SM Entertainment’s Hearts2Hearts has released their second mini album Lemon Tang, the next installment in the company’s iconic series of summer-themed hits.

The album was released 22 June 2026, consisting of six tracks and led by both eponymous title track “Lemon Tang” and viral single “RUDE!”. All six songs reflect the group’s youthful identity, with lyrics following tales of new beginnings and self-discovery and hinging on themes of friendship and girlhood.

Dance-pop title track “Lemon Tang” sits at the centre of the album’s narrative. Musically, layers of synth reflect a bright, energetic summer theme, as lyrics contrast the sour taste of lemon with a sweeter lemon tang to represent the difference between loneliness and friendship. The track was written by KENZIE, who also co-composed and co-arranged it – continuing a creative partnership that has produced some of the group's strongest work, including "The Chase," "STYLE," and "FOCUS.”

“RUDE!”, the pre-release single released in February, embraces this same message of friendship and joy from a different angle, encouraging confidence and individuality. It rejects negative comments and instead guides the listener towards finding their own, accepting community, with an edge of sass in its English-language spoken-word bridge that went viral online. It peaked at number 3 on MelOn and dominated domestic digital charts during its promotional period. Internationally, it became the first girl group song of 2026 to achieve 100 million Spotify streams.

Lemon Tang and its summer theme has successfully ridden the wave of the popularity of the pre-release. The album shot to number one on both the Hanteo and Circle charts, which document domestic sales data. It maintains the momentum Hearts2Hearts have seen since their debut last year, where their first single album The Chase broke the record for the highest first-week sales of any girl group debut album in Hanteo history.

Significantly, this marks yet another chapter in SM Entertainment's long-running tradition of summer-themed hits. Lemon Tang joins a lineage that includes f(x)'s "Hot Summer," Red Velvet's "Red Flavor," SHINee's "View," and NCT 127's "Summer 127," among many others. The company has become synonymous with the season across several generations of K-pop, with collaborative SMTOWN tracks and the annual SMTOWN Live concert series forming a consistent thread through its history. For Hearts2Hearts, the group's rising stars, to now be part of that tradition is as much a statement about where they sit within SM's present as it is about the album itself.

As SM Entertainment continues to expand both domestically and internationally, Hearts2Hearts are increasingly central to that growth – inheritors of a legacy, but building something of their own alongside it.