[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink to hold encore concert in US this summer

The quartet will perform in New Jersey, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles from Aug. 12-26, returning to the US where they held 14 concerts in seven cities last year.

On Saturday in the US, the bandmates headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival as the first K-pop act to do so. They will go live again on Saturday, the last day of the music fest.

Meanwhile, speculations claiming that Rose is seeing actor Gang Dong-won have surfaced online. On Monday, her label denied the rumor and asked the media to help stop spreading it. It first only said that it cannot confirm since it is a private matter earlier on the day. Gang, 16 years her senior, also was part of the label until December last year.

Ive sells 1.1m copies of 1st LP

The first studio album from Ive sold more than 1.1 million copies in the first week, according to a local tally on Monday.

It is the third bestselling album from a K-pop girl group – only achieved by Blackpink and aespa – and is the group’s second to sell over one million units, after its third single “After Like.”

Pre-release from the LP “Kitsch” landed atop top 100 chart on Melon, the largest music platform in Korea, and main track from the album “I Am” joined at No. 2, pushing down NewJeans and Blackpink’s Jisoo.

The LP topped the iTunes albums chart worldwide and the pre-release entered Billboard’s Global 200 at No. 90 and Billboard excl. the US at No. 152.

Tempest brings out 4th EP

Boy band Tempest held a media showcase in Seoul Monday to put out fourth EP “The Calm Before the Storm.”

The seven members were full of confidence that the album will best show them as they are and prove their worth.

“We are in our second year … and we feel that we’ve matured,” said Hwarang, promising that they will demonstrate that they are “irreplaceable.”

The EP is the first installment of its “Storm” series, which will depict how the youth makes it forward despite hardship. It is full of our energy and will to weather the storm and settle anxieties in our own ways, explained Lew.

The two both participated in writing lyrics for all four tracks including lead track “Dangerous.”

With the new mini album, the bandmates said, they set their aims at coming in first place at a television music chart show. They also wish for an opportunity to invite as many of their fans as possible, they added.

Ex-GFriend Yerin finds new agency

Yerin, formerly of GFriend, signed with agency Bill Entertainment, said the company on Monday.

The agency uploaded a new profile picture of the performer and said that it is happy to support her start fresh.

She debuted as a member of GFriend in 2015 with the EP “Season of Glass.” The group disbanded in May 2021 after its contract with management firm Source Music expired, a surprise for fans.

She joined agency Sublime on her own and put out “Aria,” her first album as a solo musician, in May last year. Their contract came to terms in March. Yerin has appeared in a series of variety shows as well, and most recently participated in “Girls Reverse,” a survival audition program to debut as a girl group member in virtual reality.

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