This summer will be extremely hot in the Kpop scene as solo artists compete to become the “Summer Queen”.
Oh My Girl and NewJeans are continuing the female trend in the music industry with summer songs. And at the end of this summer, female solo singers will step out. As female artists are enjoying both massive popularity and solid fandom firepower nowadays, female soloists and girl group members are expected to be active with various activities to heat up the music industry in summer.
First of all, solo singers from the “Produce 101” series will make a comeback one after another.
Jeon Somi, who succeeded in standing alone as a solo artist after I.O.I’s disbandment, will return after 1 year and 10 months with her new EP “Game Plan” to be released on August 7th. Currently, she is raising curiosity by releasing teaser posters that go back and forth between chic and lovely. Jeon Somi served as I.O.I’s center by winning first place on Mnet’s “Produce 101” season 1 in 2016. After going solo in 2019, she established herself as an “MZ icon” and received a lot of love with “Dumb Dumb” and “XOXO”. Therefore, expectations are high on what kind of charm she will show through her new album.
While Jang Wonyoung and Ahn Yujin debuted with IVE, Kim Chaewon and Sakura debuted with LE SSERAFIM, Kwon Eunbi and Jo Yuri, who were in IZ*ONE together with them, chose to go solo. They will also return to the music industry this summer.
In particular, Kwon Eunbi will release her new single “The Flash” on August 2nd. It contains 3 songs that will show Kwon Eunbi’s growing musicality, including the title song of the same name and b-side track “Beautiful Night”, in which she participated in writing lyrics. Attention is focused on Kwon Eunbi’s moves as this is her first comeback since she become a hot topic with unconventional costumes and performances at the “Waterbomb” festival.
Meanwhile, Jo Yuri will release her second mini-album “Love All” on August 9th. Jo Yuri, who will sing about love in the title song “Taxi”, is expected to show an unconventional transformation through the new song, such as challenging a brightly colored hairstyle for the first time since her debut.
Third-generation singers also join the Summer Queen battle. In particular, TWICE Jihyo will become the second soloist in her team by releasing her first mini-album “ZONE” on August 18th. As TWICE’s first soloist Nayeon got good results, global fans are paying keen attention to what kind of new charm Jihyo will show as a “solo artist” and whether she will achieve success.
Finally, former GFriend member Yerin also announced her resumption of activities after 1 year and 3 months. The second mini-album “Ready, Set, LOVE”, which is scheduled to be released on August 23rd, will capture fans’ hearts with Yerin’s solid vocals and refreshing tone. Yerin made her solo debut through the first mini-album “Aria” in May last year, a year after the team’s contract ended in 2021. Afterwards, during the long hiatus of more than 1 year, she showed various activities, including appearing as a virtual idol on Kakao Entertainment’s “Re:verse”. The new album this time is heralding a transformation by emphasizing Yerin’s “ability to digest concepts without limits”.
Source: Daum
