Kiki dominates global charts simultaneously with MLB pitch and mini 3rd album 'WhyKiiiKiii' release

The group Kiki (Jiyu, Isol, Sui, Ha-eum, Kiya) gained attention locally by throwing the ceremonial first pitch at a Major League Baseball game in the United States. On August 10 (local time), Kiki attended the game between the LA Angels and the Texas Rangers held at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California. Member Kiya took the mound as the ceremonial first pitcher representing the team and coordinated the pitch with LA Angels pitcher Blake Wyman. After the pitch, Kiya received a signed ball from Blake Wyman, and the members took commemorative photos with Blake Wyman and LA Angels’ Mike Trout. This news spread through various social media platforms, attracting interest from K-pop fandoms and the local U.S. audience. Prior to this ceremonial pitch, on August 8 (local time), Kiki also performed on the stage of ″Head in the Clouds LA 2026″ held at Brookside in the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California. Meanwhile, Kiki made a comeback on the 10th with their third mini-album ″WhyKiiiKiii.″ This album was inspired by the world-famous resort ″Waikiki″ and includes a total of six tracks, including the title track ″Pop Off Pop Off.″ The title track is an electronic synth-pop genre characterized by intense synth sounds and an addictive chorus. Immediately after the album release, the music video for ″Pop Off Pop Off″ ranked number one on YouTube Music Video Trending Worldwide, and as of 10 a.m. on the 12th, it reached a peak of 27th on the Melon TOP 100 and number one on the Bugs real-time chart. Additionally, ″WhyKiiiKiii″ ranked number one on the iTunes Top K-pop Music Album Chart in three countries—France, the Netherlands, and Australia—and entered the top 10 in 13 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil, and Türkiye.