[ cont. from article ] . . . and with what seemed like the entire world cheering for their success, no one could ever imagine that such a promising and talented group would find themselves on the brink of disbandment only months after their historic wins at the 2022 Grammy Awards.
While the full circumstances around the situation are unknown and subject to much speculation, the only thing confirmed by evidence is a series of personal crises faced by the leader of the group, vocalist Moon Junha, better known by her stage name Angel. Even then, much of the supposed evidence as to what had happened to Junha to cause such a spiral disappeared from the online spaces that had circulated most of it, and in light of this mysterious social media wipe, most reported facts about the situation can now only be taken as conjecture. What remains concrete are the legal documents pertaining to the various lawsuits filed against Moon Junha and BryteStar Entertainment in the wake of her extremely public meltdown, of which only pieces detailing certain personal events and struggles not directly related to the actions being examined under jurisdiction of the court have been redacted from public record.
Ultimately, Junha and BryteStar settled these lawsuits for approximately 48.3ย billionย Won (roughly equal to 34 million USD), and the singer's contract with the company was voided upon mutual agreement, leading to her departure from Sunsette and disappearance from the public eye for almost two years. The scandal rocked the industry, furthering the ongoing conversations regarding the treatment of idols as commodities and the constant invasions of boundaries in their personal lives, something that is often inflamed by the marketing decisions of their companies. But beyond the widespread implications, a more simple question was left unanswered: what would happen to the rest of Sunsette?
It's not unheard of for groups to continue once a member has left. In fact, it's quite common practice for the remaining members to continue without them. But the problem remained that Sunsette had been inextricably tied to Junha's image, an thus, her scandal cast a broad shadow over the entire group rather than only herself. BryteStar suffered from the scandal as well, dealing with not only major financial losses, but severe damage to its reputation due to how they handled the fallout with Junha. They had lost trust in their fanbase and business partners alike, and many wondered if they would simply discard Sunsette as a whole to distance themselves from the situation and try to recover from their losses.
But the members of Sunsette had other ideas. Not wanting years of their hard work to suddenly disappear, they pulled themselves together and began to rebuild without their beloved leader. The members have publicly credited the group's main dancer Han Serin with being the one to hold them together through that tumultuous time, stepping up to lead them when it seemed that their company had considered abandoning them. The group became profitable and beloved once again, and Sunsette was surely on its way back up the pedestal from whence it had fallen.
Almost two years after disappearing from the public eye, Junha made her surprise comeback as a soloist signed under Erebos Entertainment. This sudden reemergence, punctuation by the surprise release of a fully completed album, shocked the industry once again; not only for how unexpected it was, but for the way it demolished Junha's pristine, angelic prior persona. The lead single "Fallen Angel" perfectly encapsulated everything about this new, much more raw presentation of the former Korean darling, acting as a rebirth rather than a resurrection.
No longer following the preppy, upbeat image of her former self, the new Junha was dark, sensual, and provocative in ways that had many conservative K-Netizens in an uproar. The demeanor of an innocent girl-next-door was replaced by that of a fallen angel, themes of daydreams and girlish bliss replaced by sex and power. Her music was even more overt than her new look, with explicit lyrics layered over more seductive sounds and far more personal subject matter often laced with rage, longing, or an almost joyful sense of empowerment. Later releases would blend her pop-roots with this new, darker sound, creating something that is unmistakably her own. This reinvention proved wildly successful, shattering records once again and sending Junha back to the top of the industry at an astronomical speed.
โ ย I didn't want to step back in and demand my old place back. I feel like I failed my sisters, and whatever they would give me, I would make sure that I earned it back. All I wanted was to be with them again and work to repair the trust I had broken. So when they welcomed me back with open arms, almost as if nothing had happened at all, it truly felt like coming home for the first time. And I'm happy I've been able to repay them for their love and support by making sure they get the power over the careers they deserve with Erebos now so no one can ever put them in a bad situation again the way that BryteStar did, and I can protect them the way that they protected me. โ โ Moon Junha
With her return, of course questions arose of whether we would ever see her and Sunsette on stage together again. For a time, it had seemed as if it could not happen; Junha's solo work was an international sensation, and Sunsette had also risen back to the top all on their own. The prevailing thought was that it would not be reasonable for either entity to sacrifice their current success out of nostalgia for a past they all seem to have buries. But this assumption was proven wrong when the announcement was made that Sunsette had signed with Erebos Entertainment and Junha would be rejoining them as Angel once more. Sunsette had once again shaken the entire industry.
This reunion would go on to be a major success, and Sunsette would see some of the biggest numbers in their entire career under the Erebos label. Not only has this been a commercial success, but a personal success for the women involved, and according to them, their bond is stronger than ever. Han Serin and Moon Junha co-lead the group now, and at last Sunsette has the power to decide their own future in the industry. Where they will go from here, none can say. Junha still has her solo career, and it seems likely the rest of the members will take part in their own solo endeavors as well now that they have the backing of Erebos. But one thing is for sure โ they are all here to stay.
โย The girls and I are finally where we belong : on top of the f*cking world. โ โ Moon Junha
๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐๐ , ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ ๐๐ถ๐ฏ-๐๐ฆ๐ฐ , ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฉ๐บ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ช ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฏ
feat. @crystaserin