K-pop girl groups take to international stage

The poster for K-pop group (G)I-DLE's Seoul concerts, which are the start of the group's first world tour / Courtesy of Cube Entertainment

By Kim Rahn

K-pop girl acts are launching their world tours, with many of them having their first ever concerts because their planned ones were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic or because they debuted during earlier parts of the global health crisis.

(G)I-DLE started its first world tour, "2022 (G)I-DLE World Tour [Just Me ( )I-DLE]," with three concerts in Seoul from Friday to Sunday, according to its agency, Cube Entertainment, Friday.

After the Seoul shows, the girl group will continue its tour in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Santiago, Mexico City, Monterrey, Jakarta, Manila, Tokyo and Singapore.

The act planned an international tour in early 2020 but cancelled it amid the pandemic.

Debuting in 2018, (G)I-DLE released a series of hits, including "LATATA," "Hwaa," 'DUMDi DUMDi" and "Hann (Alone)."

Its first studio album, "I Never Die," which was released in March, topped iTunes' Top Album charts in 24 countries and came in at 58th on the Billboard Global 200 chart. The album's title song, "Tomboy," ranked 34th on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart and the music video has received more than 120 million views.

The poster for ITZY's first world tour / Courtesy of JYP Entertainment

Another girl group, ITZY, will have its first U.S. tour starting in August.

JYP Entertainment, Friday, released the poster of the tour, titled, "ITZY the 1st World Tour Checkmate," on the group's social media accounts, along with the dates and locations of the planned concerts.

"Checkmate" is the name of a mini album to be released on July 15.

After two concerts in Seoul on Aug. 6 and 7, the group will travel to the U.S. to hold shows in eight cities ― Los Angeles, Arizona, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Boston and New York ― from October to November.

Debuting in 2019, ITZY has released hit songs such as "Dalla Dalla," "Wannabe" and "Not Shy."

LOONA is also gearing up for its first international tour titled, "LOONA the World."

The K-pop act's planned 10 concerts in nine U.S. cities, from Aug. 1 to 19, are all sold out, so it added four more shows at the end of that month, according to its agency, Block Berry Creative, Thursday.

The girl group gained popularity with songs such as "Hi High," "Why Not?" and "Butterfly."

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