[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink cinches gold certification in UK

Blackpink earned a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry with its first studio album, the organization announced Tuesday.

LP “The Album” logged 100,000 in sales in the country, and the quartet became the first K-pop female artist to do so.

The album from May 2020 ranked No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the main albums chart for 26 weeks straight, a record for a K-pop female act at the time. It also was No. 2 on the UK’s Official Top Albums chart. The main track “Lovesick Girls” was No. 59 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and the pre-release “How You Like That” was No. 33.

The LP was the first million-seller from a K-pop girl group, selling above 1.2 million copies.

The four members renewed their contracts for group activities only with YG Entertainment in December last year.

Chuu to return next month

Chuu will release a new album and is shooting a music video in Australia, her agency ATRP said Wednesday.

The songstress, formerly of Loona, struck out on her own with her first solo EP “Howl” in October last year. The mini album claimed the top spot on the Worldwide iTunes albums chart for two days while the titular track made “The 25 Best K-Pop Songs of 2023” list by Billboard magazine, the only song from a female solo act to do so.

She held her first solo fan concert in Seoul in November last year before touring six cities in the US. She also dropped the digital single “Chocolate” in time for Valentine’s Day, in Korean and English.

NewJeans music video wins big at major advertising award show

The music video for NewJeans’ hit song "ETA" won four awards from The One Show, one of the most prestigious advertising and design award shows, according to agency Ador on Wednesday.

The video accompanying “ETA,” one of the three main tracks from their second EP “Get Up,” was awarded Bronze Pencil in the music video category at the ceremony held in New York. It also won merits awards in three more categories including innovation/use of media in film.

The video was a collaborative effort with Apple and was entirely shot with an iPhone 14 Pro, as was shown in Apple commercials. It earned a bronze trophy from Spikes Asia, a leading advertising award in Asia Pacific, in March.

Meanwhile, the group is poised to return with double single “How Sweet” and "Bubblegum" on May 24.

Is Lee Sooman eyeing for comeback?

Lee Sooman, founder and former head of SM Entertainment, will speak at an international conference held in Seoul on May 30, according to local media reports Wednesday.

Lee will be the keynote speaker at the general assembly for the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, also known as CISAC, organized by the Korea Music Copyright Association.

It will be the first time in about 10 months that Lee makes a public appearance and the move is speculated to be a signal of his return as his private company filed to apply for a new trademark of “A20 Entertainment” earlier this month.

Lee is prohibited from returning to the entertainment industry in Korea for two more years, though, as he agreed to a non-compete clause upon selling part of his shares to Hybe last year. The former chief producer ultimately secured 527 billion won (US$386 million) in cash from the deal.