IU to hold concerts at Jamsil Olympic Stadium in September

K-pop diva IU, the star of Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda's first Korean-language film "Broker," will return as a singer this fall. She will hold "The Golden Hour" concerts on Sept. 17 and 18 at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in southern Seoul, her agency, EDAM Entertainment said Thursday. It marks her first concerts in three years since the "Love, Poem" shows held in four South Korean cities and six other Asian countries in 2019. She will be the first female

July 28, 2022

[Graphic News] K-pop album sales hit record high in H1

　Sales of K-pop albums have once again reached an all-time-high in the first half of this year, a local market tracker said. 　According to Kim Jin-woo, head researcher of Circle Chart, which reports accumulated sales and streams, combined sales of the nation‘s top 400 physical albums have risen to 34.9 million copies in the first half of 2022, up 34.6 percent from a year ago. It was the highest first-half sales figure of all time. 　First-half sales of physical albums have risen from 10.

July 28, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘We want to define our own genre’

Ulala Session’s rise to fame was sudden, starting as the winner of TV audition program “Super Star K” in 2011, and its popularity has lasted. However, after 10 years in the mainstream music scene, the group is still asked: “So, what kind of musicians are you?” Giving their answer to this question, the group recently launched the project “U.L.S,” a series of albums that will present the new identity of Ulala Session and mark the start to the act’

July 28, 2022

Film about legendary Korean naval hero tops box office on its opening day

A homegrown historical film about a famous naval battle by Adm. Yi Sun-sin against an invading Japanese fleet in the 16th century has topped the South Korean box office on the first day of its release, data showed Thursday. "Hansan: Rising Dragon" pushed down "Minions 2" to No. 2 to debut atop the daily chart with 386,000 admissions Wednesday, according the box office tally from the Korean Film Council. The figure accounts for nearly 60 percent of the total number of tickets

July 28, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘K-pop cover dance is democratizing dance education’

K-pop cover dance videos rack up tens of thousands of views on YouTube. They are filmed in places all around the world, from a shopping mall in China to a park in Spain. In the clips, young dancers, typically dressed in colorful and coordinated outfits, show off their moves to an intrigued audience, as the latest K-pop hits play through the speakers. Exuding confidence, the dancers look almost as if they are in their own music video. In her book “K-pop Dance: Fandoming Yourself on Social

July 27, 2022

Boy band ATBO debuts, hopes to color the world with originality

IST Entertainment’s new boy band ATBO has embarked on their journey with debut album “The Beginning.” Formed through the TV survival show “The Origin - A, B, Or What?,” the seven-member group finally entered the K-pop scene and conducted a debut showcase a few hours ahead of the album drop on Wednesday. Making their first appearance in front of the media, the band’s leader Oh Junseok said, “Our long-held dream of debuting is finally here. It didn&rsquo

July 27, 2022

[Today's K-pop] Blackpink’s “Lovesick Girls” video tops 600m views

The music video for Blackpink’s “Lovesick Girls” reached 600 million views on YouTube, according to label YG Entertainment on Wednesday. 　 The video was fully unveiled in October 2020, and became the group’s 12th video to reach the milestone. The music video for “Ddu-du Ddu-du” is in the lead with over 1.9 billion views, followed by those for “Kill This Love” (1.6 billion) and “Boombayah” (1.4 billion).  　 “Lovesick Girl

July 27, 2022

Seven-member girl group CSR debuts with EP ‘Sequence: 7272’

New K-pop girl group CSR made its debut on Wednesday with its first EP, “Sequence: 7272” under the label Pop Music. The seven-piece act – with members Sua, Geumhee, Sihyeon, Seoyeon, Yuna, Duna and Yeham -- is comprised of 17-year-old girls under the Korean age system. CSR is an abbreviation of “cheotsarang,” the group’s Korean name, which means “first love.” CSR held its debut media showcase in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, Wednesday,

July 27, 2022

‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ creators delighted by series’ popularity

With half of its series released as of July 21, television channel ENA’s legal drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” a story about a gifted, autistic attorney, has been writing history. It topped global streaming platform Netflix’s weekly viewership chart of non-English TV shows at the second week of July. It made ENA the most-watched channel during Wednesday-Thursday’s prime time with viewership rating of 13.1 percent, the highest number in the channel’s his

July 27, 2022

CIX to return with 5th EP ‘‘OK’ Episode 1: OK Not’ next month

Boy group CIX will return next month with its fifth EP, “‘OK’ Episode 1: OK Not.” CIX‘s label, C9 Entertainment, on Wednesday announced the date and details of its August return by unveiling an image showing the band’s schedule via its official social media. The upcoming album marks the group‘s first release since its debut album “’OK‘ Prologue: Be OK,” released in August last year. Prior to the release on Aug. 22, CIX will unv

July 27, 2022

BTS nominated in 4 categories at MTV Video Music Awards

South Korean superband BTS has won four nominations at this year's MTV Video Music Awards, the US TV station said Tuesday (US time). The septet was nominated in the categories of Best K-pop, Best Choreography, Best Metaverse Performance and Best Visual Effects. The band has been awarded at the MTV awards ceremony for the past three years. It won two titles in 2019 and took home four prizes in 2020. Last year, it won three trophies, including Group of the Year. For the Best K-pop category, B

July 27, 2022

'Emergency Declaration' delves into different types of humanity

In the face of disaster, different types of people cope differently. "Emergency Declaration," a new aviation disaster film released next month, tells a story that everyone living through the pandemic can relate to. The film follows a detective, played by Cannes-winning actor Song Kang-ho, who investigates a suspected terrorist only to find out that he has already boarded a plane. While passengers are trapped inside, those on the ground struggle to find a way to land the plane. "

July 26, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink will return with blockbuster music video

Blackpink’s upcoming music video is made with the largest budget ever, according to label YG Entertainment on Tuesday. 　 The quartet started shooting the video for the focus track from its forthcoming album on the day. It has been almost two years since its first studio album “The Album.” 　 The album ranked No. 2 on both Billboard 200 and UK’s Official Albums Chart Top 100. The LP sold 690,000 copies in the first week of sales, a record for a K-pop girl group at the ti

July 26, 2022

Nicole returns after 8 years to fill in summer breeze with ‘You.F.O’

As the days are getting long in summer and the weather is getting hotter outside, Nicole, a former bandmate of the now-disbanded girl group Kara, returned with a new digital single, “You.F.O“ to put music listeners in a sunny mood. This marks the singer-turned-soloist’s return to the music charts in nearly eight years since she last dropped her first EP, “First Romance,” in 2014. “It’s been eight years, and I took the time to look back on myself,&rd

July 26, 2022

[Feature] Caught between plagiarism and 'referencing'

Though renowned South Korean singer-songwriter You Hee-yul issued multiple apologies and has stepped down from the KBS music program “You Heeyul’s Sketchbook,” a heated debate over plagiarism claims is unlikely to die down anytime soon as more claims of plagiarism by K-pop artists surface. The controversy erupted in mid-June, when a post surfaced online claiming that You’s 2021 track “A Very Private Night” felt almost identical to Japanese composer Ryuichi S

July 26, 2022

“Star” dancers of Paris Opera to perform in Seoul

A group of star dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet, including Korean dancer Park Sae-eun, will take the stage on Thursday and Friday at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, reviving the historic company’s classic and modern repertoires in a gala show. 　 The occasion will mark Park’s first performance in Korea as an étoile, or star, of the Paris Opera Ballet. The 33-year-old ballerina was named étoile last year, becoming the first Asian to hold the coveted title in the 353-y

July 26, 2022

JYP Entertainment teams up with Republic Records to launch global girl group

K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment has teamed up with Republic Records, an American music label owned by Universal Music Group, to launch a joint audition in search of a new global girl group. On Tuesday, the two labels announced the launch of “America2Korea,” a new global audition project that will scout for talent in the US and Canada. Kicking off on Sept. 10 in Atlanta, the A2K auditions will take place in five cities in the US -- Chicago on Sept. 14, New York on Sept. 17-18,

July 26, 2022

BTS' J-Hope lands at 17th on Billboard main albums chart

J-Hope of K-pop superband BTS made a good start high on the US Billboard's main albums chart for this week. The rapper-dancer placed 17th on the Billboard 200 with his first formal solo album, "Jack in the Box," Billboard said on a social media Tuesday. "Arson," one of the two main singles off the album, landed at 96th on the Hot 100 main singles chart. "Jack in the Box," featuring 10 songs, is also the first-ever official solo album from BTS, which recently an

July 26, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream’s Mark to miss concert due to COVID-19

Mark of NCT Dream tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be able to join the band’s upcoming concert, said label SM Entertainment on Monday. 　 The idol band is holding three concerts in Seoul from July 29, its first in-person gig in Korea in over 2 1/2 years. The concert, dubbed “In A Dream,” was to be the first since Mark rejoined the subunit in 2020 and drew more than 1.5 million fans concurrently when the tickets opened for purchase online. All tickets were sold upon re

July 25, 2022

[Herald Review] Big names light up stage at ‘Blue Spring Hip-hop Festa’

As large-scale concerts are coming back with the slow lifting of pandemic and social distancing rules across the nation, an abundant number of concertgoers filled the Jangchung Arena in Jung-gu, Seoul, Friday night as big-name R&B and hip-hop artists took the stage for “Blue Spring Hip-hop Festa.” The concert is an offshoot of the Blue Spring Festival, one of the country‘s biggest music festivals, which takes place in a different city each year. The first session took p

July 25, 2022