IVE to release new music at end of August

IVE is set to release new music at the end of August, according to the girl group's agency, Starship Entertainment, on Thursday, some seven months after it released its third EP, "IVE Empathy."

Girl group IVE [STARSHIP ENTERTAINMENT]

IVE is set to release new music at the end of August, according to the girl group's agency, Starship Entertainment, on Thursday.

This marks IVE's first release in around seven months since its third EP, "IVE Empathy," was released in February.

That EP sold more than 1.04 million copies in its first week, earning IVE its fifth consecutive million-seller title. Its prerelease track, "Rebel Heart," and the EP's title track, "Attitude," earned the group a combined 15 wins on weekly Korean music programs, with the former song also charting for 10 consecutive weeks on Billboard’s Global 200 chart excluding the United States.

Starship Entertainment did not disclose what IVE's upcoming release will entail, only preluding that as a "group unafraid of change and challenge [that] constantly delivered fresh surprises with each album," the group will showcase a "new transformation."

The EP follows the "Love Dive" (2022) singers' headline appearances at music festivals Lollapalooza Berlin and Lollapalooza Paris on July 12 and 20, respectively. IVE will bring the energy it showed at the festivals in its new music release, Starship Entertainment said.

The group is also slated to perform during the halftime show at a Coupang Play Series-hosted match between Newcastle United and Korean league players next Wednesday.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]