[Today’s K-pop] Baekhyun sings of love on new album

Baekhyun of EXO will croon love-themed songs on “Bambi,” his upcoming EP.

He revealed the list of all six tracks from the R&B-based EP, his third. In the title track, he sings about mature love to the tune of poetic guitar sounds. “Love Scene” describes the feeling of a person who falls in love as if they were experiencing a scene from a movie. Rising American R&B singer-songwriter Tone Stith wrote the heartwarming melody for “All I Got,” and SM Entertainment’s hit-making lyricist Kenzie added words.

He has set himself a high bar as his previous EP, “Delight,” sold over 1 million units -- a record for a K-pop solo artist. It also topped iTunes’ top albums chart in 69 regions.

The EP goes on sale March 30. The veteran idol will take to Naver’s V Live one hour before its release and discuss the music, as well as the makings of the album and its contents.

Stray Kids game theme song tops iTunes chart 

Stray Kids’ take on a mobile game theme song landed at the top of the iTunes song charts in 31 regions.

The band added its touch, along with the Korean lyrics, to “Going Dumb,” a song for Battleground created by EDM artist Alesso and DJ Corsak. Its first international collaborative work, the song had been streamed over 1.2 million times on Spotify as of Tuesday and also ranked No. 5 on iTunes’ worldwide song chart.

The project was part of the plans the band announced New Year’s Day, which also included its first fan meet event and its own reality show as well as its second studio album and a pop-up store. The eight-piece act sold over 1 million albums in 2020, according to a local tally.

Stray Kids will compete against five other boy bands -- including iKON, Ateez and The Boyz -- on survival program “Kingdom: Legendary War,” which goes on air April 1. 

Red Velvet’s Wendy goes solo 

Wendy of Red Velvet has set a date to put out her solo debut EP.

The singer will release her first solo EP, titled “Like Water,” April 5, said label SM Entertainment on Wednesday.

As Red Velvet’s main vocalist, Wendy has honed her own sound over the past seven years and the album’s five tracks will convey her warmth and sincerity.

She previously sang a series of theme songs for television dramas and collaborated with several singers on the company’s single projects. Bandmates Irene and Seulgi had a gig as a duo last year, but Wendy will be the first member of the group to strike out on her own.

She had to take time off after suffering an injury during a rehearsal for a year-end music show in 2019, but recently resumed working.

Loona sets record on US radio chart 

Loona set a record for a K-pop girl band with the English single “Star.”

The song ranked No. 37 on Mediabase’s Top 40, a tally of popular songs on the radio in North America, for nine consecutive weeks, according to agency Blockberry Creative. This breaks the record set by Blackpink -- whose “Ice Cream,” a collaboration with Selena Gomez stayed on the chart for eight weeks.

Loona was the fourth K-pop act to enter the chart, following in the footsteps of BTS, Monsta X and Blackpink. “Star” is an English version of “Voice,” a track from its third EP, “Midnight (12:00),” from last year. The song entered the chart for the first time in January.

“Star” also stayed on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart for six weeks in a row and was featured in the magazine’s Chart Breaker chapter earlier this month, a first for a K-pop band.

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