ILLIT and IVE collide on October 26 as the K-pop comeback race heats up

According to The Korea Times, October is one of the busiest comeback months of the year, and October 26 is the main showdown. ILLIT (HYBE/Belift Lab) releases its fifth mini album, “BREAK EVEN,” at 6 p.m. the same day IVE (Starship) drops “Looks Can Kill,” its first album in about eight months. The title “BREAK EVEN” borrows an economic term for a state of neither loss nor gain.

The month started early. KickFlip (JYP) released “KICK OFF THE WALL Pt. 1” on October 6. On October 12, NCT WISH (SM) returned with “I SPY,” PLAVE released “HYPERDRIVE,” Xdinary Heroes (JYP) released “IMPULSE” as its first release since leader Gunil’s departure, and Sung Han-bin, formerly of ZEROBASEONE, debuted solo with “DEAD:ALIVE.”

The calendar keeps going. NMIXX (JYP) releases its sixth EP “Strange Muse” on October 19, and BLACKPINK’s Lisa releases the six-track EP “PRESS PLAY” on October 23. RIIZE (SM) is also in the race, with a prologue single for its second full-length album due next spring.

Sales show how strong the market is. The Korea Times reports that AND2BLE’s debut album sold over 730,000 copies in its first week, and AND2BLE releases its second mini album “Sequence 02: Attraction” on October 27. XLOV follows with “i=!” on October 28.