Apink to Release New Japanese Single 'Orion' on November 8

Some Japanese music sites are reporting that Apink will be dropping a new Japanese single entitled "Orion" on November 18. The K-pop girl group has already released two Japanese singles this year. This will be their third and final comeback in Japan for 2017.

Music Voice reports that the new song "Orion" will be the first Japanese ballad from Apink. The release will take the form of a single album with four tracks: "Orion," "Rainbow," "Orion (instrumental)" and "Rainbow (instrumental)," according to the Apink Official Website.

Apink is a girl group under Cube Entertainment that debuted on April 19, 2011, with seven members. Currently, Apink has six members: Chorong, Bomi, Eunji, Naeun, Namjoo, and Hayoung. The group has produced several hit songs and albums and won music industry awards, including Best New Female Artist at the 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards. Last year, Apink won Bonsang Awards (given to the top ten best artists) at the Seoul Music Awards and Golden Disc Awards in Korea.

Although Apink is a popular K-pop girl group, their Japanese singles tend to be lesser-known compared to their Korean songs. Their first three Japanese releases were versions of their Korean hits "NoNoNo," "Mr. Chu" and "Luv," with the latter two making it as high as number two on the prestigious Oricon singles chart. All three tracks were packaged in their first Japanese album, "Pink Season."

Apink's follow-up album in Japan arrived in 2016. It was called "Pink Doll." Three tracks from that album were released as singles: "Sunday Monday," "Brand New Days," and "Summer Time." From the album, "Summer Time" proved most successful, achieving number two on the Oricon chart.

In 2017, Apink released Japanese single "Bye Bye" in late March. This was followed by the summer release "Motto Go! Go!" in July. "Bye Bye" and "Motto Go! Go!" met with moderate success on the charts.