October is set to be a star-studded month with a long list of K-pop acts who have announced their return to the scene with the release of new albums or EPs.

Some of next month’s highly anticipated releases include K-pop idols IU, T-ara, Nine Muses and Kim Jae-joong of JYJ.

However, the list doesn’t end there: Other scheduled K-pop releases include new beats from groups such as Block B, Boys Republic, Monday Kids and others. Superstar rapper Psy previously stated that his upcoming studio album was to be released sometime this month, but no new updates have been announced regarding its status.

IU “Modern Times”

Twenty-year-old K-pop starlet IU will be shifting gears to a more mature and sophisticated sound and image with her upcoming third full album “Modern Times,” which will drop on Oct. 7.

The soon-to-be-released 13-track album (which includes one bonus track) is said to feature songs of a wide variety of genres including swing, folk, bossa nova, Latin pop and more. “Modern Times” also contains two of the singer’s self-composed singles, titled “Voice Mail” and “A Day I Hate.”

IU recently released a teaser clip of one of the singles from the new album titled “Between the Lips (50 cm).” The track has a European-style burlesque jazz sound to it, which is a big shift from the young singer’s K-pop roots. 

T-ara “T-ara’s Effect”

Despite the controversy that surrounded the K-pop idol group T-ara over the past year regarding member Hwa-young’s decision to leave the group because she was allegedly bullied by the other members, the remaining members are returning to the scene with the upcoming album “T-ara’s Effect.”

Although rumors circulated that newest group member Dani would make her official debut with T-ara through the new album, the group’s agency Core Contents Media announced that this will not happen quite yet and that T-ara will be promoted as a six-member band for the time being.

“T-ara’s Effects” is slated to be released on Oct. 10.

Nine Muses

More than three years since their debut, the ladies of Nine Muses are finally gearing up to release the group’s first full studio album. The yet-to-be-titled album is scheduled to be released sometime next month.

The women of Nine Muses made their debut back in 2010 with the track “No Playboy” from the group’s first single “Let’s Have a Party.” Since its debut, the group has released a string of singles but was oftentimes overshadowed by other more popular releases.

In January, Nine Muses released its comeback single “Dolls” and landed a spot on the top 10 list of several local real-time charts, marking the group’s first strong release. The girls later released the sexy, electro-pop follow-up single “Wild,” along with the accompanying EP in May. 

Kim Jae-joong

Idol star Kim Jae-joong of the JYJ trio is making his return as a soloist with the announcement that he is planning to release his first solo studio album at the end of October, according to a representative at C-JeS Entertainment.

In January, Kim transformed himself into a rocker for the release of his solo debut EP album “I.” The five-track album topped the weekly charts in Korea as well as breaking the record for preorders in Japan.

It has been reported that the artist’s first full studio album will be another rock-type album and Kim will be going on tour after its release. Although the star’s agency did not reveal the locations of the tour, it was announced that tour would not be exclusive to Korea.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)