The PROBLEM with Lightsum (why i'm worried ...)

I feel like the reason they removed members was first off: smaller groups get more popular than bigger groups And second off: getting rid of the minors means they don’t have to think abt working hour restrictions. Was it justifiable enough? No, but it’s definitely something that helped kering lightsum afloat (+ paying expenses for two less members is cheaper)

When Vivace was released, it was extensively compared to IZONE. So much so - that those at Twitter said it was a Walmart Panorama comeback

Lightsum is CLC all over again. Cube tried to fill the hole Iz*One left with the luxe look and when that didnt work they shifted. Then moving members, CLC adding 2, Lightsum removing 2 with little reason as to why. As for promo, Cube has shown they will not be anything if they have to pay for song writers or producers. If the group does those things they will throw a few bucks and shows the groups way until they make LOTS for the company. Cube should have debuted them before Iz*One to fill that space that fans waited for them to debut and while Chaewon was still SUPER popular.

I think the mix of light concept and girl crush members should be their strength. Honey or Spice is a step in the right direction but they need more exaggeration and better promotion. Its gonna be an uphill battle considering how poorly handled there promotions have been up until now.

Cube is the first and main problem for Lightsum to achieve some of their potential. I mean it's like when you talk about a Pledis group, even YG in some cases. It's frustrating that, despite having a lot of great ingredients, there don't seem to be any competent cooks in this kitchen from time to time. Honey or Spice, for me, was a great track and the whole era was a step in the right direction (I literally ranked it my 2nd favourite song of the year), but there needs to be more work put into them. I really hope it's not too late for them.

For what it's worth: - Cube's CEO said that they are planning on debuting a new girl group in 2024. Whether or not that actually happens...I'll believe it when I see it. The new boy group has been on the road to debut for three years now. There have been prospective members who have made appearances on other Cube shows though (Workdol with Shuhua for example). We'll see. - Jian said on Instagram that leaving was her choice and she wasn't kicked out of the group. I don't know that Huiyeon has ever addressed it (she does have her own YouTube channel now though!) . I doubt if we'll ever know the whole story there. - Chowon said at KCON in 2022 that they were preparing to relase a new album that fall, but for whatever reason that never happened. They also said during the Honey or Spice promotions that they recorded a different title track and that it got scrapped right before they shot the MV. So I do wonder if there's more disfunction that led to their hiatus that we don't know about. They seem like they're headed towards making a Japanese release right now, and that's great! They seem like they're well received there and hopefully their release does well and they get a boost from those promotions. I've always liked Lightsum, but everything about them so far has felt very rushed. Even they seemed to think so when they talked about their debut on "Do You Lightsum". I'm interested to see what Juhyeon, Sangah and supposedly Chowon are able to do as songwriters and/or producers. I thought Skyline was a decent first effort, but I also realize that we can't expect them to suddenly be Soyeon or Hyunsik after a year or two. I still have a lot of hope that they can carve themselves out a niche. I doubt they'll be on the level of Idle or even other groups that debuted around that time like STAYC, but that doesn't mean they can't be active and profitable. They've had a few viral moments (Sangah at KCON and at times on Queendom Puzzle, their live performances at the badly mismanaged KCON US tour which got rave reviews, some of Juhyeon's dance covers, Chowon discussing her time on PD48), but they've never been able to capitalize on them, either because of ineffective social media or because the band was on hiatus. Hopefully they get things figured out.

Cloud ChungXiao uploads Inmeditaily me: sits down and with popcorn For me Lightsum is like a capsule of everything that Companies do wrong: not give the group enough (and if want to get salty, interesting) music to create a solid fanbase, not utilizing the members skills to their fullest potential, focusing on only one member to promote and that member to be promoted for the wrong reasons, a hiatus, removing members for no reason, and lacks of promotions. I'll be bopping to Alive and Vivace, but this talented Girls deserve better

When CUBE said they were going to use (G)I-DLE as a way to promote the new boygroup, my thoughts were .... "So why didn't they do that with LIGHTSUM?" Think about it, (G)I-DLE has been on two world tours so far and it wouldn't have costed that much more to have LIGHTSUM tour with them as an opening act. Not only will they gain more fans through this, but experience as well as the mentorship from (G)I-DLE along with that. There is a money sink initially, no doubt abut that, but the long term affects would have out weighted the cost. If LIGHTSUM toured during I NEVER DIE era, they would have picked up some of the new Nevie fans. Even if LIGHTSUM opened for (G)I-DLE in just the Asian stops it would have worked. So I think that says that either CUBE are too lazy or stupid to make money or else they never had faith in LIGHTSUM to begin with and their existence is just a result of a knee-jerk reaction to the scandals going on at the time.

I love it when you upload omg, you're like one of the few channels I have my notifs on for

I will say that it looks like Cube is willing to invest more in Lightsum. The overall promotion and extra performance video for Honey or Spice, the dance video for Sangha & Yujeong, the Spice Girls cover by the full group, and (I realize it's very recent) the album cover by Hina are all extra things that suggest Cube is trying to keep the group active. It's not the same as another song, but it's a far cry from what happened to CLC.

ThankU for discussing the issues with Lightsum. I feel so disappointed because they have such talented beautiful members with star quality and uniqueness that could capture new audiences. Yet their discography, their creative direction and their management has been lacking. It could not even be compared to other top groups. And their comebacks have been so unconsistent that everyone even their fans and casual listeners forget about them and lose their interests in them. Everytime They got a comeback Gidle got three comebacks in the meantime. I wish Lightsum members were writing their own songs. They debuted 3 years ago. Yet i still feel like they're rookies. Other groups that debuted the same year as them are so much more established and known. It's such a pity they are under cube.

I literally only knew about lightsum bc of the members they kicked out

A few months since their comeback & they still have no proper promo... they get forgotten about . I want cube to let THEM GOOOOOOOO

Unpopular opinion: Please don't attack me. I love Lightsum and I wish them no harm. So.. The tea: Them having less member is a GOOD thing for the group imho. There were too many random members that didn't really stick out enough (harsh truth) and now I feel like all the members are more visible and it's easier to get into the group. The only downfall for now is the lack of consistent promotions and also the unfortunate creative direction team that needs to be fired. The music and visual direction needs to make a whole lot more sense and actually needs to suit ALL the members of the group. They need to stay away from anything too girl crush and too cutesy. Just right in the middle. Just something fresh and fun.

huiyeon was my bias i was so sad to learn she wasn’t in the group anymore she was good dancer!!! 😢

Cube debuted Lightsum because (G)I-DLE was on a downward trajectory and CLC was dismantling quickly, and they need another girl group. They were expecting (G)I-DLE to fail due to the Soojin scandal. However, Tomboy was released and BAM! (G)I-DLE's popularity skyrocketed. Cube doesn't need Lightsum anymore and they were put on the back burner.

I absolutely love Lightsum and I think the main problem is that they are lacking concept, their songs are pure hits, girls have distinguished personalities but the quality of MVs, "storyline", stages is what CUBE is lacking. Honey and Spice could have become sooo big if they put efforts in making an eye catching concept. The performance version of the MV was much more interesting and energetic than the main MV. I want girls to shine, because Alive, Vanilla and Honey and Spice are really my fav songs

i love ur channel do much all ur videos r so well made

I confess that at first lightsum didn't interest me much (although vivace is very good, I have some questions about the music's production), but with honey or spice they caught my attention and I hope these girls do well in the future.

as a new lightsum fan yes idk alot abt them yet except for chowon and nayoung i feel like the only thing thats lacking is promotion like cube gives so many opportunities to their other groups js for lightsum to not get any.