By Dong Sun-hwa
The competition on the K-pop charts is intensifying this month, with a legion of prominent stars gearing up with their new music offerings. Included in the line-up are NCT DoJaeJung, IVE, Kep1er and Apink.
IVE (April 10)
Girl group IVE’s first full-length album, I’ve IVE, will drop on April 10. It has taken more than a year for the six-piece act to roll out a studio album since their debut in December 2021.
To whet the appetites of their fans, IVE unveiled one of the songs, “Kitsch”, on March 27. The track has already made a splash, grabbing the No. 1 spot on multiple music streaming platforms including South Korean music streaming service Melon.
“‘Kitsch’, which highlights IVE members’ uniqueness and self-confidence, will help them solidify their identities,” Starship Entertainment, IVE’s management company, said in a statement. “Their coming album will revolve around the themes of self-love, self-confidence and free-spiritedness.”
IVE have risen to meteoric stardom thanks to the success of three singles: “Eleven”, “Love Dive” and “After Like”. Kakao Entertainment, which controls Starship, announced recently that it has partnered with the US record label Columbia Records to promote the group’s musical activities in North America. Columbia is the company behind stars like Beyoncé́ and Harry Styles.Kep1er (April 10)
On the same day, girl group Kep1er will drop their fourth mini-album, Lovestruck!. Kep1er is a multinational act made up of nine contestants from South Korean reality competition show Girls Planet 999.
Led by “Giddy”, the coming EP will express the emotional roller-coaster that the nine members face after falling in love.
“Their fresh mini-album will feature the thrill of love and various feelings related to it,” the group’s agencies, Wake One Entertainment and Swing Entertainment, said in a statement.
Lovestruck! will also offer four other tracks: “LVLY”, “Back to the City”, “Why” and “Happy Ending”.
NCT DoJaeJung (April 17)
NCT DoJaeJung, a subunit of boy group NCT, are poised to make their much awaited debut with the EP Perfume on April 17. The group consists of three NCT members: Doyoung, Jaehyun and Jungwoo.Fronted by a lead single of the same name, Perfume will carry five additional tracks: “Kiss”, “Dive”, “Strawberry Sunday”, “Can We Go Back” and “Ordinary”.
“The EP will offer songs of various genres, which all centre on the theme of love,” the trio’s agency, SM Entertainment, said in a statement. “It will have a romantic vibe that can fascinate fans.”
The company added that Doyoung, Jaehyun and Jungwoo will bring their unexplored sides to the fore.
“The three members first performed as a trio during NCT’s Seoul concert last October,” it said. “Their fans reacted wildly to their performance and chemistry, asking them to form a subunit.”
The three NCT members took the stage with “Can We Go Back” at Jamsil Sports Complex’s Main Stadium in southeastern Seoul and garnered rave reviews for their performing skills.
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In addition to these acts, Apink, Park Ji-hoon, Lee Chae-yeon and Epex will also put out new music offerings.Apink will release their 10th mini-album, Self, on April 5. On April 12, Park is expected to roll out his seventh EP, Blank or Black, and Lee will unleash her second mini-album, Over the Moon. Epex’s fifth EP, Prelude of Love Chapter 2. “Growing Pains”, will hit shelves on April 26.
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