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[Today’s K-pop] Boynextdoor to return in September

By Hwang You-mee

Published : Aug. 13, 2024 - 18:38

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(Credit: KOZ Entertainment) (Credit: KOZ Entertainment)

Boynextdoor uploaded a teaser clip for its September return via agency KOZ Entertainment Tuesday.

Dubbed “The Beginning of Countdown: 19.99,” the 16-second-long visual starts with a device dropped on a dark street that begins a countdown before someone snatches it up, revealing the title of the album along with the release date: Sept. 9.

The boy band is returning about five months after its second EP “How?” which sold over 760,000 copies so far. The mini album was one of “The 20 Best K-Pop Albums of 2024 (So Far)” listed by Billboard magazine.

The six-member act also dropped debut single in Japan “And” last month and earned platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan last week. The single topped Oricon’s daily album ranking and ranked No. 2 on its weekly and weekly combined album charts.

SHINee’s Onew signals solo comeback

(Credit: Griffin Entertainment) (Credit: Griffin Entertainment)

Onew of SHINee will bring out third solo EP “Flow” on Sept. 3, he announced via agency Griffin Entertainment Tuesday.

He will also host a pop-up store in Seoul Sept. 5-15 before holding fan concerts in Seoul and Japan in October and November, respectively.

The upcoming album comes about 1 1/2 years since his first solo studio album “Circle,” which was selected as No. 1 on the Best K-Pop Albums in 2023 list put together by Billboard magazine.

Between May and July, the singer visited eight cities in Asia for his first solo fan meet tour “Guess!” and also reunited with bandmates for the band’s encore concert in Incheon. He had taken about 10 months off until April due to health reasons.

About a month ago, he dropped a B-side track from the third EP in advance.

BTS sets streaming record with 2017 hit song

(Credit: Big Hit Music) (Credit: Big Hit Music)

BTS surpassed a record 1 billion plays on Melon, one of the largest music platforms in Korea, with “Spring Day,” according to the company Tuesday.

The song is the first-ever song to reach the milestone and will earn the band a Billions Bronze Club badge from the platform.

“Spring Day” fronted “You Never Walk Alone” – a repack of second LP “Wings” -- that was released in February 2017. The R&B tune is enjoying the longest streak ever on Melon, having never left the songs chart since it came out.

It topped iTunes' Top Songs chart in 83 regions as well as Oricon’s daily digital single ranking last year after all bandmates enlisted. It also made Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart at No. 5, almost six years after it set a record as the first K-pop song to enter its Bubbling Under Hot 100 list at No. 15.

Ex-Gfriend Sowon to visit fans in Asia

(Credit: Union Pictures) (Credit: Union Pictures)

Sowon, formerly of girl group GFriend, will tour Asia for her first solo fan meetup as a solo act, said agency Union Pictures Tuesday.

She will host the event in Taiwan, Japan and Korea to thank fans in person for supporting her from her days as a member of the group and share her vision for her solo career.

Sowon debuted as the leader of six-piece group Gfriend in 2015 and began pursuing an acting career in earnest after the group disbanded in 2021. According to a local media report also on Tuesday, the singer and actor parted ways with WE Entertainment after her two-year contract expired.