K-Pop Corner: 8 new music releases to tune in to this week

Last week was jam-packed with K-Pop stars ready to drop new music. To keep up with the fast-paced industry, here are the top comebacks to check out:

The Boyz’s first full-length album ‘Reveal’ topped the UAE iTunes albums chart. The up-and-coming rookie act tapped into a whole new mature and charismatic side in comparison to their previous boyish image, especially heard in their pop R’n’B title track of the same name. Accompanied by a music video, ‘Reveal’ showcases a werewolf concept that exposes the members’ dark and riveting charms.

Rookie girl group Rocket Punch bounced back into the K-Pop spotlight with their second mini-album ‘Red Punch’, fronted by upbeat dance song ‘Bouncy’. This time, they combined their bubbly side with a more flamboyant and confident one. Their new work landed second on the UAE iTunes albums chart, right after The Boyz’s ‘Reveal’.

Said to be inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven’s composition ‘Fur Elise’, their newest digital single, ‘Hand’s Up’, marks Cherry Bullet’s return as a seven-member piece. Putting their cute image aside, they returned with an energetic and bold new look, taking into account the word ‘Bullet’ in their name.

After a five-month hiatus, the co-ed act made a powerful and long-awaited comeback with brand new EP, ‘Red Moon’. This time, the quartet brought back the Moombahton genre — a combination of reggae and electro house — in its lead track, reminiscing of their debut work.

With all the members having a hand in the album-making process, the five-track release also includes unit songs for the first time, heard in ‘Inferno’ rapped by BM and J.Seph and ‘Enemy’ sung by Somin and Jiwoo.

Cube Entertainment’s boy group dropped their first full-length album, ‘Universe: The Black Hall’, since they launched into the K-Pop music scene. The 11-track album is fronted by track ‘Dr BeBe’ that is centred around the cycle of being in love — “love, fall, hurt, and crazy”. The title track’s daunting music video reveals the members’ intense and dark transformation.

AB6IX got fans excited when they announced their comeback with digital EP, ‘5NALLY’, which marks four months since the release of their first full-length album, ‘6IXENSE’.

Their newest production includes solos from each member: ‘Moondance’ by Jeon Woong, ‘More’ by Kim Dong-hyun, ‘Rose, Scent, Kiss’ by Lee Dae-hwi, ‘Break Up’ by Lim Young-min and ‘Color Eye’ by Park Woo-jin.

Mamamoo’s Moonbyul revealed the ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ in her second solo EP last Friday. The K-Pop artist showed her duality as she wrestles between her light and dark side in the title track’s music video. The new six-track EP consists of tracks ‘Mirror’, ‘Iljido’, ‘Moon Movie’, ‘Snow’ as well as ‘Weird Day’ featuring Punch.

On Friday, Monsta X became the first K-Pop group to release an all English-language album. Coincidentally, ‘All About Luv’ dropped on Valentine’s Day, but it’s not what you’d entirely call a love album. Featuring various sonic styles, ‘All About Luv’ explores elements and emotions of relationships and features high-profile collaborations from Pitbull, will.i.am and French Montana. The newest musical offering marks their first release for the year and since Wonho’s departure in 2019.