[Today’s K-pop] Kwon Eunbi takes 1st step as solo musician

Kwon Eunbi, of the now-disbanded IZ*ONE, made her debut as a solo artist on Tuesday at an online showcase for media.

“My role model is BoA. I want to be a cool solo singer that spans across a range of genres and concepts,” she said.

She is the first of the girl group to strike out on her own and she confidently introduced herself as a musician who can dance, sing and write songs.

Kwon co-wrote the lyrics for the swing-influenced “Door,” the lead track off of her first EP “Open.” The aims to show her off in a brand new setting, she explained, adding that she wants to show that she is capable of performing a new genre.

The former leader of IZ*ONE admitted that she felt pressure preparing for the album but gained strength from fans and her former bandmates, some of whom came to the showcase.

“They called me often and came to support me while I was shooting the music video, and it helped me relax,” she said. 

Shinee’s Key to make solo return next week

Key of Shinee is returning to the solo stage for the first time in 2 1/2 years, his label SM Entertainment announced on Tuesday.

He will be dropping the new song “Hate That ...” on Aug. 30 and a new album will follow in late September.

His last solo release was “I Wanna Be,” a repackaged album of his first studio album, from March 2019. His first solo album was the 10-track LP titled “Face” from November 2018. The album come out 10 years after he debuted with Shinee.

Earlier this month, Shinee’s 1st Japanese EP “Superstar” ranked No. 1 on Oricon’s daily and weekly album charts. The EP also topped iTunes top albums chart in 19 regions.

Stray Kids tops iTunes chart in 40 regions with 2nd LP

Stray Kids landed atop iTunes albums chart in 40 regions, including the US, with its second studio album “Noeasy.”

The LP was unveiled on Monday afternoon and became a chart-topper on real-time music charts in Korea as well. It also became the band’s best-selling album so far, with over 930,000 copies sold in preorders.

Lead track “Thunderous” also topped the iTunes songs chart in 44 regions and the accompanying video was No. 1 on YouTube’s music video trending worldwide list as of Tuesday morning. 3Racha, the songwriting trio within the eight-piece act, co-wrote the song that incorporates traditional Korean music and is about sticking to one‘s beliefs no matter what others say.

“Noeasy” consists of a total of 14 tracks, including “Wolfgang,” a song the band performed during the final round of boy band competition show “Kingdom: Legendary War,” which Stray Kids won.

NCT 127’s 3rd LP reaches over million in preorders

NCT 127’s forthcoming third full-length album “Sticker” sold over 1.32 million copies in its first 24 hours of preorders, according to label SM Entertainment Tuesday.

The LP consists of 11 tracks and is coming out on Sept. 17.

The NCT subunit is returning with new music 1 1/2 years after the release of its second LP “NCT #127 Neo Zone,” which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and swept all major charts in Korea. It also topped the iTunes top albums chart in 32 regions. Lead track “Kick It” was one of its most successful hits. The band also put out a repackaged version of the album in May titled “NCT #127 Neo Zone: The Final Round.”

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