JYP Entertainment’s rising Japanese girl group NiziU has announced their first Korean mini album, Sour Grapes.

A video titled ““Sour Grapes” Chapter. 0 Prologue” was uploaded to the group’s official YouTube channel on September 7. It sees the nine members of NiziU finding bunches of grapes, grape-flavoured food and drink, or similar looking objects – such as a fidget toy – in various unexpected locations. In a mailbox, hanging above a table, in an advertisement, as well as featured in scenes mimicking fan culture, including a ticketing website which contains a grape in their logo. At the end of the video, one of the members interrupts a group banquet by shooting several of the grapes with a gun.

The video is uncanny from start to finish, and the snippets of music throughout support the idea of a slightly darker, more mysterious concept than NiziU’s past Japanese releases. It rises upon dramatic moments, while some scenes contain nothing but unsettling sound effects.

Since their formation in 2020, NiziU has released three studio albums, numerous singles, and several EPs. They were formed as the result of the Nizi Project survival show, a collaboration between JYP Entertainment and Sony Music which set out to debut a new JYPE Japanese girl group. The majority of their Japanese releases have contained a bright, colourful concept, with their name itself referencing the Japanese translation of “rainbow.”

Scheduled for September 28, 2026, the album will mark NiziU’s second Korean release but first Korean album; in 2023, they released the Korean-language single album Press Play. It also appears to signify a new direction for the group conceptually. The phrase “Sour Grapes” itself is an idiom for jealousy and bitterness and may tie into the narrative, leading to this more sinister imagery.

In Japan, NiziU regularly dominates the biggest music charts. Their pre-debut EP Make You Happy topped the Oricon Digital Albums chart immediately, their official debut single album topped the Oricon Weekly Singles chart, and multiple tracks have landed at number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.

Now, they are looking to expand into the Korean market with a full comeback, backed by the notoriety JYPE already holds in the industry.