by Ra Hwak Jin/Joonha Yoo
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| ▲ A photo of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, provided by YG Entertainment (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
◇BLACKPINK to drop new album in August
BLACKPINK, a top K-pop girl group, will make a long-awaited comeback in August, its management agency said Wednesday.
It did not give details of the upcoming album but said the band has devoted itself for a long time to completing "multiple tracks featuring the band's signature music style."
The quartet will hold the largest-ever world tour by a K-pop girl group by the year's end to meet its international fans, YG added.
It will mark the band's first project with all four members in one year and 10 months. The last whole-group release was in October 2020 with the band's first full-length album "The Album," including the main single "Lovesick Girls" and "How You Like That," a prereleased song.
BLACKPINK has recently extended its lead as the most-followed musical act on YouTube after hitting 75 million subscribers.
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| ▲This photo, provided by YG Entertainment, shows Blackpink. (Yonhap) |
Stock Price of the YG Entertainment skyrocketed on Wednesday after K-pop girl group Blackpink’s comeback in August was announced.
By the end of the market on Wednesday, the stock price of the YG Entertainment has jumped up to 48 thousand 950 won which is total of 6.3 percent.
YG Entertainment which started weakly, in the beginning of the market, after the information of BLACKPINK’s comeback was released the stock price rose up to 51 thousand 400 won which is more than 11 percent increase in YG Entertainment’s stock price.
Stock price of the YGPLUS which is the subsidiary of YG Entertainment increased in total of 16.23 percent.
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| ▲This photo, provided by Belift Lab, shows K-pop group Enhypen posing for the camera during a media showcase in Seoul on July 4, 2022, for its third EP, "Manifesto: Day 1." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
◇ Enhypen returns with more intense music and performances
K-pop boy group Enhypen on Monday vowed to present more intense music and performances, returning with its third EP, titled "Manifesto: Day 1."
The album comes six months after "Dimension: Answer," the repackaged version of the band's first full-length album, in January.
Formed through the music cable TV channel Mnet's audition program "I-Land" (2020), the septet debuted in November 2020 with its first EP, "Border: Day One." The group has since been on a steep rise, constantly breaking its own sales records.
The upcoming album is about the boys determining not to live the way others tell them to any longer and to find their own answers, according to the band.
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| ▲This photo, provided by Belift Lab, shows K-pop group Enhypen performing during a media showcase in Seoul on July 4, 2022, for its third EP, "Manifesto: Day 1." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
The EP consists of six tracks led by the main single "Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)." Five other songs are "Walk the Line," "ParadoXXX Invasion," "TFW," "Shout Out" and "Foreshadow."
During the media showcase, Enhypen showcased powerful dance moves themed around the microphone in perfect sync, moving relentlessly all throughout the up-tempo song.
As a group that made its debut during the COVID-19 pandemic, when there were many restrictions on in-person concerts and performances, Enhypen did not hide its expectations for performing live in front of fans on upcoming television music programs.
After their album was released, the title song "Future Perfect" topped the real-time chart on “Line Music”, Japanese largest music site.
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| ▲This photo, shows Enhypen singing their title song "Future Perfect" from their 3rd mini album "MANIFESTO: DAY 1." (Yonhap) |
K-pop boy group Enhypen's new EP titled "Manifesto: Day 1" has sold over 1 million copies in just two days of its release, its agency said Wednesday.
The "Enhypen World Tour 'Manifesto'" will kick off in Seoul from Sept. 17-18 and involve 12 more concerts in six major U.S. cities and three Japanese cities until November, the group said on social media and the K-pop fandom platform Weverse.
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| ▲A photo of K-pop boy group WINNER, provided by YG Entertainment (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
◇ WINNER makes whole-group comeback, ready to bring uplifting vibes back to music scene
K-pop boy group WINNER has sidestepped setbacks caused by two members' mandatory military duties with brisk individual activities and is now ready to bring their uplifting vibes back to the music scene.
The quartet made a full-group comeback for the first time in more than two years Tuesday with its fourth EP, "Holiday."
The last release involving all four members was in April 2020, with the band's third full-length album, "Remember." Since then, Seungyoon and Mino have been busy with their solo activities while the two elder members -- Jinwoo and Seunghoon -- have been away to complete mandatory military service duties.
After the new album's release, the band is expected to experience another hiatus, as Seungyoon and Mino face enlistment.
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| ▲This photo, provided by YG Entertainment, shows WINNER. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) |
The band was formed in 2013 by YG through Mnet's survival program "WIN: Who Is Next" and debuted the following year with its first full-length album, "2014 S/S." WINNER is known for songs like "Really Really," "Love Me Love Me" and "Millions."
The lead track "I Love U" is about a man's confession to his love interest.
According to the agency YG Entertainment, "Holiday," which was released on Tuesday, topped the iTunes album chart in 18 countries. It especially showed strong reactions in Asia and North and South America.
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| ▲This image provided by the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival shows a scene from the opening film "Men." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
◇ Bucheon Int'l Fantastic Film Festival opens 26th edition
The 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), South Korea's largest annual genre film festival, kicked off Thursday in Bucheon, just west of Seoul, featuring 268 films from 49 countries around the world.
This year's BIFAN will run till July 17 under the theme "Stay Strange" with 80 films, including 23 features, having their world premiers. All invited titles will be screened at five local venues, as well as on the Korean online streaming platform Wavve during the period.
The opening ceremony of this year's event was held in-person at the lawn square of Bucheon City Hall for the first time after two pandemic-disrupted years.
Ten films will compete in the Bucheon Choice for international features, including the horror "Alien Artist" by Japanese director Seiyo Hoya, the Indonesian horror "The Womb" by Fajar Nugros and "You Won't Be Alone" by Goran Stolevski from Australia.
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| ▲ This photo, shows, South Korean actor Seol Kyung-gu. (Yonhap) |
In the competitive Bucheon Choice section for shorts, 10 works are listed, including "Bird Woman" by Tokio Oohara, "Perfect City: The Mother" by Zhou Shengwei and "Moshari" by Nuhash Humayun.
Ten flicks, including "Body Parts," "A Good Boy," "Mind Universe" and "The Woman in the White Car," will vie for the prize in the Korean Fantastic section.
Actor Seol Kyung-ku will decorate the festival's special silver-screen star section. His seven best movies, which include "Peppermint Candy" (1999), "Oasis" (2002), "Silmido" (2003) and "The Merciless" (2017), will be shown.
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