Dreamcatcher Brings Surprises And Packed Schedules To May 2025 Activities

In previous years for Dreamcatcher, the road to comeback was filled with excitement for me and many other fans because of the packing of the schedule - that filling up of events, happenings, and appearances that signaled that new music was imminent. Thankfully, even in the non-exclusive contract era and with Dreamcatcher UAU's debut incoming, we're seeing more of the same - and not just from the group's soon-to-be-performing subunit. Here's the latest!

Dreamcatcher fans have had most of their eyes on UAU's music (we'll get to all that news in a bit) but what they didn't expect was Chinese-born member Handong beating them to the punch. The launch of Handong's official "studio" account on Weibo, which is apparently a common practice for Chinese idols to post content for their own work, signaled the first indication of Handong's plans after her exclusive contract ended. This generated a decent amount of buzz and excitement, but then Handong upped the gameplan by releasing her third solo single and first overall under her new banner, titled "Fairy".

Meant to be a gift for fans who have supported her over the years as part of Dreamcatcher, the song is an airy and light ballad with a catchy back track and chorus. The sudden tease and release within a day caught me completely by surprise in a good way, and besides enjoying the song, I'm glad that Handong, who we've heard little about regarding plans since April, has actually had her head down working on this release. Just goes to show that a lot of the day-to-day is obscured from us fans and that patience is a virtue. This had to be a nice achievement for Handong and I look forward to what more she has to offer.

The official YouTube channel also took a look back at the 7 Doors: A Lucky Encore concert in Hong Kong. Though this did not include Handong, the group still seemed to have a good time despite missing her, making the most of her absence with fan contributed Handong cut outs and a slightly altered setlist that included 2018's "YOU AND I" and 2022's "Some Love". We also got a bit of commentary from the members about how much this particular show meant to them, and a behind-the-scenes from JiU bringing Siyeon to her birthday fancafe, which was nice to see acknowledged in official content with some extra footage. Between this, the performances, and a JiU birthday celebration, Hong Kong's encore appearance was easily added to the pile of memorable gigs the group has performed at over the years.

The birthday celebration for JiU in Hong Kong was obviously early, which meant the actual birthday livestream was a couple weeks away. Fans got to see JiU hop onto YouTube for exactly that and chat with her as she talked about what gifts and kind comments her fellow Dreamcatcher members got for her, her thoughts about the upcoming release (no spoilers, opting to be careful) and more. Of all the members who hold birthday streams, I feel like JiU's have consistently been both the calmest and most heart-warming ones, mostly because of her cheery attitude and humble thankfulness for fan support. JiU commented on hoping to have fans support her well into the future, and hopefully everyone will get a chance to do just that, for UAU debut and beyond.

And speaking of UAU's upcoming debut, that train kept moving right along, with the expected individual and group teasers dropping this past week to much fanfare. Fans have been curious as to what kind of concept this subunit has been going for, and both the pre-order album imagery (with new concepts added through POCA album pre-orders opening) and these stylings seemed to me to give off a more photorealistic vibe that I think I mentioned before when reporting on the group's prior promotional material. It feels a bit more grounded than the main group's storytelling in favor of a presentation that seemed to exude maturity and evolution, and I can't say that's a bad thing as it intrigues me insofar as what they might be going for. One wonders how the music will match up to the pictures, but with our first teases of audio coming this week, we won't have to wait for much longer.

Yet even in the midst of comeback scheduling that we expected, UAU was dropping surprises, like the confirmation that the subunit will be holding their first FanCon in Taipei in mid-June. Fancons at least from other industry examples are a bit more informal affairs, with some music but also some other presentation to show off and display a group's trademark and vision. Taiwan will get to see this live for the first time in two sessions, but more importantly, the news of travel for this subunit begs the question of whether or not we'll see them heading out to other places to promote themselves. For now, this is a nice surprise for fans in the SEA region and hopefully, we'll see some support for UAU's new music and concept.

Yet even with all of this news about solo work and subunit promotions, news about the group as a whole is always welcome. The full group appearance of Dreamcatcher on YouTube channel dingo live was the first variety appearance since exclusive contract end, the result of winning a poll earlier in the year to appear on the channel. And though there was only the choice of a single song to perform, that song, in the form of 2018 first fan song "Full Moon", seemed wholly appropriate for the group to sing together.

Despite a lot of emotion going around in the fandom since the exclusive contract era ended, one of the most difficult challenges has been the uncertainty of group activity. Appearances like this one, I think, help alleviate those fears somewhat, ensuring that regardless of how often it will happen in the coming years, that there's full intent to do so if it's at all possible for everyone. We don't know the future, but what we do know is that Dreamcatcher as a group still has the fans on their minds, and choosing a fan song from their expansive discography seemed to be the best way to communicate that. Either way, as the schedule gets busier and Dreamcatcher as a group continues forward with both surprises and expected new endeavors, you can count on me reporting on them, so for all that and more, I'll see you here next time! Be sure to subscribe below so you don't miss out, and pass the word to your fellow Dreamcatcher fan friends to do the same!