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[Today’s K-pop] Girl group aespa signs with top US agency

By Hwang You-mee

Published : July 23, 2021 - 18:58

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(SM Entertainment) (SM Entertainment)

SM Entertainment girl group aespa has signed with the largest agency in the US, Creative Artists Agency, as the team gears up for the global stage.

The group will be represented overseas by the talent agency, according to their label on Friday. SM Entertainment boy bands NCT 127 and SuperM are signed to the agency as well.

The quartet debuted in November and has set multiple records since. The music video for its debut single “Black Mamba” reached 100 million views in about 51 days, the shortest time for the debut song of a K-pop group. The video for its latest song “Next Level” replaced the record, shortening the time by 19 days.

Seventeen to meet fans online in August

(Pledis Entertainment) (Pledis Entertainment)

Seventeen is going live for a fan meet event on Aug. 8, its agency Pledis Entertainment announced on Thursday.

The 13-member act has been planning to host the event, titled “Seventeen in Carat Land,” both off- and on-line but decided to only livestream it as the COVID-19 situation has worsened in Korea recently.

This is the fifth fan meeting for the band and the band will perform a score of its hit songs. To maximize the experience for fans,14 viewing options will be provided, one for each member and one for the group as a whole.

Last week, the group made news when all 13 members renewed their contracts with the management company.

Seventeen’s most recent album, its eighth EP “Your Choice,” sold over 1.36 million copies in the first week. Its fourth million-seller was the top-selling EP during the first week of sales in 2021 in Korea. It also hit No. 15 on the Billboard 200, its first entry on the chart. 

CL to release 1st solo LP 

(Very Cherry) (Very Cherry)

CL, formerly of 2NE1, will release her first solo studio album “Alpha” next month, her agency Very Cherry announced on Friday.

She struck out on her own after the band dissolved in 2016 and established her own label, releasing “Hwa” and “5Star” in October 2020 and the single “Wish You Were Here” in February.

Earlier this month, her label cinched a partnership with Konnect Entertainment -- home to singer Kang Daniel -- which announced that it will be in charge of the songstress’s activities in Korea. CL has also been active in the US under Scooter Braun’s SB Projects, a New York-based entertainment and media company.

She recently started appearing as a judge on “Superband 2,” an audition program on a cable television network.  

ONF drops teaser photos for upcoming album

(WM Entertainment) (WM Entertainment)

Boy band ONF released teaser photographs for its upcoming summer album “Popping” on Friday.

Wearing outfits that hark back to boy scout uniforms with gloves and goggles, the bandmates exude a fresh energy.

The band put out its first full-length album “ONF: My Name” in February, which helped the group earn its first trophy on a television music chart show. It gained further momentum with a repack “City of ONF” in April.

The first LP ranked among the top 10 on iTunes all album chart and the title track “Beautiful Beautiful” topped the iTunes top K-pop songs chart. It was also chosen as one of “The Best K-pop Songs of 2021 So Far” by TIME earlier this month.