[Today’s K-pop] NCT’s Mark to drop 1st solo album in February 2025

Mark of NCT is gearing up to put out his first solo album, label SM Entertainment said Friday.

It is due out in February next year, and he will give fans a taste of what is to come on May 16 with the single album “200," consisting of two tracks – the titular track and “200 (Minhyung’s Ver.).” At midnight, the musician surprised his fans with a video clip in which he sang the lead single while playing an acoustic guitar.

Mark has released the solo songs “Child” and “Golden Hour” through NCT’s singles project in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The first song topped the iTunes Top Songs chart in 14 regions.

Meanwhile, he will begin touring Japan as a member of NCT Dream starting in Osaka on Saturday.

BTS’ RM teases 2nd solo album with pre-release

RM of BTS uploaded a music video for “Come Back to Me” on Friday ahead of the full release of his second solo album “Right Place, Wrong Person.”

He sang the song at the encore concert of bandmate Suga in August last year, telling the audience that it is one of his most cherished songs although it did not have a title yet.

The artist wrote the lyrics and Oh Huyk of the band Hyukoh wrote the melodies for the indie pop tune that examines the conflicting emotions of people.

The forthcoming album will consist of 11 tracks and will be released on May 24, about 1 1/2 years after his first solo album “Indigo.” The album spent seven weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 3, a record for a K-pop solo act at the time.

Seventeen’s best-of album goes platinum in Japan

The best-of album from Seventeen was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan, according to the organization Friday.

The album “17 Is Right Here” logged 250,000 shipments in the country by the end of April and earned the title.

The compilation album was rolled out on April 29 and sold more than 29.6 million copies in the first week. It was No. 1 on Oricon’s Weekly and Weekly Combined album rankings, and the group extended its record as an international artist to top the charts with most albums at 12.

Also on Friday, one of the three sub-units of the 13-member act -- “hip-hop team” of S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu and Vernon – uploaded a music video for “Lalali,” from the album. Music videos for the other sub-unit tracks from the album, “Spell” and “Cheers to Youth,” will subsequently be unveiled.

Kwon Eunbi to return next month: report

Kwon Eunbi will come back with a new album in mid-June, according to a local media report Friday.

The songstress is selecting tracks for the album that will be her first in eight months.

She began her solo career in August 2021 with EP “Open” after leading the project group IZ*ONE for 2 1/2 years.

Her last release was the special single “Like Heaven” from October last year that came only two months after her first single album “The Flash,” the titular track from which earned her first trophy as a solo artist from a television music chart show.

Kwon is also appearing in a series of variety shows and will join the second season of Netflix's original show “Zombieverse.” She will also branch into acting, as she is cast in “Final Hacking Game,” a sequel to the movie “Unlocked.”