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[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream to drop 1st LP in May

By Hwang You-mee

Published : April 12, 2021 - 17:08

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(Credit: SM Entertainment) (Credit: SM Entertainment)

NCT Dream will return with its first studio album titled “Hot Sauce” on May 10, its label SM Entertainment announced Monday.

The album will consist of ten tracks and will span multiple genres.

The subunit of NCT originally debuted as a group of teenagers -- Mark, Renjun, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisung. Mark left the team when he turned 20 in 2018, but SM Entertainment has since changed the group’s age requirement, and he will return for the LP. It will be the singer’s first recording with the team since the group’s second EP “We Go Up.”

It has been about a year since the group’s previous EP “Reload” that topped major charts at home and abroad. It ranked No. 1 on iTunes top albums chart in 51 regions and with it, NCT Dream was included in Billboard’s 21 Under 21 for third consecutive year, a first for an Asian act. The group also ranked first on Billboard’s emerging artists list in 2020.

The Boyz’ Sunwoo gifts song to celebrate birthday

(Credit: Cre.ker Entertainment) (Credit: Cre.ker Entertainment)

Sunwoo of The Boyz unveiled a self-written song to mark his birthday.

He gave fans a taste of the solo song called “Berry” during a livestream on Naver’s V Live and released the full version via SoundCloud on Monday as a gift to his fans.

The pop ballad is about a boy who has a fairytale-like dream as he falls in love.

“As we live through repetitive lives, we get more used to reason than dreams,” said the singer. “But this expresses how we can be innocent like children when it comes to love.”

The Boyz recently celebrated the third anniversary of the birth of its official fandom. It is currently competing against other boy bands in Mnet’s “Kingdom: Legendary War” and came in second in the show’s face-off. It was the winner of the first season of the competition, “Road To Kingdom,” last year.

NU’EST reveals title track for upcoming 2nd LP

(Credit: Pledis Entertainment) (Credit: Pledis Entertainment)

NU’EST shared the tracklist from its forthcoming album “Romanticize” on Monday.

The band will be coming out with its second studio album next week and the lead track will be “Inside Out.” The album will consist of ten tracks.

Baekho and JR participated in writing the lyrics for “Inside Out,” a chill house tune based on minimal sounds. Baekho also had his hands in the melody.

It has been seven years since the five-piece act put out a full-length album and each of the members have a solo track: Minhyun’s “Earphone,” Baekho’s “Need It,” JR’s “Doom Doom,” Ren’s “Rocket Rocket,” and Aron’s that roughly translates into “Suffer.”

Aron, however, will not be able to fully participate in the promotion activities due to anxiety issues, according to a statement the agency put on its website.

ITZY heats up expectations for new EP

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

ITZY surprised fans with a poster that featured the tracklist from its new EP “Guess Who” on Monday.

The lead track is “Ma.fi.a In The Morning” and head producer Park Jinyoung wrote both the lyrics and melody, while also arranging the song. As for the other five tracks -- titled “Sorry Not Sorry,” “Kidding Me,” “Wild Wild West,” “Shoot!” and “Tennis (0:0)” -- a number of hitmaking songwriters were involved, raising the expectations of fans.

The EP will be fully unveiled on April 30.

Meanwhile, the quintet recently floated live performance clip of “Midzy,” a song dedicated fans, in English via “Friday Livestream” on MTV’s official YouTube channel. The band made the song to mark the second anniversary of its debut and added an English version to reach out to its fans around the world.

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