IU's upcoming album Love Poem will not be released on Nov. 1, as earlier announced. The singer's label announced that the decision was made after the sudden death of Sulli, who is known to be a good friend of IU.
According to the announcement of Kakao M, the pre-release of Love Poem will be canceled in the meantime. The label also announced that IU's new schedule will be released at another time. They appealed for understanding from her fans since the artist is dealing with a huge loss, All Kpop reported.
IU and Sulli have been good friends for a long time. It can be recalled that, in 2012, IU even wrote the song Peach from the perspective of a man who is thinking of her friend. The song has, currently, re-entered the Top 100 of music charts like Melon, Genie, and Bugs after news of Sulli's death broke out.
Most recently, the pair appeared together in the drama Hotel del Luna, which was top-billed by IU. It was reported that Sulli appeared in a cameo upon her friend's request and even dyed her hair black for her brief role.
IU and Sulli were spotted enjoying each other's company during breaks. Sulli even gifted her friend with a food truck to cheer her on for the filming of the drama.
In her social media post, IU shared her friend's sweet gesture and thanked her for supporting their evening shoot. She even used Sulli's real name in her thank you post, showing their close relationship.
Following news of Sulli's death, agencies are being called upon to pay more attention to their artists' conditions. While Sulli's death has yet to be confirmed by police as a suicide, she was not the first case of a celebrity who tried to take her own life due to depression, Asia One reported.
Among one of the most recent cases of suicide was of Sulli's good friend Jonghyun, a member of SHINEE. In his suicide note, Jonghyun opened up about his tiredness and struggles with his sadness that he chose to end his own life. He was only 27 at the time of his death.
Ha Ji Won's brother Jeon Tae Soo, who also appeared in several dramas, suffered through mental health problems and took his own life at the age of 34.
Veteran actress Jeon Mi Seon also committed suicide early this year after a series of emotional challenges affecting her family. She was reportedly receiving treatment for depression at the time, her agency stated.
