[Today’s K-pop] BTS makes appearance on “Friends: The Reunion” special

BTS made a 13-second guest appearance in the special episode of “Friends: The Reunion,” as the much-anticipated sitcom returned on Thursday, local time.

The bandmates appeared sitting on and around a sofa with subtitles that introduced them as “BTS: Biggest Boy Band on the Planet” complete with a Korean national flag.

“My mom bought me the DVDs of the whole series when I was in elementary school. ‘Friends’ really had a big hand in teaching me English and the show really taught me the things about life and true friendship,” said RM before the septet shouted “We Love ‘Friends!’”

The reunion special had a series of A-list celebrity guests including David Beckham, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Reese Witherspoon and Tom Selleck who played supporting characters in the show.

Lest fans be disappointed by the briefness of the guest appearance, Ben Winston who directed the episode tweeted in advance: “I want to manage your expectations on this. BTS’ appearance in Friends: The Reunion will actually be a really short moment.”

Enhypen to release Japanese single 

Enhypen will enter Japan with a showcase to roll out its debut single there.

Its agency Belief Lab announced that the rookie group will host an online showcase on July 13, a week after the release of single “Border: Hakanai,” according to a post on the band’s website on Wednesday. The single album consists of three tracks including the Japanese version of “Given-Taken” and “Let Me In (20 Cube)” from its first EP “Border: Day One.”

The six-month-old band topped Oricon’s weekly albums chart for two consecutive weeks and the monthly chart in April with its second EP “Border: Carnival” that came out last month. It became the first act to stay at the top of the weekly chart for two weeks in a row this year.

With the EP, it hit seven tallies of the latest Billboard as well, ranking No. 18 on both Billboard 200 and Artist 100 and No. 1 on the world album chart. 

G(I)-dle’s Yuqi reigns on TikTok China

Yuqi of G(I)-dle demonstrated her star power in China as she landed at the top of challenge and popularity search rankings on TikTok with a challenge video.

She uploaded a challenge for “Bonnie & Clyde,” one of the double title tracks from her solo debut single “A Page,” on Thursday. Wearing a black jacket and a matching short skirt paired with a pair of chunky black boots, the idol danced to the upbeat music.

The challenge video drew over 8.7 million views on the video-sharing platform, known in China as Douyin, and shot to No. 1 on two of its tallies.

Yuqi put out her first digital single two weeks ago and co-wrote the lyrics of her first track “Giant.”

Meanwhile, the group’s leader Soyeon is also gearing up for a solo gig, although specific date has not been set, her agency Cube Entertainment said last week.

TXT unveils highlight medley via TikTok 

Tomorrow X Together drummed up expectations for its upcoming second studio album in a medley of highlights on TikTok on Thursday.

The quintet boasts 9.5 million followers on the platform, the second-highest number for a K-pop boy band after BTS.

In the short video uploaded on the platform, the bandmates sang and gestured to parts from the eight tracks -- from title song “0X1=Lovesong (I Know I Love You) feat. Seori” to “Anti-Romantic,” “Magic” and “Frost” -- from the LP titled “The Chaos Chapter: Freeze.”

The title track is a hybrid pop rock number that is a collaboration of a score of producers that include Slow Rabbit and chairman Bang Sihyuk from Hybe as well as US singer/songwriter Mod Sun. RM of BTS also participated in writing the lyrics.

The new album will be fully unveiled on May 31.

On Wednesday, the band announced that the music video for “Blue Hour,” its title track from their third EP “minisode 1: Blue Hour” surpassed 100 million views, its second video to reach the milestone after “Crown,” from its debut album.

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