Following the recent announcement that Star Empire Entertainment's boy band would officially be changing their name from Child of Empire to ZE:A (shorthand for Children of Empire in Korean), the 9 rookies received a wave of criticism from fans of Brown Eyed Girls. In particular, fans of Jea are strongly protesting ZE:A's new name as it sounds dangerously close to that of their beloved Brown Eyed Girls leader. They have even pestered the Star Empire office with phone calls to resolve the issue. Unfortunately, this is not the first time where the public has protested against similar names between newcomer and veteran singers. 2NE1, who originally planned to debut as 21, was forced to change their name because of its resemblance to male singer To Anyone. In addition, BEAST's Lee Ki Kwang experienced the same situation during his activities as a solo singer. AJ (Ace Junior), the youngest member of Paran, and his loyal fans demanded that AJ (Lee Ki Kwang) give up his name, whereby Cube Entertainment succumbed and consequently became another victim of netizens' protest. However, unlike the two former cases mentioned above, ZE:A and Jea of Brown Eyed Girls are bound to be active in the music scene simultaneously, which may become a conflict for both parties involved. Fans are now awaiting Star Empire Entertainment's next move. With ZE:A's debut just around the corner (January 7th), will they undergo yet another name change or will their agency endure against the persistent criticism of crazed fans?
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