[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jimin sells record 1.45m copies of solo album

The first solo album from Jimin of BTS sold more than 1.45 million copies in the first week, according to label Big Hit Music on Friday.

It is a record for a solo musician in K-pop history.

EP “Face” sold over 1.02 million units on the day of release, becoming a million-seller in a single day. This is the first time for a solo act since a local chart started tallying first-week sales.

It also landed atop all three of Oricon’s weekly charts -- the weekly digital album ranking, the weekly album ranking and the weekly combined album ranking -- a first for a solo artist this year.

Main track “Like Crazy” topped the iTunes top songs chart in 115 regions as did the pre-release “Set Me Free Pt. 2” in 111 regions. The latter hit Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 30 as well as UK’s official singles chart top 100.

Enhypen to voice character in Nickelodeon animation

Enhypen will voice a character in the Baby Shark animation movie, co-produced by Nickelodeon, Paramount+ and The Pinkfong Company, the Korean firm announced Friday.

The movie, “Baby Shark’s Big Movie!” is the first feature-length film in which Baby Shark and his family encounter a pop starfish that tries to steal his musical gift.

All seven members of the boy band will take part as an underwater K-pop band of belugas, joining the A-list cast that includes Cardi B and Lance Bass.

The movie will be released later this year.

Separately, the band left for Paris on Thursday to appear in a Korean television music chart show filmed in the French capital. In May, it will join the lineup for KCON 2023 Japan, a major K-pop group concert, held in Chiba, Japan. It will perform on the last day along with iKON, Itzy and Kep1er.

Victon’s Lim Sejun to enlist in June: report

Lim Sejun of Victon will start his mandatory military service on June 13, according to a local media report on Friday.

Agency IST Entertainment confirmed the news following the report adding that the time and venue of his joining the basic training camp will remain undisclosed.

He is the third member of the five-member band to enlist, after Han Seungwoo who was discharged in January, and Kang Seungsik, who began serving last week.

Lim debuted as a member of the band in 2016 and is starring in musical “Secretly Greatly: The Last.” He has appeared in a series of musicals and web dramas as well as movie “Her Bucket List.” Victon released eighth EP “Choice” in November last year and went live in Tokyo in December as a year-end party with fans.

Dreamcatcher to release 8th EP in May

Girl group Dreamcatcher will bring out a new EP in May, according to the Dreamcatcher Company on Friday.

It comes about seven months since its previous EP “Apocalypse: Follow Us” and will be the final installment of its three-part “Apocalypse” series. The first installment, the second studio album “Apocalypse: Save Us,” was No. 1 on the iTunes top albums chart in 21 regions when it came out in April last year.

In January, the group celebrated the sixth anniversary of its debut with the digital single “Reason.”

In the meantime, the seven-member act wrapped up its US tour “Reason: Makes Dreamcatcher 2023” last week. The bandmates visited fans in nine cities, including New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles.