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Aespa Puts “Girls” On Top With Newest Mini Album
- Quick Take: aespa’s last mini album showcases a more balanced sound and concept, as well as cementing their spot as one of the top girl groups by breaking the record for first week sales for female artists (and fourth overall).
- Album Favorites: “ICU”; “Life’s Too Short” (pre-release)
SM’s aespa released the MV for “Girls”, the title track of their second EP album. I’ve been a bit reluctant to get into aespa since their debut, not for their lack of talent but because most of their songs and concepts felt a bit unfocused and cluttered. “Girls” is arguably the best of their title tracks, in terms of cohesiveness. There’s still a lot going on- both in the visuals of the MV and in the heavy synth in the background- but I was relieved not to have an awkward bridge that threw me off in some of their other tracks. The constant references to the ‘Kwangya’ lore in the lyrics still feel a bit forced, and I will admit that the flashy MV scenes distract a bit from some of the slightly lackluster choreo that make me cringe a bit in the live performances. But overall, this was a well put together comeback that matches their burgeoning style and sound. The rest of the mini album has more variety than their previous releases. The pre-release track “Illusion” fits in with the typical synth/glitch aespa sound, but new track “Lingo” experiments with a pop/country-esque backing while the cheerful “ICU” and pre-release “Life’s Too Short” showcase a gentler side of the group.
Comebacks & Releases
- ENHYPEN released their third mini album “Manifesto:Day 1” with the title track “Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)”. This is Sunoo’s era, and we’re just living in it.
- WINNER released their 4th EP “HOLIDAY” with the title track “I Love U”. The track and dreamy MV are perfect for a mood-booster, but the endearing “Sweet Home” is my favorite from the album.
- VIVIZ made their post-Queendom 2 comeback with their 2nd mini album “Summer Vibe” and the title track “Loveade”. This is the perfect summer song, and I am obsessed this cute ILY move in the choreo. Also, if I take up archery, will I also look like Umji? Asking for a friend.
- Another group fresh off the Queendom momentum, WJSN released a special single album “Sequence” and the siren-esque MV for “Last Sequence” , which proves that you can never have enough glitter.
- Soloist Rothy released the chill breakup single “Changed Number“.
- Girl group IRRIS (formerly REDSQUARE) re-debuted with the catchy single “Wanna Know“, with one of the better MVs I’ve seen from a relatively low-budget nugu group.
- Athletic girl group H1-KEY released the single album “Run“.
- Boy group MCND released their 4th mini album “The Earth: Secret Mission Chapter 2” which despite the lengthy name has the fun title track “#MOOD“.
Top Headlines
- BLACKPINK in your Area! YG revealed that the group is gearing up for an August comeback with “the largest-scale world tour in K-pop girl group history” according to a company representative.
- ENHYPEN also announced their first world tour “MANIFESTO” starting off in September. So far only stops for Seoul, USA, and Japan have been announced with more dates to be released later.
- Jessi, the first artist to sign with Psy’s company P NATION, has officially left the agency following the expiration of her 3-year contract. Following the official statement, she posted on her Instagram in response to speculations and rumors from surprised fans. Although she asked for some ‘time to breathe’, she assured fans that she is not retiring and showed no hard feelings toward her former company.
- Speaking of contracts, DSP Media announced that all 4 member of co-ed group KARD have renewed their contracts with the agency.
- GOT7‘s Mark Tuan announced “The Other Side” North America tour starting in October.
- In more GOT7 news, Youngjae announced that he will be temporarily halting all activities after being diagnosed with COVID-19. Get well soon!
- In even more GOT7 news, reps confirmed that JAY B and special effects artist/YouTuber Pure.D have been dating for 9 months. Congrats to the happy couple! (and check out her channel, she’s really good!)
- RBW announced that ONEWE member Kanghyun will be enlisting on August 2, the second member of the band to do so.
K-Drama Corner
- Jung Hae In (D.P.; Prison Playbook; One Spring Night) is in talks to appear in the sequel to the hit film Veteran.
- Wooga Squad ( BTS’s V, Park Seo Joon, Choi Woo Shik, Park Hyung Sik, and Peakboy) are featured in a new poster and teaser for the upcoming reality show In The Soop:Friendcation. A spin-off of HYBE’s series featuring BTS and SEVENTEEN, our favorite group of besties will enjoy a trip together
while we watch enviously with our VPNs. Friendcation premieres July 22 on JTBC and Disney Plus. - Lee Jong Suk (Pinocchio; Romance Is A Romance Book;While You Were Sleeping) and Girls Generation’s Yoona (The K2; Hush) upcoming drama Big Mouth released a new teaser. Jong Suk plays a down-on-his-luck lawyer who, in a case of mistaken identity, ends up in jail and has to fight to survive while working to uncover a corrupt conspiracy among the higher-ups. Yoona plays his wife, a hardworking nurse who supported her husband’s law career and now works to clear his name when he’s framed to be the conman Big Mouth. But the Vincenzo fan in me is most looking forward to seeing Kwak Dong Yeon, who plays a fellow inmate and huge fan of the real Big Mouth. Big Mouth premieres July 29 on MBC.
- Lovelyz‘s Yein (The Blue Sea) and Ciipher‘s Tan are coming back to drama-land. The two are confirmed for the upcoming web drama Nara Who Wants to Become an Insider as a pair of aspiring actors. Tan previously acted beside singer/actor Rain, whose company created the boy group, in the drama Ghost Doctor.
- In more idol-to-actor news, new posters featuring NCT‘s Dohyun and Han Ji Hyo (Tomorrow) have been released for the upcoming drama Dear X Who Doesn’t Love Me. Han Ji Hyo stars as a single-from-birth college student who finds a mysterious notebook that can make anyone fall in love for a month. Her best friend, Dohyun’s character, finds out about the notebook and starts to worry seeing his friend with a series of boyfriend-of-the-month. (Girl, if your best friend looks like Dohyun you better shoot your shot…) Dear X premieres July 14 on TVING. (watch the trailer here.)
Currently Watching
- My Liberation Notes (final):
- I finally got around to finishing this drama after seeing so much praise for it on my timeline. It’s a bit slow-paced, and definitely not for everyone. But so much of the dialogue was very relatable, and although it featured unhappy people something about it felt cathartic. Many viewers compared it to the cult favorite My Mister, and while I can certainly see the similarities, I think that My Mister had more complete character arcs and was the more satisfying of the two dramas. Still, I liked that the series ended with a feeling of hope and the ensemble cast were absolutely amazing in their roles. Now I need something happy to get over this…
- Extraordinary Attorney Woo (episode 4)
- Speaking of happy, I cannot stop smiling when watching this drama. I was a bit skeptical when I first read the synopsis, because as someone who works with students with learning differences and non-neurotypical populations I sometimes get tired of seeing shows that haphazardly use the ‘disability of the month’ to be trendy. But I was pleasantly surprised to see that the writers of the show seem to have done their research. Park Eun Bin‘s (Do You Like Brahms) character is a bit of your typical ‘quirky but with a heart-of-gold’ drama heroine, but there’s a realness within the layers of interactions and reactions with her co-workers and clients. I love that the skeptical team leader has turned out to be one of her biggest supporters (though he would die before admitting it) and her relationship with her best friend and burgeoning romance with Kang Tae Oh (Run On) have me grinning by the end of each episode. And I have learned so much about whales, filling a need that I didn’t know was there.
What were your favorite releases/headlines this week? Let us know in the comments!