[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen to host fan meeting in March

Seventeen will meet its fans in person at its sixth fan meet event in Seoul, the group’s agency Pledis Entertainment announced on Thursday.

The event, titled “Seventeen in Carat Land,” will be held in person on March 25-27. The final day will be livestreamed online.

On Monday, the 13-member act reclaimed the No. 1 spot on Oricon’s daily single chart with its special single in Japanese “Ainochikara.” It topped the chart for six consecutive days upon release in December and earned platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan for recording more than 250,000 shipments.

Earlier this month, the music video for “Very Nice,” main track from 2016 repackage album “Love & Letter,” surpassed 100 million views on YouTube, becoming the band’s third music video to achieve the feat.

Meanwhile, member Wonwoo tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

G(I)-dle will come back as quintet next month: report

G(I)-dle will return in March as a quintet, according to a local media report on Thursday.

Agency Cube Entertainment confirmed the news.

The band debuted with six members in May 2018 and its last album was the EP “I Burn” from January 2021. The group’s upcoming release will be the first since Soojin quit the group in August last year. She was mired in bullying rumors which the performer and the agency claimed were false. The investigation looking into the matter is still ongoing.

The rest of the members have kept busy seeking individual careers. Miyeon and Minnie branched into acting while both Soyeon and Woogie released solo works, the EP “Windy” and digital single “A Page,” respectively.

On Thursday, it was revealed that Miyeon tested positive for COVID-19 after undergoing a self-test. She is awaiting PCT test results and decided to skip her weekly appearance as an emcee on a music chart television show.

CL invited to international music festivals

Songstress CL will join a string of music festivals in Japan and the US, according to agency Very Cherry Thursday.

In August, she will take to the stage at Summer Sonic, one of the largest summer music festivals in Japan, which is resuming after a three-year hiatus. CL performed at the festival in 2017, joining forces with Black Eyed Peas.

In April, she will appear at Sound Money Fest in Florida and then will head to Texas the following month to perform at the We Are One Music + Arts Festival.

CL debuted as a member of 2NE1 in 2009 and struck out on her own after the group disbanded in 2016. She debuted in the US with “Lifted” which appeared on the Billboard charts, a first for a solo K-pop female musician.

Cherry Bullet returns after 1 year

Girl group Cherry Bullet is making a comeback after about a year with its second EP, said agency FNC Entertainment on Thursday.

The seven members are featured in two different posters -- one in dreamy purple setting and the other in black-and-white. The second EP will take the “lovely energetic” team one step further and will be more mature and heavier on concepts, noted its management company.

The band released its first EP “Cherry Rush” in January last year and three members -- Bora, Jiwon and May -- brought more attention to the band when they appeared in a survival audition program “Girls Planet 999: Girls’ Saga.” A total of 99 participants from China, Japan and Korea competed in the show that ended in October 2021 and nine top contestants from it debuted in January as Kep1er.

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