Blackpink’s forthcoming Hanoi gig will be carried out in the same format as other concerts of its tour, said label YG Entertainment Wednesday.

This announcement came after complaints arose in response to rumors that the event would only have 13 songs and would not include solo performances.

The group is set to hold concerts in the Vietnamese capital on July 29-30 for the first time in the country.

Separately, the quartet went live in London on Sunday in the UK, headlining the 2023 British Summer Festival Hyde Park. They drew about 65,000 concertgoers, according to a BBC tally.

NewJeans’ debut album sets record on Spotify

All songs from the debut EP of NewJeans have each surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify, according to agency Ador on Wednesday.

“Hurt,” the B-side track from its eponymous EP, reached the milestone and became its sixth song to do so. Three focus tracks from the EP -- “Hype Boy,” “Attention” and “Cookie” -- logged 300, 200, and 100 million streams on the platform, respectively.

The rookie group amassed 1 billion Spotify streams with six songs as of March, in 219 days since its debut. It is a record time for a K-pop artist, as recognized by the Guinness World Records.

Separately, the quintet performed “ETA,” one of the title tracks from its upcoming second EP “Get Up,” for the first time at a fan meet in Seoul over the weekend. The mini album will be rolled out on July 21.

Ive, Le Sserafim make NME’s best albums list

The first full-length albums from Ive and Le Sserafim were listed as “the biggest and the best albums released in 2023 so far” by UK magazine NME.

In the list announced Tuesday in the UK, it described Ive’s “I’ve Ive” as “a luxurious, confident and commanding collection of K-pop.” The six members debuted in December 2021 but “showcase 11 solid tracks that are cohesive beyond their years. They don’t miss a single beat,” it wrote.

The LP from April was the group’s second million-selling album, after its third single “After Like.”

Meanwhile, the publication touted Le Sserafim as the front-runner of the fourth-generation K-pop girl groups and said that LP “Unforgiven” “speaks to their unflinching determination never to compromise their values.”

The album came out in May and hit Billboard 200 at No. 6 and topped Oricon’s three weekly album rankings. It also was the group’s second to sell over a million, after its second EP “Antifragile.”

Itzy tops YouTube chart with ‘Bet On Me’ music video

Itzy ranked No. 1 on YouTube’s trending worldwide chart with the music video for "Bet On Me," which was released ahead of its seventh EP launch.

The group unveiled the video for the track on Monday and it shot to the top spot the following day, reflecting fans’ expectations for the EP “Kill My Doubt.”

The five members run through a dark tunnel and finally manage to spot a light coming in from the end. It portrays how the youth endeavor to find solutions despite feeling at a loss.

The EP will be released on July 31 and another track from the album, “None of My Business,” will be dropped in advance on July 24. A pop-up store to mark the release will be set up in Seoul from July 27 to Aug. 9.

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