ChRocktikal and Handong Wrap Up Performances as Dreamcatcher UAU Preps For Fall Tour

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One thing that's interesting about following a group in their post-exclusive contract era is that the anticipatory excitement of activities or work is a bit different. I have to confess that part of the reason I'm into K-Pop at all is the fanfare and happiness surrounding announcements of new content. The industry is filled with these moments of anticipation, followed by a whirlwind of content and promotion centered around a new release or new activity that gets everyone talking. And because of the aggressive nature of content generation in K-Pop, most healthy acts can expect to be able to go through this at least once if not more times a year.

But when not all of the members of an act are under the same company, you're not so certain about the guarantee of activities. This can cause no small amount of anxiety, but I choose to think of it as a bit of unexpected surprise, as each project runs on its own schedule with new and interesting activity types to look forward to. This is sort of how I feel about the various activities Dreamcatcher members are up to these days - while some are, of course, expected, like music releases, there are others that I never thought would happen, and are part of what I'm reporting on today. So let's get right to it, shall we?

Siyeon, Junyoung, Gwanwoo, and Wonseok have been on tour in Europe in September, and after delighting audiences everywhere in the continent with their first foray into the region, they wrapped up their work in Warsaw, Poland, where they also happened to celebrate Junyoung's birthday as well. The band has been publishing "tour life" snippets during their time on the road, and in pretty much all of these, I can see how much fun they're having. Even for Siyeon, who is obviously a well-traveled touring veteran because of all those years in Dreamcatcher, is finding things to be new and interesting rolling around as part of a band rather than a K-Pop group, and even though the audiences are small, they've all been enthusiastic with their support of ChRocktikal and their latest offering. The list of songs in the set list has grown, and we'll no doubt hear more as the band heads back home and into the studio to figure out new music.

Back home, the ChRocktikal "REQUIEM" challenges continued throughout September, and as I said last time, I'm just really impressed by the breadth of participants that I've seen. Some are familiar, such as collaboration partners and fellow band Rolling Quartz and labelmates The Ssyndrome, but others are entirely unexpected, like two-piece band Angel Noise and ONEWE's Yonghoon. Even Junyoung's sister LeeZe, an OST singer and vocalist, got into the act with a bit of sibling energy. The one thing I've learned throughout these vocal challenges is the idol and music network can run deeper than people realize, and that folks can know each other behind-the-scenes and never necessarily collaborate in public. That the reach goes far and wide is a testament to the foundation Dreamcatcher built as a group.

Meanwhile, back in China, Handong continues to utilize that same foundation to keep her solo career booked and busy. The 2026 Douyin Creator Conference featured Handong performing "Dreamer" from her debut album. A big media creation event like this wasn't something I'd have expected to be in the cards for Handong, butas I've quickly discovered over the past year or so, Modern Sky's reach is far and wide.

That reach apparently extends to dance competitions, as Handong served as a judge for the 2026 Sohu Dance Competition. Not surprisingly, at the event Handong got to showcase her dance and performance talent, but one of the best Dreamcatcher-related treats was that Handong put on a stage performance of 2020's "Scream" to bring back some of that old-school Dreamcatcher energy. There's a funny bit of irony in seeing most of 2020's Dreamcatcher "Scream" live performances having everyone but Handong (due to her participation in China's "Youth With You" show at the time) and now having a performance with everyone but Handong - but regardless, it was a solid adaptation and a testament to how far Handong has come as a dancer.

Back in South Korea, Dreamcatcher Main Dancer and UAU subunit member SuA continues her own solo content over on YouTube. I've come to expect a kind of all-around vlog from SuA, which reflects the wide variety of what she's put out this year, and these last couple of weeks were no different, with a Hotpot vlog and a surprise trip back to Changwon to see her family for the Chuseok holiday. SuA has no shortage of things to try for YouTube content, including making songpyeon with her mom while wearing traditional hanbok garb. Did it come out absolutely perfect? Depends on which songpyeon was eaten, it seems, but that's never stopped SuA from diving in headfirst to whatever she chooses to do.

Even though I've come to expect more content consistency from Dreamcatcher Leader and UAU subunit member JiU, as it's very much clearly a focused cooking vlog, there's also no less shortage of what artist Bob Ross once called "happy mistakes" when it comes to doing what you love. This time around, it was little worries about the garlic being a bit too small, the pepper getting a little all over the place, and the rice getting a bit too sticky, but everything seemed to turn out fine in the end. I'm obviously not the most elegant cook myself, but hey, as long as it tastes good once it's all done, that's the important thing, right? Granted, there was a bit of presentation involved because it was "Hello Kitty Fried Rice", but Jiu, being the foodie that fans know she is, still managed to put it all together in the end, with delicious results.

But as much as I've been enjoying a lot of individual Dreamcatcher UAU content lately, the subunit itself is heading out soon to the US on tour, picking up the touring baton from ChRocktikal and hitting up a ton of cities in true Leo Presents promoter fashion. Tickets went on sale recently, and we will be guaranteed more musical performances as well as some fun memories as well. With the last fancon featuring covers and on-stage fan game participation, it'll be interesting to see what UAU has in store for everyone this time around. I just know it'll guarantee that we'll be seeing Dreamcatcher member project content through mid-November, and as always, the latest news on the group from me. For that and beyond, I'll see you here next time!