[Today’s K-pop] T-ara to return after 4 years

T-ara will put out new music for the first time in about four years, announced mobile media channel Dingo, which joined forces with the band Monday.

In one teaser poster that accompanied the announcement, the four band members pose all in black. In another, dressed as cowgirls, they turn their backs to the camera.

Park Jiyeon shared the good news in a tweet, joyously telling fans the new music was out before the first snow -- and without a management company, at that. The musicians funded the whole process themselves, from making the music to promoting it.

The band debuted in 2009 with “Lie” and became a quartet in 2017 after two members left. Its 13th EP, “What’s My Name?” was its previous work.

The new single will be released Nov. 15. On Nov. 21, the band will host an in-person fan meet event that will also be broadcast online.

Blackpink beats own record with “How You Like That” dance video

The dance performance video of Blackpink’s “How You Like That” had generated 900 million views on YouTube as of Sunday, according to label YG Entertainment on Monday.

This is the band’s sixth to reach the milestone -- the others were “Boombayah,” “As If It’s Your Last,” “Ddu-du Ddu-du,” “Kill This Love” and the music version of “How You Like That.” But it is the first dance video from any K-pop musician. It took about one year and four months for the video to achieve the feat.

The song is from the band’s first studio album, “The Album,” and not only swept charts at home but also topped iTunes songs charts in 64 regions and ranked No. 2 on Spotify’s global top 50 chart. It was YouTube’s Global Top Summer Song and won Song of the Summer at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Meanwhile, last week the four performers addressed environmental issues at the United Nations climate change conference, COP26, in a video message.

Former Miss A member Min drops solo song

Min of disbanded girl group Miss A is dropping a new song, “Onion,” Monday, said agency K-Tigers Entertainment.

She participated in writing the pop tune -- a “pre-debut” song signaling her new start as a solo musician, according to the company.

Everyone has different sides to their personality and reveals them to different people at different times, like an onion, she said, and the song conveys the message that we should understand and accept each other.

Min debuted as a member of Miss A in 2010 and the quartet gained popularity with hit songs such as “Bad Girl Good Girl” before it disbanded in 2017. She briefly worked in Malaysia, hosting the Asian edition of the cable network beauty program “Get It Beauty on the Road.” Last year, she put out “Jiryuh” in collaboration with Los Angeles-based producer Afsheen.

Two NCT subunits sell 3m albums each

Two NCT subunits, NCT127 and NCT Dream, each sold over 3 million copies of their recent albums.

NCT Dream was the first to celebrate, selling approximately 2.07 million units of its first full album, “Hot Sauce,” in May and 1.28 million units of repackage “Hello Future” in June. The total was 3.35 million, making it the bestselling album in the first half of 2021.

NCT127 took over the baton in the latter half. Its third full-length album, “Sticker,” racked up over 2.15 million sales in its first week in September. Repack “Favorite” logged 1.17 million, pushing the tally up to 3.58 million as of Sunday. The LP entered the Billboard 200 at No. 3, the best showing for an album by a K-pop musician this year, and has been on the chart for six consecutive weeks.

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