Super Junior named as ambassador of Saudi Arabia Tourism Authority

Super Junior is the new ambassador of the Saudi Arabia Tourism Authority, SM Entertainment announced Tuesday. The inauguration took place during a tourism roadshow at the Westin Josun Seoul on Monday. “We will do the most we can to advertise tourism in Saudi Arabia. We were recently invited to the country by the Saudi Arabia Tourism Authority and there we made unforgettable memories. Saudi Arabia was not as far as we thought because there is a direct flight from South Korea to Saudi Arabia

K-popMay 23, 2023

Fantagio’s new boy group Lun8 to debut on June 15

Fantagio’s new boy group Lun8 will debut on June 15, the agency said Tuesday. The eight-member group is dropping its first mini album “Continue?” on the same day, according to Fantagio. The eight-piece is Fantagio's first boy group in seven years since the debut of Astro. Lun8 consists of seven Korean members -- Chael, Jinsu, Junwoo, Dohyun, Ian, Eunho and Eunseop -- and one Japanese member, Takuma. The group name holds the meaning of “eight boys who embrace the moon

K-popMay 23, 2023

Blackpink's Jennie in Cannes for acting debut

Jennie of K-pop band Blackpink made her first foray into the Cannes Film Festival Monday, marking her acting debut in style. The K-pop singer attended the red carpet event for the international film festival's 76th edition held in Cannes, France. This was her first attendance at the fest. The event took place on Monday, prior to the Out of Competition gala premiere of HBO drama series "The Idol," with which Jennie is making her acting debut. Two of the show's six episodes wer

K-popMay 23, 2023

B.I becomes first K-pop artist to perform at Lollapalooza Berlin

K-pop solo artist B.I will perform at Lollapalooza Berlin, one of the biggest music festivals taking place at Olympiastadion and Olympiapark Berlin on September 9-10. He is the first K-pop artist to perform at the festival, according to 131 Label. B.I will take the stage on Sept. 10 along with other renowned artists including Imagine Dragons, Macklemore and Jason Derulo. B.I has previously performed at various hip hop festivals in both South Korea and abroad, including the Amazon Music Festival,

K-popMay 23, 2023

[Herald Interview] Kard returns with steamy moombahton song

Co-ed quartet Kard is back after almost a year with its new track "Icky," another of the group's signature steamy moombahton sounds. "We didn't expect to take this long. We wanted the album to be good and we created every song very thoughtfully. The album is jam-packed with Kard's unique colors," the group's main vocalist Somin said at a joint interview with the local media on Thursday. "Icky" marks the group's comeback in almost 11 months s

K-popMay 23, 2023

Enhypen returns with 'Dark Blood'

K-pop boy band Enhypen returned Monday for the first time in 10 months with its new album "Dark Blood." During its comeback showcase held in Seoul on Monday, the seven members appeared on stage in black suits, with their handsome faces even paler than usual. Don't be fooled by the spooky visuals of the group's new album, however, as "Dark Blood" is an album devoted to expressing the group's heartfelt gratitude and love towards their fans. "We received a lo

K-popMay 22, 2023

[Herald Review] A journey from his 'abyss,' Woodz's 1st world tour 'Oo-Li' begins

Singer-songwriter Woodz kicked off his first world tour, "Oo-Li," over the weekend with two days of shows held at Jangchung Arena in central Seoul. Spruced up in a black jacket and suit, Woodz, whose real name is Cho Seung-youn, made a dramatic entrance onstage via a lift. He began the night with "Busted," a song off his latest album, "Oo-Li," performing the song live for the first time. Up next were "Hijack" and "Love Me Harder," through which h

K-popMay 22, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen to hold concert in Seoul in July

Seventeen will host concerts in Seoul on July 21-22, announced agency Pledis Entertainment on Monday. It has been about 13 months since it went live in Seoul kicking off its third international tour. The live shows will be broadcast online as well. In the meantime, the 13-member act is set to greet its fans in Japan at its fan meet event held at Tokyo Dome on May 27-28. It met a total of 80,000 fans at the Osaka fan meet held last week at Kyocera Dome. The band also performed songs from its lat

K-popMay 22, 2023

[Herald Interview] Lee Mu-jin hopes to leave deep, permanent footprint on music scene

Singer-songwriter Lee Mu-jin wants to continue making songs that can be easily sung, listened to and sympathized with by many. True to his words, he tells the story of a boy with a crush in bright song “Ordinary Confession.” “Most of my songs loved by listeners were bright songs in which I try to portray the certain feelings and emotions of a moment with a melody. In this single, I tried to write about a feeling that most of us have experienced in our lives -- the feeling of an

K-popMay 22, 2023

[Today's K-pop] Stray Kids to collaborate with Tiger JK

Stray Kids teamed up with veteran hip-hop musician Tiger JK. The band uploaded a teaser trailer for “Topline,” the fifth track from its upcoming third full album, on Friday. It starts with Han rapping and shows the eight members before focusing on Tiger JK. The song is written by 3Racha -- songwriting trio of Bang Chan, Changbin and Han -- that performed together with the senior last year at MAMA Awards. LP “5-Star” is due out on June 2 and consists of 12 tracks includin

K-popMay 19, 2023

ATBO ready to fly high with 3rd mini album “The Beginning: Take Off”

ATBO returned to the K-pop scene after a seven-month hiatus with an album filled with bright energetic songs on Thursday. “Not only have we always wanted to perform bright music on stage but also have our fans. We thought they would like to see us performing with happy facial expressions and freewheeling dance styles so we focused on that,” said Hyunjun of ATBO at a media showcase in Seoul on Thursday. Unlike the band's previous albums, which had a darker, fiercer edge, ATBO&rsq

K-popMay 19, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Ex-NU’EST Ren to go solo next month: report

Ren, formerly of NU’EST, will bring out his first solo album next month, according to a local media report on Thursday. Agency Big Planet Made Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. He debuted in 2012 as a member of the boy band, which disbanded last year, and has dropped a series of solo songs including “Loco” from last year as well as “Paradise” and “Rocket Rocket,” but it will be his first full-fledged effort as a solo musician. The p

K-popMay 18, 2023

Seoul in purple: city gears up to celebrate BTS' 10th anniversary

Seoul is set to be covered in purple in celebration of K-pop superband BTS' 10th anniversary next month. Local media outlets on Thursday reported that Hybe, the band's agency, is preparing events in collaboration with the Seoul city government ahead of the septet's 10th anniversary on June 13. According to reports, landmark spots around the capital will be decorated as "Army Road," taking its name from the band's official fan community, Army, where fans can celebrat

K-popMay 18, 2023

[Herald Interview] Pentagon vocalist Hui opens up about ‘Boys Planet’ experience

For Hui, an experienced vocalist of K-pop boy band Pentagon who has been active since 2016, every moment spent shooting Mnet’s K-pop competition "Boys Planet" was a challenge. “I was under a lot of pressure when I was looking forward to my first stage in the show because as an experienced artist, I faced higher expectations to do better. So I showed off as much talent as I could on stage. I don’t even remember myself performing because I was so nervous,” said Hu

K-popMay 18, 2023

Mijoo breaks out solo with 'Movie Star'

Mijoo's media showcase on Wednesday was full of laughs and tears as she shared her long-awaited solo debut story in her single "Movie Star." Mijoo, who began her career as a member of girl group Lovelyz and has made her name as a comic entertainer more recently, is back as a singer, but this time, alone. "I feel more nervous than my first debut," Mijoo said speaking to the local press during Wednesday's event held in Seoul. "I'm making my solo debut after

K-popMay 17, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Suga stays on Billboard 200 for 3rd week

Suga of BTS maintained a spot on the Billboard 200 for the third week with his solo album, “D-Day,” according to the latest chart published on Tuesday in the US. It debuted on the chart at No. 2, tying the record for a K-pop solo artist set by bandmate Jimin. The album ranked No. 36 in its third week. The EP also sat at No. 3 on its world albums chart, No. 5 on its top album sales and top current albums chart, and No. 8 on top rap albums chart. “D-Day” is the final insta

K-popMay 17, 2023

NewJeans' Danielle to drop 'The Little Mermaid' soundtrack song

K-pop band NewJeans member Danielle will drop an original soundtrack song for Disney's new film "The Little Mermaid" on Wednesday. The song, "Part of Your World," is the Korean version of the film's theme song sung by Danielle. The K-pop singer will voice Ariel, the main character, in the film's Korean-dubbed version, making her voice-over debut with the film. A music video for "Part of Your World" featuring Danielle will also be released via Disney M

K-popMay 17, 2023

Mamamoo to hold 3 encore concerts in Seoul next month

Mamamoo will hold three encore concerts in Seoul as part of its first world tour, “My Con," from June 16-18 at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium. The encore concerts are to wrap up Mamamoo's world tour that has taken the quartet to nine cities in Asia and nine cities in the US beginning from November last year. Ahead of the encore gigs, Mamamoo unveiled a cinematic teaser clip with Wheein walking in a meadow, Hwasa immersed in thought, Sola walking down an eternal tunnel and Moonbyul

K-popMay 17, 2023

Jay Park to release new single 'Candy'

Singer Jay Park is set to drop a new single “Candy” next Tuesday. He announced the comeback by unveiling teaser content through his agency More Vision’s official social media account on Wednesday. The teaser image shows pieces of candy with “JAY PARK Flavor” written on their wrappers. The upcoming single “Candy” was produced by the renowned Cha Cha Malone and features singer Zion.T. All eyes are on what kind of synergy Jay Park will have with Zion.T'

K-popMay 17, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jungkook logs 1.1b Spotify streams in record time

Jungkook of BTS generated 1.1 billion streams on Spotify on his own in the shortest time for a K-pop solo artist. He was recognized by the Guinness World Records for surpassing 1 billion streams on the platform in record time for a K-pop male solo artist on March 27, and added another 100 million to that tally in 44 days. Jungkook has been setting records with Spotify streams with just three solo songs: “Stay Alive,” a theme song for webtoon “7Fates: Chakho,” the Charlie

K-popMay 16, 2023