The music video for Blackpink’s “Lovesick Girls” reached 600 million views on YouTube, according to label YG Entertainment on Wednesday.

The video was fully unveiled in October 2020, and became the group’s 12th video to reach the milestone. The music video for “Ddu-du Ddu-du” is in the lead with over 1.9 billion views, followed by those for “Kill This Love” (1.6 billion) and “Boombayah” (1.4 billion). 

“Lovesick Girls” is from the quartet’s first full album “The Album,” and was No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the chart-topper on YouTube’s global top songs chart for two weeks.

In the meantime, Blackpink is gearing up for a return in August, almost two years since its first LP. Its label announced that the upcoming music video will be a blockbuster with a record-high budget, and will be followed by a world tour of an unprecedented scale.

Zico releases 4th EP

Singer and producer Zico dropped his fourth EP on Wednesday.

Returning with new music for the first time in about two years, Zico talked about the EP through a statement, since he tested positive for COVID-19 two days before.

“You will definitely be able to feel that Zico is back,” he said confidently.

The new EP conveys how his taste in and passion for music have stayed the same despite the passage of time, and boosted him to carry on his career -- hence the title “Grown Ass Kid.”

The album consists of five tracks, including the main track “Freak.” He floated a poster for the song, fashioned after a movie poster, showing him caught in the middle of an apocalyptic city.

“The theme of the music video is the end of the world, and I wanted to visualize a city full of chaos to the smallest detail possible,” the musician explained.

ITZY hits career-high on Billboard 200 at No. 8 

ITZY’s fifth EP debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, a career-high for the band, said label JYP Entertainment on Wednesday.

This surpasses the record of its previous album and first LP “Crazy In Love,” which was No. 11 on the chart when it came out in September.

The seven-track EP “Checkmate” was released on July 15 and sold over 720,000 copies in pre-orders and over 470,000 units in the first week -- both records for the quintet. The music video for the lead single “Sneakers” generated 50 million views on YouTube in about four days.

Separately, the group will hold its first international tour, starting with a two-day concert in Seoul on Aug. 6-7. From October, it will tour eight cities in the US. 

BTS stays strong on Billboard

BTS’ anthology album “Proof” extended its stay on the Billboard 200, sitting at No. 37.

The compilation album debuted at No. 1 on the chart, its sixth album to achieve the feat. The album sold close to 3 million copies as of the first week of July, after selling over 2 million in the first week of sales. The septet had four songs each on the Billboard Global 200 and Global Chart excluding the US.

Meanwhile, the solo works of J-Hope and Jungkook also turned out strong. J-Hope’s first solo album “Jack In The Box” hit the Billboard 200 at No. 17. “Arson,” one of the double title tracks, debuted at No. 96 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the previous tally, pre-release and the other lead track “More” was No. 82.

“Left and Right,” a collaboration between Jungkook and Charlie Puth, stayed on the Billboard singles chart for fourth week at No. 51.

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