Twice entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 with their 12th EP, “Ready To Be,” Billboard announced in advance of the chart's full release on Monday.

It is the highest spot on the main albums chart for the nine-member act, whose previous EP, “Between 1＆2” and third studio album, “Formula of Love: O+T=〈3” each ranked No. 3.

The group is the second K-pop girl group to notch the No. 2 spot, after Blackpink.

The EP sold over 1.7 million copies in pre-orders and is likely to become its second million-seller following the group's 11th EP.

Twice performed “Set Me Free,” the main track from the 12th EP, on stage for the first time on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on March 10.

Meanwhile, the nonet will kick off its fifth international tour next month. It is holding two concerts in Seoul in mid-April and will be in 13 cities in Australia, Japan and North America for 15 concerts.

Kep1er to return with 4th EP ‘Lovestruck!’

Kep1er will bring out its fourth EP on April 10, announced its agencies, WakeOne and Swing Entertainment, on Monday.

The nine-member team released its second single in Japan last week, about six months since its third EP, “Troubleshooter.”

Before dropping the single album, the rookie group appeared in a series of television music shows there, and is set to tour Japan for the first time from May. It will visit three cities in the country – Tokyo, Nagoya and Kobe – and hold two concerts in each city. Kep1er drew a total of 20,000 audience members through its debut showcase in Japan last year.

The group went live in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday, as part of the lineup for KCON 2023 Thailand held over the weekend.

The Black Label denies signing with ex-Nmixx Jinni

The Black Label dismissed claims that it signed with Jinni, formerly of Nmixx, on Monday.

“It is not true (that we signed a contract with Jinni) and there has been no discussion whatsoever,” said the company. Rumors have been circulating online after Peter Chun, international promotional director at the company, was found to be “following” Jinni on Instagram.

She quit the seven-member group in December last year and terminated her contract with then-label JYP Entertainment, where she has trained for seven years, only citing that it is for personal reasons. It was only 10 months since the group debuted.

She opened her personal Instagram account and said hello to her fans on Saturday, posting several pictures of herself, after keeping mum for three months.

In the meantime, Nmixx, with six members, put out its first EP, “expergo,” on Monday.

Kingdom, backed by iTunes, to greet fans online

Boy band Kingdom will host an online fan meeting event, in time for the release of its sixth EP, according to agency GF Entertainment on Monday.

It is part of collaborative promotional activities with Apple Music.

The seven bandmates will celebrate the launch of the EP, “History of Kingdom: Part VI. Mujin,” with the event, in which they will have a question-and-answer session in real time. The specific date for the meeting will be announced later.

On Monday, the band unveiled the tracklist for the upcoming album, which will consist of seven tracks, including lead track “Dystopia.” The EP is the sixth of its eight-part series and will be themed, “kingdom of cherry blossom,” headed by Mujin.

By Hwang You-mee
(glamazon@heraldcorp.com)