SEVENTEEN Announce Release Date For Fifth Studio Album, ‘Happy Burstday’

K-pop boy band SEVENTEEN announced the release date for their upcoming fifth studio album on Monday morning (April 21). Happy Burstday is slated to drop on May 26, marking the group’s first full-length LP in almost three years.

The follow-up to 2022’s Face the Sun was announced by S.COUPS, JEONGHAN, JOSHUA, JUN, HOSHI, WONWOO, WOOZI, THE 8, MINGYU, DK, SEUNGKWAN, VERNON and DINO in a promo video featuring a giant floating black envelope hovering in a dirty subway station. The information on the back of the envelope also teased much more upcoming news from the 13-member act.

In addition to the May 26 release date, it promised a “new tour,” as well as “new unit single album” and “new SEVENTEEN content,” and more special news to come. The video ends with the envelope collapsing to the ground as the lights in the underground tunnel begin to flicker ominously while the unseen, breathless cameraman sprints to the steps to discover an elaborately frosted birthday cake that bursts into flames, transforming the message into the album’s title rendered in spooky black and red letters.

According to a release announcing the project, “HAPPY BURSTDAY blends the words ‘birthday’ and ‘burst’ to express the explosive energy of SEVENTEEN’s rebirth, capturing their desire to reinvent themselves as a ‘new SEVENTEEN’ and embrace a fearless new era beyond a decade.” The release date next month coincides with the 10th anniversary of SEVENTEEN’s 2015 debut as a group.

Last month, vocal unit leader and producer/singer WOOZI and performance unit leader and dancer/rapper HOSHI teamed up for their first single album, the three-track Beam.

Gil Kaufman

Billboard