FYEAH YODA

With already two years of wins at the Teen Choice Awards, Rebel Army Records soloist and CEO Yoda is back with two more nominations: once again for Choice International Artist and the new one with Choice Fandom. Fans are over the moon seeing Yoda nominated for the awards once again and are already flocking to the website to vote for him themselves, expressing their pride of him to be nominated alongside artists such as BTS and BlackPink. 

Yoda has won an award both years that he was nominated and he hopes to take home a third this year as well. Alongside the nominates Yoda has been added to the performance artist list. Though nothing has been confirmed fans speculate that he will be performing a solo version off of his recent comeback album WITHU such as Broken Heart Syndrome and his title track WITHU.

YODA DONATES MORE THAN HALF OF PROFITS FROM ALBUM ‘WITHU’ TO KOREAN LGBT CAMPAIGN

After the overwhelming success of his album, what Yoda originally decided to be less than half of gross profits from his album, ends up becoming much much more. 

Surprised by the success of his own album, Rebel Army Records soloist and CEO ends up donating more than half of the gross profits from his most recent solo album WITHU to Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea organization. “This organization has been nothing but supportive since my own coming out and they deserve this support more than anything. This is the absolute least that I could do and I hope that this can go a lot way in campaigning and helping to change the minds of the Korean people when it comes to the LGBT community.” 

Yoda came out last year at The MAMA Awards and has since embraced being a public bisexual figure in Korea. He’s stated that he hopes to be a positive influence on the community and for everyone else, helping to teach people respect and understanding. Though he knows he has a long road ahead, he hopes that more campaigns like SLRK will pop up in the country. 

YODA WOWS CROWDS AT OLYMPIC GYMNASTICS STADIUM DURING WITHU SHOWCASE 

After a long wait, Jedi’s finally get their wish with a strong and summer Yoda comeback with his full-length album ‘WITHU’. 

Yoda has once again captured new and old audiences with his ninth full length album ‘WITHU’, the lyrics coming from the heart more than ever before. Though fans were concerned for a bit with the amount of rest he would be getting, considering that their favorite Jedi Master is also part of the lead cast of the musical RENT in Korea, they were rewarded with a bright and chipper performance along with strong dance moves that no one seemed to be expecting. 

With all of his featured artists performing at the showcase, fans were gifted an absolutely amazing lineup: former Mellow member Sophie, soloists Taehee and close friend Akali, alongside powerhouse Penny of the LGBTQ+ positive group 5OGUE. Jedi’s were happy to see him perform with good friends, Yoda seeming to be having the absolute time of his life while performing with them. 

Alongside the performances Yoda also addressed his own sexuality and his desire to be a public figure in the LGBTQ+ community, stating that he is working on divvying up the profits from the album to be sent out to different charities across the country. He hopes that the money will help to make an impact on the LGBTQ+ youth and adults of Korea, wanting to be there for people of all ages. “Coming out was one of the scariest things that I have ever done,” Yoda stated about his performance and coming out at The MAMA Awards in 2018. “I don’t regret it in the slightest, and I am so happy that I get to really be myself with my fans all across the globe. I hope to inspire everyone to be true to themselves. All of my jedis, whether gay, straight, transgender or a-gender, or whatever you are: you will always be loved by me, and you will always have a place with me and my fandom.” 

Make sure to check out Yoda’s performances of WITHU featuring Penny and Body Talk featuring Akali on up and coming music shows! 

CHECK OUT THE SETLIST: 

WITHU feat. Penny of 5OGUE

Body Talk feat. Akali

Separation Anxiety

Lost with You

Dedicated

My Type

Never Alone, Not Forgotten

Stranded

Up All Night

Why Do I Live feat. Sophie 

ALBUM: WITHU ARTIST: Yoda Producer: Yoda, Akali LANGUAGE: Korean, English ALBUM TYPE: Full Length Album

CONCEPT

With a bright spring and summer concept full of bright colors and cheery music, WITHU is Yoda’s ninth full length album since in 2010. Being his first public album release since his formal coming out, Yoda specifies that this album is dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community in Korea. He makes sure the songs are not only gender neutral when it comes to romance, but there are songs mixed in there about how he feels to have come out and no longer being afraid to be himself. With some of his own signature edm sounds mixed in, Yoda shows off a brighter and much happier edge. Yoda has pledged to donate almost half of the gross revenue from the album to LGBTQ+ charities across Korea, saying that they inspired him to come out and be true to who he is. 

Music Video: CLICK HERE

TRACKLIST

WITHU feat. Penny of 5OGUE

Body Talk feat. Akali

Separation Anxiety

Lost with You

Dedicated

My Type

Never Alone, Not Forgotten

Stranded

Up All Night

Why Do I Live feat. Sophie *KOR BONUS

Yoda (요다) — WITHU feat. Penny of 5OGUE MV

YODA CAST IN LEAD IN KOREAN PRODUCTION OF THE HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL ‘RENT’

Touching on a platform that he hasn’t since his debut eight years ago, soloist Yoda will be taking to a smaller stage in a Korean production of the American musical ‘rent’. 

In his first public credit with his birth name, Yeun ‘Yoda’ Sanggil has been cast as the role of Roger in a production of Rent. Rumors have been circulating for a bit about him getting involved in something like this for the past couple of years, what with Sanggil’s musical background from his days of pursuing his education, and it seems that Jedi’s will finally be getting their wish! Rebel Army Records and Seoul Arts Center have confirmed that he has been cast as Roger Davis, an HIV+ former drug addict and lead guitarist that is desperate to get his life back on track in some way but having no idea of how to do so. 

“I am incredibly excited to be a part of this project,” Sanggil said during a quick interview in New York City where he was asked about it after performing his digital single ‘Stardust’ outside of the Disney store on Times Square. “Rent is such an important musical to so many people all over the globe, within the LGBT community, and outside of it as well. I hope to do the character Roger justice.” 

Showings for the musical are rumored to begin at the end of March and run through the middle of May. 

ALBUM: Stardust ARTIST: Yoda Producer: Yoda LANGUAGE: English ALBUM TYPE: Digital Single

CONCEPT

Releasing his second ever track alongside his beloved project Kingdom Hearts, Stardust is an English rap track about the struggles that Sora faced during his time fighting the Heartless, Nobodies, and Organization XII. The title track Stardust, both the explicit and the clean versions, will be included on the official Kingdom Hearts soundtrack to be released by Disney and Square Enix at a later date. Yoda has stated the reasoning for the tracks having a clean and explicit being that he wanted to create something for older fans that have been waiting for this for so long along with a clean version for all of the newer and younger fans coming to support the project. 

TRACKLIST

Stardust feat. Sophie (explicit)

Stardust feat. Sophie (clean)

YODA ADDRESS HIS BISEXUALITY IN V-LIVE STREAM ON NEW YEARS EVE

After coming out publically at the MAMA Awards, soloist Yoda hosts a live stream on platform V-LIVE for his fans all over the globe. 

Fans were left with many questions after Yoda’s performance at the recently passed MAMA Awards but they were all, or rather most, of the questions were answered during the live stream held on Monday night, December 31st. Yoda went on to greet all of his fans first and respond to comments, many of which were in English and Korean, and doing his best to answer questions-- though not quite addressing the ‘issue’ that he had wanted to talk about. 

When finally mentioning his sexuality, Yoda had the following to say. “I’ve always known who I was, ever since I was about twelve or thirteen, and it’s eaten me alive since I started performing that I couldn’t be entirely who I was while promoting. I’ve always left hints for my fans, from the fandom colors I picked with the Rainbow to language in my music-- and even a stage kiss shared with an actor in my last song Rainbow.

“I’m bisexual, it’s who I am and who I always will be-- and I don’t regret coming out. A lot of people have been saying online, and even some people I work with professionally, that I should backtrack, go out and be seen with a woman to try and squash the rumors... say it’s a misunderstanding but I can’t do that. I know what it’s like to not have a support system, to be all alone in the world without someone to look up to... so that’s what I’m going to be. I’m going to do my best to be that voice in Korea that otherwise didn’t exist for the queer community, right alongside artists like Holland and rookie group Vogue.

“I am who I am, and you are who you are. Never ever be ashamed of that and know that, if you are closeted, that I am here for you and I am rooting for you.”

After the speech Yoda seemed to break down a little bit, stepping off camera for a moment to grab a glass of water and wipe away some tears that fans had noted began to fall when he started talking. It was a full two minutes before he eventually came back, eyes red and puffy but still smiling just like he always did. He went on to talk about his schedules, how he would be pushing his tour back a couple of months but everything else would continue as scheduled. “I will still be making my appearance at the Golden Disc Awards and I will still be performing at the Seoul Music Awards. I will, however, be taking a small vacation for myself to Los Angeles this January to try and get my mind back together-- so I will see you guys soon, Californian Jedi’s!”

YODA TO ADDRESS HIS MOST RECENT SCANDAL OF COMING OUT AT THE MAMA AWARDS DURING A LIVE STREAM ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 31ST. 

After what amounted to radio silence from soloist Yoda after the breaking news of him being bisexual hit the tabloids, Rebel Army Records, The Walt Disney Company, and Yoda himself have finally given a comment on what has happened. 

Though Yoda hasn’t said much himself outside of announcing the live stream on V-LIVE, a spokesperson from Rebel Army Records and The Walt Disney Company have come forward with their support for the artist. 

Rebel Army Records spokesperson had the following to say about Yoda’s coming out: “We as a company respect our CEO’s decision to come out, though he wishes for it to have happened in a more controlled environment. We support his decision and we hope that Jedi’s and Korea will support him as well.”

The Walt Disney Company’s comment was a little more ambiguous but supportive nonetheless, though it almost seems to leave more questions than answers: “Our artist Yeun Sanggil, better known as Yoda, will continue to be supported by the Walt Disney Company in future endeavors. Nothing has changed with his contract nor will it in the next couple of years to come.”

YODA IS TRENDING ON DISPATCH FOR HIS SPEECH DURING HIS PERFORMANCE OF ‘RAINBOW’ DURING THE 2018 MAMA AWARDS

Becoming a trending topic on Dispatch is not a mystery to the Rebel Army Records soloist, but becoming a trending topic for his sexuality is totally new -- and the Korean Netizen comments about the words he spoke while performing his pride anthem Rainbow are not pleasant. 

During the 2018 MAMA Awards, Yoda performed his famous LGBT pride anthem ‘Rainbow’, a song released during pride week in Korea as a celebration of all types of sexualities, relationships, and types a people. The song created a lot of positive feedback from fans not only in Korea but from all over the world, many saying that it was about time for a Korean artist to come forward with support for the LGBT community in South Korea. Alongside that were a bunch of negative comments as well, many stating that he shouldn’t stick his nose where it doesn’t belong and keep to making music, not a political statement. 

Many of those comments have come back full circle with the speech that Yoda gave mid-performance of Rainbow. You can read the full translation down below: 

[ TRANSLATION ] “I wrote Rainbow as a way to give minorities in Korea a voice, to give the LGBT community in Korea a voice that they didn’t have before. I’ve dated women and I’ve dated men. I have seen and experienced prejudice first hand. This is song is for you, I love you guys!”

The performance continued on without a hitch and for a couple of days this stayed out of the media, until a fantaken video of the performance began to trend on Twitter and YouTube, bringing Yoda’s comments to the forefront. Fans began to call Yoda out about not only his comments towards the LGBT community, but began to seriously question the idols sexuality as well. Many comments were along the lines of “did oppa just come out?” “is yoda bisexual...?” and harsher ones like “i always knew he was a f****t” as well. However there were lots of positive comments all over social media, his fans, known as Jedi’s, banding together to protect him and say just how brave he was for saying this out loud. 

At the time Yoda nor Rebel Army Records could be reached for a comment. 

YODA TAKES HOME WIN AT MAMA FOR ‘BEST MALE ARTIST’ AND ‘SONG OF THE YEAR’

After an incredibly busy and successful year, soloist and CEO of Rebel Army Records Yoda takes home one of the most coveted wins. Though he lost one of the other categories he was nominated for, the soloist expressed incredible gratitude. 

When called to the stage to accept his awards Yoda was moved both times, but it wasn’t until figuring out that he had won ‘Song of the Year’, a win for his comeback in March with Boom, that he actually broke down. Barely able to speak the first few times he tried to give a speech from trying to hold back tears, Yoda eventually manages to grip onto the microphone and give a heartfelt thank you to Jedi’s, expressing his immense gratitude for how much they have stuck by his side for the past eight years. “Thank you so much for your support not only this year but for the past eight years. You guys, my Jedi’s, are my absolute lifesavers and without you guys I wouldn’t be able to stand on this stage. I know that last year I didn’t do much as I was focusing on my health, but this year you guys stuck by me and helped to bring me here.”

ALBUM: Present ARTIST: Yoda Producer: Yoda LANGUAGE: Korean, English ALBUM TYPE: Mini-Album

CONCEPT

Marking his formal foray into the world of holiday music, Rebel Army Records CEO and soloist Yoda releases his album PRESENT right in time to be streamed during the holidays. With a mix of bright chipper sounds as well as power ballads, such as the long awaited duet between himself and soloist Chaeyeong. All songs are self-written by himself, with notes after he lyrics in the booklets about what each song means to him as an artist and how it reflects his personal love of the holiday time. 

TRACKLIST

Thank You, Santa!

Please Stay feat. Chaeyeong

Snowdrift feat. Callum of Tropikal

I’ll Love You This Christmas

ALBUM: Regality ARTIST: Yoda Producer: Yoda LANGUAGE: Korean, English, Japanese ALBUM TYPE: Full Length Album 

CONCEPT

With a mix between a few darker songs and a bunch of brighter sounds as well, Yoda comes fourth with a powerful full length album for his eighth anniversary as an artist. Fans are given a special treat with a song featuring old friend Akali, an artist that Jedi’s know is incredibly close to their beloved international star. Regality focuses on how he has grown as an artist. With some slower tracks, acoustic numbers, as well as darker sounds he gives off some new and old vibes through songs like ‘Deranged’ and ‘Alone with You’. 

Music Video: CLICK HERE

TRACKLIST

Intro: Reign

Regality (Title)

Rainbow

Deranged

Ridealong (Eng.)

Got What it Takes

Alone With You

Maturing

Technicolor 

Runaway (Feat. JD of Chap9)

Touch (Feat. Akali)

Me, Myself, and I

Ridealong (Kor.)

Got What it Takes (Jpn.)

Yoda (요다) — Regality MV

YODA TO COMPOSE SOUNDTRACK FOR STOP MOTION PICTURE

In a ground breaking career opportunity, Rebel Army Records CEO and soloist Yoda will be composing the soundtrack for an up and coming stop motion film.