UPDATED: After continued claims against SHAUN of chart manipulation, the CEO of his label has spoken out and firmly denied the claim. He insisted that they did not manipulate charts, and they were also surprised the song ranked number one on charts. As such, the CEO has asked for an investigation from various officials— including the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the police, and prosecutors— so that the label and SHAUN may finally prove their innocence.
Stay tuned for more of this developing story.
ORIGINAL: Singer SHAUN is undergoing mental suffering after being accused of chart manipulation.
In a report from Ilgan Sports, it was revealed that SHAUN cancelled all of his interviews scheduled for today and cut off contact with everyone, including his manager.
As WTK reported yesterday, SHAUN’s newest song “Way Back Home” reached number one on charts on July 17th, making him rank higher than other Kpop idols such as BLACKPINK, TWICE, and more. He ranked number one on MelOn, Genie, and Olleh Music charts, as well as being ranked in the top three on Apple Music and Bugs. Due to his sudden rise in success over idol groups with huge fanbases, people became suspicious of chart manipulation and began to accuse both the artist and his management.
Despite having a smaller fanbase as a solo artist, SHAUN is under management of DCTOM and has distribution rights signed to the Asian branch of the mega label Warner Music. He is also a DJ and a member of the famous Korean indie band THE KOXX. He has also worked as a producer for EXO, BTS, Epik High, f(x), and more.
In fact, many will recognize the singer and DJ from his performance with EXO at the closing ceremony of the Olympics. SHAUN has many A-list celebrities as friends, and many of them—including Epik High’s Tablo— shared his song on social media and asked fans to listen to it. His management team says that these reasons, along with the fact that his song reportedly went viral in Korea after performing it live at festivals, is what made the song suddenly jump up to the top of charts. The management team also released an official press release, stating that there was no chart manipulation involved at all.
However, it seems the claims of many netizens have continued even stronger, thus resulting in SHAUN’s mental suffering. Comments calling him a “cheater,” saying he is “disgusting and ridiculous,” and stating that he is just “stealing
In other news, as there have recently been multiple high-profile cases of artists like MOMOLAND and Nilo being accused of chart manipulation, one entertainment company has already asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to investigate if charts are indeed being manipulate. MOMOLAND was already under an official investigation and cleared of the charges, but Hanteo Chart says they just can’t accept the results and continue to talk about their suspicions. Park Jin Young of JYP Entertainment revealed today that his company will also be asking the Ministry to do an official investigation.
This wouldn’t be the first time labels ask the government to intervene. In 2013, many of the major labels in Korea– including JYP, SM Entertainment, and YG Entertainment— also petitioned the Ministry to do an investigation into chart manipulation.
In the meantime, check out SHAUN’s song below to make up your own mind about the track.
Media: Warner Music Korea
Source: Nate