Former Day6 member eaJ’s recent interview causes a divide within the MyDay fandom

By: Gelene Peñalosa - 3 months ago

Where were you when eaJ—formerly part of the Korean rock band Day6, announced his departure from JYP Entertainment and the band?

Over the weekend, MyDays, the fandom of South Korea’s hottest band at the moment, DAY6, was in shambles following eaJ’s appearance on the Zach Sang Show. The reason for this was because eaJ had opened up about his feelings towards the group and the circumstances surrounding his departure from his former agency.

eaJ, who formerly went by the name Jae as a member of Day6, first gained attention in South Korea after participating in the first season of “K-pop Star” back in 2012. In 2015, he debuted as a vocalist and electric guitarist for DAY6.

He first began his personal music project as ‘eaJ’ titled “the eaJ Project,” where he released 8 self-written tracks on his SoundCloud and YouTube.

In the same year, DAY6 took a hiatus after they released their 6th EP, “The Book of Us: The Demon,” to focus on their mental health. JYP Entertainment stated that both Park Sungjin and Jae specifically had been advised to take a break from professional activities at the time.

eaJ continued to be active in 2020 through his Twitch streaming, collaborations with other artists, and even voice acting for the 3rd season of “Big Hero 6: The Series.” In 2021, DAY6 released their 7th EP, “The Book of Us: Negentropy,” which marked Sungjin and Jae’s end to their hiatus. This was the last album to feature eaJ.

On December 31, 2021, eaJ had first announced on his personal Twiiter (now X) account that he will be taking a hiatus as a member of DAY6. JYP Entertainment later on released a statement which said that eaJ will be leaving the band and that his exclusive contract with them had ended due to personal reasons.

Throughout his time as a member of DAY6, eaJ had composed about 46 songs in the band’s discography. DAY6 currently operates as a 4-member band with members Sungjin, YoungK, Wonpil, and Dowoon.

Now, 3 years after his departure from DAY6, eaJ has spoken up about his experiences and feelings towards the group, which ultimately led to him receiving backlash. In the interview specifically, eaJ had been asked about his feelings about DAY6’s album titled “Fourever”.

It was evident in the interview that eaJ was sort of hesitant to talk about the group, but he spoke about it as honestly as he could. To that end, eaJ said that seeing the album title “Fourever” kind of hurt, because it felt like he was “being erased” from the history of the group.

eaJ straightforwardedly said that he had a hard time watching any DAY6 content because it reminded him of his past, how he had fought “tooth and nail” to promote the band as much as he could, and how he had a difficult time coming back to South Korea in the past because he was always “filled with anxiety.”

Nevertheless, eaJ said that he was proud of DAY6 and he always “knew that they’d be at the top of the world”.

The interview was coincidentally released at a time where DAY6 are currently reaping the rewards for all of their hard work in the past years—their songs have recently reached a “Real Time All-Kill” status in South Korea, and 4 of their songs are currently on Melon chart’s top 5.

eaJ’s commenta drew in mixed reactions from DAY6 fans, with some specifically saying that he’s saying all that because he’s no longer in the band when they’re currently so beloved in South Korea.

On the other hand, some fans also spoke in favor of eaJ, particularly highlighting the fact that he has nothing but supportive of the band and his efforts in promoting the band better than their agency. (Hint: JaeSix, ASC, mentioning DAY6 when he was still streaming on Twitch, etc.)

Other fans also pointed out that there was nothing wrong with him talking about his experiences when he was in the K-pop industry, because they were HIS own experiences. If we didn’t allow him to talk about them freely, then it would be like invalidating all of the pain he and the band has been through.

On September 15, 2024, YoungK indirectly addressed the rumors of the band and eaJ no longer being in contact by saying, “It could be someone’s birthday.” eaJ’s birthday is on September 15.

As someone who has been a fan of DAY6 since their “Every DAY6 Project” in 2017, and who found out about DAY6 through eaJ’s interactions with fans on Twitter in the past, seeing all of this happen is a little bittersweet.

Fans from the beginning have seen how hard eaJ worked just for DAY6 to be promoted, how he was DAY6’s most active member prior to his hiatus, and for being a crucial part to DAY6’s traction. eaJ also has not badmouthed the band in any way, and has always stated that he will always believe in them and be proud of DAY6.

It is also quite obvious that eaJ has grown from his past mistakes and has done a lot of reflecting with regards to the things he has done in the past. If we were to continue crucifying him for his past, how would we see how much he’s improved? It’s like we’re not allowing him to become a better person, and how we’re just boxing one person in a certain stereotype just because of his past.

This goes out to anyone out there actually, EXCEPT for criminals and sexual offenders. We are all allowed to make mistakes and to grow from them. eaJ is no exception to this—for sure he has repented for all of the things he’s said and done.

Now, he visibly looks better than he was in the past and he’s gotten some insights over the years. Let eaJ and DAY6 live and exist in the same timeline. eaJ’s presence in DAY6 was a time to remember, that’s for sure.

But that does not make his absence from the band the main point of things. He and DAY6 have become more successful as the years gone by, and surely, they’re nothing but proud of each other.

 

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