[Today’s K-pop] Babymonster tops iTunes chart in 8 regions with pre-release

Rookie girl group Babymonster topped iTunes top songs chart in eight regions, according to label YG Entertainment on Thursday.

The group topped the chart with “Stuck In The Middle,” a pop ballad tune and English-language single released Wednesday in advance to the release of its first EP, which is due out on April 1.

The six-member act debuted in November with “Batter Up” which renewed the record for a K-pop group’s debut song, generating 22.59 million views on YouTube with the music video and subsequently hitting 50 million, 100 million and 200 million in four, 18 and 53 days, respectively.

The pre-release also features only six members. but the forthcoming album will feature Ahyun, who stepped down while preparing for the debut due to health reasons.

iKON to hold full-group concert in March

iKON will hold a fan concert in Seoul on March 9, according to an announcement by 143 Entertainment on Thursday.

The six members wrapped up an international tour in Macau in mid-December last year that brought them to 15 cities from Tokyo and Bangkok to New York and Paris for 24 concerts in total, following the group's live show in Seoul in May.

The bandmates also are pursuing their individual careers. Bobby is set to go live in Japan on Feb. 26 and 28 for four performances, which would be the last solo gig before he starts serving his military duty.

DK will drop his first solo album later this month after greeting fans on his own in Tokyo and Osaka last month. Ju-ne, meanwhile, is cast for a supporting role in a drama led by Lee Yi-kyung.

Jessi hints at setting up own company

Jessi opened a new SNS account Thursday and asked fans to follow it.

More Vision announced the previous day that Jessi and the management company had decided to terminate the contract they signed in April last year. She left P Nation, headed by Psy, when her contract came to terms in July 2022.

She brought out the single “Gum” in October last year but has missed several promotional activities including an appearance in a television music chart show, triggering speculations that she is not happy with the agency. Jay Park, fellow musician and founder of the firm, and Jessi both denied the rumor via SNS channels.

Mamamoo’s Moonbyul to host exhibit for 1st solo LP

Moonbyul of Mamamoo will hold a special exhibit in Seoul from Feb. 15-20, said agency RBW Entertainment on Thursday.

The show is named after her upcoming first solo studio album “Starlit of Muse” which will be released on Feb. 20. The exhibition is themed after her guiding through her LP and will include unpublished photographs as well as exclusive merchandise only available at the event.

She put out her first solo single “Selfish” in May 2018 and her last solo album was her second single “C.I.T.T” from April 2022, which sold over 100,000 copies in the first week, a record for the songstress.