Entertainment
Suga Writes Letter to Fans, Marking End of Mandatory Military Service for BTS

Suga, rapper and songwriter in the global K-pop sensation BTS, is discharged from South Korea’s mandatory military service as of Saturday (June 21), marking the official return of all seven members from their enlistment duties.
The group’s representatives, BIG Hit, confirmed on Wednesday that Suga was nearing completion of his service duties after using up his remaining leave. His official discharge date is Saturday.
BIG Hit had said earlier that no events were planned for Suga’s release out of concern for overcrowding.
It is a momentous occasion for fans of BTS, known as BTS ARMY. The seven singers of the superstar K-pop band plan to reunite as a group sometime in 2025 now that they’ve finished their service.
Last week, BTS members RM and V were discharged from South Korea’s military after fulfilling their mandatory service. Jimin and Jung Kook were discharged a day later. All four were enlisted in December 2023.
Jin, the oldest BTS member, was discharged in June 2024. J-Hope was discharged in October.
Six of the group’s seven members served in the army, while Suga fulfilled his duty as a social service agent, an alternative form of military service, due to a prior shoulder injury.
In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 are required by law to perform 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.
The law gives special exemptions to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers if they have obtained top prizes in certain competitions and are assessed to have enhanced national prestige. K-pop stars and other entertainers aren’t subject to such privileges.
However, in 2020, BTS postponed their service until age 30 after South Korea’s National Assembly revised its Military Service Act, allowing K-pop stars to delay their enlistment until 30.
There was heated public debate in 2022 over whether to offer special exemptions of mandatory military service for BTS’ members, until the group’s management agency announced in October 2022 that all seven members would fulfill their duties.
On Saturday, Suga wrote to BTS ARMY directly in a letter addressed to fans posted on Weverse, HYBE’s social media/fandom platform.
Noting that he’s missed his fans and that he’s been thinking about how he’d reconnect with them, Suga reflected on BTS’ two-year hiatus. “I think I had two years to think about myself,” he wrote, in part, saying he’d “been running forward, but this time has been an opportunity to look back on myself.”
“Dear ARMY, thank you for your patience and thank you very much. And I’m sorry for making you disappointed and worried about what happened last year. Above all, it was so upsetting that it hurt the fans’ hearts. I felt sorry for the members who must have felt heavy in their seats because of me,” wrote Suga, presumably in reference to an incident in 2024 in which he faced license suspension and fines for driving an electric scooter while intoxicated. At the time, Suga apologized to “everyone who was hurt by [his] careless and wrong actions,” and later said, “It’s all my fault. My carelessness is giving everyone who cares about me a hard time. I will try not to do anything wrong again and live with repentance.”
In his letter on Saturday, Suga wrote, “In the future, we will try our best to repay the love you have given us. I love you.”
Read Suga’s June 21 message to the BTS ARMY in its entirety, as translated in English:
“Hello, everyone. Nice to meet you. It’s a SUGA.
It’s been about two years. How have you all been.
It’s been a long time since I was called off today.
It’s a day I’ve been waiting for and it’s been a long time, so I had a lot of thoughts on how to say hello.
First of all, I wanted to say thank you to the fans who have been waiting for us. I really missed you.
I think I had two years to think about myself.
In particular, I wanted to take a step away from what I had been doing for a long time.
In the meantime, I have not been able to look back on myself because I have been running forward, but this time has been an opportunity to look back on myself.
Dear ARMY, thank you for your patience and thank you very much.
And I’m sorry for making you disappointed and worried about what happened last year.
Above all, it was so upsetting that it hurt the fans’ hearts.
I felt sorry for the members who must have felt heavy in their seats because of me.
In the future, we will try our best to repay the love you have given us.
I love you. Everyone, I’ll keep you posted from time to time.”
Entertainment
No ‘Good’ Deed Goes Unpunished for Ariana Grande’s Glinda in Final ‘Wicked: For Good’ Trailer

In the final trailer for Wicked: For Good, Ariana Grande‘s character learns that a big price comes with being Glinda the Good.
Released on Wednesday (Sept. 24) — about two months before the Wicked sequel finally premieres in theaters on Nov. 21 — the preview shows how the blonde leading lady wrestles with her new role as Oz’s spokeswoman, as Cynthia Erivo‘s Elphaba attempts to expose the Wizard’s evil agenda while living in hiding. At first, Glinda is “obsess-ulated” with the gorgeous gown, tiara and mechanical flying bubble her public-facing life affords her — but everything quickly comes crashing down when she realizes that she’s on the wrong side of history, and that she just might be too late to save her former schoolmate from the wrath of Oz’s brainwashed citizens.
“I’m a public figure now, people expect me to …,” Glinda tells Elphaba at one point, with Dorothy’s fallen house and the Yellow Brick Road visible in the background.
“Lie?” the green-skinned witch cuts in, to which Glinda says defensively, “Be encouraging.”
Grande’s character is less sure of herself when she is confronted by Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero, who accuses, “You can’t resist this.”
“Who could?” Glinda asks, to which the Winkie prince replies, “You know who could.”
Arriving one year after the first Wicked hit theaters and shattered movie-musical box-office records, For Good will serve as the film adaptation of the second act of the Broadway musical on which the live-actions are based. The soundtrack will also drop on Nov. 21, complete with two brand new songs sung by Grande and Erivo.
As revealed when the tracklist dropped a week prior to the new trailer, the title of Glinda’s bonus song is “The Girl in the Bubble,” while Elphaba’s added balled is called “No Place Like Home.”
Watch the final trailer for Wicked: For Good above.
Entertainment
Priscilla Presley Says That Leaving Elvis Presley Was ‘The Only Way to Survive’ in New Memoir ‘Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis’

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Priscilla Presley was with Elvis Presley for around 14 years before they split; however, the pair had known each other for years before they wed in 1967.
The time in between and following Priscilla and Elvis’ divorce was a tough spot for Priscilla, and one she wasn’t super open about — that is, until now. In her new memoir Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis, the actress shares the difficult but inspiring journey beyond the walls of Graceland post-split with the King, choosing to put herself and her daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, first.
A hardcover version of the book is now on sale and can be purchased now on Amazon for $22.38, while paperback will run you $32. A Kindle version retails for $15.99. If you’re a superfan of Priscilla and the Presley family, you can also snag a signed version of the memoir via Barnes & Noble for $32. The piece makes a great gift for the avid Elvis collector in your life. If you’d rather listen to the memoir, we won’t judge, you can do so with Audible via a subscription which costs $7.95 a month, a price tag less than a physical copy.
Softly, As I Leave You: Life After Elvis
A new memoir by Priscilla Presley.
If you didn’t know, Priscilla met Elvis when she was just 14 and he was 24. The singer was serving in the U.S. Army in 1959 in Germany. The pair remained romantically connected for years, even with distance between them and in 1967, they were wed in a simple and very secret ceremony in Las Vegas. While their separation in 1973 was painful for Priscilla, this novel highlights why it was so important for the Naked Gun star to leave.
It seems that Priscilla lost touch with herself throughout her relationship with Elvis. Leaving allowed her to find herself again. Through the book, we are treated to snippets of Priscilla’s life pre- and post-Elvis and how she had to reinvent herself a second time as the single mother after the performer’s death in 1977.
Today, we are taken through how Priscilla was able to transform Graceland into an international destination and helped guide the development of Elvis Presley Enterprises, turning the King’s legacy into a full-on business. If you are an Elvis fan, this gives readers a unique perspective on his life, as told by his ex-wife. It also gives Priscilla’s story more context for those who aren’t too familiar with her life and career.
Entertainment
Calvin Harris’ Ex-Business Manager Denies $22M Fraud Claims: ‘Categorically False’

Calvin Harris‘ former longtime business manager is firing back against bombshell fraud claims, saying he never stole from anybody and that the Scottish DJ willingly agreed to invest in his Los Angeles real estate development project.
Thomas St. John, an entertainment industry-focused accountant who runs the eponymous firm Thomas St. John Group, is currently wrapped up in thorny arbitration proceedings with his former client Harris (Adam Wiles). He’s accused of abusing his access to Harris’ accounts in order to fund his side venture: the construction of a recording studio and office space complex in Hollywood.
Harris claims that St. John tricked him into investing $22.5 million in the project, known as CMNTY Culture Campus, which he says turned out to be a “complete boondoggle” that he “has not received a single penny in return for” — while suggesting that St. John pocketed much of the money for himself.
However, a representative for St. John says in a new statement that the allegations are “categorically false.” The rep denies that St. John engaged in any self-dealing, adding that Harris is one of nine above-board investors who “knowingly signed investment agreements” to get involved in CMNTY Culture.
“Not a single dollar has been misappropriated, all investor entitlements remain intact, and the project continues to advance within the normal entitlement timeline,” says St. John’s rep in the Tuesday (Sept. 23) statement. “We will continue to take every necessary step to set the record straight and to ensure that these malicious, bad-faith attacks are recognized for what they are: entirely without merit.”
While CMNTY Culture was initially designed to house a recording studio and office space, St. John has since shifted the plans and is now developing a residential apartment complex on the same tract of land in Hollywood. According to his rep, the project is proceeding apace and “is expected to approach a $1 billion valuation” upon completion.
“While the entitlement process has naturally taken longer than initially projected due to unprecedented interest, macroeconomic conditions and significant city red tape, it remains firmly within its promised schedule and is now on the verge of securing final entitlements, an important milestone that will unlock substantial value,” adds St. John’s rep.
Thomas St. John Group has offices in Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam and Stockholm. The management firm’s U.S. arm recently filed for bankruptcy, citing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent in L.A. and multiple pending legal actions.
One creditor listed in the firm’s bankruptcy papers is Philip Lawrence, a songwriter and producer who made his name collaborating with Bruno Mars. Lawrence used to be a client of St. John’s and at one point invested $10 million from the sale of his catalog into CMNTY Culture Campus, according to court filings in Lawrence’s own personal bankruptcy case.
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