What exactly happened between EXO‘s Tao and SM Entertainment remains unclear, but it was recently confirmed that the former has set up a personal studio for his future solo activities in China.
On 11th June, a new Weibo account, which claimed to be the official account for Tao’s personal studio, was established.
In their first post, they wrote:
Hi everyone! This is Huang Zitao (Z.TAO)’s official studio. In the future, Tao’s news and activities will be announced and updated here. The account is currently in the process of being verified. We welcome everyone to follow us.
Not much later, Tao’s father re-shared the post and wrote, “#Huang Zitao# Huang Zitao’s official studio has been established today! Everyone is welcomed to follow”.
Tao indirectly confirmed the report regarding his personal studio by quietly following the official account on Weibo.
In response to the report regarding Tao’s personal studio, a representative of SM Entertainment revealed in a statement:
We know about the news of Tao’s personal studio. Currently, we are still discussing the direction of Tao’s career. We are also currently discussing his Chinese activities with him and his dad. We hope to discover more possibilities for Tao’s career through these discussions.
Meanwhile, it was reported that Tao is currently residing in the United States to study and to receive treatment for his injuries. Though various Chinese media outlets reported that he had already terminated his contract with SM Entertainment, the company has so far only confirmed that there has been an ongoing dispute with Tao.
Since Tao was not involved in the recording of EXO’s latest repackaged album, he did not promote the song, “Love Me Right” with the rest of the group members either. He did make several individual appearances outside of the group activities, including an event for his solo endorsement deal in China.
