iKON is coming back and to everyone’s surprise, they’ve got themselves some new stage names.
When YG Entertainment dropped teasers for the group’s long-awaited comeback last week, fans were ecstatic and overjoyed at the surprise. But the label’s latest batch of teaser images did not sit well with some fans.
Needless to say, fans did not have an issue with the visuals – as the boys looked flawless in the photos. The thing that courted controversy was their new stage names.
In the images, which were dropped yesterday (Sunday, 21st May), 4 of the members were revealed to have adopted new names for their future activities as iKON.
Yunhyeong will now be known by his surname Song; Jinhwan will adopt the name Jay; Chanwoo will be called Chan; and Donghyuk will be referred to as DK. Meanwhile, B.I, Bobby, and Ju-ne (or known by his birth name Junhoe to fans) will be retaining their current names.
Of course, not everyone is happy with the decision. While certain fans are glad of the change, YG Entertainment has been blasted for their lack of creativity.
Fans complain that the names Chan and Song were too “lazy” and unmemorable. Jay was deemed as too generic but the loudest complaints were for the name DK.
In case you didn’t know, up-and-coming idol group SEVENTEEN already has a member with the stage name DK. After Donghyuk’s new stage name was revealed, Carats (as fans of SEVENTEEN are known) were extremely unhappy as it felt like YG Entertainment ripped the name off the Pledis Entertainment group.
Not everyone has a negative opinion of the new stage names, though. Some fans are happy over the change as it would be easier for international fans to pronounce the names of the members. Others are not bothered as they believe that the name change won’t affect anything.
im fine with jay, song, and chan but calling donghyuk DK is…. i mean it reminds me of someone from svt, not ikon 🙁
— new kid. (@asdgvdafh) May 22, 2017
If you ask us, we think that it’s smart of YG Entertainment to choose simpler stage names for the members. Think about it, the names Donghyuk, Yunhyeong, Junhoe, and Jinhwan could be a handful for those who are new to the group or K-Pop. However, we do agree with fans that more unique names could be chosen.
What are your thoughts on this? What other better names could YG Entertainment have come up with?
Regardless of your thoughts on the name change, remember to check out the group’s new album when they drop it at 6pm KST (5pm Malaysian time) later today (Monday, 22nd May)!
For updates on iKON, remember to check out their website and Facebook page.
