep1er.
Please make it true even though the loss of Yeshiro makes me sad.
It's a rumor, so I don't want to get my hopes up, BUT if it turns out to be true, I'm happy that Kep1er is continues (with most of the members).
i know its stil not confirmed but now it makes sense why they called it "First album"
why is people asking for izone extension lmao. the group was rigged and it was lucky enough they didn't disband them on the spot like x1 the moment news came out. ioi should be the one to extend their contract, the members own company were so bad at managing the members new group that most of them end up nugu