Apink is back on the charts with upbeat album 'Self'

Girl group Apink [IST ENTERTAINMENT]

Girl group Apink stands strong even nearly 12 years after its debut, with its latest album, "Self," landing high on music charts just a day after its Wednesday release.

The group’s latest song, described as a “pop dance track with Apink’s bright energy,” is a return to Apink’s cheerful and upbeat concept for which the girl group is best known and a departure from the vibe of its most recent albums, “Percent” (2019), “Look” (2020) and “Horn” (2022) where the girl group took on “girl crush” concepts.

Lead track “D N D” landed at No. 4 and No.5 on streaming sites Melon and Genie upon its release Wednesday, while the album “Self” topped the iTunes Top Album chart in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines and hit No. 2 in Indonesia, Turkey and Hong Kong — a meaningful score for the girl group whose 12th year anniversary is only two weeks away.

“I think the energy that the group Apink has makes it different from others,” Eunji, the group’s main vocalist, said in a Wednesday press release before the album release.

“We thought people would expect us to show our true selves,” member Hayoung said, referring to the latest album.

“Lead track ‘D N D,’ which stands for ‘Do Not Disturb,’ really means just that: ‘Go my own way, do it my way.’ We hope to cheer people up with our new song, similar to how we were able to cheer people up with ‘NoNoNo’ [from 2013].”

“We are all aware that our fans have been supporting us for a really long time. We all remember our fans, and we always thank them all," Eunji added. "We hope to continue the long, long journey with our fans, sharing our time and hearts with them. I hope everyone stays in good health, both physically and mentally."

The girl group will hold the Korean leg of its Asian mini-concert tour, “Pink Drive,” on April 15 and 16 at Olympic Hall in Songpa District, southern Seoul.

Apink debuted as a seven-member girl group in 2011 but is better known as a six-member group after Hong Yoo-kyung left the group in 2013. Currently, the band consists of five members Park Cho-rong, Yoon Bo-mi, Jeong Eun-ji, Kim Nam-joo and Oh Ha-young, after the departure of Son Na-eun in 2022. It is best known for its hits “NoNoNo,” “Mr. Chu” (2014), “LUV" (2014) and “Dumhdurum” (2020).

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]