K-pop Weekly: Jin’s ‘The Astronaut’ arrives, soloists stand out and BTS, BLACKPINK land noms as award show season in full swing
Soloists dominated this week, with new music released from the likes of BTS’ Jin, BIBI, Jo Yu-ri, Monsta X’s Ki-hyun and more. With that came a flurry of nominations for K-pop acts from People’s Choice, MAMA and Billboard.
Music Releases
Oct. 23
Soloist BIBI gave fans a double drop of new tracks ahead of the release of her upcoming album “Lowlife Princess: Noir.” Music videos have been released for both songs: “Sweet Sorrow of Mother” and “Motospeed 24.” These latest numbers are a follow up to the pre-release “Animal Farm” last month.
EXO’s Suho teamed up with Thai singer-songwriter Mew Suppasit for an English-language single titled “Turn Off the Alarm.”
Oct. 24
MONSTA X’s Ki-hyun dropped a five-track EP titled “Youth,” led by the title track of the same name. His fellow bandmate Hyung-won produced “Bad Liar” and “Where is this Love” for the B-sides.
Soloist and former IZ*ONE member Jo Yu-ri put out her latest single “Op.22 Y-Waltz : in Minor,” a sequel to her solo debut album “Op.22 Y-Waltz : in Major” back in June. Her newest project is led by the title track “Loveable.”
Trilingual crooner Stella Jang adds her vocals to the original soundtrack (OST) of the K-drama “Cheer Up” with the song “Enjoy This Moment.”
Oct. 25
Wake One soloist Roy Kim returns with a new album titled “,and” after seven years. The album comes with nine songs total, including “It’ll Be Alright” and “Take Me Back in Time.”
“Pachinko” star Kim Min-ha makes her debut as a singer on the Warner Music collaboration track “Fallin” with NCT’s Do-young.
Oct. 26
Rookie K-pop boy group ATBO returned with their second EP “The Beginning: Start,” a follow up to their July debut “The Beginning: Blossom.” Their six-track work is led by the title track “Attitude.” One B-side song, “Magic,” is dedicated to their fans. Members Hyun-jun, Jun-seok, Yeon-kyu and Jun-min all played a part in writing lyrics throughout the album.
Septet rookie girl group CLASS:y dropped music videos for “Tick Tick Boom” and “Zealous,” tracks from their second mini-album “Day&Night.”
C9 Entertainment’s boy group EPEX is all about love in their fourth EP “Prelude of Love Chapter 1. ‘Puppy Love.’” The album comes with four songs, including the title track “Hymn to Love.”
Boy group TFN, formerly known as T1419, finished their “Before Sunrise” album series with a fourth installment. The mini-album comes with five numbers, including an instrumental of their title track “AMAZON.”
Oct. 27
Girl group trio VIVIZ released a special song titled “Rum Pum Pum” exclusively with UNIVERSE MUSIC. It is the latest addition to their discography following their “Summer Vibe” mini-album.
ALICE are here to “DANCE ON” with their newest single. The group debuted in 2017 and consists of members EJ, Do-A , Chae-jeong, Yeon-je, Yuk-yung, So-hee and Karin.
Universal Music soloist SAAY dropped the massive 21-track album “S:INEMA.” It is led by the title track “Talk 2 Me Nice,” which gets the black-andwhite music video treatment.
SUHO of EXO lends his voice for “Call me a Freak,” a song for the OST of the K-drama “Bad Prosecutor,” starring fellow EXO member D.O.
South Korean producer Slom released his album “WEATHER REPORT,” featuring an assembly of notable collaborators, including Zion T for the title track “ANIRAGO,” Crush on the B-side “CACTUS,” pH-1 on “D.R.E.A.M” and Lee Hi and Loco for “SKIT.” Slom produced, composed, arranged and provided several instrumentals for the album, which was churned out through Zion T’s new label STANDARD FRIENDS.
Oct. 28
BTS member Jin’s long-awaited collaboration with Coldplay, “The Astronaut,” is finally here. Jin will debut the track live with Coldplay on Friday as part of the band’s concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
H1GHR MUSIC rapper TRADE L is navigating the “LOVE MAZE” in his new EP. Joining him on the project are Jay Park, pH-1, Sik-K and Mirani on various B-sides. It has two title songs, “NG” and “Sleeeeep,” with the former getting a music video accompaniment.
Girl group sub-unit Acid Angel from Asia debuted with their EP “Access.” They are formed from the members of the girl group project tripleS, where fans voted for members to be a part of subunits. The overall act has over 20 members, most of whom have yet to be revealed.
Playlists
Other K-pop news:
- BTS leader RM has been confirmed as the MC for the fourth season of “The Mysterious Dictionary Of Useless Human Knowledge.”
- SEVENTEEN’s DK released his MINDSET audio series with Dive Studios. It is the 25th audio collection from Mindset and is delivered in Korean, with DK sharing stories about his career and emotional health.
- Reactions are mixed for the announcement of the K-pop Billboard Music Awards, a separate award show meant to highlight K-pop from the Billboard charts.
- BTS and BLACKPINK are among the nominees for the People’s Choice Awards.
- The MAMA Awards nominees were announced, and voting has begun.
- LOONA’s Chuu sang with American singer-songwriter Jeremy Zucker for his song “comethru.” There are rumors she may also have set up her own agency, but LOONA’s label BLOCKBERRY Creative has denied this.
- IVE’s Rei and Liz gave a collaborative performance of IVE’s “After Like” with pop band LANY.
- Members Hui-yeon and Jian will depart CUBE Entertainment’s rookie girl group LIGHTSUM.
- Soloist WOODZ has become EDAM Entertainment’s first male artist under the label.
- GOT7’s Jackson Wang is in the lineup of stars at the League of Legends World Championship in San Francisco.
- RBW Entertainment has issued an official statement about the departure of ONEUS’ RAVN.
- Red Velvet is confirmed for a comeback in November.
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