BTS' Japanese compilation album tops 1m copies in sales

K-pop superstar BTS sold more than 1 million copies of its latest Japanese compilation album, data showed Thursday, becoming the first South Korean pop singers to achieve the feat since 2005. According to the data from Japanese music market tracker Oricon, the album titled "BTS, The Best" added 3,000 during a week from Dec. 27 to its total sales of 1,002,000 copies. This made the group the 14th foreign act in the country with a million-selling album based on Oricon's data. Among Sout

K-popJan. 6, 2022

[Exclusive] Brave Girls eyes return with new album as early as February

Brave Girls, a K-pop girl group that rose to surprise stardom from the brink of disbandment, is gearing up for the release of a new album sometime between February and March, an industry source told The Korea Herald on Thursday. “Brave Girls previously planned to drop new songs around the Christmas season. However, the schedule has been delayed," the source said, adding that the upcoming release type is undecided, but is unlikely to be a single. The four-piece act was also thinkin

K-popJan. 6, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Enhypen teases upcoming repackaged LP

Enhypen gave fans a sneak peek of its repackaged first studio album, “Dimension: Answer,” with a preview clip Wednesday. 　 The trailer starts with “Polaroid Love,” which was unveiled in advance at a fan meet event in November. It transitions to a snippet from the last track “Outro: Day 2,” before ending with a line from the main track “Blessed-Cursed” -- which translates to “Wake up now open your eyes.” 　 The repackaged album consists o

K-popJan. 5, 2022

B.I performs ‘Nineteen’ on Grammy’s ‘Global Spin’

South Korean rapper-songwriter B.I showcased his song “Nineteen” on Grammy’s digital performance series “Global Spin,” featuring on the show as the first South Korean artist. Known for its music awards Grammy kicked off “Global Spin” in September to celebrate the diversity of music around the world. Each episode of the biweekly series has featured performances by aspiring artists and groups to celebrate both the creators and their home countries. Gramm

K-popJan. 5, 2022

Omega X returns bold and laddish with ‘Love Me Like’

Rookie boy band Omega X welcomed the frosty season and hopped on the January music craze by dropping their second EP, “Love Me Like,” Wednesday afternoon, coming four months after their previous release. In an online press conference Wednesday, the 11-member group described the latest effort as “an album that aims to show that Omega X is a band that could have different tunes and concepts tailored to them.” The group added that their five-song package is different from

K-popJan. 5, 2022

BTS V's 'Christmas Tree' debuts on Billboard's Hot 100 chart

V, a member of the K-pop supergroup BTS, is about to make it onto the Billboard main singles chart for this week with his individual single "Christmas Tree." The song will debut at No. 79 on the Hot 100 for this week, Billboard said on its Twitter on Tuesday (US time), with the chart set to be refreshed in a day. Released on Dec. 24, "Christmas Tree" is a song from the soundtrack of the South Korean TV series "Our Beloved Summer," starring Choi Woo-shik of the Can

K-popJan. 5, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Lisa sets more records on Billboard’s radio chart

Blackpink Lisa’s solo song “Money” placed at No. 35 on Billboard’s pop airplay chart, the highest record for a K-pop solo female musician. 　 The song came out in September as a track from her solo debut album “Lalisa,” and joined the top 40 list that was announced on Monday in the US. The song entered the chart three weeks ago as the first entry by a solo female K-pop musician. Lisa is the first K-pop female artist to have a track on the chart for three weeks

K-popJan. 4, 2022

Naver Webtoon campaign featuring BTS on display at Coex K-pop Square

Naver Webtoon’s “Super Casting” campaign featuring boy band BTS will be displayed at Coex’s K-pop Square until Jan. 14. The billboard advertisement was put up on Dec. 25 as part of its campaign to invite fans and webtoon readers to join a farcical universe with BTS. The company added that it used ultra-high-definition technology for the display, in which the seven bandmates are swirled into a new world in Naver’s webtoon portal. Located in Seoul’s Samseon

K-popJan. 4, 2022

BTS Army accuse Hybe of exploiting fandom in business expansion

K-pop has grown into a mega-sized industry with local acts becoming household names worldwide that are supported by fans from all over the globe. While the local agencies behind the artists have all expanded their businesses, Hybe, the K-pop powerhouse behind boy band BTS, is at the fore. But BTS Army, the global fan base of the K-pop sensation, has recently expressed its anger with the entertainment firm for its aggressive expansion. Many fans are complaining that the agency is bent on making

K-popJan. 4, 2022

Winter album sets new sales record for S.M. seasonal releases

S.M. Entertainment’s special winter album has made a successful return after a 10 year break, racking up highest sales among all seasonal project releases from the K-pop powerhouse. According to S.M., the album, “2021 Winter SMTown: SMCU Express,” has notched up over 416,000 units since its release on Dec. 27. The star-studded album from SMTOWN -- which refers to the collective of artists affiliated to S.M. -- was the first special winter release since the release of “2

K-popJan. 4, 2022

More BTS members released from COVID-19 isolation

Two more members of the K-pop supergroup BTS -- RM and Jin -- were confirmed to have fully recovered from the new coronavirus and released from isolation Tuesday after Suga, their agency said. "Members RM and Jin were released from isolation at noon as they were confirmed to have been fully recovered from COVID-19," Big Hit Music said. "The two showed no serious symptoms of the virus during the isolation period," it added. "Jin had mild symptoms, such as a mild fever a

K-popJan. 4, 2022

‘Girls Planet 999’ project group Kep1er makes big ‘First Impression’

Multinational girl group Kepler, stylized as Kep1er, made a splash debut with EP “First Impression” on Monday. Comprising nine members from Korea, China and Japan, the group consists of the final winners of Mnet’s idol competition program “Girls Planet 999.” The show was aired between August-October 2021. A project group launched under Swing Entertainment, Kep1er is set to stay active for 2 1/2 years before disbanding. The group conducted an online media showcase

K-popJan. 3, 2022

P1Harmony ready to make 2022 their year with ‘Do It Like This’

Boy band P1Harmony opened the door to a January music craze with their 3rd LP, “Disharmony: Find Out,” released Monday evening, returning in nearly eight months since their previous release. In a press conference on Monday, the band said “Find Out” is a follow-up to their previous album – “Disharmony: Stand Out” and “Disharmony: Break Out,” released in 2020 and last April, respectively, and is the last series of its “Disharmony”

K-popJan. 3, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Kep1er debuts with 1m followers on TikTok

Girl group Kep1er hosted an online showcase to signal its debut Monday.   　 The nine members of the band were chosen through a competition that started with 99 candidates from China, Japan and Korea. The program wrapped up in October and the band was originally set to debut last month, but that was postponed as two members tested positive for COVID-19 while preparing.   　 “I’m so excited and happy that I am making a debut that I’ve been only dreaming about,” gu

K-popJan. 3, 2022

BTS' Suga fully recovers from COVID-19, released from isolation

Suga of K-pop supergroup BTS has fully recovered from the new coronavirus and been released from isolation, his agency said Monday. "Suga was released from isolation at noon as he was confirmed to have fully recovered from COVID-19," Big Hit Music said on the agency's fan community platform Weverse. The rapper tested positive for the virus on Dec. 24 after returning home the previous day from Los Angeles, where the group had large-scale live concerts between late November and early D

K-popJan. 3, 2022

S.M. Entertainment launches digital passport membership for fans

K-pop powerhouse S.M. Entertainment has launched the Music Nation SMTown Meta-passport, a digital passport membership for fans, the company said Monday. The digital passport membership is a new version of identification issued by the entertainment firm to the “citizens” of SMTown Virtual Nation in August 2012. The new digital passport membership can be used to identify as a virtual Music Nation citizen. Music Nation SMTown was established nearly a decade ago to integrate the agenc

K-popJan. 3, 2022

[Herald Review] From Seventeen to Justin Bieber, Hybe artists open new year with ‘2022 Weverse Con’

Global music powerhouse Hybe honored Korean pop legend Seo Taiji while looking ahead to the future at its year-end “2022 Weverse Con (New Era)” concert. Taking place Friday night at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, the concert was held in front of a live audience and livestreamed through the agency’s fan community platform Weverse. The lineup included artists from the multi-label music giant, including groups Seventeen, Tomorrow X Togeth

K-popJan. 2, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] The Boyz’ New shares 1st self-written song

   New of The Boyz put out his first self-written song “0329 from.24,” said agency IST Entertainment Friday. 　 Through the song the idol singer expressed his gratitude for the love he has received from fans and wrote a letter before the release of the song to elaborate. 　 “There have been many times I was lonely and sad but thanks to you I could be a happy 24-year-old. I made this song hoping that The B could get what little consolation whenever you are overwhelmed b

K-popDec. 31, 2021

S.M. Entertainment launches streaming platform Beyond Live

K-pop powerhouse S.M. Entertainment has launched Beyond Live, an online-only streaming platform for concerts, the company said Friday. The announcement came ahead of the entertainment firm’s “SMTOWN LIVE 2022 : SMCU EXPRESS@KWANGYA,” a free online concert slated for Saturday. The online streaming platform, operated under Beyond Live Corp., was jointly created last year by South Korea’s largest web portal operator, Naver, and S.M. Entertainment. It is currently a subsidi

K-popDec. 31, 2021

BoA, Girls’ Generation, Red Velvet and aespa team up for ‘GOT the beat’

On Monday, K-pop powerhouse S.M. Entertainment unveiled its plans to augment its musical portfolio by launching a new seven-member female unit called “GOT the beat.” GOT the beat is the first subunit that marks the beginning of the label’s “Girls On Top” project aimed at bringing together the different voices of female artists. The new project group is a rotational unit, so fans can expect a different lineup of singers for the group’s other songs. The co

K-popDec. 31, 2021