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[Today’s K-pop] Twice sells 1.7m copies of 12th EP in pre-orders

By Hwang You-mee

Published : March 8, 2023 - 19:27

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(Credit: JYP Entertainment) (Credit: JYP Entertainment)

Twice's upcoming EP sold over 1.7 million copies in pre-orders, announced label JYP Entertainment on Wednesday.

The group’s 12th EP “Ready to Be,” due out on Friday, is set to be another multi-million-seller following the previous EP “Between 1&2” in August last year.

Expectations for the album have been high, and pre-release from the EP “Moonlight Sunrise” ranked No. 84 on Billboard’s Hot 100 last month.

The nine-member group will perform the main track “Set Me Free” for the first time on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Thursday in the US. On Saturday, it will host a livestream and discuss the album while still in New York.

Next month, it will kick off its fifth international tour starting with a concert in Seoul. The group will hit 14 cities in total, in Australia, Japan and the US, for 17 shows up until July.

 

BTS’ Jimin floats teaser for solo album

(Credit: Big Hit Music) (Credit: Big Hit Music)

Jimin of BTS hinted at the ambience of his forthcoming solo album “Face,” uploading a black and white photograph on Wednesday.

It shows him from the back taking a step from a bleak room scattered with furniture covered with fabric. More teaser photographs will follow in two different versions – “hardware” and “software” – later this week, label Bit Hit Music said in advance.

His first solo album will roll out on March 24.

In the meantime, the band’s anthology album “Proof” is staying strong on Billboard 200, ranking No. 174 on the chart dated March 11. It has maintained its spot on the main albums chart for the 38th week in a row.

Jimin’s collaboration with Taeyang of Big Bang claimed the No. 194 spot on Billboard’s Global excl. the US.

 

Kara to greet fans at home after 9 years

(Credit: RBW Entertainment/DSP Media) (Credit: RBW Entertainment/DSP Media)

Veteran female band Kara will hold a fan meet event in Seoul for the first time in nine years, said agencies RBW Entertainment and DSP Media on Wednesday.

The five members will meet their fans in person at the event that will be held twice on April 8. They made a full-group comeback in November last year, after 7 1/2 years, in time for the 15th anniversary of their debut.

They already hosted fan meet events in Japan, greeting their fans in person after eight years. The visited Osaka, Fukuoka and Yokohama until last week and celebrated the release of “Move Again,” an album that marks the anniversary.

Separately, Nicole is putting out digital single “Mysterious” on her own on Thursday.

 

iKON’s Bobby to drop solo single later this month

(Credit: 143 Entertainment) (Credit: 143 Entertainment)

Bobby of iKON will bring out a solo single on March 21, according to agency 143 Entertainment on Wednesday.

Single “S.I.R” will consist of two tracks -- “Drowning” and “Cherry Blossom” -- and he participated in writing the words and melodies for both songs.

It is the first solo single for the performer who already has two studio albums of his own, from 2017 and 2021. He debuted as a member of iKON in 2015 and it is the first music he is bringing out since he left label YG Entertainment, along with his bandmates, and signed with the agency.

In the meantime, iKON announced its plans for a global tour that starts in May. The six members will go live in 11 cities in Asia and Europe from May to July before heading to the US where they will hold concerts in six cities in September.