[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ “Butter” video tops 400m views

The video for BTS’ historic hit “Butter” has surpassed 400 million views on YouTube.

It is the band’s 13th video to reach the milestone.

The video drew over 3.9 million concurrent viewers when it was released May 21, a record high. Within 24 hours, it drew over 108.2 million views on YouTube, the most for a music video on the platform in 24 hours.

The summer anthem of this year is rewriting history, having stayed at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 for five consecutive weeks. It also remains No. 1 on Oricon’s weekly streaming ranking after five full weeks.

On July 9, the septet is putting out a record titled “Butter” that will consist of “Butter” as well as a new song. The new song is apparently titled “Permission to Dance,” according to Ed Sheeran. The British singer/songwriter has collaborated with BTS and while communicating with fans, he named it as his favorite BTS song even though no song by that title has been released so far.  

Stray Kids to return as octet: report 

Stray Kids are coming out with new music and Hyunjin will rejoin the band, according to media reports on Tuesday. 

Following the reports, label JYP Entertainment confirmed that the band is preparing a new album but did not provide specific dates. There also was no further comment on the return of Hyunjin, who suspended all activities in February after claims that he verbally abused classmates when he was in middle school.

On Monday, the company said he will resume his activities as part of Stray Kids in July, after donating money and doing volunteer work over the past four months. He participated in “Mixtape: Ae,” which was dropped Saturday, and appeared in the video as well.

It is the first new music to come from the band since it won “Kingdom: Legendary War,” a competition show for boy bands. As a reward, Stray Kids will have a reality show on the cable network. Hyunjin was absent from the contest except for the prerecorded first appearance.

Seventeen debuts at No. 15 on Billboard 200

Seventeen has landed on the Billboard 200 for the first time with its eighth EP, “Your Choice.”

Billboard announced on Monday in the US that the band’s new EP had come in at No. 15 on the Billboard 200. Although the band, now in its seventh year, is one of the most popular K-pop acts by album sales, this is its debut on the chart.

The 13-member boy band was one of the nominees in the Top Social Artist category at the Billboard Music Awards earlier this year, along with BTS and Blackpink. It has been accelerating its efforts to expand into the US, appearing on local shows such as ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and MTV’s “Fresh Out Live.”

“Your Choice” came out June 18 and sold over 1.36 million units in its first week, becoming Seventeen’s fourth million-seller after third LP “An Ode,” seventh EP “Heng:garae” and special album “;[Semicolon].”

The band resumes promotional activities for its eighth EP Tuesday after a two-week self-isolation period. Some of its staff members tested positive for COVID-19 a day after the release of the EP.

Loona tops iTunes chart in 31 regions 

Loona landed at the top of iTunes’ album charts in 31 regions with its fourth EP, “&,” which came out Monday.

The EP also ranked No. 1 on iTunes’ worldwide album chart, demonstrating its global presence.

The all-girl act debuted as a 12-piece band in 2018 and carved out a spot as one of the most promising next-generation idol groups, releasing a series of hit songs such as “Hi High,” “Butterfly,” “So What” and “Why Not?” 

With its third EP, “12:00,” it entered the Billboard 200 for the first time and topped iTunes album charts in 51 regions. It also made news when its song “Star” stayed on a major North American radio chart for nine consecutive weeks, based on a weekly tally of airplay at radio stations in Canada and the US.

At Monday’s online event, the bandmates expressed hope that their new EP would hit No. 100 on the Billboard 200, surpassing the previous EP, which made it to No. 112. 

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