Jihyo of Twice will bring out her first solo album in August, announced label JYP Entertainment on Friday.
She will be the second member of the nine-member group to do so, after Nayeon.
A new poster showed her touching up her lipstick in a rear view mirror, revealing the owner of the hand on the wheel from the mysterious teaser poster that only said “Killin’ Me Good.”
The group is slated to tour the US for about a month, starting in Los Angeles on Friday, hitting nine cities for 13 concerts in total.
Meanwhile, the nonet’s music video for “Likey” surpassed 600 million views on YouTube as of Friday. The video is its third to reach the milestone, after those of “TT” and “What Is Love?”
“Likey” is the main track from its first studio album “Twicetagram” from October 2017.
SHINee’s Onew to take a break
Onew of SHINee will be absent from its forthcoming concert and promotional activities for eighth full album due to health reasons, said label SM Entertainment on Friday.
He has been feeling under the weather recently and was told to take a break to focus on treatment and stabilization, it added.
The band, in time for its 15th anniversary of debut, will hold concerts in Seoul on June 23-25 and will put out its eighth LP “Hard” on June 26. Key, Minho and Taemin will carry on the schedule and the leader will resume activities depending on his recovery, said the management firm.
Onew told fans via his social media that he will be back as soon as his health recovers. There could be some misunderstanding, especially at a crucial moment for the band, but he came to the decision as the future is more important, he added.
Infinite marks 13th debut anniversary
Infinite celebrated its 13th anniversary of debut with its fans via livestream on Friday.
The six members gathered in front of fans for the first time in five years, bringing fans up to speed and sharing episodes from the past. They reassured the audience that they will carry on as a team, apologizing for making them wait without any promise.
After spending two hours with their fans online, the bandmates subtly hinted at their upcoming activity, telling the audience to keep their schedule open for Aug. 19-20.
Separately, Kim Sungkyu also told fans that the lead track from his upcoming fifth solo EP “2023 S/S Collection” will be “Small Talk.” The EP will be released on June 28.
Stray Kids rewrites K-pop record for first-week sales
Stray Kids sold more than 4.61 million copies of its third full-length album, breaking K-pop records for the first of week sales, said label JYP Entertainment Friday.
This dethrones Seventeen whose 10th EP “FML” logged 4.55 million in April.
The eight-piece act’s LP “Five-Star” sold over 5.13 million units in pre-orders, raising expectations for a mega hit. Its previous album, EP “Maxident,” from last year surpassed 3 million in sales and ranked No. 1 on Billboard 200.
The LP was No. 1 on the iTunes top albums chart in 33 regions as was focus track “S-Class” on its top songs chart in 43.
In the meantime, the band will hold its third fan meet event in Seoul on July 1-2. The second day will be broadcast live as well.
