[Today’s K-pop] Stray Kids’ new single debuts at No. 1 on Billboard chart

Stray Kids’ new single “Mixtape: OH” hit Billboard’s world digital song sales chart at No. 1, the publication announced in a tweet Wednesday.
 
“It earns the group its 26th career entry on the chart and first No.1,” said the tweet.
 
The songwriting trio 3Racha -- Bang Chan, Changbin and Han -- co-authored the song that sings of how one feels like a child when faced with the feeling of love.
 
As a Forbes article pointed out, the fact that it released on a Saturday, giving it only a partial week of tracking, and yet garnered enough purchases to head straight to the top shows how eager its fans have been awaiting.
 
The single was the band’s first new music since it came out as the winner of a contest among K-pop boy bands earlier this month. It also marks the return of Hyunjin, who had suspended all activities since February when he admitted to verbally abusing a classmate in middle school.

BTS’ “Butter” to be played at Euro 2020’s final

BTS' summer anthem “Butter” will hit Wembley Stadium in London, where the semifinal and final rounds of the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship will be held.
 
The Union of European Football Associations announced that “Butter” was chosen as one of the four songs to be played at the final two clashes -- England and Denmark’s semifinal on Thursday and championship game against Italy in the final match Monday -- along with Louis Tomlinson’s “Kill My Mind,” Harry Styles’ “Adore You” and the Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.”
 
The septet’s record-setting hit won the most votes, 46.6 percent of close to 4.5 million votes from around the world.
 
“Butter” was released in May and stayed at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks, the second-longest run by a group, trailing only Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” from 1995.

Blackpink to publish photo book to mark 5th anniversary

Blackpink is issuing a limited-edition photo book to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the group’s debut, said label YG Entertainment on Wednesday.
 
Titled “The Album,” the 208-page tome comes in a black cover embossed with the band’s signature crown. It will contain previously unpublished images for the songs from its first studio album, “The Album,” as well as photographs taken from the shoot of music videos. The bandmates participated in selecting the photographs and design of the publication.
 
Meanwhile, Jennie and Rose said hello to fans with several pictures taken at a studio in the US. The two uploaded the casual photos on both of their Instagram accounts. They are said to have been working on music in the US since last month.

NiziU 1st female band to have 2 songs with 100m streams on Oricon

NiziU set a record on the Oricon chart with its Japanese debut single, according to the chart’s statement published Wednesday.
 
The band’s “Step and a Step” was streamed 971,184 times last week, pushing the total number past 100.5 million. Its pre-debut single “Make You Happy” also reached the milestone, and Oricon touted that this is the first time ever that a girl group has had two songs achieve the feat.
 
Meanwhile, the nine-member act put out a new digital single named “Super Summer” on Monday and the song swept major real-time charts in Japan upon its release. It was also chosen as the theme song for a new Coca-Cola commercial in Japan.

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