From Kep1er to TWICE's Nayeon, K-pop megastars gear up for June releases

K-pop girl group Kep1er / Courtesy of WakeOne, Swing Entertainment

June is shaping up to be an exciting month for K-pop enthusiasts with a plethora of A-list stars gearing up for their summer anthems to cool people down as things heat up.

Project girl band Kep1er, formed on the 2021 audition program "Girls Planet 999," is scheduled to drop its first full-length album, "Kep1going On" on June 3.

Its management companies WakeOne and Swing Entertainment announced that the upcoming album will offer 10 tracks, including the lead single "Shooting Star" — a synth-pop song peppered with the sounds of electric guitar and drums.

"With the album, Kep1er seeks to celebrate the time it has spent with its followers while showing its determination to continue its journey of chasing the dream," the companies said. "It also encapsulates the musical abilities that the members have developed so far."

Kep1er was set to dissolve in July after being active for two and a half years. However, there has been a growing call for its contract renewal as it is one of the most popular K-pop acts today, which sold some 200,000 copies of its debut album, "First Impact" during the first week of its release. Whether Kep1er will extend its group activities further as a nonet is unknown for now.

K-pop star Sunmi / Courtesy of Abyss Company

On June 13, K-pop diva Sunmi will put out her new digital single, "Balloon in Love," according to her agency, Abyss Company.

In a teaser unveiled on X — formerly Twitter — Monday, the wet-haired Sunmi softly gazes at the camera, creating a dreamy and vintage atmosphere.

It also features some lyrics of her new song, which read "It's gonna blow up," "I'm a balloon in love," "I fall in love with you" and "We're running, running."

"Balloon in Love" has a bright vibe that contrasts with her previous releases, said Abyss Company.

"It is Sunmi's self-written track delivering her unique feeling," it explained. "She filmed its music video in Croatia."

Sunmi debuted as a member of the now-defunct girl group Wonder Girls in 2007, quit the act in 2010, and rejoined it in 2015. Wonder Girls disbanded two years later.

Sunmi started forging a solo career in 2013 with "24 hours" and dropped a string of hits such as "Gashina" (2017), grabbing attention for catchy music and compelling choreography. It has taken about eight months for the 32-year-old to return to the music scene following the release of the digital single, "Stranger" in October.

Nayeon of K-pop girl group TWICE / Courtesy of JYP Entertainment

One day after Sunmi's comeback, Nayeon of girl group TWICE is poised to roll out her second mini-album, "NA," about two years after making her solo debut with the mini-album, "Im Nayeon."

Her fresh album will be fronted by the lead single, "ABCD," according to her record label, JYP Entertainment. JYP's founder Park Jin-young has joined hands with rapper Rick Bridges to pen its lyrics and Pdogg, the music producer behind K-pop juggernaut BTS' smash-hits such as "DNA" (2017), composed it.

"'ABCD' is a pop dance track with the message of winning the heart of a love interest," JYP said in a statement, adding that it repeatedly uses the alphabets A,B,C, and D in the lyrics to add rhythm. The company unveiled some parts of the lyrics on Friday, which read "A, you're gonna B my babe, Everytime you C me, (I fall) Deeper deeper babe."

The album will carry six other tunes including, "Heaven," "Magic" and "HalliGalli." "Heaven" features singer-songwriter Sam Kim while "Magic" features Julie of K-pop girl band KISS OF LIFE. Lee Chan-hyuk of the sibling duo AKMU produced "HalliGalli," joining the star-studded creative lineup.

Nayeon debuted as part of TWICE with the EP "The Story Begins" in 2015. She is the first TWICE member to go solo.

In addition to the aforementioned groups, rookie boy band TWS — which rose to meteoric stardom with the debut track "Plot Twist" earlier this year — plans to make a comeback on June 24. NCT Wish, the last sub-unit of the multinational boy group NCT, is set to bring out its second Japanese single, "Songbird" on June 26, which will also be released in Korean.