30 December:
Pledis Entertainment labelmates After School and Son Dambi have dressed up in traditionalhanboks to wish their fans a Happy New Year.
The girls dressed in matching pastel pink with accent colors like green and purple, which gave them a look of fresh innocence.
Representatives of Pledis stated, “We ask that you give After School and Son Dambi your unchanging love, support, and advice. We pray that you will be met with good health and luck in the New Year!”
Netizens commented, “Warms my heart,” “They look like new brides dressed up like that,” and“Looking forward to their promotions next year.”
28 December:
On December 27th,
After School and the
Pledis Boys met up with fans to combine their volunteer efforts and deliver briquettes to heat homes.
Pledis Entertainment expressed, “In the cold weather, the Pledis artists worked with their many fans to help ensure that low-income families in Guryong town will have a warm winter this year.”
After School has dozens of year-end events lined up, but they took the time off to sweat a little right alongside their fans for a meaningful event. Despite being smudged with charcoal, everyone was all smiles throughout the effort, warming the hearts of those watching.
The company is already donating proceeds from their “
Happy Pledis” album. Last year, they donated to the ‘
Save the Children‘ foundation. This year, they’re helping young children once again through ‘
UNICEF‘ and the ‘
Sibling Doll Project‘.
Pledis concluded, “Pledis will continue to participate in events with their fans, so please give it your continued support and attention.”
24 August:
Pledis Entertainment has stepped up to address the $1 million USD lawsuit Son Dambi was hit with earlier today from cosmetics brand ‘Enprani’.
On August 24th, representatives of Pledis revealed to Star News, “‘MAC‘ was used as the sponsored cosmetics brand for SBS’s ‘Kiss & Cry‘ so every star on the show, including Son Dambi, received makeup on the show using the brand’s products. ‘MAC’ later included pictures of Son Dambi and the other stars wearing their makeup in their press releases to other media outlets like magazines.”
They continued, “Representatives of ‘MAC’ have continuously included photos of the stars as if they were promoting and advertising the brand. We have consistently asked for them to fix their press releases. ‘MAC’ admitted their mistake and sent an apology to both Pledis and ‘Enprani’ so we thought the situation was resolved, which is why this lawsuit has caught us by surprise.”
Pledis concluded, “We will find out further details.”
3 August:
As one of the more successful entertainment companies in Korea, Pledis Entertainment has given birth to the likes of After School and Son Dambi. The general manager of Pledis, Han Sung Su, recently spoke out about their strategum for one of K-Pop’s most popular girl groups.
After School’s unique ‘graduation’ concept is what makes them special, Han said. “It seemed like too much of a waste for the talents of the individual if a group disappears just because one person leaves. That is why we created this group.”
Han said each member of After School had their own specialty. The leader, Kahi, was known even before her debut for her energetic and fiery dancing, and E-Young, the most recent member to join After School’s ranks, has enormous musical talent as well as singing prowess.
“There are some views that say that the image of the girl group, in itself, is not viable in the long run,” Han said. “That’s why we are using individuality and diversity as a weapon.”
One of the ways Pledis is utilizing their strength is by dividing up the group into two sub-units, both with their own unique concepts of sexy and sweet, respectively.
Speaking on the upcoming debut of After School Boys, Han said that the group will not employ a graduation and entrance system, but will spotlight the talents of the individual. “It’s getting harder to secure a place for male idol groups in Korea,” said Han. “But with After School Boys, we will put up a fight using our diversity.”
And what about After School’s debut in Japan? “After School is gaining a good response in Japan. They are becoming more competitive, not only domestically, but internationally as well. Please look forward to our new attempts in the future.”
27 July:
Although the two sub-units of After School, AS Red and AS Blue, have just started promotions for “In the Night Sky” and “Wonder Boy“, Pledis Entertainment has revealed that the group will be ending their promotions as early as next week in order to prepare for their Japanese debut.
“It’s slightly disappointing for the members, but we will be promoting until approximately next week,”said a representative for After School. “We’re planning on a diverse range of promotions for their Japanese activities, including concerts and fashion shows. You’ll be able to see a new image for the track, “Bang!“.”
11 July:
After weeks of teasing fans with photos, After School have finally announced the final line-up for their two unit groups, ‘A.S. BLUE‘ and ‘A.S. RED‘!
Pledis Entertainment revealed, “A.S. RED will feature members Kahi, Jungah, Nana, and UEE, while A.S. BLUE will feature members Jooyeon, Raina, Lizzy, and E-Young. The units are especially meaningful, in that it’s a direct reflection of the votes made by fans.”
The two groups will begin promoting mid-July. As reported previously, A.S. RED will be a sexy, powerful concept, while A.S. BLUE will cater to the summer heat with a sweet and outgoing concept.
Stay tuned for more updates!
8 July:
On July 8th, the fourth hint for After School’s red and blue units was revealed!
Pledis Entertainment tweeted, “Nana came to the office with a blue cell phone~!! Will Nana be in the blue sub-unit?”
Snapped with a playful expression, Nana can be seen posing with a blue cell phone. Although the pictures are said to be hints, it seems the members for each unit are still up in the air, as several members could be found switching colors with each new hint.
Netizens commented, “Maybe Nana will be in the blue team”, “This hint is too easy”, and “I see a red light in the back, is that a hint too?”
The final units will be announced at their official fan meet on July 9th.
7 July:
Ever since After School announced that they’d have sub-units within the group, the ladies began dropping hints about where members would go. Starting with UEE, the members continued with their small teasers about the membership of the ‘red’ and ‘blue’ units.
On July 7th, Pledis tweeted another hint by writing, “The members are fighting over E-young! The unit that the members want to join are hidden as hints in the pictures~! Which team do you think these three fit best in? ^^ Please give us your votes! It’s through fan votes that the members can decide ^^.”
Although it seemed like Jungah would be joining the red unit with Jooyeon yesterday, it seems she has yet to make up her mind; she’s pictured above in blue.
The final units will be announced at their official fan meet on July 9th.
6 July:
Ever since After School announced that they’d have sub-units within the group, the ladies began dropping hints about where members would go. Starting with UEE, the members continued with their small teasers about the membership of the ‘red’ and ‘blue’ units.
Pledis Entertainment tweeted, “Jungah and Jooyeon visited the office! They didn’t even tell each other beforehand to match up like this. Don’t they look like twin sisters? ^^ Red vs blue! Will twin sister concept Jungah and Jooyeon be in the same team! Or different teams? ^^ Today’s hint is hidden in this picture!”
They continued, “The members will be divided 50% by fan votes, 20% by fans, 20% by member opinions, and 10% by employee opinions! ^^”
The final units will be announced at their official fan meet on July 9th.
5 July:
Recently, Pledis Entertainment revealed that After School would split to create sub-units ‘AS Red‘ and ‘AS Blue‘. We also reported that the members of each sub-unit would be voted upon by fans and confirmed at the fan meeting on July 9th.
On July 5th, Pledis Entertainment tweeted,
“After School’s two units! The match-the-members event will be revealed gradually from the 5th to the 8th! Which team will UEE be in?”
In the photo, UEE is found wearing a sky blue top with red shorts. Since she is wearing both sub-unit colors, fans’ curiosity regarding UEE’s sub-unit membership has risen.
Fans commented, “I wish they would just reveal it all at once” and “Wouldn’t she end up in the center regardless of which team she’s in?”
4 July:
With the announcement of After School’s new units, AS Red and AS Blue, fans have become curious about the membership of each unit.
As previously reported, After School’s management company revealed that there will be new
unitswithin the group. A picture was attached with the announcement, which showed
Kahi, UEE, Jooyeon,and
E-young wearing a black outfit, while
Raina, Jungah, Nana, and
Lizzy donned white. Netizens believed that the members for the two units were shown through that picture.
But it looks like it was just a misunderstanding.
Pledis Entertainment, shed a little light about the situation: “We have yet to decide which member will be what unit. We will give fans the power to vote on where each member should go. During After School’s second fan meeting on July 9th, we will take the fans’ votes and decide on the units.“
Netizens who saw this commented, “I was surprised to hear that one team will split into two units. But to hear that fans will decide on the unit members, I am shocked!” “What is this? The members hasn’t been decided yet?” “After School is the group that always surprises their fans! This is different!”
3 July:
After announcing that they’d be promoting as double units, After School has finally revealed what those units will be!
After School will be dividing their eight members equally into a blue and red team this month. The red team, like its color, will feature a powerful sexy concept, while the blue team is expected to come out with something cute and bright for the summer.
Photos of the divided units previously made their round on the internet, bringing out the curiosity of fans.
Representatives of Pledis Entertainment said, “After School will be showing off different charms as friendly rivals while promoting together.”
After School is also preparing for their second official fan-meet on July 9th.
