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[Today's K-pop] Mirae is back, more marvelous than ever

By Hwang You-mee

Published : Jan. 12, 2022 - 19:33

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(Credit: DSP Media) (Credit: DSP Media)
 Boy band Mirae held an online showcase to roll out the group’s third EP “Marvelous” on Wednesday.
   
If the band has been hot, highlighting strong performances before, this time it is more about being dreamy and refreshing, as if the bandmates are relishing the party, explained Junhyuk.
 
Title track “Marvelous” is a dance-pop tune with powerful beats that expresses the band’s ambition to open a new era. It also is catchy, especially with the repeating hook, said Dohyun, adding with a laugh that the fun part will swim around the heads of many listeners.
 
The EP contains six tracks, and the bandmates co-wrote the lyrics for “Dear My Friend.”
 
“It means more since I’ve participated in the process thinking of the members,” confided Dongpyo.
 
Last year, Mirae was a candidate for the top prize in a TV music chart show with “Splash,” the title track from the second EP.
 
“We’d really love to come in first place” with the new EP, said Lien. 
 
Enhypen tops Oricon daily album chart 
 
(Credit: Belift Lab) (Credit: Belift Lab)
Enhypen’s repackaged first studio album “Dimension: Answer” landed atop Oricon’s daily albums chart, according to Japanese media on Tuesday.
 
The album came out Monday and headed straight to No. 1, as did all of the band’s previous albums: debut album “Border: Day One” in November 2020, “Border: Carnival” in April last year, Japan debut single “Border: Hakanai” in July the same year and first LP “Dimension: Dilemma” from three months ago. 

The new album also ranked No. 1 on iTunes top albums chart in 10 regions, while main track “Blessed-Cursed” was the chart-topper on top songs charts in nine regions. The repack consists of 11 tracks, adding three new songs to the eight songs from the original album.
 
The septet debuted in November 2020 through an audition program, and its first LP, out in October 2021, hit No. 11 on the Billboard 200, and is a million-seller.
  
Ive dazzles in dance video for debut song, Amazon Music collab
 
(Credit: Amazon Music) (Credit: Amazon Music)
Rookie band Ive uploaded the performance video for the group’s debut song “Eleven” on Tuesday.
 
The six bandmates captivated viewers with perfectly choreographed moves and expressions while boasting a range of stylish costumes. The video for the pop-dance number is a collaboration with Amazon Music.
 
The group recently wrapped up promoting the song and picked up a total of seven trophies on TV music chart programs, fitting for a team that has been touted as “complete” despite having only debuted in December. The song also entered a score of international charts, including those of Billboard, Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
 
It sold over 152,000 copies of its debut single in the first week of sales, the highest record for a girl group’s debut album at the time.   
  
 Ily:1 introduces all members
 
(Credit: FC ENM) (Credit: FC ENM)
All the members of Ily:1 have been identified, as agency FC ENM shared the profile images for the last two on Wednesday.
 
The two final bandmates, Rona and Elva, are both from Taipei, Taiwan. Rona was one of the 99 participants in “Girls’ Planet 999: The Girls Saga,” the same K-pop competition through which Kep1er debuted.
 
The other four bandmates were unveiled in pairs on Monday and Tuesday. First came the two from Korea: Ara, another audition alumna who appeared in the show under her real name Lee Yoonji. Nayu will be the leader and main vocalist of the team. From Japan come Ririka and Hana, both also from the contest.
 
The six-piece act will debut in March, but before the official debut the group will start its own reality show next month.