[Today’s K-pop] Aespa to release new album in May: report

Label SM Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. The group was set to do so in February, but the dates were postponed due to a conflict over the company’s management. It, however, held its first standalone concert in Seoul on Feb. 25-26.

Its last album was second EP “Girls,” which sold more than 1.42 million copies in the first week and became the first album from a K-pop girl group to sell over a million in the period. The EP also notched No. 3 spot on Billboard 200.

Separately, the four members flew to Japan on Tuesday for their Japan tour that will bring them to four cities in the country: Osaka, Tokyo, Saitama and Nagoya.

Le Sserafim may return in May: local media report

Le Sserafim will make a comeback in early May, according to a local media report on Thursday.

Specific dates will be announced when they are set officially, said agency Source Music following the report.

It will be about seven months after its second EP “Antifragile” which debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 14 in November last year. The quintet entered the chart in the shortest time after debut for a K-pop girl group. The EP also was its first million-seller, selling more than 630,000 copies in the first week.

Earlier this month, Le Sserafim earned double platinum certification from Recording Industry Association of Japan with Japan debut single “Fearless,” logging 500,000 shipments as of February.

In the meantime, the group is holding its first standalone fan meet in Seoul this weekend.

Wanna One’s Ong Seongwoo to enlist next month

Ong Seongwoo will fulfill his mandatory military service starting April 17, said agency Fantagio on Thursday.

He will serve in the Army and will enter the training camp without any ceremony, said the management company asking fans to refrain from visiting the site.

He was a member of project group Wanna One, which was formed in 2017 through the second season of the audition program “Produce 101.” He branched into acting in 2019 with the drama “At Eighteen” and debuted in the film “Seoul Vibe,” a Netflix original that premiered last year.

The singer and actor will wrap up shooting drama “Strong Woman Gang Nam-soon” within this month. He will also star in movies “Starlight Falls” and “Cattle Run” that are set to be unveiled this year.

NCT127 to publish graphic novel in July

A graphic novel inspired the music of NCT127 will be launched in July, according to label SM Entertainment on Thursday.

The record label joined hands with Z2 Comics, an American publisher that specializes in combining music and the visual-heavy format, as well as Universal Music and will put out “NCT127: Limitless.”

Set in a concert venue in New York, it is themed after “Dream,” the key to understanding the band’s musical perspective. The story follows how the bandmates overcome their anxiety and fear and mature as they carry on their international tour.

The graphic novel will be the first of its kind to draw on K-pop intellectual property, spanning across mediums and genres.

Meanwhile, the nine-member act hit the Billboard 200 at No. 13 with “Ay-Yo,” a reissue of its fourth studio album “Two Baddies,” this week.

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