Kpop Update 

BTS member J-Hope is scheduled to enlist in the army soon, and he’s released “on the street” on March 3rd as more than just a classic “goodbye”. This song is extremely different from almost all of the music he’s ever released, especially his relatively recent solo debut, “Jack In The Box”. The lofi hiphop song is a reference to how he began his career with street dancing. The street is also a metaphor to the path he’s walked to get where he is now with the support of his fans, as the lead dancer of one of the most popular K-pop groups ever. Its composition seems simple, but the lyrics and their meaning more than make up for it. The collaboration with J Cole feels like an extremely significant point in J-Hope’s career, as it’s known that J Cole is one of his favorite artists. This song lets fans reflect on him as an artist during his military absence, and is a farewell that still leaves room for the future. 

On March 10, 2023, popular girl group Twice released their 12th EP, Ready To Be. It includes 7 songs, with Korean and English versions of the title track “Set Me Free” and their pre-released English single “Moonlight Sunrise”. After last year’s success with “Talk That Talk”, fans were excited for “Set Me Free”, and many couldn’t help comparing the two. Thankfully, Ready To Be (and “Set Me Free”) is loved just as much, being described as “a perfectly satisfying entry in a string of standout singles from the group” (thebiaslist.com). The album debuted at number 2 on the worldwide iTunes album chart, landed on the top albums chart in 17 countries, and “Set Me Free” hit number 1 on the top songs chart in 21 regions. Fans love both the title track and b-sides, and the dance for “Set Me Free” is very rhythmic and elegant, on par with that of past singles. Clearly, Twice is reinforcing their position as one of the most popular K-pop girl groups with this comeback. Be sure to give it a listen!

Kai, a soloist and member of EXO, dropped his third solo album, Rover, on March 13, 2023. The album consists of six songs, and like it suggests, “Rover” is the title track. The song itself is very catchy and upbeat; quite different from his past title tracks, “Mmmh” and “Peaches”. In fact, “Rover” is a remake (a classic staple from SM Entertainment) of Bulgarian artist Dara and her song, “Mr.Rover”. The lyrics are silly and the rhyme is childish, but the melody is quite pleasant. The music video carries some symbolism to Kai’s career path. There are many scenes with ballet, an obvious reference to Kai’s dance capability. The opening scene of the video shows that Kai plays a character with multiple identities. One of them is Mr. Billy Elliot, a shout out to the movie, Billy Elliot, which features a young boy falling in love with ballet. Kai ends the video by revealing his last identity, Mr. ____. The blank space means that Kai now recognizes himself as a free artist, and is no longer following one set identity the public has perceived of him. Fans have enjoyed this comeback as much as Kai enjoys performing, not to mention that the dance challenges with other idols are on every fan’s for you page. Support this strong soloist by listening to “Rover”!

On March 14th, Yunjin, a member of Le Sserafim, released her third self-composed solo track, “love you twice”. This song was made as a sweet message to fans about finding your own color in life, and how everyone should grow and change. The Korean title is a cute play on words of the group’s fandom name, Fearnot (or “bloom” in Korean), as the song’s title literally translates to “Until It Blooms”. The music video features animation and art by the artist Ramdaram. It follows a fan who is inspired by her idol to take better care of herself and follow her dreams, and becomes more confident in the process, too. The girl is able to fulfill her dreams and stand on stage, and the video ends with her finding her own identity. Yunjin’s honey-smooth vocals present this story in a wonderful way, and this beautifully sweet and mellow song was released in perfect time for spring. 

Popular member of BTS, Jimin, released his solo debut on March 24th. Jimin is the fourth member to release solo work after the group has gone on hiatus. This comeback is entirely different from many of his past works. His album is called FACE, and includes six songs- “Like Crazy”, the title track, and an English version of it, “Face Off”, “Interlude:Dive”, “Set Me Free pt.2”, and “Alone”. Jimin took inspiration for “Like Crazy” from his favorite film. It features a romantic college couple separated due to visa issues that still finds ways to be together. Like the movie, this song is about the pain of losing oneself and the music video adds on by adding hazy expressions and stimulating scenes. The other songs range from different genres like trap, hip-hop, synth-pop, and ballads. To add, the choreography makes the comeback so much more intriguing; it is Jimin’s specialty after all. Jimin has wowed the public once again by showing his versatility while still maintaining his signature feel as an artist. Hopefully, fans will continue to support him and the other members as they go through their solo debuts! 

Blackpink member, Jisoo, has finally joined her other members in making a solo debut! She is the last member and her solo was definitely worth it. On March 31st, she released a mini album titled, ME. “Flower” is the title track and is a subtle yet powerful pop song. One unique characteristic of this song is the medley of violin plucks that match with Jisoo’s soulful voice.  Not to mention, the music video has an elegant concept which suits Jisoo’s sophisticated visuals. Plus, many fans speculate that her music video has hints about the other member’s solo debuts. Her second track, “All Eyes on Me”, is a nod to Jisoo’s love of robust-pop songs. In fact, this track reminds fans of her cover of “Clarity” by Zedd and Foxes during the In Your Area World Tour. “All Eyes on Me” also features an upbeat dance break; this made the fans go crazy as dance isn’t what Jisoo is known for. Overall, Jisoo’s solo career will be as amazing as the other members of Blackpink! Please support her comeback!! 

NMIXX (AKA JYPn) is a 6 , formerly 7, member girl group under JYP entertainment. On March 20th, Nmixx dropped their new album, Espérgo, as their third comeback. It consists of 6 songs, “PAXXWORD”, “Just Did It”, “HOME”, “My Gosh”, “Love Me Like This”, and “Young, Dumb, Stupid”, the title track. In this song, they feature a sample from a popular children’s song, “Frere Jacque” or “Brother John ''. This comeback was certainly different compared to their past songs, like “Dice” and “O.O”. It had a more childish and preppy vibe; yet still carried their whimsical concept. The music video was very colorful and had a “Y2K” vibe. Although this comeback definitely has one, the video did not portray a storyline. This comeback was much more pleasant to hear, thus gaining more approval from fans. Nevertheless, NMIXX will be loved no matter what; so show your support by listening to “Young, Dumb, Stupid”!