Kpop Girl Groups 2018 Review (Second Half).

July

                It's pretty much around the same as April.  The big three Twice, APink and Gfriend all came back at the same time again. Also the best girl group of March Mamamoo joined the competition.

               Unlike the previous very strong comeback, Twice came back with the single Dance the night away, which was written by former YG artist Wheesung.

               Also in early July, GFriend released the new album for fans entitled Sunny Summer.The album contains five songs, including the title track, "Sunny Summer,"  It was considered a strong
comeback for Gfriend at early July.

Compare to Twice and GFriend, it is Apink released their seventh mini album One & Six. The title track, "I'm So Sick". "I'm So Sick" topped several music charts in South Korea after its release. The album itself topped the Gaon chart and led Apink to reach their highest-ever position on Billboard's World Albums chart at No. 11. The success of the song and album further led to Apink making their debut on Billboard's Social 50 chart, opening at No. 39

        And Until July 17th 2018, APink got 4 wins already for various music program.4
                         

                      So girl group of the July is APink:

August

          Red Velvet also had a summer cameback, but SM Entertainment being smart, avoid comeback around the same time with Twice, APink, GFriend those big girl groups last month.
          There are few new girl groups also debut or comeback at August, but less well known than July. e.g: DIA, Berry Good, Loona, Nature.  One thing to notice is that the lead dancer of DIA
Eunjin quit the group, which limit the popularity of the group.

                                                         

Commercial Success of Red Velvet.

Now I will talk about the commercial success of Red Velvet. their second special "summer" EP following The Red Summer, which was released on August 6, 2018. the EP contains seven tracks, including the lead single "Power Up" and the English version of "Bad Boy" as a bonus track, 

They The EP was a commercial success domestically and internationally, topping South Korea's Gaon chart's Album Chart, Single Chart and Download Chart. Elsewhere, it debuted at number three on the US Billboard World Albums chart. It also charted on the website's Heatseekers Albums chart at number 3, the Digital Albums at number 21, and became the group's first release to enter the Top Album Sales chart at number 91. The lead single "Power Up" also debuted at number 6 on its World Digital Songs chart. In France, the album charted at number 42 on the French Album Downloads Chart. The EP is also the group's first release to chart in the UK and Australia, debuting at number 38 on the UK Album Downloads Chart and at 31 on the Australian Top 50 Digital Albums Chart

                   So girl group of the August is Red Velvet:

September

  Compare to August, there are even more girl groups comeback, but most are even less well known. Oh My Girl,  WJSN, and Dream Catcher are 3 relatively well known ones among them.

    It is obvious Oh My Girl's Remember Me is the most well known comeback.

               So girl group of the September is Oh My Girl:

October

      After July, August, September 3 month with massive kpop girl groups comeback, there are fewer comeback at October last year. April changed their style and evolved after release  "Oh! My Mistake". 

     Weki Meki's crush has some unique style, the rap portions on the album written by member Yoo-jung

                                                    

    Speaking of the popularity, the new Korean-Japanese girl group IZ*ONE quickly becomes a hot topic right after their debut.Iz One  is a Korean-Japanese kpop girl group formed through the Mnet reality competition show Produce 48. In its first day of release, the EP sold over 34,000 units reported by Hanteo Chart, setting a new record for the highest number of albums sold on the first day of a Korean girl group's debut release. The music video for the lead single "La Vie en Rose" achieved more than 4.5 million views within 24 hours of its release on YouTube, making it the most-watched debut music video by a Korean act in 24 hours. On November 8, Iz One garnered their first music program win for "La Vie en Rose" on M Countdown. This was the fastest music program win for a girl group, just 10 days after their official debut

             So girl group of the October is IZ*ONE:

November

    November is a huge month for kpop girl groups comeback. Not only new girl groups like Nature, DreamNote, also LovelyZ and GuguDan join the competition. Also at the same time,  EXID and Mamamoo also made the comeback.

     Speaking of EXID, member Solji rejoin the group after 2 years, all five members of EXID released a song entitled "I Love You". The song entered Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart at number 5

The biggest competition this month was none of above. In terms of sales and popularity, bot Twice and Red Velvet going very strong. 

On November 9th, SM Entertainment announced that Red Velvet will release their third album in the year and their fifth EP in total. The EP, titled Really Bad Boy, was released on November 30. It has six tracks including the lead single "RBB (Really Bad Boy)" and its English version.

      The album was a commercial success overseas, with RBB and its lead single debuting atop Billboard's Top Heatseekers Album chart and World Digital Songs chart for the first time. The EP became the group's fourth consecutive album to earn a new best sales week in the United States. RBB also charted in France, Japan and the United Kingdom. It received generally positive reviews from critics who praised all of the album's tracks, with Caitlin Kelley of Forbes noting that all of the songs on the album "are strong enough to stand on their own".

          

But this time, Red Velvet cannot avoid to compete at the same time with Twice from JYP Entertainment.  Twice released their sixth EP Yes or Yes on November 5, 2018 by JYP Entertainment and is distributed by Iriver. It contains seven tracks, including the lead single of the same name and the Korean version of "BDZ". In early October 2018, advertisements with the phrase "Do you like Twice? Yes or Yes"  were put up on subway billboards, drawing attention online.On October 11, JYP Entertainment confirmed that Twice planned to release their third Korean album of the year on November 5.

   In South Korea, the album topped the Gaon Album Chart while the title track topped the Gaon Digital Chart. Yes or Yes was also Twice's first Korean album to rank number 1 on Japan's Oricon Albums Chart and Digital Albums Chart

             So girl group of the November is Twice

December

  Because too many girl groups debut or comeback last month, Laboum is the only girl group who did comeback this month. Laboum's sixth single album was released on December 5, 2018 with the title track "Turn It On."

  So girl group of the December is Laboum

Now, just a summary of the whole year 2018: Girl group of  Jan is Red Velvet, Feb is  CLC

March is  Mamamoo, April is Twice ,May is  G-Idol, June is  Blackpink, July is APink,

August is Red Velvet, Sept  is Oh My Girl, October is IZone, November is Twice, December is Laboum.

Overall,  Red Velvet and Twice both got twice, then is BlackPink, APink, Mamamoo those well known girl groups got once.  Oh My Girl, Laboum, CLC those less well known girl groups also got once. New girl groups such as  G-Idol and IZone both got once as well.

Kpop Girl Groups 2018 Review (First Half).

So it's time to write year review again. Same as last year, basically I will give a quick review about what happened each month last year , pick one girl group from each of my blog last year, the girl group of the month.(one group per month). And we will see the result....
             And I will write the first half of the year 2018  first.

January

             At Jan 2018,  after a long time and hard work,  Oh My Girl got their first ever won since their debut for single "secret garden"

     
     Also, Momoland starts getting very popular after the  famous "bboom bboom" song, they even won M!CountDown as an rookie relatively unknown group.

      Speaking of popularity, Red Velvet  got promoted with their single "Bad Boy". The album topped the Gaon Album Chart upon its release while "Bad Boy" debuted at #1 on Gaon's Download Chart and at #2 on the Gaon Digital Chart. The Perfect Red Velvet also charted at #3 on Billboard's World Albums chart while "Bad Boy" debuted at #2 on its World Digital Songs chart.


                               
                         So girl group of the Jan is Red Velvet

February

   Not many big comeback for this month, Gugudan and Cosmic Girls tried to break through, but not quite successful. It is CLC who stand out from the rest, with their single "Black Dress" with its well known dance version.

                       So girl group of the Feb is CLC

       

March

            Only April and Mamamoo came back this month, without much competition, Mamamoo won with their new style in MV " Starry Night".

                     So girl group of the March is Mamamoo

April

         After Feb and March those two month, April is one of the most intense competition month at 2018,  4 of the big girl groups Twice, APink and Gfriend, EXID choose to come back around the same time.

          Speaking of GFriend,  title track "Time for the Moon Light" debuts at No. 17 on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart. Also APink complete their 7th anniversary single, "Miracle.

Even GFriend and APink have strong comeback, it is Twice who released their fifth EP with a same lead name single title track, What Is Love? on April 9.  So how popular is exactly this song?  TWICE's MV for "What is Love?" reached 20 million views at around 5:30 AM KST on April 11, about 35 hours since its release! This breaks the previous record held by Black Pink's "As If It's Your Last", which held the record at about 47 hours. The JYP Entertainment girl group took the trophy home with a dominating score of 10,527. 10,527 is the highest score set on 'Inkigayo's current system

                

  So girl group of the April is Twice

May

Follow the girl groups comeback wave at April, all the relatively new girl groups follow the trend. Pristin and DreamCatcher  are getting more popular than before. AOA's   Bingle Bangle also got popular as well after they return as 6 members.

However, all the fans attention attract to the new coming girl group (G)I-DLE. (G)I-DLE achieved combined views of 2.2 million for the "Latata" music video within two days of its release. The mini-album debuted at number 13 on the Gaon Album Chart issued on April 29, 2018.I Am also debuted at number seven and has since peaked at number five on Billboard's World Albums chart on May 9, 2018. "Latata" debuted at number thirty-five on the Gaon Digital Chart on May 17, 2018. (G)I-DLE received their first-ever music show win on SBS MTV's The Show on May 22, twenty days after their debut. Two days later, on May 24, the group received their second music show win for "Latata" on Mnet's M Countdown and followed by their third win on The Show.

                    So girl group of the May is (G)I-DLE

June

       The girl groups comeback still hold strong at June. Few new girl groups debut this month, one of them called Elris got great potentials. Momoland drop another single called "Baam" , it has become a hot topic among K-pop fans due to its similarities to the group's last hit, "Bboom Bboom."

Speaking of popularity,  BlackPink definitely won for this month. On June 15, the group released their debut EP titled Square Up. The single “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” debuted at number 17 on the Official Trending Chart in the United Kingdom, making them the first female K-pop group to enter the chart since its launch in 2016. The single also debuted as the highest-charting Hot 100 hit ever by an all-female K-pop act, opening at number 55 with 12.4 million U.S. streams and 7,000 downloads sold in the tracking week ending June 21, 2018, In South Korea, Square Up debuted at number one on Gaon Albums Chart. The single “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” peaked at number one on the Digital, Download, Streaming and Mobile charts on Gaon in its second week, while “Forever Young” also managed to peak under top five.YouTube's official tally saw the music video for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" garner a total of 36.2 million views within 24 hours after its release and became the most viewed online video in the first 24 hours by a Korean act and second most watched music video of all time, surpassing lable-mate Psy's "Gentleman" and behind only Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do.


            

                  So girl group of the June is BlackPink

   From here, we can see  both Blackpink and Twice are super big groups in kpop right now.

Kpop Girl Groups Update November 2018

              It's time to update the blog again. For November 2018, the number of girl group comeback is twice more than October 2018, and also more well known ones such as Twice and Red Velvet.

   Twice - Yes or Yes

Twice released their sixth EP Yes or Yes on November 5, 2018 by JYP Entertainment and is distributed by Iriver. It contains seven tracks, including the lead single of the same name and the Korean version of "BDZ". Twice members Jeongyeon, Chaeyoung, and Jihyo also took part in writing lyrics for three songs on the EP.
In early October 2018, advertisements with the phrase "Do you like Twice? Yes or Yes"  were put up on subway billboards, drawing attention online.On October 11, JYP Entertainment confirmed that Twice planned to release their third Korean album of the year on November 5.
   In South Korea, the album topped the Gaon Album Chart while the title track topped the Gaon Digital Chart. Yes or Yes was also Twice's first Korean album to rank number 1 on Japan's Oricon Albums Chart and Digital Albums Chart

Red Velvet - Really Bad Boy

      SM Entertainment revealed in October that the group will release another album in the next month. On November 9, the company announced that Red Velvet will release their third album in the year and their fifth EP in total. The EP, titled RBB, was released on November 30. It has six tracks including the lead single "RBB (Really Bad Boy)" and its English version.
      The album was a commercial success overseas, with RBB and its lead single debuting atop Billboard's Top Heatseekers Album chart and World Digital Songs chart for the first time. The EP became the group's fourth consecutive album to earn a new best sales week in the United States. RBB also charted in France, Japan and the United Kingdom. It received generally positive reviews from critics who praised all of the album's tracks, with Caitlin Kelley of Forbes noting that all of the songs on the album "are strong enough to stand on their own".

EXID - I love you

In November 2018, all five members of EXID released a song entitled "I Love You". The song entered Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart at number 5.Even better, Solji's part of it. After nearly two years, Solji's back in the spotlight. She rejoined the group in August for their Japanese debut, and now, finally, she's back with them for a Korean release.

Mamamoo - Wind Flower

Mamamoo are back with a music video for their new single “Wind Flower.”

On the track, released Nov 29th, as the single off of their their Blue;S EP

Blue;S is Mamamoo’s third album of the year themed around a color, after March's Yellow Flower and July's Red Moon.

Gugudan - Not that Type

On November 6, Gugudan released their third EP Act. 5 New Action containing six tracks, including the lead single "Not That Type". It's the title song of their 3rd mini-album 'Act.5 New Action', and it's about telling someone how you feel with confidence

Lovelyz - Lost N Found

Lovelyz released their fifth EP, Sanctuary, with the lead single "Lost N Found", on November 26, 2018. Lovelyz held their comeback showcase at Yes24 Live Hall on November 26, 2018, the same day as the album's release.

Nature - Some

To be hoenst, I don't know this group as well. So I will briefly introduce this one. Nature is a 9 member  kpop girl group formed by CH Entertainment. The group debuted on August 3, 2018, with the single album Girls and Flowers, accompanied by the lead single "Allegro Cantabile.On November 4, Nature via their Naver officially announced a new member, Loha as part of the group and introduced her through a live greeting. The next day, the group began teasing their second single album on Facebook, Some & Love, which was released on November 22, 2018. On the same day, the music video for the lead single, "Some (You'll Be Mine)", was released as well.

Dreamnote -Dreamnote

Ok, so this is group is actually brand new. DreamNote, is a 8 member kpop girl group formed by iMe KOREA. They debuted on November 7, 2018 with their debut single album Dreamlike. 

Kpop Girl Groups Update October 2018

         It's time to update the blog again. For October 2018, the number of girl group comeback is lower than September 2018, and also less well known ones as well, the most well known ones is IZ*ONE.

                                 IZ*ONE - La Vie en Rose

Speaking of the most well known girl group for October, I would say the debut of  Iz One. They are brand new, so I will introduce them briefly here.

Iz One  is a Korean-Japanese kpop girl group formed through the Mnet reality competition show Produce 48. The group is composed of 9 Korean members: Jang Won-young,  Jo Yu-ri, Choi Ye-na, An Yu-jin,  Kwon Eun-bi, Kang Hye-won, , Kim Chae-won, Kim Min-ju and Lee Chae-yeon. Nako Yabuki and 3 Japanese members: Sakura Miyawaki, Hitomi Honda

Iz One made their debut on October 29, 2018, with their first extended play Color*, with "La Vie en Rose" serving as its lead single. The group is currently managed by Off the Record Entertainment in South Korea and AKS in Japan.

        A debut showcase concert, entitled 'COLOR*IZ Show-Con', was held in conjunction with the album's release at the Olympic Hall in Seoul, South Korea, in which the tickets to the showcase were sold-out within a minute of being on sale. In its first day of release, the EP sold over 34,000 units reported by Hanteo Chart, setting a new record for the highest number of albums sold on the first day of a Korean girl group's debut release. The music video for the lead single "La Vie en Rose" achieved more than 4.5 million views within 24 hours of its release on YouTube, making it the most-watched debut music video by a Korean act in 24 hours. On November 8, Iz One garnered their first music program win for "La Vie en Rose" on M Countdown. This was the fastest music program win for a girl group, just 10 days after their official debut

             April - Oh! My mistake

   On October 4, DSP Media confirmed that the group would comeback with their sixth mini-album named The Ruby. The album was released on October 16, along with the title track "Oh! My Mistake". The Ruby debuted and peaked at number 10 on the Gaon Album Chart.

     Being in black and white, the promotional poster differed from April's previous imagery as it lacked any primary colors, and noted that the band had evolved and matured with each release, "adding a variety of changes to every album".Several other publications also noted the change in style.

 Weki Meki - Crush

Weki Meki released their first single album Kiss, Kicks on October 11, 2018 with a teen crush concept. The album features a total of three tracks including lead single "Crush" with rap portions on the album written by member Yoo-jung

 

Fromis_9 - Love Bomb

I have introduced this group before, so I won't repeat here. The group has released a special single album titled From.9 on October 10 with the title song, "LOVE BOMB," which reached 1 million views on YouTube on October 12. This was the first comeback with all the 9 members after the return of Jang Gyu-ri. On October 15, 2018, Fromis_9 made their acting debut in a web series, Welcome to Heal Inn, on their official VLive page. However, it was filmed during Gyu-ri's absence.

Kpop Girl Groups Update September 2018

        It's time to update the blog again. For September 2018, the number of girl group comeback is slightly higher than August 2018, but even more less well known.

                               Oh My Girl - Remember Me

         Oh My Girl is the most well known girl group among all the kpop girl groups comeback at September 2018. On August 24, WM Entertainment confirmed that the group will make a Korean comeback on September 10, with their 6th mini album Remember Me.

       According to the timeline, the girls will be unveiling album art, photos, concept trailer, album preview, and more for the 6th mini album starting on August 29. The full release will be on September 10. The dates for Oh My Girl's 2nd concert is also listed as October 20.

Cosmic Girls - Save Me, Save You

     On September 19, 2018, Cosmic Girls returned with their fifth mini album WJ Please on. The Chinese members, Cheng Xiao, Mei Qi and Xuan Yi, did not participate in the comeback. Mei Qi and Xuan Yi are preparing to debut with Rocket Girls 101, while Cheng Xiao is filming Legend of Awakening, a Chinese historical fantasy drama as the second lead actress, which would be her acting debut.

    Two Chinese members (Mei Qi and Xuan Yi) participated in the Chinese version of survival show Produce 101 during the first half of 2018.The survival show concluded with Mei Qi ranking 1st and Xuan Yi ranking 2nd, making them both members of the Chinese girl group Rocket Girls 101.

                                        

                                     Chinese girl group Rocket Girls 101, but Cosmic girls lead dancer Cheng Xiao, the 3rd Chinese member was not part of this group

Dreamcatcher - What

     
 Dreamcatcher's third EP Alone in the City was released on September 20, 2018.The dark concept queens are back with another heavy metal influenced bop! Dreamcatcher’s comeback title track “What” switches up the formula from previous release “You and Me, picking up in musical intensity and being visually less dark. 

UNI.T - I mean

Uni.T released its second and last album titled Begin with the End on September 18, 2018, with the lead single "I Mean" being composed by Brave Brothers. On September 12, 2018, it was announced that ZN will not be a part of the farewell album due to Laboum's overlapped schedule.

Disband of UNI.T

On October 12, 2018 the group performed "I Mean" and "Begin With The End" for the last time at Music Bank and later the same day they held last fanmeeting of the group, after which they have disbanded.

S.I.S - Say Yes

   In the adorable "Say Yes" MV, the S.I.S members meet up at a home, where they have a little party. The upbeat dance track is the title song of S.I.S's 2nd single album of the same name..

GWSN - Puzzle Moon

           (Ok, first of all. The most left member is a girl, not a guy)....

     This is a new girl group, so I will briefly introduce here.

GWSN is a kpop girl group formed by Kiwi Pop, a subsidiary of Kiwi Media Group. The group debuted on September 5, 2018 with their debut extended play The Park in the Night Part One, and members Miya, Seokyoung, Seoryoung, Anne, Minju, Soso and Lena.

      

Kpop Girl Groups Update August 2018

            It's time to update the blog again. For August 2018, the number girl group comeback is pretty much around same as July 2018, but less well known.

Red Velvet - Power Up

On August 6th 2018, their second special "summer" EP following The Red Summer, which was released in July 2017. Released on August 6, 2018, the EP contains seven tracks, including the lead single "Power Up" and the English version of "Bad Boy" as a bonus track, making it their first song to be released in English.

Commercial Success: 

The EP was a commercial success domestically and internationally, topping South Korea's Gaon chart's Album Chart, Single Chart and Download Chart. Elsewhere, it debuted at number three on the US Billboard World Albums chart. It also charted on the website's Heatseekers Albums chart at number 3, the Digital Albums at number 21, and became the group's first release to enter the Top Album Sales chart at number 91. The lead single "Power Up" also debuted at number 6 on its World Digital Songs chart. In France, the album charted at number 42 on the French Album Downloads Chart. The EP is also the group's first release to chart in the UK and Australia, debuting at number 38 on the UK Album Downloads Chart and at 31 on the Australian Top 50 Digital Albums Chart

DIA - WooWoo

The group released on their fourth album Summer Ade on August 9, 2018 with the title track "Woo Woo". On August 14, the group received their first music show win on SBS MTV's The Show.
When I learnt this dance, I heard about the lead dancer of DIA Eunjin quit the group, which is not good.

 DIA lead dancer Eunjin

Loona - favOriTe, Hi High.

Loona's debut extended play as a full group, ++, was released on August 20, 2018.  On August 7, 2018, Loona released "Favorite" as the lead single from ++ (read as plus plus), their debut extended play as a full group. ++ debuted at number 2 on the Gaon Album Chart, at number 4 on the US World Albums and US Heatseekers Albums and at number 20 on the US Independent Albums. The album was the 6th best-selling album of August 2018, with 41,583 physical copies sold.

The extended play was released on August 20, 2018 alongside the second single "Hi High".

Berry Good - Green Apple

 On August 16, the group made a comeback with their first full album Free Travel, that they had been recording since August 2017. They commemorated the release through a showcase held that afternoon at Ilji Art Hall in Cheongdam-dong, with the lead single "Green Apple".

It was well known that Berry Good always change their music style, so this is different from last release as well.

Nature - Allegro Cantabile 

    Ok, this is a new girl group, so I will briefly introduce it here.Nature (Hangul: 네이처; Stylized as NATURE) is a kpop girl group formed by n.CH Entertainment in Seoul, South Korea. The group debuted on August 3, 2018, with the single album Girls And Flowers with the title track "Allegro Cantabile"

Kpop Girl Groups Update July 2018

         It's time to update the blog again. For July 2018, the girl group comeback is pretty much around same as last month.

APink - I'm so sick

       On July 2, Apink released their seventh mini album One & Six. The title track, "I'm So Sick", was used to promote the album along with B-track "Alright". Once again, Apink worked with common collaborator Black Eyed Pilseung for the title track, who had previously produced "Only One". With this comeback, Apink took on a different direction conceptually, with a bolder image and a more sophisticated sound. "I'm So Sick" topped several music charts in South Korea after its release. The album itself topped the Gaon chart and led Apink to reach their highest-ever position on Billboard's World Albums chart at No. 11. The success of the song and album further led to Apink making their debut on Billboard's Social 50 chart, opening at No. 39

        And Until July 17th 2018, APink got 4 wins already for various music program.

GFriend- Sunny Summer

In early July, it was announced that the group would return on July 19th with a special summer mini album for fans entitled Sunny Summer, which would include five new tracks for the group.

The album is marketed as their first special "summer" EP. It was released by Source Music on July 19, 2018, and distributed by kakao M (formerly LOEN Entertainment). The album contains five songs, including the eponymous title track, "Sunny Summer," described by Billboard as having "airy, exuberant vocals that bounce along over the melody, the song is driven by the group's refreshing vocals tones as they sing about having a memorable summer together.

Twice - Dance the night away

In July, an expanded reissue of What Is Love? named Summer Nights, along with its title track "Dance the Night Away" written by Wheesung, was released.

                      One of my fav singer and song writter from YG Entertainment back in early 2000s Wheesung.

"Dance the Night Away" was composed by several music producers and has lyrics written by Wheesung. It was described as a "song that offers a fresh tune that suits the summer weather" and was meant to showcase the group's youthfulness. It is a vivacious electronic dance music (EDM) with up-beat tempo. Tamar Herman from Billboard described the song as a "summery EDM and groovy pop track that bounces around over a beat of thumping bass, bright horns, and blaring synths."

The music video of "Dance the Night Away" was filmed on an Okinawa beach in early June 2018.

 

Mamamoo - Egotistic

Mamamoo released their seventh EP, Red Moon, on July 16, 2018, with "Egotistic" as its lead single.On the first week of its release, the EP debuted at number four on Billboard World Albums with 1,000 copies, making it their best U.S. sales week. The EP also peaked at number three on the weekly Gaon Album Chart. Mamamoo also made their first-ever appearance on Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart at number 25. The promotions for "Egotistic" ended on July 5, 2018 on SBS' Inkigayo, in preparation for their third solo concert.

                                  

Laboum -Between Us

On July 9, a teaser image for the group's upcoming single album, Between Us was released. The following day, it was revealed that the single was produced by member Soyeon, and that all five members would participate in promotional activities