Blackpink's Lisa Breaks Record With Solo Album Pre-Orders, And 5 More K-Pop Updates You Need To Read

Are you ready for Lisa's solo debut?

1. Blackpink's Lisa shared the first visual teasers ahead of her solo debut!

Blackpink / Via youtube.com

Get ready, Blinks, because Lisa's solo debut is going to be in your area very soon. In the last week, the Blackpink rapper has revealed three different visual teasers ahead of her solo debut on Sept. 10. 

The first teaser, released on Aug. 27, featured Lisa reclining underneath a red light as thunder and lightning raged in the distance. On Aug. 31, she followed it up with a second video that saw her powerfully posing in street-style clothing as smoke billowed behind her. In the final video, released Sept. 2, Lisa can be seen holding tight to a single chain as she swings above a pool of water in an entirely gray room. At the time of posting, the three videos have received well over 4 million views on YouTube each.

But the fun doesn't end there. According to Soompi, Lisa broke the record for number of pre-orders for a female K-pop solo artist's album with 700,000 albums pre-ordered in just four days. If that isn't a testament to the endless power, charm, and talent of Lalisa Manoban, then we don't know what is!

2. Key and Taeyeon teamed up to release their poignant collaboration "Hate That..." this week!

SMTOWN / Via youtube.com

Name a more iconic duo than Taeyeon and Key. We'll wait. 

In addition to making everyone laugh so hard that their sides hurt on the South Korean variety program Amazing Saturday, the unstoppable best friends released an emotional new single titled "Hate That..." this week. A pre-release track from Key's highly anticipated second solo mini-album, the song is truly the raw and vulnerable heartbreak anthem you never knew you needed. 

Opening with a melancholy guitar riff, "Hate That..." tells the story of two exes who have recently gone through a breakup. In their initial verses, Taeyeon and Key seem furious when it comes to their past relationship. However, as the song continues, cracks begin to reveal that they're not mad so much as they are deeply hurt. As their feelings rise to a fever pitch, Key heartbreakingly comes to the realization: "I still love you." 

However, despite their lingering feelings, the pair can't quite overcome the boundaries separating them from reuniting. That split is seen literally in the song's music video, wherein Key is seen living isolated up in space while Taeyeon is trapped on a rock in the ocean. In the end, Key is briefly seen watching the news, which reveals that Taeyeon has been rescued from her rock, signifying that she's moved on. 

Earlier this week, Key also announced that he will hold his first solo Beyond Live concert, titled 'Groks in the Keyland,' on Sept. 26. In a recent Vlive with Taeyeon for the new single, Key revealed his second mini-album will be released around the same time as the concert, too, so there's lots to look forward to if you're a Shawol!

This week also saw the release of Kyuhyun's "On a Starry Night," fromis_9's "Talk & Talk," A.C.E's "Changer," Lee Hi's "Savior (feat. B.I)," and BTOB's "Outsider," so be sure to check them out as well! 🎶

3. Enhypen cancelled their performance at KCON:TACT after five members of the group tested positive for COVID-19.

BELIFT LAB

On Sept. 2, Belift Lab announced on the fan community platform Weverse that five members of Enhypen — Jake, Jay, Jungwon, Sunghoon, and Heeseung — had all tested positive for COVID-19 after coming in contact with a confirmed case. 

The group entered a "pre-emptive self-quarantine" on Aug. 26 and began showing symptoms a few days later. "During his self-quarantine, Jake began exhibiting symptoms including coughing and fever on Sunday, August 29, and after reporting his symptoms to the local government health center underwent PCR testing. He was found positive for COVID-19 on the morning of Monday, August 30," the statement read. "Subsequently, members Jungwon, Heeseung, Jay, and Sunghoon began showing similar symptoms on Monday, and PCR testing was carried out which confirmed their positive diagnosis for COVID-19." 

Belift added that the members are "currently showing light symptoms" and that "necessary measures are being carried out, including assignment and relocation to treatment facilities." As a result, Belift shared on Twitter that they had cancelled Enhypen's performance at KCON:TACT HI 5 on Sept. 19 "in consideration of the COVID-19-related quarantine schedule and artist condition." 

"We apologize for causing concern to all fans by being unable to prevent the occurrence of this series of infections despite our effort to ensure that precautions were in place on site," Belift wrote in their announcement. "Our company will provide full support for the rapid recovery of the members, placing the health and safety of our artists as our highest priority." 

The members of Enhyphen, who are in the process of preparing for a comeback later this month, took to Weverse to comfort fans shortly after the news was published. "Engene~ We’re fine, so please don’t worry too much," member Sunoo wrote. Rapper Jay added: "We’re all doing just fine."

"ENGENE, we’re okay so please don’t be worried," leader Jungwon shared. "You’ve worked hard this week too." You can read BELIFT Lab's entire statement here. We wish all of the members of Enhypen a full and speedy recovery! 

4. BTS announced a second season of In the Soop will be released next month!

IN THE SOOP Official @INTHESOOP_TV

#In_the_SOOP BTS ver. Season 2 COMING SOON IN OCTOBER #BTS #방탄소년단 #인더숲 #인더숲BTS편시즌2

03:00 PM - 01 Sep 2021

@INTHESOOP_TV / Via Twitter: @INTHESOOP_TV

Rejoice, ARMY, because new BTS content is on the way! On Sept. 1, the official Twitter page for the reality program In the Soop announced that a second season of the show featuring BTS will be released in October.

Produced by Hybe Labels, the first season of In the Soop saw the seven members of BTS embark on a well-deserved, healing retreat together at a gorgeous lakeside cabin for a week. You can watch the trailer for the first season here.

It is presumed that, like its first season, In the Soop will air on both JTBC and the fan community platform Weverse. Let us know in the comments below if you'll be watching!

5. Seventeen will promote as 11 members for the rest of the year while Jun & The8 complete activities in China.

PLEDIS Entertainment

On Sept. 1, Pledis Entertainment took to Twitter to update fans on the group's activities for the rest of the year. The statement — written in Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and English — revealed that members Jun and The8 will "focus on their activities in China from September to December" of this year. 

"[Jun and The8] will resume their work in China that had been postponed by COVID-19, and spend time with their families after having been forced to stay apart from them for a considerable amount of time due to the pandemic," they wrote. 

Due to difficult travel regulations and restrictions because of the ongoing pandemic, Pledis shared that the members of Seventeen "discussed the situation" with one another and came to the conclusion that "Jun and The8 will continue their activities in China" instead of trying to return to South Korea in between activities. As a result, Seventeen "will engage in their promotions in Korea with 11 members" until at least December.

They added: "We ask for your generous understanding, and please stay tuned for the diverse activities of Seventeen both in Korea and abroad during the second half of this year."

You can read the entire statement here.

6. And Mamamoo, Monsta X, Ciipher, and more announced that new music is on the way!

마마무(MAMAMOO) @RBW_MAMAMOO

[#마마무] I SAY MAMAMOO : THE BEST 2021.09.15 6PM RELEASE✔ #I_SAY_MAMAMOO #THE_BEST #MAMAMOO

03:00 PM - 02 Sep 2021

@RBW_MAMAMOO / Via Twitter: @RBW_MAMAMOO

* Mamamoo shared the first teaser for their upcoming compilation album, titled I Say Mamamoo: The Best, which will be released on Sept. 15.

* Monsta X shared a mysterious teaser image for their upcoming single "One Day," which will be released on Sept. 10. The image features the line: "Wish you the best with somebody new, but they'll never love ya like I do."

* Ciipher announced this week that they'll be making their first comeback in September. The album will be titled Blind.

* Solo artists and ultimate K-pop power couple Dawn and HyunA revealed they will release an album together titled 1+1=1, which will be released Sept. 9. They both also shared some incredibly cool concept images on Instagram too.

That's it for this week! Have a fantastic weekend, and be sure to comment below what K-pop comeback you're looking forward to next!

YG Entertainment