Girl group Dreamcatcher held an online media showcase Friday to promote its latest EP, “Summer Holiday.” 

It has been six months since the band wrapped up its “Dystopia” series with “Dystopia: Road to Utopia,” and the musicians are enjoying a breather before they embark on a new narrative.

“We’ve prepared special new songs to let InSomnias all over the world feel cool just by listening to them,” said Gahyun, referring to the band’s official fandom.

The track “BEcause” mixes the group’s signature metal rock sounds with those of string instruments, and deals with obsession and a desire for love.

“It expresses how love has gotten out of hand and become obsession,” explained Dami, “and borders on occult as our voices blend with string sounds.”

The bandmates compared the EP to a horror movie fit for a scorching summer, and Handong added that they would like to keep listeners from feeling the heat with their unique songs.

Twice tops Oricon chart with 3rd Japanese LP

Twice rose to the top of Oricon’s daily albums chart with its third full-length Japanese album, “Perfect World.”

The title track from the LP landed atop real-time charts in Japan when it was released in advance in June. The music video garnered 10 million views in three days -- the shortest time for a song officially released in Japan.

On Wednesday, the bandmates hosted a livestream to promote the LP and a total of 480,000 viewers tuned in. The band introduced each of the 10 tracks and talked about the process of creating the album, before performing “Perfect World.”

The performers also thanked their fans as they marked the fourth anniversary of their debut in Japan.

“We will continue to do our best heading for the fifth anniversary,” promised Sana.

Jihyo said fans’ love was always abundant upon each new release, and she asked fans to keep their expectations high.

BTS’ V sets record on Spotify with solo songs

V of BTS became the first K-pop artist to have five songs with over 70 million streams on Spotify.

“It’s Definitely You,” from the original soundtrack for 2016 Korean drama “Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth,” in which V made his debut on the small screen, surpassed 70 million streams on the global music streaming platform. He had already achieved the same feat with four of his solo songs: “Singularity,” “Sweet Night,” “Stigma” and “Inner Child.”

It is also yet another record for V as a solo artist.

“Sweet Night” topped iTunes’ top songs charts in 118 regions, the most for any song ever. V is also the first solo musician to have two No. 1 songs on the chart: “Sweet Night” and “Inner Child.”
 
With “Stigma,” he has also put three songs on Billboard’s world digital song sales chart, becoming the only K-pop solo artist to do so.

CIX’s Bae Jinyoung tries acting 

Bae Jinyoung of CIX is venturing into acting and will star in a web drama, agency C9 Entertainment announced Friday.

He has been cast as the male lead in “@AccountDeleted,” a teen romance. He plays the most popular boy at his high school, a character who acts haughty but is actually soft and indecisive. The drama will start airing in November.

Bae has been a member of CIX since July 2019 after a brief stint as a solo musician. He was also part of Wanna One along with NU’EST’s Hwang Minhyun and AB6IX’s Lee Daehwi.

Meanwhile, CIX is coming out with its first studio album, “OK Prologue: Be OK,” Aug. 17. It has dropped individual photographs of its members all week, heightening expectations for the upcoming LP. The band recently celebrated the second anniversary of its debut with fans at an event called 2021 FIX Week.