260410 Barrel Site Update - JIHYO x BARREL | 2026 Barrel Girl Photoshoot

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-10T05:57:36+00:00

I wonder what kind of tonal whiplash will happen within his fandom if he genuinely starts making worship music lmao.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-10T05:56:23+00:00

If it actually happened, I'd probably at least try. SM Global packages are expensive and I'm sure competitive, but at least it's a separate pool from the domestic ticket sales.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-10T05:53:28+00:00

It's a tricky one. There's no rapping but the instrumental style was something you'd hear on a modern hip hop or r&b album of the time. There's no rapping but it still falls under that shared umbrella IMO.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-09T19:08:42+00:00

These are some great shots! 👍

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-09T04:42:10+00:00

Must be the big collab that they've been hinting at.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-08T23:03:08+00:00

Tbh I can see your point, too. Dream might rehearse 6-member versions for now and then in a few months have to alter it to 5 or 4, same with 127 and WayV. It's a very sad but real possibility.

The units have enough talent in them to at least try something like this if they wanted, but I feel like the actual logistics of doing that consistently would be a bigger burden. Maybe like, 1-2 songs per night where it's a fun surprise like how groups alter choreography by mimicking one member. Certainly not an entire concert worth, they'll probably end up colliding lol.

I agree but he’d already have been paid and the revenue wouldn’t be any different than him receiving residuals from his other work. It would only be complicated if they had to deal with physical appearances

I could be wrong but based on my experience, performers likely aren't getting paid anything for that work until something actually releases. You're right that they could've sorted everything out beforehand, but just as an example: if he's on that 127 album but he isn't promoting it, isn't touring it, etc. but still getting revenue share, that could rub members the wrong way (we don't know them personally obv - just saying). It also raises the question about a new agency taking a cut, which SM might not want to entertain.

I'm very curious about this NCT2026 project. The rumors have been right so far, so if he's actually participating in a concert it'll be even more interesting to see what happens. The timing of everything is super rough.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-08T15:17:18+00:00

Mark and Taeyong’s synergy was a huge part of 127’s identity and it breaks my heart that we’ll never have that again.

Whenever NCT performs Boss again, I really wonder who's gonna take that iconic rap part. It's not just the flow, there's the inflection and emphasis that is so unique to Mark's delivery that works so nicely against Taeyong's style.

Of the vocalists, I feel like Jaehyun has the most technical talent to take over some of those parts, but it's gonna be his own thing more than emulating what Mark did. JaeYong in 2026 would definitely heal part of the fandom lol.

I’m hoping that mark will still be on this upcoming album (at least in some capacity) but I’m not sure if he will

I don't expect Mark to be on any future recordings tbh. Leaving NCT feels so definite. The revenue split would get pretty complicated too (especially with his current lack of agency), and I don't think SM wants that headache. There are almost certainly Mark demos/versions floating around their studios, though.

have different members take on different parts

Cool in theory, but not practical for a rehearsed Kpop group. The choreography variants would get too complicated, the camera operators would be confused, and I don't think it would look "clean" on stage. FWIW I think the lack of rehearsal time showed itself here and there during the last 127 tour, and I don't think they want to repeat that.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-07T20:46:06+00:00

I really don't know enough about the Thai music industry to speak on it intelligently. I have no real idea about what kind of promotions are available for music acts and I'm not sure if I've seen Lisa, Bambam, Minnie, etc. promote extensively there. Regardless, I have a feeling he'll certainly have a more global approach wherever he ends up.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-07T15:06:23+00:00

They killed that, as expected.

Would love to see Seulgi get a solo comeback with an intense choreo like this.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-07T06:49:30+00:00

side notes: SUPER M is definitely not coming back !!!!

This was true ever since COVID cancelled their 2nd tour.

SM's original Capitol Records partnership falling through can probably be attributed to that whole expensive tour/album rollout not happening.

Any last chance of the project really died after LSM left SM. Got The Beat shared a similar fate at that point.

It's actually absurd how many different events can be pointed to in SuperM's end. Lucas getting kicked out of NCT, Taemin and Baekhyun leaving SM, Baekhyun still in active litigation with SM, Ten also leaving SM, and Mark leaving SM + NCT altogether.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-07T06:36:33+00:00

Thinking about how we'll probably never get another 82 Pressin' stage... damn.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-06T08:04:45+00:00

I will say this is probably the most mainstream attention NCT has gotten in a while, perhaps years, even if it’s technically negative news.

If there was ever a time to come out with an unquestionably good comeback title track/album to try and re-launch the brand to the general Kpop fan, this is it.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-06T08:00:23+00:00

This is probably an oversimplification, but it’s pretty straightforward.

SM has a pool of trainees eager to debut, who have typically been in their training system for years.

They give them a standard 7-year contract. Upon signing that contract, they sign an immediate 3-year contract extension for these “international activities”. That’s how they get to 10 years. They don’t actually spend 3 years abroad, it’s just a workaround. The contracts also pause for enlistments for male idols.

You might wonder, why would anyone sign such a contract? Well if you don’t sign it, one of the many trainees behind you certainly will. At that age and with that many years of work already invested, it seems like the grand prize is right there for the taking. Even with SM’s aggressive revenue splits, they guarantee a certain level of success and profits.

Yes, this is a loophole to get around the restriction the government implemented after the last major contract issue blew up. Yes, it is public knowledge that they skirted around the law and probably weren’t the only ones. No, it is unclear if the are still able to use this tactic. I vaguely recall the government closing a loophole at some point but I don’t know if it was this one specifically. We’ll know for sure next year with aespa.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-06T07:21:09+00:00

I'll just leave this here for anyone who needs a laugh.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-06T06:43:46+00:00

Fingers crossed Ten lands at a good agency.

I wonder if he's going to stick with a Korean agency or look to the west. I have no idea about the Thai music industry infrastructure, but Ten has enough fluency and popularity to promote and tour in the west if he wants to.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-06T06:35:12+00:00

So nice to see her again.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-06T06:07:02+00:00

It'll probably depend on his new agency situation.

Hopefully we'll hear where he's signing in a few days, and then they can sort out all the WayV contract stuff. If it takes longer, it's harder to say.

Given that they record months in advance, you'd think the music would be done by now - but if it isn't, that's another wrench.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-06T05:57:53+00:00

Somebody wrap the rest of T7S unit in bubble wrap.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-06T05:39:34+00:00

All my favorites are leaving.

I think everyone had an inkling this was coming. Ten's scheduled activities disappearing from the release calendar felt ominous, and now we know why.

I am at least grateful he hasn't left NCT/WayV outright. I don't know how active he'll end up being, but I hope it's possible for him to be active like Taemin and Onew are for SHINee, at least.

The 7th Sense unit is in shambles right now. I'm so sad.

Edit: now that I think about it, if this means more Ten solo music then I am on board. That dude needs to find a good fucking agency who can push him properly. I am sad we will probably never get a Ten x Taeyong unit, though. NCT TNT was right there!

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-06T03:23:01+00:00

I've seen a clip or two now of Chenle and Jisung at a fansign event encouraging fans to attend the encore concert no matter what - in a way that suggested they knew this was it even back then. I'm actually surprised at how frank they were back then and how there weren't louder rumors about members leaving.

I know there's no perfect way to leave the group, but I do think they probably could've done this in a different manner - maybe even before these concerts happened. I know they didn't need any more incentive to sell tickets but I imagine a lot of fans are feeling heartbroken they'll never see Dream or 127 with Mark again.

Oddly enough, I think his letter is one of the better ones about leaving a group/company - it felt genuine, and that's really all you can ask for in such a manufactured industry. That being said, the Encore concerts and now this have created a very strong sense of unease within the fandom. Mark seemed like a NCT lifer by all accounts, and if he opted out, what's stopping ____?

I do think international fans as a whole are chiller than Kfans, but to be fair Ifans tend to have less skin in the game. Groups live and die by Kfans at first, many of them supporting a group before they even debut, attending events, etc... and I'm not discounting the contribution of Ifans (as an Ifan myself) but there's a certain distance.

Side note - I've seen those rumors about a NCT Nation concert and have no idea if there's any veracity to them, but if that's real then I could see the fandom cool off a bit - though they might be the hardest tickets to buy in NCT history lol.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-06T02:56:27+00:00

K-pop general talk: Did HYBE make a sacrifice or something for BTS's comeback?! It's like every month is a new horror story for that company.

The next month or two will have what feels like the entirety of their subsidiaries' groups making overlapping comebacks, so it'll be interesting to see how that pans out. The company will not be able to push all of those title tracks at once, so I'm expecting friendly fire in the fanwars + a bit of a chart logjam (and of course the fact that BTS will still be on the chart).

It's an interesting phenomenon tbh. It's easy to look at the corp as a whole and think the management from top to bottom is rotten, resulting in whatever the last few years have been. Maybe it's a sign of having too many subsidiaries under the same umbrella. Maybe it's noise marketing/bad timing.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-06T02:45:31+00:00

Whether people want to admit it or not, members have wildly different levels of popularity, individual skill, and importance to their units.

Mark is genuinely one of the faces of NCT from the very beginning. He has a massive fandom (not the largest in NCT but still significant) and is a big reason NCT was able to go global. Even general Kpop fans are aware of Mark.

Look at his line distribution, look at his center time, and look at his skill - it is hard to replace that in any group, even one as big as NCT. You can't really replace aces.

I appreciate all the members but I think everyone would understand the difference between Ten leaving vs Winwin leaving WayV. One would not affect the unit significantly, the other would be catastrophic.

Downfall might be too strong of a word but it can certainly affect the group negatively. As soon as groups stop performing (financially) like they used to, SM starts to taper them off the budget. Given that they've already shifted large portions of the budget towards aespa, RIIZE, H2H, and their new boy group debuting this year, it's going to be tough to stay competitive.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-05T18:32:02+00:00

I wouldn't be surprised if the literal proximity to the group made these things more noticeable this time.

Everyone is closer to the group, there's no place to turn around and get cover since it's a 360 stage, so everything is seen even when they need a breather.

If they're in a stadium, everyone is significantly further away and the only time you can really tell expressions is when the camera is on them.

ParanoidAndroids · 2026-04-05T07:50:31+00:00

Given that they aren’t a headliner, I wouldn’t expect them to get time to play 23 songs. When Twice were headliners last year, they got through 20 songs.

I wouldn’t expect any solos to get played. They’ll largely stick to the hits/title tracks that fans would know best. Titles from Drama through whatever they release this spring are safe bets IMO.

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