Blackpink's first studio album, "The Album," achieved a gold certification from the British Phonographic Industry, marking a significant milestone for the K-pop group. The album garnered 100,000 in sales in the UK, making Blackpink the first K-pop female artist to achieve this feat. Additionally, "The Album" made its mark on the Billboard 200, securing the No. 2 spot and maintaining a presence on the main albums chart for 26 consecutive weeks, setting a record for a K-pop female act at the time. The album's lead track, "Lovesick Girls," reached No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the pre-release track, "How You Like That," claimed the No. 33 spot. Notably, "The Album" became the first million-seller from a K-pop girl group, with sales surpassing 1.2 million copies. Furthermore, the four members of Blackpink renewed their contracts for group activities with YG Entertainment in December. Chuu, formerly of Loona, is set to release a new album and is currently filming a music video in Australia, as announced by her agency ATRP. Following the success of her first solo EP, "Howl," which topped the Worldwide iTunes albums chart for two days and earned recognition for its titular track on Billboard magazine's "The 25 Best K-Pop Songs of 2023" list, Chuu has been making waves as a solo artist. She held her inaugural solo fan concert in Seoul and embarked on a tour across six cities in the US. Additionally, she released the digital single "Chocolate" in both Korean and English, coinciding with Valentine's Day. The music video for NewJeans' popular song "ETA" received accolades at The One Show, a prestigious advertising and design award show. The video, which accompanied the track from their second EP "Get Up," secured a Bronze Pencil in the music video category and also received merits awards in three other categories, including innovation/use of media in film. Notably, the video was shot entirely with an iPhone 14 Pro and was a collaborative effort with Apple, earning recognition at the Spikes Asia advertising award show. Meanwhile, NewJeans is gearing up for a comeback with the double single "How Sweet" and "Bubblegum" on May 24. Lee Sooman, the founder and former head of SM Entertainment, is scheduled to speak at an international conference in Seoul on May 30. This appearance marks his first public engagement in about 10 months and has sparked speculation about a potential comeback, especially after reports of his private company applying for a new trademark. However, Lee is currently bound by a non-compete clause as part of the agreement when he sold part of his shares to Hybe last year, prohibiting his return to the entertainment industry in Korea for two more years. Despite this, his upcoming appearance at the conference has raised questions about his future involvement in the industry.