[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen’s Woozi to drop 1st solo mixtape next month: report

Woozi of Seventeen will put out his first solo mixtape in January, according to a local media report on Monday.

He is the leader of the vocal team within the band and has been writing and producing songs as one of the two main producers of the 13-member act since its debut. He won the best producer award at 2021 Asia Artist Awards. 

“I am overwhelmed and wonder if I deserve to receive an award with such big title when I’m only 26 years old,” said the musician at the ceremony held earlier this month. He expressed his gratitude to everyone and vowed to repay his fans with good music.

In June, at the media conference held to introduce the band’s eighth EP “Your Choice,” Woozi talked about working with Bang Si-hyuk for the album.

“Besides being the head of the company, he is an amazing senior as a songwriter but he treated me with respect from one songwriter to another, and I am deeply grateful,” he said.

IZ*ONE’s Kim Minju releases photo book

Kim Min-ju, formerly of the disbanded group IZ*ONE, will release her first photo book on Dec. 30, agency Urban Works ENT said Monday.

As the title “Pro memoria” suggests, she wanted fans to keep remembering her as 21-year-old Kim Min-ju. She participated in the overall design and her drawings will be made into a calendar and stickers.

There have been speculation that she will sign with the label Hybe and join a girl group. She reportedly turned down the offer to try her hand at acting.

Kim is preparing for her acting debut and has auditioned for several productions. She is currently the host for a television music chart show and has appeared in a series of entertainment programs.

Blackpink’s “Forever Young” dance video tops 200m views

The dance video of Blackpink’s “Forever Young” reached 200 million views on YouTube on Monday, according to label YG Entertainment.

The song is one of the double title tracks from the group’s first EP “Square Up” from 2018 along with its mega hit “Ddu-du Ddu-du.” The EP topped iTunes’ top albums chart in 44 regions upon its release.

The video is the 10th performance video from the quartet that has surpassed 200 million views on the platform and the 32nd video in total. Last week, the music video for “Stay,” from the 2016 digital single “Square Two,” topped 300 million views, becoming its 16th video to reach the milestone.

Blackpink has amassed a total of 21.5 billion views with its videos on YouTube. Its official channel has more than 70.4 million subscribers, the most for an artist in the world.

Oneus, Onewe team up for winter song

Boy bands Oneus and Onewe have joined hands to release a winter single on Dec. 21, announced agency RBW Entertainment on Monday.

The song, titled “Stay,” was first unveiled through a reality show which the two bands hosted before their debut. The two groups co-presented “Last Song,” the title track from a digital single for the show in 2018.

In the teaser trailer for “Stay,” the bandmates promised that they will host a joint concert in 10 years.

Meanwhile, Oneus wrapped up promoting its sixth EP “Blood Moon” last week and its first studio album “Devil” made it onto Time magazine’s list of best K-pop songs and albums of 2021.

Onewe put out its second demo album “Studio We: Recording #2” last week and will drop its second EP next month.

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