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[Today’s K-pop] Stray Kids unveils first international collab

By Hwang You-mee

Published : March 19, 2021 - 17:30

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(Credit: Sony Music) (Credit: Sony Music)

Stray Kids recently joined forces with international musicians to put out a mobile game song.

The band teamed up with Swedish producer Alesso and DJ Corsak, who hails from China, and will release a Korean version of “Going Dumb,” part of the soundtrack for Battle Ground, which will come out Friday at midnight. 

Alesso is a hit EDM artist with a multi-platinum record. Corsak, who created the original version, is reaching out to a wider audience. It was rearranged to add Korean lyrics sung by Stray Kids, and both songs will be unveiled together.

The band was recently named one of the three best new artists by Japan’s Gold Disc Awards and will compete against other boy bands including iKON, The Boyz and Ateez on the television program “Kingdom: Legendary War.”

Hyunjin participated in the first episode of the show, but dropped out after claims emerged that he had bullied other students when they were in school. He will suspend all his activities for the time being.

BTS’ V draws 150 million streams on Spotify

(Credit: Big Hit Entertainment) (Credit: Big Hit Entertainment)

A solo song from V of BTS recorded more than 150 million streams on the world’s largest streaming platform.

His “Singularity” was the intro from BTS’ third studio album, “Love Yourself: Tear.” The R&B tune with a neo-soul sound was included on the Guardian’s list of the top 100 songs of 2018, as well as the New York Times’ and LA Times’ lists of best songs for that year. It topped the iTunes songs chart in 26 regions, and the video had attracted over 158 million views as of Friday.

V had close to 2.7 million followers on Spotify as of March 18, according to media reports. The number was 1 million in July last year.

His other solo number “Sweet Night,” from the original soundtrack of hit drama “Itaewon Class,” was Spotify’s most popular OST song last year, logging over 113 million listens.

“Blue & Grey” went past 80 million last week, ranking highest among the B-side tracks from the band’s “BE” album.

ITZY to host party for fans 

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

ITZY will hold its first fan meet event online Saturday and will release a song dedicated to its fans later the same day.

The quartet celebrated the second anniversary of its debut last month and will invite its fans to a party-themed digital event that will be broadcast live for members of its official fan club. 

The song -- named after its official fandom, Midzy -- conveys how the band wants to console and embrace the many people who are going through a difficult time right now. It also shows how much the musicians appreciate their fans’ faith in them, with ITZY saying that’s the reason the band exists. The song is available in English as well.

The girl group blasted onto the K-pop scene with “Dalla Dalla,” which topped a television music chart show in the shortest time ever and raked in nine trophies. Each of the music videos for its major tracks so far -- “Dalla Dalla,” “ICY,” “Wannabe” and “Not Shy” -- have drawn over 100 million views.

Jessi’s new single trends worldwide 

(Credit: P Nation) (Credit: P Nation)

Jessi’s newly released music video for her digital single “What Type of X” topped YouTube’s Trending Worldwide chart Friday.

The music video -- full of her signature powerful performance -- is a delight to watch, set against dramatic backgrounds that switch between black and white and dazzling colors. It drew over 7.5 million views within less than two days of its release.

The pop rock tune was written by the musician and her producer Psy, who was in charge of the visuals as well.

Jessi is hosting a challenge through TikTok, which fueled the popularity of her previous hit, “Nunu Nana.” Psy and Mamamoo’s Hwasa participated in the challenge -- and, most notably, Jay Park, rapper and head of the AOMG label, joined the artists. 

By Hwang You-mee
(glamazon@heraldcorp.com)