Ateez surprised fans with an image that was uploaded on its official SNS account.

With the image of a green blossoming tree in the sea of cloud, it said: “From The New World 2021. 03. 01 6 p.m.”

A close look at the tree shows a number of objects –- a black fedora, a pirate ship and a doll -– that have symbolized the boy band’s world view since previous album.

The fact that the phrase was also used as a title for the special performance it put on a recent award ceremony in addition to the changes in hairstyles of the members got fans excited about the pending return.

The eight-piece act ranked No. 3 and No. 10 in Twitter’s Top 10 fastest-rising K-pop artists in the world and Top 10 most-mentioned K-pop artists in the world, respectively, for last year. It also showed the most increase in the number of online fandom community for two consecutive months, according to a web site data.

G(I)-dle’s “HWAA” goes electronic by EDM DJ duo

G(I)-dle put out remixed arrangement of “HWAA,” title track from its fourth EP “I Burn” on Friday.

The female band has joined hands with Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike, a Belgian/Greek duo that ranked top on 2019 DJ MAG Top 100. This is the first time for the band to collaborate with an international music figure.

The celebrated DJ duo added its signature addictive beats and strong sounds to the unique voices of the group while mixing the lyrics in Korean and English.

The six-piece act has swept across music charts and television music shows in Korea with the moombahton number since it was released early last month. The music video drew over 50 million viewings on YouTube.

The EP sold over 115,000 units, setting a record for the band, in the first week. It ranked No. 1 on iTunes albums charts in 52 regions around the world and the song No. 5 on Billboard’s K-Pop 100 and No. 8 on World Digital Song Sales chart.

Kang Daniel to return with autobiographic single

Kang Daniel is coming back after six months with a digital single titled “Paranoia” on Feb. 16, announced his company on Friday.

The singer has participated in writing the lyrics that would sing about what he has hidden deep inside. The fact that he has taken more initiative from the production stage signals a leap to the next stage as a solo musician.

Kang has been dropping hints about the new song through a series of snippets, first the date of return, Feb. 16, and then the title of the song. The black and red trailers switching between different sides is dreamy yet imposing at the same time, raising expectations for his fans.

“Paranoia” is an about-face from his previous EPs “Cyan” and “Magenta” and is likely to set the tone for the last installment of his “Color” series.

In time for the release of new music, he will also star in a 10-part original entertainment series named “Agent Blackjack” on Universe, a K-pop platform recently launched by NCSoft.

NiziU to become faces of H&M  

NiziU has been selected as fast fashion giant H&M’s Asian ambassador, said JYP Entertainment on Friday.

The girl group will become the face of the moment for the Swedish retailer under “H&M (heart) NiziU” campaign that will be rolled out in about 500 outlets in eight countries from China to Malaysia on Feb. 18. The 2021 spring/summer campaign will be the largest scale ever in Japan.

The group consists of nine Japanese performers who are handpicked by JYP Entertainment’s head producer Park Jinyoung through a Japanese television program also named “NiziU.” Suzuno Miihi is currently taking a break due to health issues.

Since debut, it has appeared in the advertisements for a number of big brands including Coca Cola Japan, convenience store chain Lawson and cosmetics company Kose.

The collaboration was one of the future activities announced on its SNS last month along with a showcase, second single, first English song, a reality show and the first album.

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