Annual physical sales of K-pop albums set to hit record 80 mln in 2022: chart

  　South Korea‘s K-pop physical album sales are at the brink of reaching the 80 million milestone for 2022, thanks to the robust performance of boy band BTS and popular girl groups, a major music chart revealed Saturday. 　 　The annual physical sales of the top 400 K-pop albums had stood at 74.2 million as of Dec. 10, up 29.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the country’s benchmark Circle Chart. 　 　K-pop superband BTS sold 6.07 million physical copies during the cited p

K-popDec. 24, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Stray Kids to roll out 1st LP in Japan

Stray Kids will release its first studio album in Japan on Feb. 22, announced label JYP Entertainment on Friday. The company uploaded a teaser trailer for the album on the day in which the eight members exuded confidence with thumping beats in the background. The album’s release will coincide with the band’s encore concerts in Japan. It is hosting two concerts each at Saitama Super Arena and Kyocera Dome Osaka, on Feb. 11-12 and Feb. 25-26, respectively. Meanwhile, its digital album

K-popDec. 23, 2022

Ex-CEO of YG acquitted of blackmailing drug scandal whistleblower

The ex-chief of YG Entertainment, Yang Hyun-suk, has been ruled not guilty of threatening an informant in order to cover up a drug scandal involving a singer-rapper. The Seoul Central District Court on Thursday acquitted Yang of blackmailing and coercing a police source in an attempt to thwart investigations involving the agency's rapper, citing lack of evidence. Other officials of YG who had been indicted on the same charge was also acquitted. "The victim's testimony is not cre

K-popDec. 22, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Loona pushes back return amid controversy

Loona decided to put a hold on their album release, announced agency Blockberry Creative on Thursday. The group was set to return as an 11-member act with the EP “The Origin Album [0]” on Jan. 3, 2023, despite being in the middle of controversy surrounding the agency’s firing of Chuu for bullying employees. We have come to the conclusion that promoting the album without solving the situation is meaningless, said the management firm. Launching the group has been a long-term pro

K-popDec. 22, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] New Jeans to debut on Japanese television

   New Jeans will appear on Japanese television for the first time next week, said agency Ador on Wednesday. The rookie group will be on Nihon TV’s year-end music award for most-listened to songs on Dec. 28, performing “Attention” for the first time on Japanese TV show. “Attention” is the focus track from its eponymous debut album that rolled out in August. The song topped daily chart on Melon, the largest music platform in Korea, for 18 days. It generated

K-popDec. 21, 2022

[Herald Interview] 'It was like playing a game at first, and my world has changed': WonJeong

Even just a couple of years ago, it would have been unheard-of for 10- and 20-something social media users to shrug off a video of a young man shouting out “Mama!” in a quirky, high-pitched voice. With the meteoric rise of TikTok, WonJeong, whose real name is Seo Won-jeong, is definitely in the opportune limelight as a creator. Over the last two years, the 26-year-old has become the nation’s No. 2 TikTok creator boasting more than 50 million followers, right next to K-pop pheno

K-popDec. 21, 2022

Twice to drop new English single in January, album in March

Twice is set to kick off the new year big with a new English song and a mini album. JYP Entertainment on Wednesday announced Twice will drop a new English song in January, before making an official comeback in March with its 12th Korean mini album. The English single will be a pre-release from the upcoming album, the company's announcement poster on Twice's social media showed. Hinting about the new releases were the words "Our Youth" written below Twice's name on the po

K-popDec. 21, 2022

Kara drops Japanese edition of 'Move Again' album

K-pop girl group Kara dropped a new album in Japan on Wednesday to mark their 15th anniversary. The Japanese-language album “Move Again” is their first album to be released in the country in seven years and six months. It carries six tracks including the lead track “When I Move” and a new track, “Queens,” exclusively unveiled in the Japanese edition of the album. Prior to the release of the Japanese-language album, the K-pop divas had made a stunning comeback

K-popDec. 21, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] SF9, with Rowoon, to release 12th EP

SF9 will return with a 12th EP on Jan. 9, 2023, announced agency FNC Entertainment on Tuesday. The band surprised fans with a poster for the EP, “The Piece of 9,” that will be fronted by “Puzzle.” Seven members of the nine-piece act participated in releasing the album, including Rowoon who was absent from promoting its previous EP “The Wave of 9” as he was shooting a drama. He also missed the band’s recent US tour. The six members of the band toured New

K-popDec. 20, 2022

NewJeans reclaims No. 1 in local charts with 'Ditto'

NewJeans’ pre-release track “Ditto” from their upcoming single “OMG” topped local charts just within a few hours following its release on Monday at 6 p.m., setting a new record for the rookies. “Ditto,” a winter-themed subtle pop song, helped the girls take the throne once again following the success of their previous singles "Attention," "Hype boy," and "Cookie," in local music charts including Flo, Bugs, Genie and Melon. N

K-popDec. 20, 2022

BTS' Busan concert 'Yet To Come' to hit global cinemas

K-pop sensation BTS' latest concert in Busan will be screened via CGV in February around the world. CGV, the leading multiplex franchise run by the local entertainment giant CJ ENM, said on Tuesday that it is releasing the live recording of "BTS 'Yet To Come' in Busan" as a movie on Feb. 1. The film will be officially titled "BTS: Yet To Come in Cinemas," and get a global release via the multiplex's theaters in over 110 countries around the world, CGV said

K-popDec. 20, 2022

Singer Eru booked for alleged drunk driving

Singer Eru was booked for investigation Tuesday for allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol, police said. The 39-year-old singer, whose real name is Cho Sung-hyun, crashed his car into a guard rail on Seoul's Gangbyeon expressway around 11:25 p.m. Monday, according to the Yongsan Police Station. His blood alcohol content exceeded a level high enough to have his driver's license suspended, they said. Police said they plan to bring in the singer for questioning later and a

K-popDec. 20, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream’s “Candy” sells 2m copies in preorders

    NCT Dream sold more than two million copies of its winter album “Candy,” said label SM Entertainment on Monday. Main track of the same title is a retake on H.O.T.’s hit song from 1996 and topped a series of music charts at home when it was released in advance on Friday. The physical album will be rolled out on Monday. The album landed atop iTunes top albums chart in 16 regions and its worldwide albums chart. The seven-piece act’s second studio album &ld

K-popDec. 19, 2022

NewJeans unveils 'Ditto' ahead of dropping new album 'OMG'

NewJeans, a rookie group that has dominated the K-pop scene this year, dropped the track “Ditto” from the upcoming single album “OMG” on Monday at 6 p.m. The release comes four months after the girl group made its debut in August with the breakout album “New Jeans.” “Ditto," a reinterpretation of the Baltimore club music genre, was specially produced for NewJeans’ official fandom Bunnies. The genre, which originated from the Maryland city in t

K-popDec. 19, 2022

[Herald Interview] Building the team behind a K-pop superstar

"Million-seller" had been a title not many in the K-pop industry could achieve, but it has become undeniably more commonplace compared to a few years ago. K-pop, once a minor genre in the global music market, has grown at an ever-faster pace to form a whole industry unto itself. Success inside the industry is now not just about the fame and fandom of a single K-pop act. It's the whole system of personnel working together to place and keep that artist -- the "brand" -- in

K-popDec. 19, 2022

[Herald Review] Saay's first concert, a 'Mise-en-Scene' of her music

For Saay, it was all about the coherent flow, whether it be her album, her music or her life. It was the same for her first gig "Mise-en-Scene" on Thursday night. The show itself was a continuation from her second LP "S:inema." The night opened with the album's intro song "everything comes n goes" and the first track "Interstellar." After hyping everyone up with "Mind ur business," Saay turned down the music and spoke to her fans. "I�

K-popDec. 18, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen’s Vernon to drop 1st solo mixtape

Vernon of Seventeen will put out his first solo mixtape on Dec. 23, announced agency Pledis Entertainment on Friday. A teaser image for mixtape “Black Eye” showed him standing on what looks like an all-terrain vehicle, and said “Turn up the radio” piquing interests of his fans. In the meantime, the 13-member act left for Manila on Thursday to resume touring Asia. It has toured three cities in Japan earlier this month and performed on stage at the 2022 Asia Artist Awards

K-popDec. 16, 2022

Hook Entertainment claims to have squared up with singer and actor Lee Seung-gi

Hook Entertainment, the former longtime agency of singer and actor Lee Seung-gi, said Friday that it has settled the invoice for Lee’s long overdue payments for digital streams of his songs. A total of 4.1 billion won ($3.13 million) which includes 2.9 billion won for digital streams of the artist’s songs and 1.2 billion for the arrears of interest has been paid to the artist by the agency. According to Hook Entertainment, the two parties were not able to come to an agreement on the

K-popDec. 16, 2022

Reservation for BTS' 10th anniversary commemorative medals kicks off

The Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp. (KOMSCO) and BTS’ label Bit Hit Music jointly launched the K-pop band’s official 10th anniversary medal and began reservation on Friday. KOMSCO began taking pre-orders for the first edition of medals projected to be sent starting in March, KOMSCO announced. There are three types of gold medals and a single type of silver medal. A total of 10,000 gold medals are sold in 28-, 14- and 7-gram sizes to signify the 10th anniversary. There will

K-popDec. 16, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] BTS surpasses 1.5b views with ‘DNA’ music video

The music video for BTS’ “DNA” reached 1.5 billion views on YouTube on Thursday. “DNA” is the main track from “Love Yourself: Her,” which was released in September 2017. The video is the band’s third to reach the milestone, following “Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey)” and “Dynamite.” The music video amassed 20 million views on the platform in the shortest time for a K-pop musical act at the time. The septet landed on both the Bi

K-popDec. 15, 2022