Never the same, HyunA returns with ‘I’m Not Cool’

Singer HyunA dropped her seventh mini album “I’m Not Cool” on Thursday, singing of the ups and downs of being the “cool girl” on stage. “I had to be perfect on the stage, not just because I needed look good but because I’d been supported by so many people. I thought about how ‘uncool’ I was in struggling to be cool. The lyrics say exactly this,” HyunA said about the album’s title track during a livestreamed press conference held

K-popJan. 28, 2021

TXT tops Japan's Oricon weekly albums charts with 1st Japanese

K-pop boy band Tomorrow X Together (TXT) has topped the latest Oricon weekly music chart with its first full-length Japanese album, its management agency said Wednesday. Released on Jan. 20, the 10-track album "Still Dreaming" landed in the top spot on the weekly albums chart this week with TXT's all-time high first-week album sales of 86,892 units in Japan, according to Big Hit Entertainment. The album has also stayed in the top spot on the daily albums chart for seven consecutive d

K-popJan. 27, 2021

BTS earns five nominations for 2021 Korean Music Awards

Superstar BTS has earned five nominations for the 2021 Korean Music Awards with its record-breaking albums and songs released last year. BTS has been named in the Musician of the Year, the Album of the Year, the Song of the Year, the Best Pop Album and the Best Pop Song categories, becoming one of the five acts with the most nominations, the awards' selection committee said in an online press conference held Tuesday. The four other most-nominated acts were Leenalchi, a sensational alternative

K-popJan. 27, 2021

NCT 127 to drop new EP in Japan next month

NCT 127, a sub-unit of the popular K-pop boy band NCT, is set to release a new EP in Japan next month, its agency said Tuesday. The band will be releasing the Japanese EP "Loveholic," its first new Japanese album in two years, on Feb. 17, according to SM Entertainment. The six-track album features five songs themed on love -- all sung in Japanese -- in addition to "Kick It," the lead track of the act's recent full Korean album "Neo Zone." The lead track is "g

K-popJan. 26, 2021

IKON’s Bobby sings the bliss and sorrows of his 20s in ‘Lucky Man’

IKON’s Bobby dropped his second solo studio album Monday. In “Lucky Man,” he sings of the diverse emotions he experienced in his youth. “The key was threading the tracks into an agreeable story. I worked on arranging the order of the songs and the lyrics so that they could make listeners want to listen to the next song when they finish the previous song on the track list,” Bobby said during a press conference held in Seoul on Monday ahead of the album’s rele

K-popJan. 25, 2021

EXO's D.O. discharged from military

D.O., member of K-pop boy band EXO, has completed his mandatory military service and was officially discharged Monday. D.O., whose legal name is Doh Kyung-soo, was recently on his final leave and was discharged without having to return to his base, according to the military's COVID-19 guidelines, according to SM Entertainment. In a handwritten note posted on fan community Lysn, the 28-year-old thanked fans for waiting and said he will do his best in upcoming activities. D.O., who enlisted in

K-popJan. 25, 2021

BLACKPINK's Rose to unveil debut solo song in upcoming online concert

Fans looking forward to the solo debuts of BLACKPINK members Rose and Lisa can get a glimpse of Rose's solo material in the quartet's online concert this weekend. Rose is set to perform her first solo song during BLACKPINK's online concert "The Show" scheduled for Sunday, YG Entertainment said Monday, adding the singer wanted to first share the song with her fans on stage. The agency said it plans to officially announce Rose's solo debut schedule soon as post-production for her music

K-popJan. 25, 2021

BTS to release new 'Essential Edition' of album 'BE' in Feb.

K-pop dynamo BTS is set to drop a new edition of its hit album "BE" next month, the band's agency said Monday. The new edition, titled the "Essential Edition," will drop on Feb. 19, according to Big Hit Entertainment. BTS initially released the "Deluxe Version" of "BE" in November. The agency explained the new edition is a way for BTS to thank their fans for the historic milestones the group has achieved, such as topping the Billboard Hot 100 and getting

K-popJan. 25, 2021

BTS' 'Dynamite' hits 800m views on YouTube: agency

The music video for "Dynamite," the historic BTS song that topped the Billboard's main singles chart last year, has earned 800 million YouTube views, the band's agency said Sunday. YouTube views for "Dynamite" hit 800 million views at 12:26 p.m. on Sunday, becoming the septet's sixth music video to reach the milestone, according to Big Hit Entertainment. The feat came just a month after it earned 700 million views, it added. "Dynamite," an upbeat disco-pop track t

K-popJan. 24, 2021

[Eye Interview] Creating music as an act of virtue

From jazz club singer to YG Entertainment producer, and now a popular singer-songwriter in her own right, Sunwoo Jung-a used to make music for herself, but now she says she has other people in mind when writing songs. She made the latest step on this musical journey with the release of her single “In the Bed,” on Jan. 5, in which she sings about being thankful for living with someone you love. “Gazing at your bare feet while you’re sleeping, my heart gets all worked up

K-popJan. 23, 2021

2 K-pop agency execs fined for rigging votes on audition show

Two talent management agency executives have been sentenced to fines on charges of rigging votes on a popular K-pop audition program in which their trainees were competing, judicial sources said Friday. According to the sources, the Seoul Central District Court has slapped Kim Kwang-soo, the founder and chief production director of MBK Entertainment, with a fine of 10 million won ($9,090) on account of business obstruction. Another man surnamed Park, the CEO of Pocketdol Studio, which is a sub

K-popJan. 22, 2021

NCSoft to launch new K-pop platform next week

South Korean online gaming giant NCSOFT Corp. said Thursday that it will launch its K-pop fan platform globally next week. The platform, named Universe, will be simultaneously available on Google's Android and Apple's iOS devices on Jan. 28, NCSOFT said. Universe allows users to enjoy different K-pop content on mobile devices through the gaming firm's latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology. More than 4 million K-pop fans around the world have already pre-registered in 188 countries, N

K-popJan. 21, 2021

Rookie boy band TREASURE to drop first Japanese album in March

Rookie K-pop act TREASURE is set to release its first full album in Japan in March, officially debuting in the Asian country, its agency said Thursday. "The First Step: TREASURE Effect," set to drop on March 31, is a Japanese version of the band's debut full album and carries 13 tracks sung in Japanese, according to YG Entertainment. Apart from the 12 songs included in the Korean version of the album, it also includes "Beautiful," the band's first song sung only in Japanese

K-popJan. 21, 2021

EXO's Baekhyun to release 1st solo album in Japan this week

Baekhyun, the lead singer of K-pop boy group EXO, will release his first solo album in Japan this week, his agency said Tuesday. His first Japanese EP, titled "BAEKHYUN," is set to hit Japan on Wednesday, according to SM Entertainment. It is his first time to release a Japanese album as a solo artist since his debut in 2015. The main track of the love-themed album will be "Get You Alone," which was first performed during his first solo concert held on Jan. 3 and pre-releas

K-popJan. 19, 2021

Seven members, seven years: A look back and forward at GOT7’s career

Perhaps everyone knew the end was coming for boy band GOT7, with its seven-year contract with JYP Entertainment coming to a close in January. But some fans must have hoped the group would stand the test of time, given its steady performances in and out of the country and the members’ particular fondness for each other. JYP last week made it official that its deal with the septet will end Tuesday as scheduled, with none of the members renewing. “Although we are parting with GOT7 mem

K-popJan. 19, 2021

Hip-hop trio Epik High is here with message of hope

Sending a message of hope has always been the backbone of Epik High’s music career spanning over 17 years. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, but the trio has never been so eager to reach out to and comfort listeners in this distressing time. “I’d once sworn that we wouldn’t release an album with two CDs anymore. But we couldn’t help but do it because there were so many stories we wanted to share,” said DJ Tukutz during the band’s self-hosted onl

K-popJan. 19, 2021

K-pop songstress IU to drop new single 'Celebrity' this month

K-pop soloist IU is set to release the new single "Celebrity" later this month ahead of releasing her long-awaited fifth studio album, her agency said Friday. The song, which Edam Entertainment described as an "upbeat pop sound track that IU will be experimenting with for the first time," will drop on Jan. 27. A teaser image for the upcoming single showed IU standing in between light green-colored doors, donning an elegant peach-colored gown and sparkly jewelry. "Cele

K-popJan. 15, 2021

BLACKPINK's Jennie gets 600m YouTube views with debut single 'Solo'

Jennie, the singer-rapper of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, has earned over 600 million views on YouTube with her 2018 hit song "Solo," her agency said Friday. The music video for her first solo single hit the milestone at around 5:19 a.m., some 26 months after its release in November 2018, according to YG Entertainment. With the feat, Jennie has become the first South Korean solo female artist to have a 600 million-view music video on the global video-sharing website. "Solo,"

K-popJan. 15, 2021

BTS wins 6 prizes at 2021 Gaon Chart Music Awards

Superstar BTS has swept the 2021 Gaon Chart Music Awards with six trophies for its successful albums and songs released last year. At the annual awards ceremony held virtually on Wednesday due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the K-pop act won three trophies in the "Artist of the Year - Digital Music" category and two in the "Artist of the Year - Physical Album" category. The awards are given to 12 digital songs that topped the chart each month and four physical albums that

K-popJan. 14, 2021

'Boy With Luv' becomes 2nd BTS music video to hit 1.1b views

"Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey)" has become global megastar BTS' second music video to earn 1.1 billion views on YouTube, the band's agency said Wednesday. The music video, released in April 2019 as the lead track for album "Map of the Soul: Persona," reached the milestone at around 1:17 p.m., according to Big Hit Entertainment. The upbeat track featuring American singer-songwriter Halsey debuted at No. 8 on Billboard's main singles chart and stayed there for eight consecutive

K-popJan. 13, 2021