[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink 1st K-pop girl group to be nominated for Brit Award

Blackpink was named as one of the nominees for 2023 The BRIT Awards, one of the most prestigious music awards in the UK. The group earned a nomination for international group of the year, along with Drake ＆ 21 Savage, First Aid Kit, Fontaines D.C. and Gabriels. The foursome is the only K-pop musicians to be nominated for the award besides BTS. BTS competed for the award in 2021 and 2022 but did not pick up the trophy. The award ceremony will be held on Feb. 12. Blackpink also was nominated for

K-popJan. 13, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] NewJeans stuck in US, cancels activities

NewJeans could not return to Korea from the US and had to cancel activities scheduled for Friday after a flight system outage in the US grounded thousands of flights, announced agency Ador on Thursday. The group was set to appear in a television music chart show and greet fans at an autograph session but was unable to catch a flight home due to the US' Federal Aviation Administration system outage. Even though the FAA restored the system and lifted the temporary halt, airline operators have had

K-popJan. 12, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Taeyang uploads teaser video for Jimin collab

Taeyang’s agency, the Black Label, floated a teaser trailer for the music video of his digital single, "Vibe (Feat. Jimin of BTS),” on Wednesday. Beginning with a shirtless Taeyang, the video then cuts to him and BTS' Jimin in black suits, dancing in sync to the thumping beats. The digital single, Taeyang's first solo work in over five years, will be fully unveiled on Friday. The Big Bang star will host a livestream on the day an hour before the release to discuss the new song

K-popJan. 11, 2023

Blackpink becomes first K-pop act to headline Coachella

Blackpink will be the first K-pop act to headline the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival this year. The Korean quartet will take the stage on April 15 and 22 as headliners for the festival that takes place at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, California, according to the festival’s promoter Goldenvoice on Tuesday. Others leading at Coachella include Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican singer who will be the first Latino artist to headline the show, and the renowned alternative R&B singe

K-popJan. 11, 2023

Enhypen's Jay apologizes for disparaging Korean history

Jay of K-pop band Enhypen apologized on Wednesday for his contentious comments regarding Korean history. On Tuesday, Jay spoke with his bandmate Sunghoon of Enhypen on the issue of history during an online broadcast. In the casual chat, Jay said Korean history is "like a short novel," causing some fans out to lash out that his words as disparaging. The conversation began with Sunghoon saying, "I used to find history not fun, but I'm into Korean history recently. It's bee

K-popJan. 11, 2023

[Herald Interview] Byul returns after 14 years with new album

After a 14-year break of devoting herself to her family, Byul is ready to return with her sixth full-length album. Byul on Wednesday is set to unveil her sixth full-length album, "Startrail," the first album under her name since she tied the knot with comedian and singer Haha in 2012 and since her fifth LP "Like A Star - Primary" dropped in 2009. Standing before local press for a joint interview a week ahead of the album release, Byul expressed that she had been "despera

K-popJan. 11, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ V to join Na Young-seok’s reality show spin-off

V of BTS will appear in a spinoff of hit reality show directed by star producer Na Young-seok and headed by actor Lee Seojin, according to local media reports on Tuesday. The artist will join the lineup of the show tentatively titled “Seojin’s Place,” which continues from “Youn’s Kitchen,” a show that enjoyed huge popularity in 2017 and 2018. In the original show, veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung, Lee and actress Jung Yumi struggled to run a pop-up Korean restau

K-popJan. 10, 2023

SF9 returns as secret agents for ‘The Piece Of9’

K-pop boy band SF9 returned again after about a year as a full unit on Monday with the group's 12th mini album, “The Piece Of9.” “It feels good to be back with my group members. I feel at home and we are very satisfied with how this album turned out. I am excited to see what our fans will think about it,” said Rowoon of SF9 at a media showcase held at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul ahead of the album release. Rowoon had put a halt to his participation in the band t

K-popJan. 10, 2023

BTS' Jin drops special YouTube message for fans

K-pop supergroup BTS' eldest member Jin, who is serving in the military, surprised his fans Monday by dropping a special message filmed before his enlistment. 　 　“I turned on the video camera because I wanted to leave a message for you,” he said in the video uploaded on the band’s official YouTube channel. 　 　Appearing in a white gym suit before he had his hair cropped short, Jin said the video was recorded while he was filming for the Korean variety TV show, “Running M

K-popJan. 9, 2023

Monsta X reflects on 8-year career through new EP “Reason”

Returning with more powerful performances and unique musical color, South Korean boy group Monsta X launched its 12th mini album "Reason" on Monday. The album, released nine months after the previous EP “Shape of Love,” conveys the group’s story of how it found the reason behind its existence and the meaning of their relationship with one another, according to agency Starship Entertainment. The latest work looks back on the group's eight-year career, the long-est

K-popJan. 9, 2023

[Herald Interview] 'Everyone will be able to make their own music'

Pozalabs' artificial intelligence composition technology does not aim to replace the role of human songwriters, but to assist them and help more people flourish as composers, according to founder and CEO Huh Won-gil. During an interview with the Korea Herald in December, the engineer-turned-CEO said he was able to start the company because he himself was a musician. Having played the piano since he was 5 years old and grown up playing music, Huh said he still spends whole weekends on the pi

K-popJan. 9, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Ateez hits Billboard 200 at No. 7 with single

    Ateez entered Billboard 200 at No. 7 with first Korean single album, said agency KQ Entertainment on Monday. Single “Spin Off: From The Witness” became its second entry among the top 10 on the chart after its eighth EP “The World Ep. 1: Movement” that debuted on the chart at No. 3 in August. The bandmates thanked its fans for “a huge present at the beginning of a new year” and promised that it will repay with better performances and music. T

K-popJan. 9, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] BTS Jungkook, Charlie Puth collab biggest of 2022: Billboard

Billboard highlighted “Left and Right,” a collaborative work between BTS’ Jungkook and Charlie Puth, as one of the 17 Biggest Song Collaborations of 2022. The “charming, cleverly produced duet” peaked at No. 22 on Billboard’s Hot 100, making Jungkook’s highest charting entry as a solo musician. The single stayed on the chart for 17 consecutive weeks, the longest streak for a K-pop idol. “Left and Right” was also listed on six of Billboard&rs

K-popJan. 6, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Treasure adds concert to Asia tour

Treasure will perform in Hong Kong on May 20, announced label YG Entertainment on Thursday. This expands its Asia tour “Hello” to eight cities and nine live shows in total. The band is set to begin touring the region on March 4, starting in Taipei, Taiwan. It held two standalone concerts last year and headed to Japan, going live in seven cities for 24 concerts, drawing an audience of about 210,000 across the country. On Jan. 28-29, it will take to the stage at Kyocera Dome in Osaka.

K-popJan. 5, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink tops 2b views with ‘Ddu-du Ddu-du’ video

Blackpink rewrote history with the music video for “Ddu-du Ddu-du” as it topped 2 billion views on YouTube. It is the first video to reach the milestone in K-pop history, underlined label YG Entertainment on Wednesday. The megahit is the title track from its first EP “Square Up” that hit the Billboard 200 at No. 40 when it came out in 2018. The song was No. 55 on its Hot 100 chart while the music video was the most-viewed K-pop video in the year on the platform. The quar

K-popJan. 4, 2023

Moonbin, Sanha of Astro make return as perfumers with 'Incense'

Moonbin and Sanha of K-pop band Astro released their third EP, "Incense," on Wednesday, along with the music video for lead track "Madness." The two members conducted a press conference Wednesday afternoon ahead of the album's release. "I'm excited and nervous. I'm also a little worried whether our fans will be satisfied, but we've really put in our everything so there is no regret," Sanha said during Wednesday's event. "Incense" m

K-popJan. 4, 2023

Big Bang's Taeyang to return with “Vibe” next week featuring BTS’ Jimin

Taeyang of Big Bang is making a grandiose comeback with a collaboration with BTS member Jimin. His new digital single, “Vibe,” will be released next Friday at 2 p.m., Taeyang’s new agency, the Black Label, announced Wednesday with a teaser image. The teaser image shows Taeyang and Jimin dressed in black and red standing together and gazing into the camera. The single comes six years after his last solo release, his third studio album "White Night." Jimin’s uniqu

K-popJan. 4, 2023

NewJeans' new title track "OMG" follows success of "Ditto" while MV draws controversy

NewJeans is at it again, taking over local and international music charts with their tracks “Ditto” and “OMG” from their new album “OMG” unveiled on Monday. Following the success of the prerelease track “Ditto" is the title track “OMG,” trending in both South Korea and abroad. It reached No. 1 on the iTunes Top Song chart in nine countries including Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. “OMG” is a hip-hop R&B with a mix of tra

K-popJan. 4, 2023

Twice to drop new English single 'Moonlight Sunrise'

K-pop girl group Twice will unveil its new English single "Moonlight Sunrise" later this month, making its first step of the new year. JYP Entertainment, the act's agency, on Wednesday said Twice will drop the new song, a prerelease from the upcoming album, at 2 p.m. on Jan. 20. Ahead of the announcement, JYP posted on the act's social media the online cover image of "Moonlight Sunrise," revealing the title for the first time. The image showed a blurry white orb han

K-popJan. 4, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s ‘Shut Down’ music video tops 300m views

The music video for Blackpink’s “Shut Down” has amassed 300 million views on YouTube, label YG Entertainment said Tuesday. The video reached the milestone 109 days after the release. “Shut Down” is the main track from the group’s second studio album “Born Pink.” The album landed atop Billboard 200 and has been on the chart for 12 weeks. The song hit the Hot 100 chart at No. 25 and stayed on it for six weeks. The dance practice video for Lisa&rsquo

K-popJan. 3, 2023