Xdinary Heroes cancels Summer Sonic 2026 shows after Gunil leaves band

Rock band Xdinary Heroes canceled its performances at the Japanese music festival Summer Sonic 2026 just a day before the festival's opening date, following the abrupt departure of member Gunil earlier on Thursday.

“Xdinary Heroes’ performances have been canceled following its agency's [JYP Entertainment] decision to withdraw from the festival,” the festival said in a notice posted on social media Thursday.

The band was scheduled to perform on the Pacific Stage in Tokyo on Friday and the Massive Stage in Osaka on Sunday.

“We apologize to everyone who was looking forward to the performances and thank you for your understanding,” the festival said.

The festival added that no other artist would replace Xdinary Heroes in the scheduled slots and that no refunds would be issued over the cancellations.

The band’s agency announced earlier Thursday that the band's drummer, Gunil, had left the band. The announcement came after controversy arose over an online post alleging that he had made disparaging remarks about fans.

The poster, who claimed to be the drummer’s former girlfriend, alleged that he “often insults fans and is very different from how he normally behaves and appears on broadcasts.” The poster added that they had felt uncomfortable and wanted to speak out but had kept it to themselves before eventually deciding to make the allegations public because “seeing him on a broadcast made it especially difficult.”

Xdinary Heroes debuted in December 2021 and is known for tracks including “Happy Death Day” (2021), “Hello, World!” (2022), “Deadlock” (2023), “FiRE (My Sweet Misery)” (2025) and “X room.”

Now a five-member band, Xdinary Heroes consists of Jooyeon, Jungsu, Gaon, Jun Han and O.de.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]