Dreamcatcher Continues Busy May Schedule In 2025 With Group, Subunit, And Solo Updates

The final lead-up to release of new music for Dreamcatcher has always been exciting for me, personally. While many other groups do the same pre-release routine, the mystery and intrigue that surround a Dreamcatcher build-up, from Mystery Code to final MV Preview, has always given a sense of intrigue. I'm of course biased, but feel Dreamcatcher has been some of the best at doing this when teasing out releases.

This time around, with Dreamcatcher subunit UAU's debut right around the corner, we're seeing that intrigue on multiple levels, from music style to concept. But they're also not the only ones creating a sense of mystery around content - some of the other members of Dreamcatcher have been doing the same. Let's take a look at last week's mystery-inducing news!

Handong dropped a surprise music release, her third solo effort "Fairy", onto music platforms last week, and followed it up with a small Weibo stream. We heard a few insight sabout her recording process, how it felt to do work on her own, and some other fun behind the scenes tidbits, like that it was originally in English and that there's a small but cute choreography that goes with the song. In general, Dreamcatcher fans are happy that Handong is busy doing her own thing and having people take interest in it, so the livestream was the bonus cherry on top. Here's to seeing more!

Handong wasn't the only Dreamcatcher member to check in this past week, as Gahyun made her way onto Instagram to do a brief video with fans. Dreamcatcher's youngest member let us know she's been taking a bit of a mental break lately, though she has been doing some things in the background. One thing mentioned was the potential for YouTube, though without a dedicated editor we may see mostly reels or shorts for now. The live was also a way for Gahyun to chat with the fans she's missed, so whether we see it on YouTube or Instagram in the future, there will hopefully be a lot to look forward to.

But of course when it comes to looking forward to things, a lot of Dreamcatcher fan eyes were on subunit UAU's march to release, and they got their first audio taste of what might be upcoming this past week.

If UAU has been setting the tone in any particular way, it's in planting their flag into the ground and saying that their subunit is distinct and unique from the main group in many ways. This started off with the "?" portion of the debut scheduler on the 21st, which turned out to be an instrumental medley of the four songs on UAU's debut album "Playlist".

These are the kinds of things normally reserved for "next week" music show previews, which often obscure most of the instrumentals and all of the vocals so as not to reveal too much. This just happened to be compiled into official content, combined with a visual teaser of what fans might see in the album's photobooks.

But if that wasn't enough to tell you UAU was going to be different in a lot of ways from Dreamcatcher, the Highlight Medley would have communicated that for sure. The medley was way different than any other Dreamcatcher Highlight Medley we've seen historically from the group for a couple of reasons:

• The medley was almost 6 minutes long, providing a heaping appetizer for all four songs when previously only a few seconds would be used.
• The video was a static shot of JiU, SuA, and Yoohyeon enjoying a nice bottle of wine and some light snacks in a bar, rather than the photoshoot/concept visuals that have gone by in the past.

And then there was the music - with a significant amount of English-language lyrics, topics that seemingly addressed relationships, growth and individuality, and a style that appeared to eschew the core Dreamcatcher rock/pop core sound for a chill and lo-fi set of tracks, UAU wanted to send a message that this was going to be its own thing standing on its own.

While this is risky on a variety of levels, especially given what the group as a whole is known for, I also think that it's a statement made that the rock/pop style of Dreamcatcher is only truly Dreamcatcher-like with all of its members participating. Making UAU a different style subunit acknowledges this and also allows the members of the subunit to explore new stuff - an impressive feat given how many genres Dreamcatcher has touched on in eight years. Though I'm one of the folks who got into the group due to their rock-influence, the fact that I enjoy a ton of their b-side content makes me open to enjoying UAU's offerings as well.

Yet for those fans still craving group content, they mostly got their wish this weekend at the 2025 G-KPOP concert, where most of Dreamcatcher (minus Handong, busy in China) got to perform all together again. The four-song set, which included consistent concert fixtures "Scream" and "BOCA" alongside high energy b-sides "Wake Up" and "Mayday", was a nice dose of Dreamcatcher group content that people have wanted. It also, once again, displayed that if they can, they'll get as many members of the group together to do things as possible. That aside, the fact that in this past week we've seen or heard from all of Dreamcatcher is reassurance that they'll continue to be as out there as they can be in the post-exclusive contract era.

UAU's debut is this week, so be on the lookout for the report on that and my album review of "Playlist". For all that and more, I'll see you here next time! Be sure to subscribe below if you don't want to miss updates delivered straight to your e-mail inbox!