JJ Project Make First Appearance on World, Heatseekers Albums Chart 5 Years After Debut
JJ Project has made its comeback to the K-pop scene with 'Verse 2' and "Tomorrow, Today" boasting impressive chart accomplishments five years after their debut.
Five years after its formation, JJ Project has made its comeback to the K-pop scene with impressive chart accomplishments to boast.
The duo consisting of GOT7 members JB and Jinyoung initially debuted in 2012 with the fun, hip-hop–focused single “Bounce” and its accompanying EP, before eventually joining five other label-mates to make the seven-member boy band GOT7. More than five years after their introduction, the guys are back together for Verse 2, which debuts at No. 2 on Billboard’s World Albums chart, marking not only the biggest-selling K-pop album in America this week but also their first-ever appearance on the tally. The six-track set sold 1,000 copies in the week ending Aug. 3, according to Nielsen Music.
Verse 2 also debuts at No. 9 on Heatseekers Albums, a chart that sees far fewer K-pop acts charting. The release is only the seventh K-pop album to enter the Top 10 of Heatseekers this year.
Five years has clearly led to a lot of mature musical growth for JB and Jinyoung with the new music hardly recalling the trend-driven synth-dance-rap hybrid of “Bounce.” Instead, the duo opt for electronica-dipped rock and R&B, all topped off with tender harmonies. The mood is set with the synth groove of EP opener “Coming Home” before the rock-pop–inspired lead single “Tomorrow, Today” delivers the set’s emotional climax. Meanwhile, standouts “On&On,” “Icarus” and “Find You” deliver the trendy, melancholy moohbatom and EDM that is taking over radio waves around the world, but the guys make it their own with their undeniable vocal blend and chemistry.
While JJ Project and GOT7’s label home of JYP Entertainment doesn’t typically focus on splinter groups or sub-units for its acts (none of the agency’s classic groups like 2PM, Wonder Girls, miss A, DAY6 or Twice have had units), JJ Project certainly makes a case for at least considering more of them if the results can show such a different side to their artists as JB and Jinyoung do here.
Elsewhere, “Tomorrow, Today” debuts at No. 9 on Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales chart as this week’s fifth best-selling K-pop song in America. It’s a new peak for JJ Project on World Digital Song Sales who only charted with “Bounce” back in 2012, which hit No. 14.
Watch JB and Jinyoung return to the stage to bring “Tomorrow, Today” to life below:
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