K-pop releases in January to look out for: NewJeans’ EP, Monsta X’s Reason, and an SF9 mini-album
- K-pop girl groups and boy bands are getting ready to drop their latest singles and mini-albums in January
- They include NewJeans, following up their stellar debut with EP OMG, Monsta X’s 12th mini-album, Reason, and SF9, who mark their return with EP The Piece of9
By Dong Sun-hwa
A host of K-pop acts are gearing up to mark the start of a new year with musical offerings. Included in the star-studded line-up are girl group NewJeans and boy bands Monsta X and SF9.
NewJeans (January 2)
The group unveiled “Ditto” – one of the songs to be included on the coming EP – earlier this month and it is dominating the real-time charts of Korea’s major music streaming platforms such as Melon and Genie.
Featuring the sound of Baltimore club, “Ditto” topped the iTunes Top Song charts in seven countries including Thailand and Vietnam upon its release. Baltimore club is a genre originating in the 1990s that blends hip-hop and house.
What to know about NewJeans, K-pop newbies creating buzz on YouTube, TikTok
While OMG has been kept well under wraps, the quintet’s management company, Ador, has hinted that it will shed light on “NewJeans’ winter”. The EP will be fronted by a lead single, which member Hanni had a hand in writing the lyrics for, of the same name.
NewJeans won an award at the 2022 Asia Artist Awards (AAA) earlier this month, four months after debuting with their self-titled album in August.
Their songs “Attention” and “Hype Boy” hit 100 million streams on Spotify, while their song “Cookie” was included on The New York Times’ list of the best songs of 2022.
Monsta X (January 9)
According to Monsta X’s record label Starship Entertainment, the EP will be led by “Beautiful Liar” and offer five other tunes including “Daydream”, “Crescendo” and “Deny”.
Monsta X have played crucial roles in the production of their new release.
Monsta X last released Shape of Love in April. “Reason is an EP through which Monsta X members try to find a clear reason for their existence and the meaning of each other,” Starship added.
Monsta X debuted in 2015 with the album Trespass, and has since released a series of hits including “Dramarama” (2017).
SF9 (January 9)
The Piece of9, a new mini-album by boy group SF9, is also set to drop on January 9. Leading the EP is the song “Puzzle”.
The Piece of9 will feature a story of the members of SF9 searching for the missing pieces of their puzzle to “become a complete group”, said the group’s agency, FNC Entertainment.
The company released a teaser photo, in which the SF9 members look like secret agents, on the group’s official Twitter account on December 21.
Member Rowoon, who did not help promote SF9’s previous mini-album as he was filming a drama, will join bandmates Jaeyoon, Dawon, Zuho, Yoo Taeyang, Hwiyoung and Chani in doing so for The Piece of9. Youngbin and Inseong are currently doing their compulsory military service.
On top of these three acts, rookie girl group ILY:1 will drop its first EP, A Dream of Ily:1, on January 5.
