Japanese singer Rei, a member of the K-pop girl group IVE, has spoken out about her temporary hiatus.
Earlier this week, Rei’s agency Starship Entertainment announced that the singer would be taking a temporary hiatus in order to “focus on her heath”. The sudden news came less than a day after IVE released their debut studio album ‘I’ve IVE’.
Today (April 13), Rei released a handwritten letter to address the situation, per South Korean news publication OSEN. “Right now, I’m pausing for a moment to take good care of myself,” she wrote, as translated by Soompi.
“After becoming a member of IVE, I diligently raced forward hand in hand with the five best members ever, […] I’m slowly making efforts so that this time doesn’t become meaningless,” she added.
“As this is our first full-length album, all of the members worked really, really hard together on preparing for it. All of my IVE members are really cool and admirable, and I hope that they can receive love from people across the entire world,” she said.
Rei ended off by saying that she misses the group’s fanbase, also known as DIVE, and that she wishes love for everyone while she’s on hiatus. “I hope that all the people I love will be happy,” she added.
IVE’s new studio album ‘I’ve IVE’ features the singles ‘I AM’ and ‘Kitsch’. Last year, IVE released two singles – ‘After Like’ and ‘Love Dive’ – both of which were featured on NME’s list of the best K-pop songs of 2022.