THE BOYZ will reportedly be releasing new music next month, with Eric rejoining the group’s activities.
Earlier today (January 5), South Korean news outlet News1 reported that the K-pop boyband are set to release new album in February. The publication also alleged that member Eric, who had been on a temporary hiatus since March 2022 due to unspecified health reasons, will be returning to the group for the upcoming project. IST Entertainment has yet to respond to the report at the time of writing.
However, News1’s report did not specify if bandmate Sunwoo will be involved in the upcoming record, after he also went on a temporary hiatus in late August due to “health difficulties” and a “worsening of his condition”. “After [a] serious discussion with the artist himself, we have decided that he will temporarily halt activities in order to get rest and focus on recovering his health,” the agency said in their statement at the time.
If confirmed, THE BOYZ’s forthcoming music will be their first record in roughly six months, since they released their seventh mini-album ‘Be Aware’ in August 2022. That record was led by title track ‘Whisper’, and included an additional five B-side tracks. All six tracks on the record were co-written by member Sunwoo, with other members including Hyunjae, New, Q and Jacob having been credited as co-writers alongside him on select songs. The boyband also dropped a special standalone winter single ‘All About You’ in December.
‘Be Aware’ was also THE BOYZ’s first domestic release of 2022, arriving 10 months after their November 2021 single album ‘Maverick’. In a mixed three-star review of the record, NME’s Rhian Daly wrote that its songs “vary wildly across the tracks, sometimes ushering us into slinky, sexy territory, but other times misstepping into something far more disjointed.”