After singing, acting, and fashion shows, Rain decided to try his hand at being a “boss” but it was not favorable.
Recently, Bi Rain’s confirmation to perform at KCON LA 2023 event sparked controversy on social networking platforms. Specifically, netizens are upset that Kim Tae Hee’s husband “abandoned” the groups he trained, focusing only on promoting his personal career.
An article on Nate stated that, in March 2021, Bi Rain officially launched the 7-member boy group Ciipher, which is his first group project with his own company Rain Company. Therefore, Ciipher is expected and invested quite carefully by “the manager”. However, just after their debut, the group got into a controversy about the choreography, and Bi Rain was criticized by netizens as a “bad boss” for giving silly choreography and slogans. After 1 year and 8 months when the group debuted, Rain decided to transfer ownership of boy group Ciipher to another management company. Currently, the group has frozen its activities. Two members Keita and Hyun Bin participated in survival shows like Boys Planet and Fantasy Boys. On August 9, 4 members of Ciipher announced their departure from the group.
Ciipher is a boy group formed under Rain Company – the company of the popular male singer Bi Rain
This is not the first time Bi Rain has been “stoned” for abandoning artists and the way the company is run. Before that, in 2007 after leaving JYP Entertainment, Rain opened his own company J.Tune Entertainment and launched the 5-member boy group MBLAQ through the subsidiary J. Tune Camp in 2009. Right from the first album hand, MBLAQ has made an impression on the Korean music-loving community across Asia. The members all have good skills, fan appeal and a lot of potential for growth. Even at that time, the group was considered a serious opponent of Beast (now Highlight). However, MBLAQ’s reputation declined after Rain enlisted in the army. In addition, JYP Entertainment and J. Tune Entertainment merged, while J. Tune Camp operated as an independent company. When he was discharged from the army, the male singer did not return to his old company but signed a new contract with CUBE.
MBLAQ is the first boy group to be “sponsored” by Rain, who has “stormed” with a different and impressive style compared to other Kpop groups of the same time.
It doesn’t stop there, in the show Beats Code 3D of Mnet, MBLAQ members said that Rain cut off contact with them after moving to a new company. This move of the male lead Happy home making fans understand that the male singer has given up MBLAQ and other groups like Two X, Madtown are working under the company. Later, J. Tune Camp weakened when Two X, Lee Joon and Thunder (MBLAQ) simultaneously quit in 2014. By December 2016, this company was officially dissolved.
This post quickly attracted the attention of the public, with thousands of interactions within a few hours of posting. Most of the audience criticized the male artist’s way of running the company and managing the group. They commented, “I heard that Rain is about to release a new group. Hope Rain can do his best and manage and support them well”, “It’s a pity for groups to get involved with someone with a history of abandoning their artistry. The artist he trained”, “My career grows but also review my attitude and come up with a clear plan when managing a group”…
Rain is one of the artists who pioneered in spreading Korean culture to the world. I can Time voted for 6 consecutive years in the list of Top 100 most influential people in the world. Not only that, the actor is also admired by the audience when he has a happy marriage with the Korean “pearl” Kim Tae Hee.
