All tickets for Seventeen’s upcoming Seoul concerts have sold out, according to agency Pledis Entertainment on Wednesday.

The band will have two live shows in Seoul on June 25 and 26 to kick off its second world tour, “Be the Sun.” It has been almost 2 1/2 years since its first, “Ode to You.”

After the Seoul gig, the 13-member group will head to Canada and the US, performing in 12 cities -- including Vancouver in British Columbia, Toronto, Los Angeles and Chicago -- in August and September.

Meanwhile, the band’s fourth full album, “Face the Sun,” came out last month and sold more than 2.06 million copies in the first week of sales, the highest mark among albums released by K-pop musicians this year. The LP topped iTunes top albums chart in 22 regions upon release, and main track “HOT” was No. 1 on its top songs chart in 26 regions.

BTS’ J-Hope to perform alone at US music fest in July

J-Hope of BTS will join the headliners at Lollapalooza next month, according to the organizer’s announcement Wednesday.

The festival will be held in Chicago from July 28-31 and the artist will go on the stage solo on the last day, along with other headliners, American rock band Green Day and Australian singer-songwriter the Kid Laroi.

J-Hope will be the first South Korean artist to headline a main stage at a major US music festival, the organizers underlined. It also marks the first solo performance from one of the bandmates at such an occasion.  

“It’s a thrilling new challenge that I think will become a really memorable chapter in my musical history … Get ready to get crazyyyyyy!” hollered J-Hope via Instagram.

Separately, according to a report released by Billboard, the band reaped $75.48 million in concerts from November 2021 to April 30 this year. That was the fourth-highest figure, after Bad Bunny, Elton John and Genesis. The top three, however, performed more than 35 times each, while BTS only had 11 concerts.

Dawn to return as solo musician 

 
Dawn will return as a solo singer on June 16, announced Psy, head of agency P Nation, with a teaser photo Wednesday.

It has been more than 1 1/2 years since his previous work, “1+1=1,” a collaboration EP with his partner HyunA. He participated in writing all tracks, including focus track “Ping Pong.” His first solo work was the digital single “Money” in November 2019, followed by first EP “Dawndididawn,” which came out in October 2020.

Dawn debuted as a member of Pentagon in 2016, but left the band in 2018 after publicly admitting to a romantic relationship with HyunA. The two, along with Pentagon’s Hui, had a brief stint as Triple H in 2017. The couple signed with P Nation in 2019.

Le Sserafim’s debut single one of best K-pop songs this year: Time

Le Sserafim’s “Fearless” was listed as one of “The Best K-pop Songs and Albums of 2022 So Far” by Time magazine.

In an article published Tuesday in the US, the rookie band’s titular track from the debut EP was described as “sleek and glossy.” The six-member group exceeded high anticipation surrounding the debut and sings of a resolution to reach the top through this funk and alternative pop tune, it said, adding that “much of the track’s replay value comes from its addictive chorus.”

The song hit Billboard’s global chart about eight days after its release and entered Spotify’s global top 200 chart the day after the release. With the song, the group picked up four trophies on TV music chart shows. The EP sold more than 300,000 copies in its first week, with the group becoming the first K-pop band to do so with a debut album.

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