Stray Kids will release its first studio album in Japan on Feb. 22, announced label JYP Entertainment on Friday.

The company uploaded a teaser trailer for the album on the day in which the eight members exuded confidence with thumping beats in the background.

The album’s release will coincide with the band’s encore concerts in Japan. It is hosting two concerts each at Saitama Super Arena and Kyocera Dome Osaka, on Feb. 11-12 and Feb. 25-26, respectively.

Meanwhile, its digital album “SKZ-Replay” topped iTunes top albums chart in 32 regions. The album came out on Wednesday and includes eight new songs written by the members.

Blackpink’s ‘How You Like That’ dance video reaches 1.3b views

The performance video for Blackpink’s “How You Like That” amassed 1.3 billion views on YouTube, according to label YG Entertainment on Friday.

It is the group’s fourth video to reach the milestone, after music videos for “Ddu-du Ddu-du,” “Kill This Love” and “Boombayah,” surpassing the music video for the hit song. The video also is the most-viewed dance video from a K-pop musician.

“How You Like That” is the main track from its first full-length album “The Album.” The lead single not only swept all music charts at home but also debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 33 in July 2020, the highest spot for a K-pop girl group at the time. It was No. 20 on UK’s Official Singles chart, another record for a K-pop female band.

BTS tops Oricon’s annual ranking again, 1st for foreign artist

BTS set another record in Japan, notching first place on Oricon’s annual ranking in sales by artist category for the second time.

It is the first time an international artist topped the tally for two years in a row, and the septet is the fourth act ever to achieve the feat.

Through a statement, the band expressed gratitude to many music lovers including its official fandom Army and said that it will try to be an artist that can repay the love with even better music in the future.

“We were really happy to have been able to hold concerts in many different places and meet Army around the world this year,” it added thanking its fans for their steadfast support.

GOT the Beat to return next month: report

SM Entertainment’s project group GOT the Beat is gearing up for return in January, according to a local media report on Friday.

The label confirmed the news following the report.

GOT the Beat is the first of the label’s female units project Girls on Top and consists of seven members – BoA, Taeyeon and Hyoyeon of Girls’ Generation, Seulgi and Wendy of Red Velvet and Karina and Winter of aespa.

The multi-generational seven-piece act put “Step Back” on stage for the first time at SM Town Live 2022: SMCU Express @ Kwangya, an online concert that was broadcast for free in January.

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