Global K-pop fest KCON to again open online next month amid pandemic

KCON, a major K-pop and Korean culture festival that draws millions of viewers each season, will be held online again next month amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, its organizer said Tuesday. The third season of the online event, titled "KCON:TACT," will stream from March 20-28 through YouTube and the Mnet K-pop channel for global fans and on local over-the-top service Tving for domestic fans, according to South Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM. It marks the third time CJ ENM

K-popFeb. 16, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] NCT 127 drops prerelease from 2nd Japanese EP

  NCT 127 unveiled the focus track from its forthcoming Japanese EP on Monday. 　 The song, titled “Gimme Gimme,” is a progressive hip-hop number and a direct statement from a guy in love. The video for “Gimme Gimme” will come out at 6 p.m. via the band’s YouTube channel, and the band will perform the song onstage for the first time at 10 p.m. Monday on the TBS music program “CDTV Live! Live!” 　 The EP, “Loveholic,” consists of six tra

K-popFeb. 15, 2021

SHINee, 2PM among boy bands poised to return to stage after military service

  In a country where enlisting in the military for two years is mandatory for all able-bodied men, the rule has long been an unavoidable hurdle for singers and actors in their 20s who are flourishing in their career heyday.    In that sense, having completed the two-year service can be an advantage for entertainers who are now eligible to plan long-term career goals. In the music industry, some major K-pop acts are set to return to the stage after members have successfully serve

K-popFeb. 13, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Rose gears up for solo gig

  Rose of Blackpink’s solo debut is likely to happen very soon, according to a local media on Wednesday. She has been signaling for a solo gig since last year and she unveiled “Gone,” thought to be the sub-title track from her upcoming own album, at the band’s first online streaming concert on Jan. 31.  Her company YG Entertainment confirmed that the musician has already finished shooting the music video for the title song from the album. It has spent one of t

K-popFeb. 10, 2021

BLACKPINK's debut full album rebounds to No. 59 on Billboard 200

K-pop megastar BLACKPINK's debut studio album has rebounded big on Billboard's main albums chart this week following its first online concert held late last month. "The Album" has resurged to No. 59 on the Billboard 200 chart updated Tuesday (US time), ascending 89 notches from a week before. It marks the 18th consecutive week the four-member band has stayed on the chart with its album since debuting at No. 2 in October, making history as a South Korean girl group. The album also sw

K-popFeb. 10, 2021

[Newsmaker] Big Hit, YG, UMG, Kiswe eye global market with online concert platform VenewLive

YG Entertainment and Universal Music Group have joined hands with Big Hit Entertainment and Kiswe to grow VenewLive into a global-scale digital livestreaming platform. YG Entertainment and Universal Music Group announced Wednesday that they had invested an undisclosed amount in KBYK Live, a joint venture founded last year by Big Hit Entertainment and Kiswe. KBYK Live created digital livestreaming concert service platform VenewLive last year, to much success, emphasizing the use of cutting-edge

K-popFeb. 10, 2021

BTS to perform on 'MTV Unplugged' this month

Global superstars BTS will be appearing on "MTV Unplugged" later this month, becoming the first Korean act to perform on the iconic music program produced by American broadcaster MTV. "On Feb. 23, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook will bring their collective energy to an update of the storied series straight from Seoul, South Korea," MTV reported on Tuesday (US time). While the broadcaster did not elaborate on the songs that BTS will perform, it said the "sp

K-popFeb. 10, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] BTS supports movie that features its first OST

  The bandmates of BTS talked about their first venture into the original soundtrack for a movie.  “Your Eyes Tell,” a song from “Map of the Soul: 7 The Journey,” the band’s fourth studio album in Japan, also became a part of original score for the same-titled movie. This is the first time the septet’s song is used for an OST. “I think you will be able to feel what feelings we have put in the song,” said Jungkook. He participated in w

K-popFeb. 9, 2021

BLACKPINK breaks 1.2b views with 'Kill This Love'

BLACKPINK, which owns one of the world's biggest subscriber bases on YouTube, set another record Tuesday by earning 1.2 billion views with its music video "Kill This Love." Views for the 2019 hit broke the record at 12:38 a.m. on YouTube, becoming the all-female act's second music video to set the milestone, according to YG Entertainment. Its most-watched music video is "Ddu-du Ddu-du," which is nearing a record 1.5 billion views. Released in April 2019, the fierce anthem w

K-popFeb. 9, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Kim Wooseok goes lovely with 2nd EP

  Kim Wooseok came out with second solo EP “2nd Desire [Tasty]” Monday.  The new music shows an adorable side of him taking a sharp turn from the glaring and dreamlike images from his previous greed-themed EP. He wanted the new music to be completely different, said the musician in the online showcase held on the same day, and also wanted to be recognized for music spectrum.  “I wish I can push the spectrum further and build up my image along the way,” he

K-popFeb. 8, 2021

[Today's Kpop] Ateez hints at March 1 return

Ateez surprised fans with an image that was uploaded on its official SNS account. 　 With the image of a green blossoming tree in the sea of cloud, it said: “From The New World 2021. 03. 01 6 p.m.” 　 A close look at the tree shows a number of objects –- a black fedora, a pirate ship and a doll -– that have symbolized the boy band’s world view since previous album. 　 The fact that the phrase was also used as a title for the special performance it put on a recent aw

K-popFeb. 5, 2021

Girl group TWICE to hold online concert in Japan next month

K-pop girl group TWICE will hold a digital concert that will be broadcast live in Japan next month, the act's management agency said Friday. "TWICE in Wonderland" will air at 7 p.m. on March 6 in collaboration with Japan's biggest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo, according to JYP Entertainment. The gig will be powered by state-of-the-art technology like augmented reality and mixed reality, allowing fans to enjoy a more lively concert experience, the agency explained. TWICE -- consisting

K-popFeb. 5, 2021

[Herald Interview] Indie rock band Se So Neon sings of a flight to freeness in ‘Jayu’

The title of indie rock band Se So Neon’s new single had to be “Jayu” instead of the English translation “freedom,” the band’s vocalist Hwang So-yoon said. The two-syllabled Korean word much better encapsulated the sense of freedom they wanted to sing through their music, Hwang told the Korea Herald during an interview conducted Tuesday. “It’s not the feeling of liberation felt by someone shouting ‘I’m finally free!’ in an open s

K-popFeb. 5, 2021

[Today’s Kpop] JB opens YouTube channel

  GOT7’s JB launched his own YouTube channel late Wednesday, drawing over 343,000 subscribers in 12 hours. 　 The name of the channel is “Jae Beom Lim,” the singer’s real name. 　 In the initial 40-second snippet, titled “THX. My Best Friends!” he said he had no specific plans for the platform but would communicate with his fans and put out good content. He asked them to keep their expectations high. 　 “I hope you love GOT7 a lot as well as JB,&rdq

K-popFeb. 4, 2021

K-pop girl group LOONA breaks into Billboard's Pop Airplay chart

LOONA has made its first entry on the Billboard's Pop Airplay chart, becoming the first K-pop girl group to rank on the radio chart since BLACKPINK. LOONA's all-English song "Star" ranked No. 40 on the Billboard's Pop Airplay chart, set to be updated on Saturday (US time), according to the US music publication. The chart reflects weekly data from some 160 US radio stations. The Billboard cited Bill Schulz, a program director at radio station KCLA in Reno, Nevada, who was quoted as sa

K-popFeb. 4, 2021

HyunA's new song 'I'm Not Cool' goes viral with 'Crayon Shin-chan' meme

A hilarious meme contrasting K-pop soloist HyunA's choreography for her new song "I'm Not Cool" with a scene from the Japanese animation "Crayon Shin-chan" has become the latest meme to hit Korea. The singer, known for her bold and powerful performances, last week released a new album, "I'm Not Cool," with a namesake title track. She worked on the song with her boyfriend and singer Dawn, as well as Psy, the "Gangnam Style" star who heads her agency P Nati

K-popFeb. 4, 2021

BLACKPINK's livestream concert most watched in US: agency

K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's first livestream concert held over the weekend was the most watched in the United States, the act's agency said Thursday. Subscribers based in the US accounted for 19.2 percent of all subscribers for the show, followed by those watching from Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, Canada and Britain, according to YG Entertainment. BLACKPINK on Sunday held a 90-minute livestream concert in collaboration with You

K-popFeb. 4, 2021

K-pop tweets hit 6.7 billion in 2020

K-pop related tweets remained in full force last year, reaching a new record of 6.7 billion, Twitter Inc. said Thursday. The figure represents a jump of 600 million from 6.1 billion K-pop tweets in 2019. The social media company said Indonesia ranked as the top market tweeting about K-pop by volume, followed by Thailand and South Korea. In terms of unique users tweeting about K-pop, Japan topped the list, followed by the United States and Indonesia. Global superstar BTS was the most mentione

K-popFeb. 4, 2021

[Today's Kpop] Seventeen ready to rock Japan again

Seventeen confirmed that it is putting out new music in Japan in April. 　 The boy band is releasing its third single album in Japan, titled “Hitorijyanai,” which translates as “You are not alone.” The title track of the same name conveys the band’s support for young people who are living through a challenging time as well as the promise to meet again with their official fandom, Carat. 　 The album includes two more songs -- “Run To You” from the group&r

K-popFeb. 3, 2021

Boy band Seventeen to drop new single in Japan in April

K-pop boy band Seventeen will be releasing its third single album in Japan in April, the band's management said Wednesday. The new album, titled "Hitorijianai" in Japanese, meaning "you're not alone," will be released on April 21, according to Pledis Entertainment. It comes a year after the act dropped its second Japanese single "Fallin' Flower," also in April last year. Pledis explained that the upcoming album carries three songs, including the namesake new Japan

K-popFeb. 3, 2021