[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ RM to host small gig next month to mark 1st solo album

RM of BTS will invite about 200 fans to shoot a video on Dec. 5, Big Hit Music said Wednesday.

The gig will be part of a project to promote his upcoming first solo album, “Indigo,” which will be unveiled Dec. 2. The invitees will be selected through a lottery.

The artist has put out solo mixtapes before -- “RM” in 2015 and “mono.” in 2018 -- but “Indigo” will be the first solo album to be published since his debut in June 2013.

He uploaded a 46-second teaser clip for the album on Wednesday as well. Dubbed "Identity Film," it began with a silhouette of a flower followed by a flurry of images in blue palette. Phrases like “Documentation of my youth in the moment of independent phase” and “the last archive of my 20s” indicate that the album will offer insight into his feelings and thoughts.

Red Velvet’s Yeri to star in drama

Yeri of Red Velvet has been cast as the female lead in a drama series set to air next year, according to label SM Entertainment on Wednesday.

She is to play an heiress who has everything, but becomes the suspect in a murder case at her exclusive high school in the series, “Cheongdam International High School.”

Meanwhile, Red Velvet floated a series of teaser photographs on the day for forthcoming EP “The ReVe Festival 2022 – Birthday.” It comes about eight months since previous EP “The ReVe Festival 2022 – Feel My Rhythm” landed atop iTunes top albums chart in 41 regions.

Main track “Birthday” is a pop dance tune with a sampling of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” that sings about going back to the birthday of loved one to make all his wishes come true.

The five-track EP will be released Monday.

Le Sserafim amasses 300m streams on Spotify

Le Sserafim has generated 300 million streams on Spotify, approximately six months since the group's debut, according to the music platform on Wednesday.

The girl group has released 10 songs so far from first EP “Fearless” and second EP “Antifragile.”

In the meantime, the second EP has stayed on both of Billboard’s global charts five week in a row. The album hit the Billboard 200 dated Nov. 5 at No. 14, entering the main albums chart in the shortest time for a K-pop girl group. The EP sold more than 567,000 copies in the first week, sixth-most for a K-pop girl group.

The quintet will join the lineup for a string of year-end music award ceremonies, including the 2022 MAMA Awards and 2022 Asia Artist Awards. It is set to participate in NHK’s Red ＆ White Year-End Song Festival, a major music show, along with Twice and Ive.

StayC officially debuts in Japan with single

Girl group StayC officially debuted in Japan with the single “Poppy,” High Up Entertainment said Wednesday.

The title track is full of lovely yet kitsch energy and combines with a catchy chorus, making it an instant hit when it was unveiled in advance to fans at the debut showcase in Tokyo on Monday. The single will also include a Japanese-language version of “ASAP,” the focus track from its second single “Staydom” that came out last year.

The rookie girl group debuted in November 2020 and amassed 100 million streams on Spotify with first EP “Stereotype” and second EP “Young-luv.com.”

It was named as one of the "Five Rising Korean Artists to Know" by Grammy.com, along with Ateez, Tomorrow X Together, Itzy and Enhypen, in May last year.

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