[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream adds Osaka to Japan tour

NCT Dream announced that it will add two concerts to its ongoing Japan tour. At the end of its first show in Nagoya on Wednesday, the bandmates told the audience that it will take the stage at Kyocera Dome in Osaka on Feb. 17-19. This extends the “In A Dream” tour which was originally planned for Nagoya, Yokohama and Fukuoka. The seven-member act will also release the single “Best Friend Ever” on Feb. 8 to mark its Japan tour. The single will consist of two songs –

K-popNov. 24, 2022

BTS Jin begins military service in one of the coldest parts of S. Korea

BTS’ member Jin is to begin his military service in one of the northernmost military bases in South Korea, on Dec. 13, according to the South Korean military. The bootcamp where he begins his 18 months of military service is that of the 5th Infantry Division in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. The 5th Infantry Division has a reputation for being a tough unit to serve in, due to harsh winters. Yeoncheon often sees the coldest temperatures in Gyeonggi Province. The average temperature ranges fr

K-popNov. 24, 2022

BTS Jin to enlist in military on Dec. 13

Jin, the oldest bandmate of BTS, is set to enlist in the military on Dec. 13. According to local media reports, the band’s vocalist will enter the forward-stationed training unit next month and receive five weeks of basic training in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province. Jin will then be placed in an Army unit afterward. After the news broke out, Jin took to Weverse, an online platform for fans, to share his thoughts about entering the military. All able-bodied South Korean men between the ages of

K-popNov. 24, 2022

Star-studded lineup of nominees, presenters to grace Melon Music Awards

The long-awaited Melon Music Awards are just around the corner, with a star-studded lineup now in place. Returning as an in-person event after a nearly three-year hiatus due to COVID-19, big-name artists are set to grace the renowned musical event. The 14th edition of the awards show will be held at its usual venue at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, southwestern Seoul, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to Kakao Entertainment, which runs Melon, the country’s largest music streaming platform

K-popNov. 24, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ RM to host small gig next month to mark 1st solo album

   RM of BTS will invite about 200 fans to shoot a video on Dec. 5, Big Hit Music said Wednesday. The gig will be part of a project to promote his upcoming first solo album, “Indigo,” which will be unveiled Dec. 2. The invitees will be selected through a lottery. The artist has put out solo mixtapes before -- “RM” in 2015 and “mono.” in 2018 -- but “Indigo” will be the first solo album to be published since his debut in June 2013. He uplo

K-popNov. 23, 2022

[Herald Interview] Romantic bad boys owning the stage: TO1 on 4th EP ‘UP2U’

2022 has been a roller-coaster ride for K-pop boy band TO1. Several members announced their departure, and three new bandmates -- Daigo and Renta from Japan and Yeojeong, who’s Korean -- joined the group in June. It’s unusual for a rookie band to go through such seismic changes less than two years after its debut because getting its name out to the public is crucial. But for TO1, it was an option to add value to its musical career. And now, as a nine-piece act, the group is ready to

K-popNov. 23, 2022

Gomak Boys are ready to melt ears with debut album

Like a catchy song on the radio, Gomak Boys, a special K-pop project group launched by Kakao Entertainment that introduced themselves to local media on Tuesday evening, hope to get stuck in the ears and hearts of music fans as they make their debut in the K-pop scene. Produced by South Korea’s entertainment giant, the highly-anticipated boy band was featured on Kakao TV’s original series “Gomak Boys,” which aired in September. Gomak Boys, which translates into eardrum boy

K-popNov. 23, 2022

Hanteo Chart to hold first offline music awards in Seoul next Feb.

Leading music sales tracker Hanteo Chart will host its first-ever offline music awards next year to commemorate its 30th anniversary, the chart's operator said Wednesday. The “Hanteo Music Awards 2022” ceremony will take place at the Jamsil Arena of the Seoul Sports Complex in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Feb. 10-11, according to operator Hanteo Global. Awardees will be selected based on data collected in real time by Hanteo Chart. Starting with next year’s ceremony, it plans to h

K-popNov. 23, 2022

Rookie group Tempest soars high to achieve dreams with ‘On and On’

Rookie boy group Tempest made a speedy comeback with its third EP, “On and On,” on Tuesday. The new release marked the act’s return to the stage just three months after the release of its second EP “Shining Up” in August. The septet aims to show a strong will to achieve its dreams through the latest EP, the band’s leader Lew said at a press showcase event held at Sungshin Women's University in Seoul ahead of the EP’s release at 6 p.m. “Listene

K-popNov. 22, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ ‘Dynamite’ music video surpasses 1.6b views

The music video for BTS’ “Dynamite” reached 1.6 billion views on YouTube, label Big Hit Music said Tuesday. It became the band’s second video to reach the milestone, after that of “Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey).” “Dynamite,” which came out in August 2020 as the septet’s first English-language song, made K-pop history when it topped Billboard’s Hot 100 shortly after its release. The disco pop single stayed atop the chart for three weeks a

K-popNov. 22, 2022

[Exclusive] Monsta X’s Jooheon to make acting debut through global project ‘Lost in America’

Jooheon, the rapper and music producer of boy band Monsta X, will make his acting debut through CJ ENM's global project. An industry insider told The Korea Herald on Monday that the rapper has been cast in CJ ENM's "Lost in America" as a K-pop idol who speaks fluent English and that he’s currently preparing for the role. The film revolves around the story of a Korean boy group that heads to New York for its debut but ends up stranded in Texas with no money and mobile ph

K-popNov. 21, 2022

BTS' Jungkook unveils new song 'Dreamers' at Qatar World Cup

The 2022 Qatar World Cup kicked off Sunday with K-pop super-band BTS' member Jungkook unveiling a new tournament song during the opening ceremony. As the first South Korean singer to release a song for a World Cup soundtrack, Jungkook performed "Dreamers" live during the opening ceremony at Al-Bayt Stadium in Qatar. The song's feature artist Fahad Al Kubaisi performed with Jungkook on Sunday. The seven-act ceremony lasted around half an hour, paying tribute to the 32 partic

K-popNov. 21, 2022

[World Cup] BTS star Jungkook unveils new single to kick off 2022 World Cup

The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Sunday with BTS star Jungkook performing a new single in an opening ceremony built on a message of inclusion and diversity. Jungkook, a member of the award-winning K-pop group, performed the song "Dreamers" with Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaisi at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, some 50 kilometers north of Doha. "Dreamers," produced by Grammy Award winner RedOne at Katara Studios in Doha, is the latest single off the official World Cup soundtra

K-popNov. 21, 2022

'Sexy but kind': Bibi shrugs off the censors

Bibi is truly a one-of-a-kind musician in K-pop, especially as a young female artist who speaks through her music about raw emotions that are not often publicly discussed. With her debut LP "Lowlife Princess -- Noir," dropped Friday afternoon, Bibi has set herself out as a singer who won't compromise on self expression. On Friday morning, Bibi invited media to a cinema in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, and premiered the three new music videos from her first full-length album, which were u

K-popNov. 20, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jin sets record selling 1m copies of 1st solo album

The first solo EP from BTS’ Jin sold more than 1 million units, a first for a single from a solo K-pop musician. “The Astronaut” was rolled out in October and sold over 770,000 copies in its first week, a record for a solo single. It entered Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 51 and topped its world digital song sales chart. It was No. 1 on the iTunes chart in 103 regions in total, the artist’s third solo song to achieve the feat. In UK, the EP debuted on Official Singles

K-popNov. 18, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Stray Kids’ 7th EP sells 3m copies

The seventh EP from Stray Kids has sold over 3 million copies, the group's label JYP Entertainment announced on Thursday. “Maxident” reached the milestone one month after its release, and the band became the second K-pop act to ever reach the figure, after BTS. The EP topped the Billboard 200, marking the eight-member act’s second time reaching the top of the chart. It has remained on the chart for five weeks. The band held two concerts in Jakarta, Indonesia, last weekend and

K-popNov. 17, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ J-Hope to appear solo at Mama Awards: producer

J-Hope of BTS will take to the stage on his own at 2022 Mama Awards, according to the producer Wednesday. It will be the first time his solo performance is broadcast for public viewing, underlined Yoon Shin-hye, chief producer of this year’s show, during a global media conference. The theme of his performance is “I Am Your Hope.” The artist is the first member of the septet to publish a solo album. His solo debut album “Jack in the Box” from July hit both Billboard

K-popNov. 16, 2022

Just B says equality is for everyone in 3rd EP ‘= (Neun)’

Leaving its powerful and frenzied beats behind, boy group Just B returned with a new batch of songs that shout out equality and the importance of it through its third EP, “= (Neun),” released Wednesday evening. If the group’s previous three records -- the Rage trilogy -- revealed stories of internal and external anger and overcoming their fury by stepping into a new world, this time, the rookie K-pop act took a seismic shift by singing songs that spelled out “equality.&rd

K-popNov. 16, 2022

Omega X sues agency & ex-CEO over yearlong violence, sexual abuse

It was not just a one-time event that the former CEO of Spire Entertainment assaulted members of Omega X during the act's recent global tour. It was a yearlong nightmare of assault -- both physical and verbal -- and sexual harassment, the bandmates say, and they are now taking legal action against the ex-CEO and the agency. Omega X on Wednesday afternoon held a press conference where the group announced the termination of its exclusive contract with Spire Entertainment. The 11 bandmates wer

K-popNov. 16, 2022

BTS' J-Hope to headline 2022 Mama Awards

The Mama Awards, the annual K-pop celebration hosted by CJ ENM, are taking another leap forward in efforts to evolve into a global K-pop festival. Ahead of the 2022 Mama Awards set to take place at the end of the month in Japan, a global press conference about the event took place Wednesday at CJ ENM Studio in Sangam-dong, western Seoul. A lineup of special performers for this year's ceremony, including J-Hope of BTS, was also revealed during the conference. This year marks the first time

K-popNov. 16, 2022