Author: Angela Patricia Suacillo

NME

If TXT’s ‘Dream Chapter’ series takes inspiration from their formative years, their ongoing ‘Chaos Chapter’ series is a mark of the group confronting harsher and darker themes in the years to come.

• READ MORE: Tomorrow X Together – ‘The Chaos Chapter: Freeze’ review: K-pop’s fourth gen leaders find love in a hopeless place

In a new interview with FilmiBeat, the boyband spoke about the creative process behind their recently released sophomore album ‘The Chaos Chapter: Freeze’.  “Our new ‘Chaos Chapter’ series opens a new page to the story. The boy from our stories now faces the harsh reality of the world and his life is no longer the bliss he once knew,” Soobin explained. “In this new world, the boy feels empty and frozen. It’s a world of zero.”

Huening Kai, who is credited as a producer on the album, added that the recordis “genre-diverse and address a wide variety of topics and themes.” The album’s diversity is also a learning experience for the young singer.

“I learned so much more about producing and creating music through this opportunity. I’d like to create more songs of various genres in the future so please look forward to them,” he added. Huening Kai also noted the members’ active participation in the album’s production, citing his and Taehyun’s involvement in the writing and production of ‘Dear Sputnik’ as an example.

Yeonjun, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude towards American artists Mod Sun and Ashnikko, as well as singer-songwriter Seori, and BTS leader RM – all of whom contributed to ‘The Chaos Chapter: Freeze’.

“I think each artist’s distinctive color and sound came together with TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s unique style to create a much richer discography, so we’re immensely grateful to them and very proud of the output,” the singer added.

‘The Chaos Chapter: Freeze’ marks TXT’s second release if 2021, following their first Japanese-language album ‘Still Dreaming’ earlier this January. Their Japanese debut album featured original songs like ‘Everlasting Shine’ and ‘Force’.

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NME

BTS latest English-language single ‘Butter’ has taken the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second week in a row.

• READ MORE: BTS clinch their fourth Billboard Hot 100 number one with ‘Butter’

According to Billboard, the track garnered 19.1 million US streams and 140,000 downloads between May 28 and June 3. ‘Butter’ also earned 22.4 million radio airplay audience impressions for the week of June 6.

Billboard also notes that the “Hotter” and “Cooler” remixes of ‘Butter’ may have an impact on the figures in next week’s Hot 100 chart. In addition, “Butter” has also retained the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart.

Of the septet’s own releases, “Butter” is the third to top the Billboard chart, following their first English-language single “Dynamite” and the Korean-language song “Life Goes On”. The former topped the Hot 100 for three non-consecutive weeks, while the latter only for a single week.

The boyband also have a fourth Hot 100 single under their belt: the remix of “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” with Jason Derulo and Jawsh 685.

The boyband also recently became the K-pop act with the most Top 10 hits in the UK. ‘Butter’, which made its debut on the UK Official Singles Chart at number three, is the group’s third Top 10 song on the chart, breaking the two-song record held by PSY since 2013.

Aside from music charts, ‘Butter’ has also continued to set new Guinness World Records, breaking a total of five new records that were mostly set on YouTube and Spotify. The group had also managed to sweep awards in all four categories they were nominated for at the recent 2021 Billboard Music Awards, where they also performed the single live for the first time.

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NME

SM Entertainment boyband NCT 127 and independent South Korean label Amoeba Culture have released a music video for ‘Save’, their new project single.

• READ MORE: NCT Dream – ‘Hot Sauce’ review: a spicy and sweet smorgasbord from the youngest of SM’s boyband clan

The music video, which is set in a neon-lit spaceship decked with different kinds of plants, prominently features a plaque that reads: “Save the moment. Save the wild. Save environment. Save the world”. Later in the clip, the boyband showcase their powerful chorography in a dome-like structure.

“Saving you, saving me / Unconditional / Saving you, saving me / Memories of love / All the things that in my sight / 127 till infinite time,” the boyband sing in the chorus.

‘Save’ is the latest release from SM Entertainment’s supergroup supergroup NCT. Last month, it’s seven-member subunit NCT Dream released ‘Hot Sauce’, their debut full-length album.

In the same month, NCT leader Taeyong teamed up with EXO’s Baekhyun to release the jazz-inspired pop track, ‘Monroe’. The track was released on Taeyong’s SoundCloud and features lyrics penned by the singer himself.

Recently, NCT 127 performed at Global Citizen’s ‘Vax Live: The Concert To Reunite The World’. Their performance of their 2020 hit, ‘Kick It’, featured a combination of slick choreography and AR technology.

In a four-star review of ‘Hot Sauce’, NME‘s Rhian Daly called the record a “triumph [that is both] confident and cool”. She also noted that the project “makes infectiously real its creators’ excitement of all being back together again”, following the return of member Mark Lee.

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NME

For MAMAMOO, their long-awaited 11th mini-album ‘WAW’ is an opportunity to reflect on the past seven years of their career.

• READ MORE: MAMAMOO live in Seoul: an underwhelming first global concert for K-pop’s coolest girl group

The quintet recently made their return with the four-track record, which is just the first of their ongoing three-part project of the same name, which will also include a concert and documentary. The mini-album’s title track, ‘Where We Are Now,’ tells the story of people who, after a long journey together, pause to ask themselves where they are now.

“It’s about the past, the present and the future,” the group told South Korea media outlet Seoul Economic Daily, as translated by Soompi. “It’s not just MAMAMOO’s story, but a story that everyone can share.”

The group also shared where think they currently are on their journey as MAMAMOO, relating it to the line, “One day, on a long trip”, from the song’s chorus. “We’re grateful that we can be on this journey together with the members and with our fans,” they added. “In the time we’ve spent on this journey as MAMAMOO, we’ve experienced a lot of things that we wouldn’t have been able to do alone.”

When asked about the decision to release a mini-album composed exclusively of ballads, MAMAMOO explained that this was part of their effort to put forward a “harmony and chemistry that we’ve been developing for a long time”.

“Since it is an all-ballad album, we paid extra attention to the vocals. So that each of the voices would complement each other, harmonize better,” the quartet added.

In April, MAMAMOO member Wheein released her first-ever mini-album ‘Redd’. Its lead single ‘Water Color’ peaked at Number 15 on Billboard’s World Digital songs chart. An English-language version of the track was later released digitally.

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