[Today’s K-pop] Enhypen to release 2nd Japanese single in May

Enhypen will drop its second Japanese single on May 3, the group’s agency Belift Lab announced on Tuesday.

The single, titled “Dimension: Senkou,” will include Japanese versions of “Drunk-Dazed,” the lead track from its second EP “Border: Carnival,” and “Tamed-Dashed,” the lead track from its first LP “Dimension: Dilemma.” It will also contain “Always,” the band’s second original song in Japanese that was chosen to be the theme song for a Japanese television drama.

“Senkou” means flash of light in Japanese.

The group’s debut single in Japan, “Border: Hakanai,” was a huge success when it was released in July 2021. The single topped Oricon’s daily single chart for seven consecutive days and claimed the No. 1 spot on the weekly chart. The boy band is the first ever to top the weekly chart with a debut single. The single earned a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan with more than 350,000 copies shipped.

Mamamoo’s Solar to put out 1st solo EP

Solar of Mamamoo will be back next month with her first solo EP “Yong: Face,” her agency RBW Entertainment said Tuesday.

Yong is the middle letter from the singer’s actual name and means face in Chinese character.

It has been almost two years since Solar released her single “Spit It Out,” her first work as a solo musician. Her single album sold over 73,000 copies in the first week, the fourth-most for a solo K-pop female musician at the time. The main track of the same name hit Billboard’s world digital song sales chart at No. 12.

Last month, she posted a picture of herself at a recording studio, hinting at the new album.

The musician also participated in the original soundtrack for hit drama series “School 2021.” The OST was fully unveiled on Tuesday.

The exact date for the EP’s release will be announced later.

Monsta X’s Kihyun to drop solo single

Kihyun of Monsta X is putting out a solo single titled “Voyager” on March 15, according to agency Starship Entertainment.

It will be the first solo work of the main vocalist who has participated in a score of original soundtracks for dramas.

On the poster that showed the timetable for the release, a hand holds a compass signifying the beginning of a new journey.

Meanwhile, the band postponed its North American tour from January and February to May and June, out of precaution against COVID-19 spread. It will perform in eight cities in the US and Canada.

The six-member act debuted in 2015 and its second full album released in the US, “The Dreaming,” entered Billboard 200 at No. 21 in December last year. It placed a total of 16 tracks on Billboard’s world digital song sales chart in 2021.

ITZY to host 1st official fan meet in April

ITZY will get together with its fans in person at its first official fan meet event on April 9, announced label JYP Entertainment on Tuesday.

The event, named “ITZY The 1st Fan Meeting,” marks the quintet’s third anniversary of debut and will be livestreamed online as well.

It was originally planned for Feb. 19 but was postponed when Lia tested positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 13. Yeji and Chaeryeong subsequently contracted the virus last week and all three members resumed activities as of Tuesday.

Separately, American figure skater Alysa Liu chose the Korean version of ITZY’s “Loco,” a track off of its first LP, for her gala show at the Beijing Olympics on Sunday.

The band thanked Liu, writing “Thank you so much for performing a great Gala with our song LOCO (heart) You were sooooooo stunning” and Liu shared the Instagram post on hers saying “OMG Thank you sososososo much” adding faces crying with joy.

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