[Today’s K-pop] Aespa sets date for 1st Japan showcase

Aespa will host the group’s first showcase in Japan in August, according to SM Entertainment on Thursday.
 
The girl group will hold the showcase “Sync” at an arena in Yokohama on Aug. 6-7.
 
“We’re expecting a huge response since this is the first performance aespa is putting on in Japan,” said the management company.
 
Now in its third year of a successful career so far, the band is gearing up for a full-fledged entry into the wider world.
 
Its label cinched a partnership with Warner Records on Wednesday and will roll out the second EP, “Girls,” in Korea and the US simultaneously on July 8.
 
The group surprised fans by dropping a track from the EP titled “Illusion” prior to the full release. “Life’s Too Short,” an English-language single the quintet performed at the Coachella festival in April, will also be released in advance.
  
Itzy to drop new album in July, tour US in October

  
Itzy will put out a fifth EP on July 15 and tour the US in October, announced label JYP Entertainment on Thursday.
 
Its previous album was the first studio album, “Crazy In Love,” in September last year, which hit the Billboard 200 at No. 11.
 
After releasing the EP “Checkmate,” the quintet will host two concerts in Seoul on Aug. 6-7. In October, it will tour eight cities in the US, from Los Angeles and Chicago to New York. It will be the girl group’s first international tour.
 
Itzy debuted in 2019 and has released a series of hits, including “Dalla Dalla,” “Icy,” “Wannabe” and “In the Morning.”
 
Meanwhile, the group has two reality shows, airing on Naver’s Now and Mnet. 
  
TXT ranks among top 10 on Billboard 200 for 2nd week

Tomorrow X Together came in at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 with its fourth EP, staying in the top 10 on the chart for a second consecutive week.
 
This makes the band the second male K-pop act to do so, after only BTS. The EP “minisode 2: Thursday’s Child” hit the chart at No. 4, a career-high ranking, the previous week.
 
The EP also stayed atop the Billboard world albums chart for a second week. The album sold over 1 million copies in its first week, becoming the 3-year-old band’s first million-seller.
 
In July, the quintet will host its first international tour, visiting seven cities in the US. 
  
OneUs to host 1st fan meeting in Japan

Boy band OneUs will greet fans in Japan for the first time in a series of fan meeting events from later this month, according to agency RBW Entertainment on Thursday.
 
Under the title “Summer,” the band will meet fans in Tokyo and Osaka, on June 25 and July 3, respectively. It will be returning to Japan about a month after its third concert in the country.
 
Last month, the six-member act put out seventh EP “Trickster,” selling over 228,000 copies, a record for the band. Earlier this week, it gifted fans with a choreography video for “Bring It On,” the main track from the EP.
 
By Hwang You-mee
(glamazon@heraldcorp.com)