MAMAMOO’s Wheein has reportedly decided to leave her longtime agency RBW Entertainment.
This is according to a new report by South Korean news outlet Sports Kyunghyang, which claimed that the singer has decided not to renew her contract with the music label. The publication also noted that Wheein would continue to be a part of MAMAMOO under a mutual agreement between the various parties involved.
However, RBW has since refuted the report and alleges that discussions about a contract extension with Wheein are still ongoing. “Nothing has been decided regarding Wheein’s renewal of her contract,” an RBW spokesperson told Newsen, as translated by Soompi. “We are currently having our final discussions. We will officially announce the decision when it is finalised.”
Wheein is currently the only member of MAMAMOO who has not renewed a contract with RBW Entertainment. Moonbyul and Solar had renewed theirs in January, with Hwasa following soon after in March. At the time, the label claimed that it was in “in-depth” discussions with Wheein, and stated that “there will be no dissolution of MAMAMOO”.
The popular girl group recently made their comeback with their 11th mini-album ‘WAW’, which featured the single ‘Where Are We Now’. Prior to the release, the members had been focused on their solo careers: Solar made her solo debut with the single ‘Spit It Out’, while Moonbyul and Hwasa each dropped mini-albums.
Meanwhile, Wheein made her solo return in April with the mini-album ‘Redd’, featuring the title track ‘Water Color’. The project was the singer’s first solo comeback since the song ‘Soar’, which came out in September 2019.
In other MAMAMOO news, the group recently described ‘WAW’ as a reflection of the group’s “harmony and chemistry”. They added: “In the time we’ve spent on this journey as MAMAMOO, we’ve experienced a lot of things that we wouldn’t have been able to do alone.”