K-pop girl group AOA is hitting the spotlight next month, dropping the group’s first full-length album since debuting in 2012.

According to an announcement by FNC Entertainment on Tuesday, the girl group will unveil their upcoming album on Jan. 2. The soon-to-be-released new album will also mark AOA’s first promotional activities following the departure of drummer Youkyung.

In October, FNC Entertainment announced that the K-pop starlet had decided to leave the agency after her contract ended. The agency added that although Youkyung is no longer part of AOA, she would participate in the group’s projects as a guest.

On May 16, AOA released the five-track EP “Good Luck.” However, promotions of the new album were cut short following a string of online controversies with online commenters chastising Jimin and Seolhyun for their lack of knowledge of basic Korean history during an episode of “Channel AOA” earlier this year.

The music video of the EP’s single also received strong criticism from local viewers for its overly sexualized content.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)