Vanner to hold 1st standalone concert in April

K-pop boy band Vanner is gearing up to hold its first standalone concert, “The Flag: A To V,” in Seoul in April. On Friday the group revealed a poster for the upcoming concert show a racing track with a helmet and checkered flag on it. Two concerts are being held at Yes24 Live Hall, on April 27 and 28. Vanner plans to perform a medley of hit singles, according to Klap Entertainment. The group also plans many interactive sessions with fans during the concerts. Vanner debuted in 2019 a

K-popFeb. 23, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jungkook adds streaming record with ‘Standing Next to You’

Jungkook of BTS has amassed 400 million streams on Spotify with his solo single “Standing Next to You,” Big Hit Music said Thursday. The single reached the milestone in the shortest time for a K-pop solo song. “Standing Next to You” is the focus track from his solo album “Golden” that was rolled out in November last year and is his fifth solo song to achieve the feat -- following “Seven (feat. Latto),” “3D (feat. Jack Harlow),” Charlie

K-popFeb. 22, 2024

Stray Kids to meet fans in Korea, Japan

K-pop group Stray Kids will meet Korean and Japanese fans in spring. The group’s agency, JYP Entertainment, released the poster of Stray Kids' fourth official fan meeting dubbed "SKZ's Magic School" on its official social media. The upcoming performance is the first fan meeting in about nine months after a performance held in July last year. "SKZ's Magic School" will be held from March 29 to 31 at KSPO Dome in Seoul. The last performance on March 31 will

K-popFeb. 22, 2024

Veteran balladeer, drinker Sung Si-kyung launches Korean rice wine

South Korean balladeer Sung Si-kyung has launched a Korean rice wine under his new liquor brand Kyung on Thursday. According to his agency SKJaewon the makgeolli rice wine is the first product the singer developed in collaboration with the startup brewery J1. Renowned for his appreciation of refined spirits, Sung engaged in every stage of crafting and perfecting the rice wine, an official from the agency said. Named "Kyungtakju," this traditional fermented drink is crafted from ingre

K-popFeb. 22, 2024

Seventeen, Stray Kids, TXT and NewJeans claim top 10 of IFPI's Global Artist Chart

K-pop acts conquered the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s 2023 Global Artist Chart released Wednesday. According to IFPI, Seventeen placed second on the chart, the highest among K-pop acts this year. This marks the group’s third consecutive year among the top ten artists on the chart. IFPI’s Global Artist Chart captures the popularity of artists by combining global streaming, downloads, and physical album and singles sales. IFPI is a nonprofit organizatio

K-popFeb. 22, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Stray Kids to open pop-up store in Seoul

A pop-up store and cafe for Stray Kids will open in Seoul from March 14 to March 31, according to an announcement by label JYP Entertainment on Wednesday. The store, dubbed SKZoo’s Magic School, is themed after the animal-inspired version of the bandmates and is in line with the eight-member team’s fan meet event slated to be held in Seoul on March 29-31, for which the members will turn into magicians. In April, they will fly over to Japan and greet their fans in Osaka and Saitama,

K-popFeb. 21, 2024

NCT Wish makes grand debut at Tokyo Dome

NCT Wish took its first steps as a K-pop act by performing at SM Entertainment’s all-star concert at the Tokyo Dome on Wednesday. The group comprises six members -- Yushi, Riku, Sakuya, Jaehee, Ryo and Sion. NCT Wish is the latest and final subunit of NCT. Other subunits include NCT U, NCT 127, NCT Dream and WayV. SM collaborated with the Japanese entertainment agency Avex Trax to introduce the six members through an “NCT Universe: Lastart” competition show which aired last

K-popFeb. 21, 2024

Hybe’s new girl group I’ll-It to debut next month

K-pop powerhouse Hybe is launching a new girl group I’ll-It under its subsidiary Belift Lab on March 25. According to Belift Lab, the group consisting of five members -- Minju, Wonhee, Yunah, Moka and Iroha -- is releasing its debut mini album on March 25. Hybe chairman Bang Si-hyuk took part in putting together the group. “We are happy and excited to finally get to debut. We are thankful for our fans who have been waiting for us. We enhanced our skills when recording and shooting th

K-popFeb. 21, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream confirms 3rd world tour

NCT Dream announced plans for its third international tour “The Dream Show 3” Tuesday. The NCT subunit will kick off the tour in Seoul with a three-day concert starting May 2. In Japan, it will perform at three major domes – in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya – for the first time and then visit Jakarta, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore and Manila until August. The Asian leg of the tour will be followed by concerts in South and North America as well as Europe through November. It

K-popFeb. 20, 2024

IU adds her own definition of ‘winning’ into 6th EP 'The Winning'

Singer-songwriter and actor IU thinks living a successful life, or "winning" as she calls it, does not always have to be about making a lot of money or living a life everyone looks up to. Instead, through her sixth EP, "The Winning," the artist shares her own definition of “winning,” which she says is accepting the fact that not everyone blooms into a flower. The new EP was released Tuesday. On the day of her new album release, IU posted a video on her official Y

K-popFeb. 20, 2024

[Herald Interview] Moonbyul of Mamamoo pursues diversity releasing LP in time for 10th anniversary

Moonbyul of K-pop girl group Mamamoo always tries to step outside of her comfort zone to develop into a better artist. “I am fortunate to have established a character in the entertainment industry as a singer who has been active for 10 years. But to become a better artist, I hope to go beyond my limits,” said Moonbyul in a group interview in Seoul on Wednesday. That involves continuously working on enhancing her vocal and dancing skills despite being a rapper by receiving lessons. &l

K-popFeb. 20, 2024

Le Sserafim talks about their fear and doubts in 3rd EP ‘Easy’

Le Sserafim members spoke candidly about their fears and concerns hidden behind their fearless attitude in their third EP, “Easy,” released on Monday. “We focused on expressing our inner side to show that we are no different to ordinary people who have concerns and doubts in their life,” said Kazuha of the K-pop girl group during a press conference in Seoul on Monday. The group tried to express that even though their fame could look as easily achieved, there is always the

K-popFeb. 19, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ J-Hope to unveil album, documentary next month

J-Hope of BTS will drop a special solo album on March 29 along with a documentary film, said label Big Hit Music on Monday. As the title “Hope on the Street Vol. 1” suggests, the six-track album is themed after street dance, which the main dancer of the band harks back on. A series of the same title also will be rolled out on the day before, starting with the first episode from the total of six. Shot before he enlisted in April last year, the series follows the artist across the wo

K-popFeb. 19, 2024

Photo of RM with saxophone in military band goes viral

Even while serving in the South Korean military, global K-pop star RM of BTS remains in the public eye. On Thursday, a photo of him in a red military band uniform, holding a saxophone, went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter. As of Monday, the photo had garnered over 20,000 likes and 4,000 reposts. The viral post said, "I received a photo of Nam-joon (better known as RM) from an acquaintance who attended the military's basic training completion ceremony." The ceremony is only o

K-popFeb. 19, 2024

NCT Dream, Seventeen, Stray Kids, and Ive win grand prizes at Hanteo Music Awards

The 31st Hanteo Music Awards’ four grand prizes — Best Artist, Best Album, Best Performance and Best Song, went to NCT Dream, Seventeen, Stray Kids and Ive, respectively, on Sunday, the last day of the two-day event held in Seoul. NCT Dream bagged the Best Artist award for showing outstanding musical ability and powerful influence in the music industry. Only Mark, Jaemin and Chenle of NCT Dream attended the event, as other members of the group were working on the group’s upcomi

K-popFeb. 19, 2024

TWS goes global through partnership with Geffen Records, Virgin Music

TWS is going global by partnering with the world’s leading music company Universal Music Group (UMG) labels in the US and Japan. According to TWS' agency Pledis Entertainment, a six-member boy band inked a partnership with UMG’s Geffen Records for its group promotion in the US and with Virgin Music under Universal Music Japan for its group promotion in Japan. Through this partnership, TWS will receive support from the above labels to promote and distribute its albums in the US a

K-popFeb. 18, 2024

J-Hope of BTS to introduce new project ‘Hope on the Street’ in March

J-Hope of BTS is presenting a new project in March. He dropped a teaser clip of the upcoming project, “Hope on the Street” on BTS’ official YouTube channel Sunday, a day before his birthday. The clip begins with J-Hope, who is the main dancer of BTS, working on his performance at a dance studio back in 2015. The clip then fast forwards to 2024, and J-Hope appears dancing to a beat with a night view of a city in the background. “J-Hope came up with his own idea for this pr

K-popFeb. 18, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] TXT will be back in April: report

Tomorrow X Together will make a comeback in April, according to a local media report on Friday. The band’s latest album was its third studio album “The Name Chapter: Freefall” that sold over 2.25 million copies in the first week when it came out in October last year and entered Billboard 200 at No. 3. The album stayed on the main albums chart for seven weeks in a row and reentered in the first week of January. The members told fans last month at an awards ceremony that they h

K-popFeb. 16, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] NCT Wish to meet Korean fans for 1st time

NCT Wish will take the stage as part of a concert in Seoul for the first time on March 4, announced label SM Entertainment on Thursday. The band of six members are set to debut on Feb. 21, at the label’s all-star concert that will be held at Tokyo Dome. They will drop debut single “Wish” on Feb. 28 and the titular track will be included in the set list for the Seoul gig, dubbed “NCT Wish’s Wishlist.” The bandmates will also talk about their preparations for

K-popFeb. 15, 2024

YG, Japanese agency to hold auditions together for the first time in 8 years

YG Entertainment will hold an open audition in cooperation with Japanese entertainment company Avex, the first joint audition held by the two companies in about eight years since the "Younguns Audition" in 2016. The YG x Avex Audition 2024 will be held in seven major Japanese cities, kicking off in Sapporo on April 7. The other cities include Nagoya, Fukuoka, Osaka, Tokyo, Sendai and Okinawa. Those born between April 2, 2003, and April 1, 2013, are eligible to apply, regardless of thei

K-popFeb. 15, 2024