Twice Signs With Republic Records And 7 Other Pieces Of K-Pop News You Need To Know

Bring ~on~ the news this week!

1. Monsta X debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200 chart with their full-length English album, All About Luv.

Starship Entertainment / Epic Records

This is BIG. All About Luv is Monsta X's first release with Epic Records since signing with them in 2019. Although they've been mainstays on other charts like World Albums since debuting in 2015, this is their first Billboard 200 entry ever. They earned 52,000 equivalent album units (50,000 of which are considered album sales) in the week ending Feb. 20. Congrats to Monsta X and Monbebe!

If you haven't already, get your own album (which includes a 88-page photobook, nbd) from Amazon for $18.

Monsta X is also going on tour this summer starting in June, so be sure to grab your tickets now!

2. Twice signed with Republic Records, which reps music heavyweights like Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Post Malone.

JYP Entertainment

This is Republic Record's second K-pop undertaking, having inked a deal with Big Hit Entertainment's Tomorrow x Together last year. TBH, it's about time a K-pop *girl* group got picked up by a US label!

There hasn't been much information released about the partnership, but Billboard shared statements from both JYP Entertainment and Republic Records, but I just hope it means we'll see Twice stateside more often! ✨

3. BTS broke multiple records with the release of their second and official music video for "On."

Big Hit Entertainment / Via youtube.com

After a whirlwind US takeover on The Tonight Show and The Late Late Show, BTS delighted and mesmerized fans with the *second* music video for "On." (ICYMI, they released the ~kinetic manifesto film~ for "On" last Friday alongside their new album, Map of the Soul: 7.)

Well, according to Variety, the official "On" music video is now the biggest YouTube premiere of all time with 1.54 million concurrent viewers. And Soompi reports that they also broke their previous record (2 hours and 52 mins) for the fastest time to reach 10 million views by a Korean group in just 67 mins!

And check out all of the best "On" moments and things you might've missed while you're on your BTS spree (as we all are).

Similar to CIX, Red Velvet, GOT7, and Seventeen, BTS announced the Seoul dates of their Map of the Soul Tour have been cancelled amidst growing concerns over the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Earlier this week, the group broadcasted their new album's press conference online as a result too.

4. NCT 127 announced their second US tour, Neo City: The Awards.

Capitol Music Group / SM Entertainment

Roll out the red carpet, because NCT 127 announced their second US tour, Neo City: The Awards, this week!

The six-date tour kicks off on June 5 with a performance at Madison Square Garden in NYC before the ~superhuman~ group continues on to Atlanta, Chicago (Johnny's hometown!), San Jose, Los Angeles, and finally Seattle. Excited? General-sale tickets for Neo City: The Awards go on sale today, so be sure to grab your tickets if you haven't already!

For even more NCT 127 their second album, Neo Zone, will be released on March 6, and you can pre-order the album on Amazon for $16.

5. Red Velvet's Wendy celebrated her birthday and spoke to fans for the first time since her accident in December.

@todayis_wendy / Via Instagram: @todayis_wendy

After sustaining serious injuries in a stage accident last December, Wendy took to Instagram this week to celebrate her birthday with Red Velvet's fans, ReVeluv.

She posted a few lovely selfies and also gave fans a quick update on her health and recovery:

"Missed me much? It’s been awhile since I’ve uploaded my latest post," her post's caption reads. "I just wanted to thank you everyone for all the love and support you have shared with me on my birthday. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Also, I’m recovering very well, thanks to all of our ReVeluv. As I said during my Instagram live, I won’t be going anywhere but always singing right next to you as Wendy. I hope to see you all soon on stage!"

6. YG Entertainment announced they are planning to debut a new girl group after Winner and Blackpink's albums are released.

YG Entertainment

According to Soompi, YG Entertainment confirmed that "it is true that [they] are planning a new girl group,” but are currently focusing on releasing new Blackpink and Winner albums. As for the new group they noted that “the exact details will be revealed through an official announcement later on.”

We're looking forward to Winner and Blackpink comebacks (please, we need more BP) *and* the prospect of a new YG girl group! They're not the only group YG plans to unveil either — they've also been releasing editorial photos and vlogs for their soon-to-debuted boy group Treasure as well!

7. According to Korean news outlet Sports World (translated by HelloKpop), B.I has tested negative for prohibited substance use through police-conducted tests.

YG Entertainment

Police officials confirmed to Sports World that "it is true that the drug test result is negative," and #HelloHanbinIsFree started trending on Twitter soon after.

In case you need a refresher, B.I unfortunately made headlines last June when he quit his position as leader of iKON over alleged attempts of purchasing marijuana and LSD in 2016. According to The Korea Herald, if drug-buying allegations are proven true, prison sentences are dealt out anywhere between six months and four years.

Now we'll have to see what this ~cleared~ status means for his music career. Is there a chance he'll go back to iKON, where he was the main songwriter and producer? Or will he release more solo material? Either way, we're elated to hear this news!

8. The Rose is requesting a contraction termination with their company, J&Star, due to payment disputes, lack of trust, and contract violations.

J⋆ Company

Drummer Hajoon posted an English statement to his Instagram, which says that "[The Rose was] promised to receive monthly settlement reports when they signed exclusive contracts with their agencies. The agency, however, hasn't paid the bill yet, three years after [their] debut."

As Soompi reports via Star News, The Rose has also notified J&Star Company that they won't be attending any performances and broadcasts from this point on. J&Star Company has also released their own official statement disputing all of The Rose's claims, saying, "[the] 'violation of [the] exclusive contract’ that The Rose is claiming is not true" and they "provided payment information for the entire exclusive contract period to The Rose." They will also be considering legal steps.

All four members of the band, Woosung, Dojoon, Hajoon, and Jaehyeong, have posted screenshots of the original Star News article on their respective Instagrams. Best of luck to this very talented group of fellas, who absolutely deserve the very best. 🤞🏻