[ARTICLE] Former BEAST Members Ready to Start Anew with New Group Name

Five former members of K-pop boy group BEAST has announced the new group name, HIGHLIGHT. Yoon Doo-joon, Yong Jun-hyung, Yang Yo-seob, Lee Gi-kwang, and Son Dong-woon are now to ready to write the second chapter as an idol group.

On February 24, Around US Entertainment announced the new group name for the members. Around US is the independent agency former BEAST members have founded last November with the termination of contracts with Cube Entertainment. Members except Jang Hyun-seung, who had previously left the group, continued their activities.

However, as the legal rights to the group’s name belongs to Cube Entertainment, the members had to introduce themselves as “actors” or “singers” instead of “BEAST members.” Fans, too, addressed them as “YoonYongYangLeeSon,” taking from their last names.

Later in February 10, Cube Entertainment announced the renewal of contract with Jang Hyun-seung and the reconfiguration of BEAST as a three-member group with two new members.

As such announcement indicated Cube’s stance not to transfer the right to the group name, the members had to come up with a new name and chose “HIGHLIGHT,” which is the title for the first album released as a five-member group.

Announcing the new group name, each member shared his thoughts about the situation through Instagram.

“BEAST,” wrote Yoon Doo-joon. “It’s been a while since I’ve written that word here. The name which has presented precious memories… We tried hard to keep the name with us, but sadly we’re bidding a goodbye to it. We restart from the beginning with the new name, “HIGHLIGHT!”

“BEAST, BEAST, BEAST…” said Son Dong-woon. “It’s a painful name. There are people who would think that we change the name so easily and others who would say that they’re not used to the new name, but we tired really hard.”

Yong Jun-hyung let know of the new start by writing, “We will do our best as a new group, HIGHLIGHT.”



Original article by Kang Seo-jung
Translated by Heewon Kim

Cr: Korea Daily

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[NEWS] Boy band BEAST changes name to Highlight

SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean boy band BEAST will restart its activities with five members under the new name "Highlight," its management agency said.

Around US Entertainment said the group --- Yoon Doo-joon, Yong Jun-hyung, Yang Yo-seob, Lee Ki-kwang and Son Dong-woon -- will now be known as Highlight, as the use of their former group name became legally impossible.

The new name is from the title of BEAST's latest album "Highlight," which was the first and only album the band released with the five members under Cube Entertainment.

Since its debut in 2009, BEAST became popular at home and in Japan with hit songs "Bad Girl," "Shock," "Midnight Sun" and "On Rainy Days." It started out as a six-member act, but Jang Hyun-seung quit in April and remains signed to Cube. The remaining five signed up with Around US after their contract with Cube expired in October. But they were no longer BEAST, because the former agency has the trademark rights to the name.

"We thank fans for tirelessly waiting till the new name is made," Highlight said in a statement released through its news agency on Friday.

Following the announcement, each of Highlight's members took to social media to thank fans for their support and asked for their continued love under the new name.

"BEAST is a name bearing many good memories. We worked hard to keep it, but this is goodbye. Now we will begin from square one again with the new name Highlight," Yoon, the group's leader, said on his Instagram. "I bet it will take a very long time before we become accustomed. But I hope you will welcome us all together with smiles."

By: sshim@yna.co.kr
Cr: Yonhap News

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[NEWS] K-Pop Band Beast Changes Name to Highlight After Leaving Agency, Losing Member

B2ST perform onstage during the 28th Golden Disk Awards at Kyunghee Grand Peace Palace on Jan. 16, 2014 in Seoul, South Korea. 

Goodbye, Beast. Hello, Highlight!

The Korean quintet formerly known as Beast has officially announced they will now be known as Highlight after leaving Cube Entertainment at the end of 2016.

The band's new agency, Around US Entertainment, told Korean media that the name signifies their potential to be exceptional and stand out. The name is based on the title of Beast's latest album, Highlight, which was the first and only album the band released with five members --Yoon Doojoon, Yong Junhyung, Yang Yoseob, Lee Kikwang and Son Dongwoon -- under Cube Entertainment. Former member Jang Hyunseung withdrew from the band in April and remains signed to Cube.

In a statement, Highlight thanked fans for their support and revealed that they are in the midst of preparations to release new music.

Beast debuted in 2009 as an underdog act whose members had already embarked on separate careers (Lee had pursued a solo career) or were passed over by other bands (Jang didn't make the final cut to be in BIGBANG). Over the years, Beast grew to became one of K-pop’s most recognized acts, rarely failing to impress with their sleek, energetic approach to dance music and sentimental pop ballads. Several of the group’s albums appeared on the World Albums chart -- with last year’s Highlightcharting at No. 9 -- while hits like “Beautiful Night” and “Shadow” landed them on Billboard’s Best of K-pop lists in 2013 and 2014 before “Good Luck” came in at No. 1 in 2015.

Following the announcement of their new name, each of the Highlight's members took to social media to thank fans for waiting to hear Beast's fate and asking for continued love as Highlight. Yoon, the group’s leader, expressed the quintet's desire to retain the name Beast, but explained that they weren’t able to do so. “The name [Beast] is filled with memories and we worked hard to keep it, but this is goodbye. Now we will begin with Highlight!”

Lee, Yang and Son also were similarly poignant, with the three thanking fans, reminiscing on the past and looking forward to the future.

But Yong, who has written many of the group’s most popular songs, took a more lighthearted tone and poised Highlight as a brand-new band on the verge of debuting. "To gain this amount of interest before we even debut,” he wrote on a post featuring a screenshot of “Highlight” trending on Korean search engine Naver. “The new group Highlight will work hard."  

cr: Billboard

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[ARTICLE] B2ST's Around Us Entertainment building puts up new logo!

The boys' new company Around Us Entertainment finally put the logo up on their building. While it may not seem like a big step, it's still a refreshing change from all the news that B2ST fans have been wrapped up in recently.


Hopefully, things will just go up from here!

cr: allkpop

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[ARTICLE] Yoseob explains why it's meaningless to ask idols about their relationship status

On the talk show, Yoseob opened up about his life as an idol and revealed that it's meaningless to ask idol stars about their relationship status. He explained, "There's no need to ask questions about relationships to idols because there isn't anyone anyway. For idols, I think dating means manners (to fans)."


MC Tak Jae Hoon then asked, "So you don't have a girlfriend?" and Yoseob replied, "I don't have one."

cr: allkpop

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[ARTICLE] Dongwoon talks about not being able to call himself a 'B2ST' member

Dongwoon talked about the group name 'B2ST'.

He was a radio guest on Park Myung Soo's 'Radio Show', where Park Myung Soo introduced him as a 'former' B2ST member. To this, Dongwoon responded, "You said I was 'former', but I'm not former yet. I'm still current, but we can't say we're currently [B2ST] members. There's a situation."


Park Myung Soo said, "I can say that more severely, but I won't since it could harm [Dongwoon]."


Since B2ST left Cube Entertainment, the group has not been able to use the name because Cube has the name trademarked under their name in both Korea and overseas. The boys have been unable to use the name even for their fanmeet and such, which was named under the boys' individual names instead of the group name 'B2ST'.

cr: allkpop

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[NEWS] Son Dong Woon Drops Surprise New Album!

B2ST member Son Dong Woon has released a surprise digital single titled, 'UNIVERSE'!  The boy group's official Twitter revealed the digital single on February 1.

Dong Woon has paired up with singer/lyricist Yoo Jae Hwan for a collaboration on this digital single. Fellow band member, Yang Yo Seob has also taken part in the album, from writing to composing all the tracks! The album includes two more songs titled, 'The Alchemist', and 'First Farewell'.

Remember to check out the digital single!

How do you feel about Dong Woon's surprise?

cr: kpopstarz

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[ARTICLE] B2ST's Doojoon tries to peel an apple on 'House Cook Master Baek'

B2ST's Doojoon has become a new student on tvN's 'House Cook Master Baek'!

The idol attended a meeting for his appearance on the show with the production staff, where he opened up about his newfound love of cooking. Doojoon is also known as a 'Mukbang-dol' for his role in both tvN's 'Let's Eat' and 'Let's Eat 2'. He revealed he got into cooking after recently purchasing a steam oven and even expressed his desire to become the next Gordon Ramsey.

As a light "test" before going on the show, the staff had Doojoon peel an apple with a knife by skinning it whole. As soon as the apple and knife showed up in front of him, Doojoon's confidence plummeted, asking a multitude of questions and claiming that he'd never done it before.

Season 3 of 'House Cook Master Baek' with chef Baek Jong Won and his 4 brand new students Doojoon, Yang Se Hyung, Lee Kyu Han, and Nam Sang Mi premieres February 14 at 9:40 PM KST!

Cr: Allkpop

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[ARTICLE] Doojoon surprises a fan working part time at a skating rink with a date!

How would you feel if your idol bias showed up at your part time job, asking for a date?


One fan, or B2uty, was able to experience this, thanks to online platform Dingo Studios! The platform has done a series of idols surprising their fans at their workplace, and this time, it was B2ST's Doojoon!


The fan, who works part-time at an ice skating rink, had to deal with difficult customers in the cold all day, and began wrapping up after the rink closed, when all of a sudden, her idol bias Doojoon shows up!


The two then went skating together, with Doojoon gifting her with gloves and lending her his scarf, worrying about her health. Doojoon, who seemed to not know how to ice skate, kept making the fan laugh, before they sat down for a chat over coffee.


Watch some good memories being made, above!

cr: Allkpop

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[NEWS] Yong Junhyung Speaks Out About Controversy Regarding B.HEART Supposedly Plagiarizing BEAST

As a co-composer for BEAST’s “Ribbon,” member Yong Junhyung has addressed the recent controversy surrounding rookie group B.HEART.

Many pointed out that B.HEART’s “Realistic” sounded as if it were a mix of BEAST’s “Ribbon,” “12:30,” and “Butterfly.” In addition to the song, some called attention to how are similarities between the choreography too.

Yong Junhyung took to his Instagram on January 27 to explain his side of the story.

His full statement reads:

“I think many people are very confused, and I would feel very apologetic if I didn’t say anything while knowing the truth, so I’m attempting to write this like so.

That producer [StayAlone] contacted Kim Tae Ju -the co-composer of ‘Ribbon’- at the end of last year, saying that he was a rookie producer and that he really liked our music. He sent us some of his work, and amongst those was a demo of the controversial track [‘Realistic’] in question. Kim Tae Ju, at the time, told that producer that it sounded too similar to ‘Ribbon,’ and that producer also reportedly stated that he was inspired by ‘Ribbon’ while making that track. So, we said that it was probably better that this track is never released, and we were never informed that it would actually be coming out as an official song.

While I think it’s a great thing that the music we made can inspire someone, and for new productions to come out of it, this kind of situation is very unfortunate. Also, it’s regrettable that this kind of situation could happen to not only us, but other producers as well.

While I still feel uncomfortable even while writing this right now, I have too many things to do to keep dragging this on. I’m writing this in the hopes that this will wrap up the situation from here on out.

A part of me is worried that this kind of action might be too rash on my part, but I leave this here so that the people who love and listen to our music will no longer become hurt. I hope that everyone has a fun and relaxing Lunar New Year.”

He posted this along with a picture of an eggplant, which sounds similar to the beginning of a phrase meaning, “all sorts of excuses,” implying what he believes about StayAlone’s statement.

What are your thoughts on Yong Junhyung’s statement and explanation?

cr: Soompi

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