4L’s Yeseul reveals she left her company due to their 19+ marketing tactic

[adenar.livejournal.com]

Former member of girl group 4L, Yeseul revealed in an exclusive interview the reason why she decided to leave her group and her company after a controversial debut.

In an interview with Star News on June 9th, Yeseul revealed, “At the time I was deep in thought about my identity as a singer. We were under much controversy because of our shocking concept from the start and it was hard to expect much from the situation.”

‘4L’ debuted last August with their song ‘Move’ and was under fire for their ’19+ marketing’ due to their revealing outfits and sexual performance.

Yeseul stated, “I felt like I was dressed in something that wasn’t me and it made working hard for me. I did not want to resort to such things any longer and decided staying in the company held no future for me. That’s why after thinking long and hard, I left the team. The company wasn’t forcing anything on me but to survive, it was just something I had to do. The reality of the situation made me regret a lot of things. I thought to myself multiple times, ‘do I really have to resort to such matters.’ on multiple occasions.”

When asked about her new solo career she revealed, “I feel like I’m starting over. I wish people would view me as a rookie and think well of me. I don’t really like sexy and it was uncomfortable for me. I felt more comfortable recording the new song ‘I’m in love'”.

koreaboo, Star News

ngl i kind of stanned them because their lives were so unexpectedly good but this isn't that surprising, and i hope she does well as a soloist

Comments

[pinkiikis.livejournal.com]

girl i would have done the same.
I don't get something though, aren't the members allowed to chose
their outfits?

[adenar.livejournal.com]

i think in general it's stylists who choose the outfits with occasional input from the artists (especially in nugu groups like these) but i don't have a source for anything

[purpleglaceon]

"aren't the members allowed to chose their outfits?" HAHAHAHAHA no. 99% of idols have no decision whatsoever in anything. Only once they get popular and establish themselves and such can they have a possibility for their opinions to matter.

[pinkiikis.livejournal.com]

Ohh i see....i guess they don't pick the outfits... I didn't think it was so..
thanks guys.

[bloodtaki2.livejournal.com]

They're barely allowed to sleep, let alone choose their outfits, sadly.

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

aren't the members allowed to chose
their outfits?

you must be new to kpop sis
in 9muses documentary for example you can see how the stylists show their CEO a outfit but hes like "no, make it shorter". the girls had no input.

kpop groups have no say in anything, i remeber watching a video about the wonder girls and hyuna cried because they gave her short hair. the company decides everything - their outfits, their hairstyles, their songs, their IMAGE. some company even forces them to get plastic surgery.
you basically sell your soul to the devil when you sign a kpop contract

[nana-the-dwarf.livejournal.com]

Good for her. I remember watching this MV and cringing at the content. It's good that she made and went with a decicion she thought was the best for her.

ot on my own post but

[adenar.livejournal.com]

speaking of yeseuls, wtf happened to wings?

Re: ot on my own post but

[imienazwisko.livejournal.com]

same
i was wondering the other day

Re: ot on my own post but

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

they're "on hold"
Their agency doesn't have money lbr

Re: ot on my own post but

[love-keiko.livejournal.com]

that fucking sucks, seriously. their debut song and video was SO GOOD.

Re: ot on my own post but

[iznanassi.livejournal.com]

I had a similar thought the other day, seems like they're on an unofficial hiatus bc they post videos and stuff and one of them said they're "working hard and will be back soon"

[e-bone (from livejournal.com)]

I remember being hype for the video but it was a bit too male gazey for me to stan. Nothing wrong with sexual choreo but it was too obviously marketed for male consumption.

[wi-arae.livejournal.com]

Good for her. Aint nothing wrong with 19+ girl on girl action, and aint nothing wrong with not being comfortable doing it.

[leopolitan.livejournal.com]

i feel like a lot of girl group members must struggle with this. its sad because its so hard for women to succeed in entertainment unless theyre 'putting out' in some way (or infantalizing themselves for a concept), but then no one really takes them seriously either :(

[torontok.livejournal.com]

Everything about their companies marketing tactics came off as really gross and exploitative and the video was a male gazey mess with some queerbaiting to top it all off. I'm glad she was able to leave but just goes to show how little controls idols, especially females have over their images and concepts.

[dickslikejesus.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised, and good one her for escaping being stuck in that situation. I don't think there's anything wrong with being sexy if you want to be, and catering to the audience that is going to spend the most money on you. That being said, if you aren't comfortable being sexy then I don't want you doing it. It's one thing to have a harmless slightly sexy concept, but it's another thing to go all in on a 19+ concept and not like it.

If you don't like what you're doing, try your best to stop doing it, I know it's REAL hard as an idol. I can't even imagine how difficult it must be to get out of a contract, but I'm happy for her! I'm happy she gets to do what she wants now and feel confident in doing so!

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

I feel like a lot of fans fail to see that although artist aren't force to go sexy, they don't really have a choice
It's ride or die. So I'm quite happy she talks about it.
Also good for her, you do you baby

[bloodtaki2.livejournal.com]

The song was horrible, and she was uncomfortable with this concept, so good thing she was able to get out of this mess. If she wanted to cater to her main audience, all the rights to her, but from an outside pov, it was really exploitative and tasteless.

[bubblyshades.livejournal.com]

glad she decided to do what was best for her, that can't have been an easy decision. Wishing the best for you, girl.

[cast-no-shadow0.livejournal.com]

Good for her. I bet a lot of the female idols aren't that comfortable with the sexy concepts. When I see "sexy" kpop concepts, I never see them as empowering, but coming from management - males. I cringe when I watch EXID bend over and shake their butts, not because I think it's inappropriate, but because it's designed by men for men. :(

[cuizy.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you

[uguukawaii.livejournal.com]

i feel the same way when i see like grown women doing cute concepts like its one thing for gfriend bc theyre like actually kids who are naturally cute but ...... with a lot of other groups it feels so fake and pandering to grodyass old men who fetishise youth (all men lbr but its grosser from older dudes)
like theres no girl kpop that isnt made for dudes except maybe like......... lately 4minute have tried for the female market

[cast-no-shadow0.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I keep waiting for a more girl-focused group. I think 4minute has been close to that. I also think Miss A has at least had more girl power songs (Bad Girl Good Girl, I Don't Need a Man). I love I Don't Need a Man and its lyrics because they are so refreshing for kpop.

[chibi-rei.livejournal.com]

Glad she went for what she wanted. Like.... there's people who want it real bad and will follow their company. If that works for them, well, I can't go against them. But props for going your own way.

[timetobegin.livejournal.com]

Good for her. It's also always nice to see an (ex?) idol speak up about honestly about what goes on behind the scenes. Kpop is brutal, and for one to make it one must really be willing to push what will get them popularity over where their hearts lies.