Wonder Girls gear up for U.S. debut album release in April

Korean pop group Wonder Girls returned to the United States over the weekend to prepare for their debut album due out in the country in April, according to their agency JYP Entertainment (JYPE).

An official at JYPE told Asia Economic Daily over a phone call yesterday that "Wonder Girls members left for the U.S. on March 13," adding that they will "focus on the release of their studio album which has been delayed."

"For the time being, they have no other work scheduled and are planning to concentrate on the album to release it by April or May at the latest," the official was quoted as saying.

He further explained that the delay came due to the group's member replacement; original member Mimi left the group last month to continue her studies and JYP trainee Lim was brought in to fill her place.

The quintet, including new member Lim, had flown into Korea earlier this month and last week attended a promotional tour in Singapore as the new face for global mobile phone brand Sony Ericsson in the Asia-Pacific region.

Wonder Girls -- originally composed of Sohee, Yubin, Sun, Yenny and Mimi -- debuted in Korea in 2007 and quickly became one of the most successful pop groups in the country with three consecutive No. 1 singles, "Tell Me", "So Hot", and "Nobody".

They made an impressive crossover to the United States last year when their U.S. debut single "Nobody" entered the Billboard Hot100 at No. 76, becoming the first Korean artists to be placed on the chart in its 115-year history.

Reporter : Cho Bum-ja anju1015@asiae.co.kr
Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@asiae.co.kr