By Dong Sun-hwa
The chart competition among K-pop stars will intensify in the next few weeks, as several acts release new music. Among them are girl groups NewJeans and Aespa, boy band Treasure and RM from BTS.
It garnered more than five million views within 13 hours of being released, showing the group’s popularity despite the ongoing management rights dispute involving Ador and its parent company, Hybe.
Following the release of How Sweet, NewJeans will release an album, Supernatural, on June 21. It will be their first Japanese release.
The album’s title track samples “Back of My Mind” (2009), a collaboration between Pharrell Williams and Japanese singer Manami.
RM’s new album will feature 11 tracks, mostly about moments when people feel like they are “a stranger who cannot fit in”. RM participated in writing the lyrics of all the songs.
“Come back to me” is an indie pop song that explores the contradictory emotions that people experience as they try to make a choice between challenge and complacency.
“The upcoming album, which is RM’s first solo release in about 17 months, will also present a collaboration that breaks down the boundaries of art,” says Big Hit Music, the subsidiary label of Hybe that represents BTS.
RM’s first solo album, Indigo, hit shelves in December, 2022.
The quartet heightened anticipation among fans by unveiling “Supernova” on May 13, two weeks before the album’s release. The catchy dance track quickly climbed multiple streaming charts in South Korea and abroad, reaching the No. 6 spot on the real-time chart of Melon, a major streaming service in Korea, within three days.
“The ‘Supernova’ music video is in line with the upcoming album’s slogan – ‘Only I can define myself’,” SM says. “It paints a picture of the members who attempt to depict their authentic selves.”
Boy band Treasure will put out a digital single, “King Kong”, on May 28. The group’s record label, YG Entertainment, says the tune will be reminiscent of the movie of the same name, about a character that takes a risk for love.
“Our members’ energy and charisma have been raised to the maximum,” YG says.