iKON officially joins 143 Entertainment following exit from YG

Popular K-pop boy band iKON has joined 143 Entertainment after parting ways with longtime agency YG Entertainment on December 30, 2022.

On January 1, 2023 the six-piece act, composed of members Bobby, Jay, June, Song, DK and Chan, announced that they have signed a collective contract with the new agency.

In a statement released by a Korean media outlet, the group said:

"The members came together with the continuation of group activities as the top priority, and our thoughts aligned with 143 Entertainment, the company of Producer DM who we have interacted with musically for a long time.”

Founded by rapper-producer Digital Masta in 2020, 143 Entertainment currently houses three-member girl group LIMELIGHT along with Kepler's Kang Ye-seo and Mashiro.

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iKON to continue making music "more passionately" under 143 Entertainment

The six-member group ended their exclusive contract with YG Entertainment after seven years, along with artists such as BIGBANG's Daesung and Taeyang, leaving the agency.

However, their former and new agencies have agreed that the group will continue promotion under its original name and will remain active on official fan community platforms such as Weverse.

The group assured fans in their statement that they will continue to make their music wholeheartedly under the new management.

According to reports, they will be making their comeback in April 2023. The Love Scenario singers said:

"We will continue iKON’s music more passionately to repay the warm support and love you have given us until now.”

Praising their talent, founder of 143 Entertainment, Masta extended his agency's support for the group's future ambitions and said:

"I feel reassured to have become one family with iKON who have unrivalled talent and energy. In the future, we will actively support them in all areas so that they can freely and fully pursue their music activities."

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Fans are excited and optimistic about the group's new beginning under 143 Entertainment

iKONICS, the group's official fandom, were relieved to learn that the group found an agency that collectively signed all of them. Wishing them the best for their new beginning, they hailed it as "iKON's new era."

Fans were overjoyed as 143 Entertainment revealed two new logos for the group on their day of joining. However, when they created a fuss over the group's name being spelled with a capital I in the logo, the agency posted new logos with the stylised name.

Appreciating the agency's response to feedback and their quick efforts, iKONICS believe that the band made a good choice by signing with them and asked the agency to take good care of the boys in future.

When news of the group's probable comeback broke, some fans remarked that things were happening too fast, while others believed it was already planned by the group in advance.

Taking note of the situation, many LIMELIGHT fans also reacted positively to the news of the group being labelmates with them.