Kim Jongdae and his Wife By Rebekah Walton

Most of Kpop fans and EXO-Ls are excited by the news that Kim Jongdae (Chen) of Exo is engaged and soon-to-be a father. There are a few fans in Korea that are making a big deal out of this and wanting SM to kick Chen out of Exo. But, the rest of us sane people, understand that this is just a part of life and we are all happy that Jongdae is getting married.
In fact, here are some articles and other compilations that prove most of us are fine with Jongdae's wedding and baby:
https://www.koreaboo.com/lists/30-funniest-netizen-reactions-chen-impending-marriage-fatherhood/
https://www.koreaboo.com/lists/15-fan-memes-sum-protest-withdraw-exos-chen/
https://www.allkpop.com/forum/threads/a-compilation-of-best-chen-x-wife-x-baby-memes.364930/page-4
First off, fans have been trending hastags to show that they are with Chen for months now. They have even been telling SM to sue people who leave bad comments about Chen online. There are a great amount of memes about Chen becoming a father and so many cool youtube videos as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DNf66taSXY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjKUlnSsLZE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLJ3hP5cwKw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-LifhpCJsQ&t=15s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv47k-i9r_8
After we got the news that Jongdae was engaged there were many other celebrities who came out with news of their significant others and the fans joked Jongdae had started a trend calling it the Chen effect:
https://www.soompi.com/article/1380876wpp/sung-joon-pens-letter-revealing-that-he-has-a-wife-and-child
https://www.soompi.com/article/1382106wpp/crayon-pops-gummi-announces-marriage-and-pregnancy
https://www.soompi.com/article/1383694wpp/park-sung-kwang-announces-marriage-to-non-celebrity

Three things I would like to point out before I would like to let this issue be:

1. Jongdae or any other celebrity is not your property and their life is not something that you own or have rights over. (This has been repeated over and over by many people.)

2. The chance of you meeting your kpop star and getting married are very slim to almost none. Get over it. Write your fanfiction and move on with your life.

3. Bullying people to get kicked out of a group is not a good thing. Stop bullying others online and in real life! This is a real problem that has caused harm to many people.

Okay, that's my two cents: Now go watch Jongdae dancing to Baby Shark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlYQcHRUay4

(Updated April 29, 2020)
Jongdae's baby girl was born today! So, he really was telling the truth when he named his last solo album: April, and a Flower. Exo-L's are calling her Exo's Princess and Jongdae's flower. Here is fan art I found on twitter:

Kdrama Comparisions: Who did it Better? 100 Days My Prince vs. Shopping King Louie by Rebekah Walton

If I were to tell you the plot of these two kdramas it goes something like this:

A rich young man who has memories of the female lead whether he remebers them or not, loses all of his memory and gets lost, the female lead finds him.

Now, that he has lost all of his memory and has no memory of where he lives or who he is, the female lead and him are forced into living together. At first, the man useless and buys items that cause the woman to go into debt because he has no money of his own.

 The female lead forces the male lead to get a job, but, the male lead is found to be very bad at that job, until they find out what he is really good at and he regains his memory. For a time the female and male lead live apart since, the male lead was found by his family and regained his memory, but later on, the male lead goes back to get the female lead and they live happily ever after the end.

Also, to make it more confusing the female lead in these two kdramas are played by the same actress Nam Ji-hyun. The only real difference between these kdramas is the time period that the story is set in. Shopping King Louie is set in the modern day while 100 Days My Prince/ Husband is set in the Joseon time period.

Now, on to which Kdrama is better my opinion.
Shopping King Louie(myRating): 7.50 out of 10.00

100 Days Prince (my Rating): 8.00 out of 10.00

Shopping King Louie (September 2016): came first while 100 Days Prince is just basically a remake of this story set in the Joseon time period.
As I say with all remakes and orignials, it is not always fair to judge the orignial by a remake, because the remake has the potential of fixing the problems of the orignial because it came second.

But, when the remakes do not fix the problems of the orignial or make more problems, that's what shows the remake is really bad. So, to tell if this remake: 100 Days My Prince is a better, we must look at the problems of Shopping King Louie and see if the problems were in the remake or if they were changed in the remake.

Shopping King Louie problems: The male lead is a shopping addict and continues to buy items although he has no money and becomes very annoying because of this.

 The plot becomes somewhat  boring at one point in the story because there is little going on, so little, in fact the writers had to fake that he lost his memory again. A lot of filler in this show. The twists in this kdrama did not intrigue me to keep watching in the least.

One thing that the kdrama had going for it was the cute couple.

100 Days My Prince problems: The male lead is still buying items although he has no money, but at least in this kdrama the things he is buying seem more like neccesities than just stuff. He does not tend to keep buying items once he has bought the few items he wanted, and so, in general he seems more content than Shopping King Louie.

He was less annoying in this way, since he got fooled by a loan shark. Since the plot does take place in the Joseon Era, politics can come into the plot more easily, thus adding more storylines and make the story less boring.Instead of filler episodes, this kdrama seemed to be just the right length for this type of plotline and story.

 But, due to the politics angle, the male lead is a prince who is married before he meets the female lead again. That is seemingly not a problem as I initially thought it would be, though because in kdramas they get marriages annulled pretty easily or just get a second wife.

 But, deaths do occur in this story, so watch out as some of your favorite side characters may eventually die on screen.Despite this, the story was still an enjoyable watch. The main couple was still cute but the other plot lines were also entertaining to say the least. The twists in this kdrama were more enjoyable than Shopping King Louie and made me excited to watch more.

If I had to choose between the two, I would reccommend 100 Days My Prince/Husband everytime.

Super M by Rebekah Walton

SM really couldn't get a good name together.....Super M......what does this mean Super Members or Super Mandarin? Either way, this name stinks. I understand the concerns that everyone has about this group....these people could do their own solo debuts, or this group should just be a project group or a collaboration......SM is working these boys to the bone and not giving them proper rest....SM is not promoting these boys in their projects and then wants to make another group....and what does this mean for group comebacks later.....

Personally, though I think this is just a group till all of the boys come back from military. Once they come back this group will be disssolved. Actually, I almost think that the rest of Exo should all leave on military duty now so they can comeback faster if this group is a success. The one thing that confuses me is why are their no Super Junior members in this? If you are going to call this Super M, it confuses me why you would not include a Super Junior member in this. Look, SM you are marketing this to the USA, right? So, including say Sungmin should not be a problem. The International Elfs from all I have read, and I am one as well, want Sungmin to comeback and sing. SM, you could have included Sungmin and thus gotten a whole another fandom prompting this group. Really the super group crossover should include: Super Junior, TBXQ, SHINee, Exo, and NCT. So, really, they should have included at least one member from SJ and TBXQ (or both members).


But, in general I think direct marketing to the USA does not work for Kpop and I highly doubt that this group will really succeed considering how many people don't want this anyway. Also, Avengers of Kpop? SM, you have an alien theme already for Exo but, this sounds so stupid.

Enough ranting, I will support Super M when October comes! Our boys need support in all their projects!

Anyway, I thought it was fair that if  SM was going to make the Avengers of Kpop, Jyp should make the Justice League of Kpop to compete against the Avengers of Kpop and call it Justice 8. The members included would be: Nichkun from 2PM, Jae and Young K from Day6, Jackson and Mark from Got7, 3Racha from StrayKids. 

Taoris Reunion Day 2019 by Rebekah Walton

The New Year came and went, and some made resultions while others forgave and became friends again with former besties. One of these besties does include: Kris Wu and Huang Zitao. As far as we could tell they haven't talked in four years. But, now at the start of the year at an end of year awards music show, Kris Wu hugged Z. Tao. It was such a cute a sweet moment but, the hug is not the only thing that occurred. Kris Wu and Z.Tao proceeded to follow each other on Instagram and Luhan joined in on the fun. Our OT3 are one step closer to former a group together and making a collab. I would love to see the day when they make a movie together, an album together and or a cdrama together!

See this epic moment in the video links below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kdODidh5Lo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxSZpB6ShRE


They look so happy, too just standing next to each other before they hug.

Losing Hyuna and EDawn by Rebekah Walton

Well, now you have done it Cube. You been again labled a bad company. I get it, you were not to blame for the hate that your kpopstars got when they announced they were dating without your permission.....Or were you?

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you were just trying to protect them from the netziens, but, come on, this went a little too far.

Hyuna was your top star the one who you promoted above and beyond the rest of her group and even B2st, which is why they left and became Highlight. So, most people would think that you would be careful around her. Or at least allow her certain privileges you would not allow other groups or other people in Cube Entertainment.

And Pentagon was the one you were making money with now that B2st left and so, I thought surely you guys would make a decision to keep the most money coming in. Baekyeon use to get a lot of hate when they were dating but, no one discussed kicking them out of the company. That would be a stupid move by SM. And believe me, SM has made a lot of stupid decisions in the past. I mean, why are they know by their lawsuits? It's not because they were being smart. Yeah, they wanted money but, 3 of those couple have been avoided just simply by allowing Kris, Luhan, and Tao make their own albums and get their own movie deals. (I do not think Luhan would have left, if Kris did not previously, and Tao just needed rest.)

Anyway, also a stupid move on your part Cube, why would you allow someone to make a statement suggesting you were kicking Hyuna and E'Dawn out without even discussing it with them? That's why the two of them gave up on negotiations with you.

Yeah, you realized your mistake when your stocks fell but, it was already too late then. Now, Hyuna and E'Dawn are the cutest couple independent of companies in 2018. They will help get rid of the backlash on dating Kpopstars. And I am happy for that and them, but, Cube you could have been a part of that revolution and now, you won't ever get a chance to change kpop for the better. I am sorry, Cube, you failed.

Kdramas...kpop idols....Bad acting? by Rebekah Walton

Okay, first I would like to say maybe I am not the best judge of acting or whether it is bad or not, because I have no clue how to act at all most of the time, and people say I react weirdly in real life and do not act like normal people. But, frankly, most people who are so called ''bad actors'' I cannot tell at all. I have no clue how to identify these people at all. A lot of people comment on a kdrama and tell me that a kpop star in it is a bad actor or something, and I haven't seen anything that would make them think this way. Frankly, as long as you are not saying your lines and your stage directions such as Gag Concert or you do not happen to be as bad as any of the actors and actresses (excluding Sterling Knight, and the uncle) in Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale, you are a good enough actor for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzw0zUQoPB4

That's the trailer, you can also watch the full film on youtube for free, and no one cares. I am not a good actresses and therefore how can I even judge acting that is better than what I can do, in fact, how can anyone else judge the actors if they cannot do it themselves. But, this may sound like I see bad acting for what it is and don't care and that is not true. I cannot even tell bad acting when I see it, unless it is as bad as the movie mentioned above. To me, if a certain character acts a certain way, that is the way their character acts and it is normal.

Some people say well, bad acting occurs when you cannot feel with the character, but, I do not remeber a character I have not felt with unless they were annoying or evil, and then I just feel annoyed, but, then again shouldn't you feel annoyed it has nothing to do with bad acting or not. So, I have no clue what anyone is talking about when they say someone is a bad actor, if an actor acts immature and over the top, isn't their character just immature and over the top, why would that be bad acting. If an actor has no expression in certain situations, isn't that the character?

There are characters like this. I did not write the script and I do not act like most people so, why would I assume that this character would be normal or have a normal reaction (whatever that is or means, I cannot tell you if that is normal or not, nor do I believe that there is a normal person in this world.). So, if you say a person is a bad actor because they kissed weirdly or it did not look natural, or they had a blank expression the entire time, or was stiff, how can you be the judge of that? (Not that I could even tell that even if someone pointed it out.)Maybe, the director or scriptwriter wanted that type of character. How can you know what they were told to do when they were acting? How do you know that this is not how that character would react?

Also, I wanted to mention for those who like Fantastic I am currently annoyed with the main girl. In the episode I watched, eventhough the main character knew he was bad at acting and wanted help, she just laughed at him and did not even pick up his phone calls. She needs to get over that grudge and move on and help him out, it's not even worth it to hold a grudge for that long. Eventhough some people may have found this first episode funny, I did not I was depressed the whole time and definitely was piting the main guy who our girl was laughing at for his bad acting.


 I mean, it's really rude to do that to him, and I hated the fact that they are going to get together, he is so much better than her. She does not deserve him. It is unfair to laugh at a guy who just needs some guidance in acting and would love some help. Stop Laughing help him out already! Ugh, that is so annoying, if I asked for help in acting please give me help instead of laughing at me. I know I am bad, just help me out, give me an example to go by and maybe a mirror to practice in. But, I am going to have to continue watching this drama for Ji-soo, maybe I will skip parts with the main girl.

Wu Yifan now as a Chinese Actor and Singer by Rebekah Walton

I just recently saw an interview with Yifan. He looked really calm and happy. He was more relaxed than I have seen him in a few interviews. He said he does not care about his idol image anymore, and I am very happy for him. He should relax and not care the burden he did as a kpop idol. It was very hard for him, and this way we get to know him better.

Looking over all the projects he is now in, it's official Kris Wu has become an actor and it won't be long till he will be one of the most famous Chinese actors. He has got several hollywood movies in progress and many stars are now his friends and backing him up.

Journey to the West 2	Tang Sanzang	Male lead
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets	TBA	TBA	[63]
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage	Harvard "Nix"	Supporting	[46]
Europe Raiders

I am so excited for him and I can't wait for those movies to come out! I know he will do a great job and I keep cheering him on!

Recently, Kris Wu also joined Jackie Chan's company as an actor. 

Asian Fan fiction by Rebekah Walton

I am currently writing my own Asian Fan Fiction. The thing about Asian kpop fan fiction and other fan fiction about boy groups is that we are writing about real people. Real People not fictional characters. But, in these stories like most  fan stories these real people become characters that have one factor or characteristic that overshadows the rest.

For example:

Exo members are sterotypically like this in fan fiction:

Xiumin- loves eating, food, and has abs, looks young but is the oldest, could be mature but does not have to be

Luhan-playboy, wants to be called manly but is not manly

Kris- Cold city man, Dork, Leader

Kai-Playboy, First love of many


Chen- Sings well, well defined cheekbones, jokester

Suho- respected older authority, incharge, emotional

Tao- scary at first appearance but adorable later on, easily frightened, clingy to Kris or protective of Kris

Lay-perfect angel, innocent, something to do with unicorns and or healing

Chanyeol-clingy, happy, emotional,

Baekhyun- loves eyeliner, narasstic

Sehun- Cold  city man, loves to tease others

D.O.- good cook, no one wants to deal with his wrath, short tempered when it comes to Baekhyun


Whether these people are like that in real life it really does not matter.
They have become that way in fiction. It is interesting to note because of this factor people who are not into kpop can write a story all about Exo, Super Junior, 2PM, etc and never listened to any of their songs or seen them on a show. If you read the right fictions, you will only have to read about two maybe one and half fictions before you can write your own on the group.

I decided to do some research and find out the most popular member of Exo based on the number of fictions written on them :

According to  Asian fan fiction:
1. Kai
2. Luhan
3. Sehun
4. Kris
5. Baekhyun
6. Chanyeol
7. Kyungsoo
8. Suho
9. Tao
10.Yixing
11. Xiumin
12. Chen

According to Wattpad:

1. Chanyeol
2. Sehun
3. Kai
4. Baekhyun
5. Luhan
6. Kris
7. Suho
8. Xiumin
9. Chen
10.Tao
11.Kyungsoo
12. Yixing

I used the names that had more tags for stories.


The weird thing comes when you compare these facts to the members popularity in Korea: (2014 and 2015):                                                 

1. Baekhyun                               1. Xiumin
2. D.O.                                         2. D.O.
3.Xiumin                                      3. Baekhyun
4. Kai                                           4. Kai
5. Sehun                                       5. Sehun
6. Chanyeol                                   6. Chanyeol
7. Chen                                         7. Chen
8. Luhan                                        8. Suho
9. Suho                                          9. Lay
10. Lay                                           10. Tao
11. Kris
12.Tao


According to popularity ranks in other countries the fan fiction are in order of popularity from the country of:
 No country has the popularity rank in this order I understand how it could be this way if you combine China's 2014 ranking (OT12) with the USA ranking (Ot12, OT10).

China                                    USA                                       Combine
1. Luhan                            1. Kris                                          1. Kai (became 1st by default)
2. Kris                                 2. Luhan                                      2. Luhan(China top)
3. Sehun                             3. Kai                                           3. Sehun(China 3rd)
4. Chanyeol                        4. Chanyeol                                 4. Kris
5. Lay                                  5. Sehun                                     5.Baekhyun (China OT10)
6. Baekhyun                       6. D.O.                                         6. Chanyeol (Korea OT10)
7. Tao                                 7. Lay                                           7. D.O.
8. D.O.                                 8. Baekhyun                                8. Suho (Korea OT10)
9. Kai                                  9. Tao                                           9. Tao (USA)
10. Chen                          10. Chen                                         10. Lay 
11. Suho                           11. Xiumin                                      11. Xiumin (USA)
12. Xiumin                         12. Suho                                        12. Chen 

Here are some I reccommend: (All of these except the ones with urls can be found on http://www.asianfanfics.com/)

On Ebb

The Untitled 2Young Project:http://www.yynation.org/fanfic_author_scuttler_ch_1.html

We Are Dating

Chances Are

The Paranormals

A Real Pain In The Neck

How I Met Byun Baekhyun

When Jong Dae becomes Chen

Epilogue: Reunion

8 Years Later

After He Left

We Are One

Neverland

The Definition of Home

Perfect Kiss

Story of Us, What is Virtual Anyway?!  :http://www.yynation.org/fanfic_story_of_us_ch_1_missing_you.html

Here are the ones I have written:

Reunited with the Galaxy

Onew's Chicken Girl

Guardian Gang

Warning for all those reading Asian fan fictions: I had to search to find good ones, there are a lot of stories out there that are not really my cup of tea. I avoid reading certain types fictions and therefore, there are a lot of fictions that I exclude. 

I do not recommend you going on to Asian fan fictions and reading all the stuff there, I recommend you know first what you want to read and search for that, it is easier and you can exclude a lot you prefer not to read.

But, for you guys who want to watch fan fiction live action, check out Exo Next Door, it's a web drama that definitely feels like fan fiction I have read. I found it really funny and entertaining.

SM Entertainment by Rebekah Walton

{Written and Posted October 7, 2015}

Do not get me wrong, I do not believe everything is wrong with this company. I have recently read about their Trainees in Lay's book,''Standing Firm at 24''. But, I did not think previously that their life was that bad at SM while they were trainees. Obviously, if SM did do everything wrong, then no one would be in their company and no one would stay a trainee for very long. There are tons of other companies. But, I do believe SM has been making some wrong decisions.

 I don't even blame Lee Soo Man for these problems. Wu Yifan thanked the people at SM just recently even though he is suing the company, so, they must be doing some things right. I am not even sure we will ever figure out what is truly going on.

 There may be even some stuff that the idols do not know about that takes place behind the scenes. We know from the recent #YunJaeisback2015 that SM did not want them on the same stage. And we know, that SM has stopped people previously in their company from going on tv or certain shows. They even got recently sued by No Minwoo for this very thing.
http://www.soompi.com/2015/05/11/no-min-woo-sues-sm-entertainment-for-17-year-slave-contract-and-broadcast-ban-sm-responds/

http://www.soompi.com/2015/05/11/no-min-woos-reps-explain-why-he-decided-to-sue-sm-entertainment-now/

We know that SM allows Super Junior to do pretty much anything they feel like now,because members of Super Junior seem to hang out with Hangeng ex-superjunior member who previously sued the company. We know that we have not seen any of TVXQ and JYJ hanging out until the #YunJaeisback2015.

SM to a certain aspect has done some things wrong and I believe is still doing those same things wrong. It is hard to say exactly who is at fault in the company, so, I am not going to try to pin blame on certain people. What I believe is SM needs to shape up and get a hold on things or else they will lose more people to lawsuits. Maybe it is time for a new person to step up, or take over.

{Update: October 8, 2015}

Okay, SM I was trying to say that maybe you weren't the worst company out there. For instance, maybe you treat your artists better than TS, who had all of BAP sue them at the same time. (Now, BAP has gone back to TS, but that is a different story.) But, this statement made by Kim Young Min was just rude.

http://www.allkpop.com/article/2015/10/sm-ceo-implies-former-exo-members-kris-luhan-and-tao-are-selfish-for-pursuing-solo-careers

Not only did he say they were selfish but, he also said,''In the Asian market, and as Chinese-born artists, I wonder what honor they have. I think it's something to consider." (Talking about Kris, Luhan and Tao.) Nope, dude this is just plain rude. Honor is a huge deal, you don't just say that. Maybe, SM you need to consider a different CEO.
 *hint* *cough* Siwon  *cough**hint*

{Updated October 23,2015}

I have just recently watched fan cams for Lay's birthday party and I have been listening to his new songs. I am glad people are finally seeming to notice him in a good way and for the talent he has but hasn't been able to show us properly until now.

Please, SM, do not make him leave. Do not make the situation so bad that any more members have to leave. I want them to stay, but, if you do not change whatever it is you are exactly doing wrong more might leave. Please prove us fans wrong, and become the best company out there so everyone will stay not have to leave for health reasons. Give our idols what they want and what they need o keep them healthy. Give them rest in between large activities, and let them do a mix of solo and group activities. Please if not for the idols, then for us as fans.

Wu Yi Fan Left by Rebekah Walton

The reason why I wanted to leave this post to later is that I wanted to get all my facts straight. There was a lot of controversy over Wu Yifan (Kris) leaving Exo and a lot was unknown. It was originial thought that SM stole Exo's phones except Baekhyun's and made them unfollow Kris on Instagram. This has now been found to have no evidence later backing it up. To read the articles concerning Yifan suing SM, here are links in order of how the news came:

http://www.soompi.com/2014/05/14/chinese-media-reports-that-exos-kris-asked-for-contract-termination/
http://www.hellokpop.com/news/exo-m-kriss-lawsuit-against-sm-entertainment-confirmed/
http://www.soompi.com/2014/05/15/reports-claim-sm-violated-exo-m-kris-basic-civil-rights/
http://www.soompi.com/2014/05/16/exos-kris-updates-his-instagram-with-a-message-to-fans/
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/sm-entertainment-files-official-lawsuit-against-former-exo-member-kris-aka-wu-yifan-641126

But, in light of all that there was an incident that happened before the suing occurred. Kris, in 2013, went on hiatus from the group, and went to visit family in Canada. The rumors were that SM had to convince him to come back. They even delayed their comeback because of this. Here are some articles concerning this matter:
http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/28891/20130525/exo-kris-rumor.htm
http://www.jpopasia.com/news/exos-kris-rumored-to-have-left-group-delayed-comeback::14090.html

But, as it turns out after almost two years have passed, we have finally have word on why he actually left in 2013 according to Kris himself. He also, in this report, tells us why he decided to leave in the first place. Instead of me summing up what he said, I think it would be better if you just read what he says about it. Here is the report:

http://www.soompi.com/2015/07/31/kris-wu-yi-fan-releases-official-statement-in-response-to-sm-entertainments-lawsuit/



But, enough about that and why he left, I also want to go over what the reaction of fans to this, my reaction to this, and leave links to what Tao and Lay have said about Kris leaving. Keep in mind that we might find out more as we go along because Lay wrote a book on Exo and his journey and he most definitely will include some of his thoughts on this in his book. The book is called,Standing Firm at 24. But, as a great number of us cannot read Chinese, we will have to wait for a translation. So, while we wait, let us keep in mind what Lay and Tao have previously said and keep in mind that a lot more goes on behind the scenes than what we see.

Fans were divided on this issue. Some fans believed that Kris had every right to leave. Others believed it to be a sense of responsiblity that Kris lacked which caused him to leave. Still others were still conflicted over the issue or thought Kris should have waited till after the first solo exo concert to leave.

 My general first reaction was one of shock like most people but, I realized very quickly that we still had no real idea what was going on and decided to support both Exo and Kris. I quickly changed my facebook pictures to show support for Kris and I even ranted and spoke to my family on the subject. My siblings agreeded with me and I spent a lot of time on twitter checking through the tweets with the #WeMissYouKris and #WeBelieveinKris.


But, before I get into my reaction really I should state how long I have been a fan of Exo and how I got into them. I was into kpop back in early 2013, but, you can read about that in another post. I heard about Exo, and even picked two biases,one from Exo-M and one from Exo-K, Chen and Kai. But, I really did not become a fan till Exo Showtime. I watched Exo Showtime and I fell for the group as a whole. I watched all their music videos and was pretty involved. For most of us kpoppers, we know what a bad year 2014 was. First, Leeteuk's parents died in early 2014, the Sewol Ferry incident happened, the death of RiSe and EunBi, two members of Exo leaving, Luhan and Kris, and BAP suing their company.Not to mention all the dating scandals that were released that year, so, the hate againist those idols dating was huge. It was very unfair to those idols who just simply wished to carry on normal dating lives.

As some of the shock and despair at not seeing OT12 again has worn off and I have come to accept that Kris left, I have thought about why Kris did not tell any one in Exo that he left. The conclusion that I came to was this. Kris, did not know how to explain that he was leaving to the Exo members. For anyone who has watched Exo Showtime, it is very evident that Kris was not really one to express his feelings and thoughts very well. He liked to keep a certain image and it would be hard for anyone to tell their members that they were leaving. I can't image doing that myself, I would probably end up staying just because I couldn't decide how to tell my group that I was leaving. We need to also keep in mind that Kris was the first person to leave. It is always harder for the first to leave. He may have also know that his members would have most likely tried to keep him from leaving. They would have probably have said things like,''At least stay for the concert,'' or ''We can make it through this.'' It would be very hard to listen to those things, and then leave.

Here is the articles about what Tao have said on Kris leaving:

http://www.soompi.com/2014/05/15/sm-announces-exo-concert-will-go-on-as-planned-kris-attendance-unsure-other-members-speak-out/

Tao, later in this interview and mentioned in my post on Tao leaving has something else to say on Kris leaving:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLA3oBvSdOc

Here are articles about what Lay said about all three leaving and Luhan and Kris leaving before:

http://www.soompi.com/2015/04/20/lay-discusses-the-impact-of-kris-and-luhans-departure-on-exo-and-sme/

http://www.koreaboo.com/news/lay-reveals-exo-members-asked-if-he-would-leave-the-group-after-departure-of-kris-and-luhan/
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/exo-member-lay-talks-about-former-teammates-kris-luhan-tao-will-he-leave-sm-entertainment-644631


I want you guys to keep in mind that all exo members were hurt when Kris left. So, some of them like Tao did respond in anger and in the moment. There was no way Kris could have left without someone getting hurt.

I think as Exo-L we should support OT12, in whatever the members decide to do.

One thing I would like to mention that was a good thing from all this is that we found out that each of these three members that left had more talent than were seeing from them while they were in Exo. Kris, became an actor and he can sing pretty well even though he is a rapper. LuHan became a model, actor (he even got a hollywood movie), and singer. Tao produced his own album and became part of a video game. Kris became an MC for a variety show, Luhan is on Running Man Chinese version, Tao got in a movie with Jackie Chan. All of them are doing well, and I am very proud of them.

(Updated May 10,2020)
We got a show with OT3 all on the same stage again!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjtWF4DIx6E

Also, a few weeks ago Luhan and Kris collabed on a song together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gPltH46H_k

Huang Z. Tao leaving by Rebekah Walton

I told you guys that SM needed to solve the real problems, but, they keep not. Tao did not even want to leave. SM, you need to give them rest.

 Tao looks so much better now that he has had some proper rest and my wish is that he loves where he is and is healthy where he is. Don't come back, Tao, if it's just going to make you worse.

Better yet, get in a movie with Wu Yi Fan and Lu Han. Become one of the top stars in China, marry well, and have beautiful kids. SM stop being in denial, Tao left didn't he?

 I was actually afraid this was going to happen earlier when I heard about Tao probably leaving Exo. SM is not going to probably ever admit that Tao left so as to keep fans thinking that he did not leave.

But, sooner or later, all the fans will realise that SM is just in denial and that Tao has really left. Tao, my wish for you is to be happy and well. Please produce and OST or at least a solo song while you are at it too so, I can add it to the list of Lu Han's and Wu Yi Fan's songs.

I am praying for your health. Forever a fan of yours, and Exo's, EXO-L Rebekah Marie Walton, vocalist, definitely not a dancer.

(Written June 12, 2015)


(Updated September 8, 2015)

ZTao has officially left SM and is suing the company. Right now, I think it is best to take what he says about why he had to leave as well as the events surounding Kris leaving. I will post here below what he said in an interview recently concering this.

I will even post the link to the interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLA3oBvSdOc


Here is the transcript of that portion of the interview.


Tao:Before, I talked to SM many times, I told them all the flaws. In the company, every time someone is too tired, gets sick, no one is there to ask us “Are you able to do this? We can cancel.” Instead, the most heard was “Just hold on a little longer, it will be over soon and you can go home.”
Every time I hear this, I always persist. But when I can’t stand it any longer, I ask myself, why would I put myself up to this? My leg got injured this year on February, then I couldn’t even walk, the company still wanted me for magazine shoots and shoot VCR’s. It was below freezing, I just got out of the hospital, they still made me do it. The doctor didn’t let me dance, but they still had me filming the MV. Even if I was iron, I really can’t stand this, okay?!But a lot of people don’t know about these things, a lot of things. I didn’t even tell my father.

Sina: This year April, you decided to leave EXO and terminate the contract with SM, did you worry? When Kris and Luhan left, you did say they “betrayed”. Aren’t you afraid fans would call you a hypocrite?

Tao: Of course there will be fans who would say this, but after I’ve done it there will be no regrets. My personality at that time really was impulsive, probably said things that shouldn’t have been said, did things that shouldn’t have been done. Now I regret it, I will fix myself.Me saying things like that about Kris, there were also private relationship reasons. But in the group my relationship with Kris was the best, but I don’t know why he just left. I only knew about it when I woke up to watch the news, so I felt overwhelmed.I really did see him as a great brother, a great friend, but when he left he never told me. I wrote many things, including our first interaction to debut, from trainee to now and our whole history. I wrote it all down.*

Sina: Why didn’t you post it? It’s very emotional.

Tao: Because I was still in the group, I have to also think about EXO, I couldn’t just think all for him. I asked my manager if I should post it, he said yes. I asked friends, they said no because people will talk about it. My manager insisted for me to post it, saying it would help the group.At the end I posted it. I felt tortured, having to be stuck in between sides.

Sina: After all, have you connected with Kris or Luhan?

Tao: I always connect with Luhan. But I don’t know if Kris will forgive me. I’m afraid he would think about all the things I’ve said.If I have the chance, I would tell him; “My actions were thoughtless. If it was now, I will support you.” I also hope everything goes well for him, hope he can listen to what I have to say. 

Sina: After you left, did you think about your father’s opinion? You and your father seem very close, your father even sent the letter asking for you departure.

 Tao: I tell my father everything. He feels very sorry for me. Back then he didn’t really support my decision as an artist, he wanted me to enlist in the military. But when I was 15 or 16, I wrote a letter to my father, asking him to give me some space and to learn music. I slid it under my father’s door, and after the paper was gone, he supported my decision.My father’s job is related to financials. My family isn’t poor, but we don’t have a lot of money either. My parents raised me without giving me any pocket money, only money for food. From the age of 18 till now, the money I’ve spent was my own hard earned money, I’ve never asked my parents for money.I just think that going to school doesn’t impact me much, because I felt that there were more important things that needs to be done. At that time I wanted to be a celebrity. I told the people around me, but they laughed at me, saying I couldn’t. I wanted to show them, it was possible.Before terminating the contract with SM, I fought with my father once over the phone. He told me to come, my injury was so bad, he’d rather me not be an artist. I said I wanted to be an artist. My leg is injured, but my voice can still sing, it’s just that I can’t dance. I sometimes can’t be honest with my feelings. The bad things that happened to me in Korea, my father knows. When he wrote that letter, he wrote down all the things I’ve said to him. My mom told me, he cried writing it. I’m grateful for my father.


Sina: Why were you so passionate in becoming a celebrity?

Tao: Because I love music. When I was little I loved listening to my seniors Jay Chou, Wang LiHong, and JJ, the way they performed on stage really had an attractive aura. So many people went to listen to them, it’s really because of this I fell in love with music.

Sina: When your father told you to share this situation, did you think about how people would feel negatively towards this? 

Tao: I really didn’t think about it, I just wanted to heal my leg.


As a Hailang (fan of Tao), Lufan, and whatever a fan of Wu Yifan is called, I strongly support all three men in their endeavors. I was really excited when ZTao as he is called now, came out with his album. (Update: Fans of Kris are called: Meigeni.).


Link to T.A.O. mv:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2z58ie_pt%E9%9F%AC%E5%90%A7-eng-sub-z-tao-t-a-o-mv_music

Link to Crown mv:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-06YYUSc-NQ

Link to songs on soundcloud:

https://soundcloud.com/rebekah-walton/sets/ot3


I am waiting for two days in the near future. The day we see Taoris and Krishan again. (Not as a pairing but as a bromance friendship.) And I am also waiting for the day they do a collaboration. (This might not happen for a few years. This could be a movie collab or a music collab.)
I believe we will see this soon.
(Updated April 31, 2020)
We got a music collab! Coffee by Krishan (Luhan and Kris Wu)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyY651_sTVk

(Updated May 10, 2020)
We are getting Kris, Luhan and Zitao on the same show!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjtWF4DIx6E

SM, you need to wake up. I do not think Yixing will leave, but, if you don't wake up, I can't guarantee anything.

On a different sort of note, take in mind that none of these three men who left were my biases. (Yes, I cheat and have two biases in Exo. One of them is EXO-M and the other is EXO-K.) My biases in Exo are Chen (Jongdae) and Kai(Jongin).

 I doubt either of them will leave considering their talent and that SM has made a point to showcase their talents in the albums and on stage, but, we never know.