NEWS
BTS singer and soloist Jimin has unveiled his new pre-release track ‘Smeraldo Garden Marching Band’.
The new visual features the idol performing to the song in a fairytale woodland stage, bringing couples closer as he dances past them. He is joined by rapper Loco in the second verse, and the duo later close out the video with a lively dance while flower petals rain down on them.
“Ooh, I love you babe / I’ll come closer to you / I love you, babe / Ooh, I want you, babe / I wanna hold your hand / I want you, babe,” Jimin sings in the chorus.
‘Smeraldo Garden Marching Band’ is the first song to be released from the BTS singer’s upcoming solo album ‘Muse’. It will also include the fan-dedicated song ‘Closer Than This’, which Jimin dropped shortly after enlisting in the military last December. The full seven-track record will arrive on Friday, July 19 at 1pm KST / 12am ET.
The new album will be Jimin’s second solo album, coming about a year-and-a-half after his debut record ‘Face’. It will also make him the latest BTS member to release an album while serving his mandatory military service, after leader and rapper RM unveiled his second album ‘Right Place, Wrong Person’ last month.
Earlier this month, vocalist Jin became the first BTS member to complete his military service. The idol celebrated the occasion – which coincided with the boyband’s 11th anniversary – by holding a special fan meeting in Seoul.
In other K-pop news, BLACKPINK’s Lisa has made a solo comeback with her new single ‘Rockstar’, her first music release since leaving longtime agency YG Entertainment last year.
NEWS
K-pop girl group NewJeans have dropped the second part of their ‘Supernatural’ music video.
Last month, NewJeans made their official Japanese debut with their single album ‘Supernatural’. The group have now dropped a second music video for the title track, this time featuring a Korean-language version of the single.
The new visual continues the TV series concept of original music video, this time with the members investigating the strange weather phenomena from the first clip. The story culminates with the girl group discovering a colony of rabbit-like aliens on a neighbouring planet.
“I don’t know what we’ve done / I don’t want to go back / I already know / Don’t know what we’ve been sold / I’ll find out, so it’s sure,” they sing on the chorus.
Last weekend, NewJeans held their two-night ‘Bunnies Camp’ fan concert in Tokyo Dome, becoming the fastest K-pop group to perform at the iconic venue after debuting. The concert was held less than a week after they dropped ‘Supernatural’.
The show featured special performances with Japanese pop duo YOASOBI and Japanese-English singer Rina Sawayama. The latter also teamed up with NewJeans member Hyein to perform her 2020 song ‘Bad Friend’ at the concert.
NewJeans’ Japanese debut came just a month after they made a domestic comeback with their single album ‘How Sweet’. The project included the lead single ‘How Sweet’ and ‘Bubblegum’ as well as their instrumental versions.
In a three-star review of ‘How Sweet’, NME’s Tássia Assis wrote that the two-song release would be “adequate additions to any of their previous releases”, but “lacks the effervescent impact” of their past singles.
In other K-pop news, (G)I-DLE have ropped a music video teaser for ’Klaxon’, the lead single of their upcoming mini-album ‘I Sway’. It will be their second release of 2024, arriving six months after their second studio album ‘[2]’ in January.
