EXO is preparing to release a new album in the first half of the year, according to label SM Entertainment.

The company uploaded a clip of a cake with nine candles to celebrate the ninth anniversary of the band’s debut on Thursday. A piece of the cake is lifted to reveal a universe, and when the candles are blown out, the camera turns to focus on a planet.

Along with it came a teaser snippet, in which the bandmates gave a sneak peek of a music video.

“It’s a space aircraft carrier,” says Chanyeol.

“We’re about to fly off into space,” Kai tells viewers and Baekhyun hints that majestic computer graphic works will be added later.

“This is the first album since I completed my military service, and the fact that I can do this together with my bandmates makes me so happy,” said Xiumin.

It has been about 1 1/2 years since the band’s last album “Obsession,” its sixth studio album, on which Xiumin and D.O. could not participate. Although Chanyeol and Baekhyun will not be able to join promotional activities due to their military service, the group’s eight members working together will surely excite fans.

Treasure sweeps Japanese charts

Treasure’s first Japanese studio album “The First Step: Treasure Effect” topped Billboard Japan’s Hot Albums and weekly album sales charts.

It already was a chart-topper on Oricon and LINE Music, the largest music site in Japan, putting the boy band on the top of five major tallies in Japan.

After hearing the news that the album ranked No. 1 on Oricon’s weekly chart, “the members were surprised,” the group said in statement. “We wanted to provide strength to those going through hardships and are full of emotions that we were able to convey that feeling,” it said.

The rookie band debuted in August last year in Korea and sold over 1 million units with its four-part series “The First Step.” Four of the 12 bandmates are from Japan and have garnered interest there well before official debut.

Its first Japanese LP consists of 13 tracks -- Japanese version of 12 songs from its Korean album and “Beautiful,” from the original soundtrack of the Japanese animation “Black Clover.”

Seventeen’s The8 to unveil solo digital single 

The8 of Seventeen will be releasing his third solo digital single in the coming week, confirmed agency Pledis Entertainment.

A teaser photo showing the performer leaning against a convertible with his head down revealed the song will be titled “Side By Side” and will come out on April 13. It has been about a year since he put out the Chinese language single “Falling Down” and the new single will be available in both Korean and Chinese.

Meanwhile, the band is rolling out its third Japanese single “Hitorijyanai” on April 21 and will host an online fan meet event as well as a talk show for Japanese fans on April 27. The video of the band’s recent performance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show became the most-viewed video on the show’s official YouTube channel.

BAE173 is all grown up

BAE173 held a showcase to announce the release of its second EP “Intersection: Trace” on Thursday.

“We’ve been preparing for a long time,” said Lee Hangyeol, “We’re very nervous but I hope many fans are keeping their expectations high.”

The band debuted in November last year with “Crush On U,” from its first EP “Intersection: Spark.”

The second installment sings of growing pains the bandmates themselves have gone through. The track “Loved You” is an electronic dance number with an addictive hook which Junseo asked fans to focus on.

Jaymin and Nam Dohyun participated in writing the lyrics for “#Trace,” which shows how the band wants to leave its footsteps.

“Through this music we want to deliver the message that we’ve grown up and came this far,” emphasized Junseo.

The rookie band is aiming for the top with new album and if they do top a chart, they promised that they will make a video of them dancing with their manager.

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