[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ RM writes song for TXT

RM of BTS participated in writing the lyrics for a song on Tomorrow X Together’s upcoming album, according to a song list that Bit Hit Music shared Tuesday.

TXT’s second studio album, “The Chaos Chapter: Freeze,” goes on sale May 31. RM co-authored the words for lead track “0X1=Lovesong,” about a boy who firmly believes in his love despite the chaos he has tumbled into.

It is a collaborative effort by a score of songwriters, including Hybe Chairman Bang Sihyuk, lead producer Slow Rabbint and US singer-songwriter Mod Sun.

RM has written lyrics, melodies and raps for BTS since the beginning. Most recently, he had a hand in writing “Butter,” the band’s second English song, along with a string of international songwriters.

In addition to rolling out solo projects -- such as “RM,” his first mixtape, from 2015 and “mono.” from 2018 -- he has collaborated with other musicians ranging from Drunken Tiger to Yoonha.

Enhypen hits No. 18 on Billboard 200

Enhypen has made the Billboard 200 with its second EP, “Border: Carnival,” according to data released by Billboard on Monday.

The rookie band’s EP ranked No. 18, the highest for any K-pop album released so far this year and the second-highest for a K-pop act. (BTS’ “BE” came out last year and ranked No. 7 in March.) The septet also is the only group that has debuted since 2020 to put its name on the chart.

The 6-month-old group’s “Carnival” came out last month, and earlier this month it landed at No. 9 on Billboard’s World Albums Chart and No. 15 on its Heatseekers Albums Chart. Main track “Drunk-Dazed” rose to No. 166 on Billboard’s global chart excluding the US.

Meanwhile, the band started promoting “Fever,” a follow-up track from the EP, last week. The music video for “Fever” was unveiled May 20 and had amassed 10 million views as of Monday.

Blackpink’s Jisoo on Elle magazine in four countries

Jisoo of Blackpink will grace the covers of four editions of Elle’s June issue. 

She appears on the cover of Elle’s Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and India editions exuding serene yet eye-catching beauty as a brand ambassador for Dior. There will be two versions of the cover, and Elle Singapore will publish an exclusive black-and-white cover.

She gazes into the camera from under a black beret, with a net barely covering her smoky eyes, wearing a simple black dress. Then we see her in another black outfit on a white Vespa, complete with seats embossed with the Dior logo. But this time she’s in a prim jacket paired with a thigh-grazing skirt.

The idol was chosen as the French label’s global ambassador in March for both fashion and beauty.

She “singularly embodies the House’s modernity and creativity of Maria Grazia Chiuri,” Dior’s creative director, said the brand via Twitter.

Her bandmate Jennie has been the face of Chanel since 2018, while in 2020 bandmates Rose and Lisa respectively signed on with Saint Laurent and Celine.

Twice’s “What Is Love?” tops 500m views

“What Is Love?” drew 500 million views on YouTube on Monday, said label JYP Entertainment on Tuesday.

This is the band’s third video to reach the milestone, after “TT” and “Likey.”

“What Is Love?” is the title track from the band’s fifth EP, and head producer Park Jinyoung wrote both the lyrics and the melody. The video was unveiled in April 2018.

Twice recently became the girl group with the most music videos with over 100 million views in the world. Its fifth Japanese single, “Breakthrough,” became the 17th earlier this month.

The band is releasing “Taste of Love” in June and will put out third Japanese LP, “Perfect World,” in July. 

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