EXID signs with China showbiz agency
From left, Hani, Hyerin, LE, Junghwa and Solji from EXID / Courtesy of Instagram
K-pop girl band EXID has signed with China’s entertainment company Banana Project in a bid to extend its popularity outside Korea.
Banana Project founder Wang Sicong signed the deal with Korea’s music producer and composer Shinsadong Tiger at a press conference in Shanghai on Monday.
The event was broadcasted live via Chinese online broadcaster and video platform PandaTV.
Wang, son of Wang Jainlin, chairman of Chinese real estate developer Dalian Wanda Group, said the band would hold a fan meeting in Shanghai in March. The band will also release an album in Korea and China in April, according to My Daily.
Wang said that although the band has signed with a Chinese company, the band would mainly be active in Korea.
The band made its debut in 2012 and released its latest single “Hot Pink” in November 2015.
EXID's signing with Banana Project was brooadcased live via Chinese online broadcaster and video platform PandaTV.
Yedang Entertainment, the band’s management company, told Sports Hankook on Jan. 6 it would keep supporting the band’s activities in Korea.
On the same day, Shinsadong Tiger said on the band’s official website that he talked with executives from Yedang and it was agreed that the band needed a better environment to build its future.
“I talked with the band’s five members and Wang Sicong, whom I have frequently contacted with, regarding the girls’ future,” the musician said. “Banana Project will work with Korean companies in an equal partnership.”
Wang reportedly said he would keep scouting for K-pop bands for his company. According to Yahoo News, he was seen at K-pop boy band BigBang’s concert “BigBang 2015 World Tour ‘MADE’” in Shanghai in June 2015. The report said the band might be Wang’s next target.
Banana Project signed a contract with K-pop girl band T-ara in August 2015.