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'Lock Up': F.T. Island plans December comeback as 3-member band after long hiatus

After 26 long months, F.T. Island is back — now as a three-member group — with a December comeback scheduled with their mini-album 'Lock Up'

The K-pop idols from F.T. Island were doing great in terms of fans and album sales after their debut in Korea in 2007 and then Japan, in 2008, becoming one of the earliest boybands to fuel the K-pop boom. In fact, they paved the way for current faves like Day6 and N.Flying as well as the upcoming boyband, Xdinary Heroes.

F.T. Island (Five Treasure Island) currently consists of only of three members, namely, the main vocalist, Lee Hong-gi, the bassist, Lee Jae-jin, and the drummer Choi Min-hwan, after the exit of three former members from the group. Since the group was declared inactive due to various reasons, including the involvement of ex-member Choi Jong-hoon in The Burning Sun scandal, as well as the mandatory enlistment of the three remaining members, F.T. Island was on an indefinite hiatus. But after 26 months — more than two years — the reorganized three-member band is making their comeback.

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F.T. Island's 'Lock Up' drops this December

On November 29, F.T. Island dropped the official title of their comeback album and announced the release date for the same. The band will release their eighth Korean mini-album titled, ‘Lock Up’ on December 10 this year with the titled track, ‘Unthinkable’ (말이 안 돼). The release of ‘Lock Up’ follows the group’s last official release after their Korean mini-album, ‘Zapping’ which was released in September 2019. The group celebrated their years in the music industry with the release of their Japanese compilation album, ‘10th Anniversary All-Time Best/Yellow [2010-2020] which peaked at Number 7 on Japan’s Oricon Chart.

It is reported that the upcoming release from F.T. Island, ‘Lock Up’ depicts a painful moment of love that has caused them to lock up the memories of a lover in “Pandora’s box” after their breakup. The album will highlight the complex emotions humans face starting with the initial phase when a relationship starts to turn sour leading up to the break-up of the couple who used to be in love and the journey one goes through before deciding to fall in love again with someone new.

The lead single from ‘Lock Up’ titled, ‘Unthinkable’ will deal with real-life, complex human emotions that prevents a person from leaving someone they once loved. The voice of F.T. Island’s lead vocalist Lee Hong-ki's appealing voice coupled with the mournful atmosphere of the song promises to leave a lasting impression on listeners.

Where are F.T. Island members now?

For the uninitiated, Oh Won-bin, the group’s guitarist left the band in 2009, and was replaced by Song Seung-hyun thereafter. Song Seung-hyun then departed from the group in December of 2019 to pursue his acting career. F.T. Island’s former member Choi Jong-hoon, who was the group's keyboardist, bassist, and guitarist, departed the group in March 2019 before retiring for good from the K-pop industry.

Following the Burning Sun scandal, the current member lineup of F.T. Island includes Hong-gi, Jae-jin, and Min-hwan, who all took turns enlisting in the military. All three have completed their service, as of August 2021, and are back to entertain their loyal fans again.