NCT Dream rides MBTI wave with 3rd LP ‘ISTJ’

NCT Dream has returned with the concept of using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as the main concept of its third studio album, "ISTJ," which was released Monday. The K-pop boy band jumped on the current MBTI craze in South Korea by naming its album and its title track “ISTJ,” one of MBTI’s 16 personality types. “Producer Kenzie made this song for us. We loved the concept as MBTI is trending in Korea and we wanted to introduce the trend to people around the worl

K-popJuly 17, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s YouTube channel logs record 90m subscribers

Blackpink amassed 90 million subscribers through its YouTube channel, an all-time world record for an artist, according to label YG Entertainment on Monday. The channel launched in June 2016 and reached among the top five in terms of subscribers three years ago before becoming No. 1 among artists in September 2021, dethroning Justin Bieber. Meanwhile, the music video for “As If It’s Your Last” received 1.3 billion views on the platform as of Friday. It is the group’s fif

K-popJuly 17, 2023

Enhypen joins star-studded lineup for Heart Dream Awards

Boy band Enhypen will join the nation's biggest singers and bands at the 2023 K Global Heart Dream Awards next month, organizers said Monday. In addition to Enhypen, rookie band Boynextdoor and co-ed quartet Kard will also join the lineup for the event on Aug. 10 at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena -- also known as KSPO Dome -- located inside the Olympic Park in Seoul. Solo singers Kim Jae-hwan, Paul Kim and Lee Seung-yoon were also on the latest list of performers that was released. Heart Drea

K-popJuly 17, 2023

BTS' J-Hope to drop physical edition of 'Jack In The Box'

BTS' J-Hope continues to unveil new solo projects even as he serves the military, heralding a new edition of his solo album next month. The group's agency Big Hit Music on Monday announced that J-Hope will drop "Jack In The Box (Hope Edition)" on Aug. 18. The forthcoming album is a renewed and physical version of the rapper's first solo album "Jack In The Box," which had only been released digitally in the form of "Weverse Album" in July 2022. The LP

K-popJuly 17, 2023

Line up for SM pre-debut reality show ‘NCT Universe: LASTART’ unveiled

SM Entertainment unveiled all 10 trainees who will take part in its pre-debut reality show, “NCT Universe: LASTART.” The trainees go by the names: Riku, Ryo, Haruta, Kassho, Jungmin, Anderson, Minjae, Ryu, Heitetsu, and Sakuya. These trainees are candidates who will debut as NCT’s new subgroup, one of the three new groups that the K-pop powerhouse plans to launch this year. Through the pre-debut reality show, SM will show the process of evaluating the 10 candidates to select th

K-popJuly 17, 2023

BTS' Jungkook tops US, Japan charts with 'Seven'

BTS' Jungkook has topped US and Japanese music charts with his new solo song "Seven." Following its release on Friday, "Seven (feat. Latto)" soared straight to Spotify's Daily Top Song Global Chart, becoming the first K-pop solo song to enter the chart at No. 1. Spotify, the world's biggest streaming music platform, said the song took the top place with 15,995,378 streams in just a day, an all-time high set by a new release. Along with "Seven," the tune's instrument

K-popJuly 16, 2023

BTS' Jungkook tops iTunes charts of 106 countries with first solo single 'Seven'

BTS member Jungkook's first solo single, "Seven," topped iTunes Top Song charts of 106 countries around the world Saturday, one day after its release, its agency, BigHit Music, said. Jungkook unveiled the digital single Friday, becoming the sixth member of the septet to debut as a soloist, after J-Hope, Jin, RM, Jimin and Suga. The summer song, described as having an addictive and energizing melody, debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes charts in 106 countries, including the United State

K-popJuly 15, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] 3 members of Super Junior leave SM Entertainment

Three members of Super Junior will leave SM Entertainment but stay with the group, according to the management firm on Friday. Eunhyuk, Donghae and Kyuhyun decided not to renew their contract with the label, while the remaining six will re-sign, it added. The three will, however, continue their activities as part of the band. The band debuted in 2005 with “Super Junior 05,” and put out 11th studio album “The Road” last year. Kyuhyun is said to be in talks to sign with An

K-popJuly 14, 2023

Solo debut with 'Seven' motivates BTS’ Jungkook to continue enhancing musical skills

BTS’ Jungkook finally made his official solo debut on Friday, with his first solo single, “Seven.” This solo debut comes a decade after Jungkook made his debut in the music scene as a member of K-pop sensation BTS back in 2013. “Through this single, I showed a new facet of myself that has never been shown better. The single is an addictive song that can be enjoyed easily by anyone. The first time I heard the song, I immediately thought, ‘I need to do this. This is i

K-popJuly 14, 2023

[Graphic News] BTS boasts most loyal fanbase in music: survey

The K-pop sensation BTS enjoys the most loyal fanbase based on how far its supporters are willing to travel, a survey by a US travel information site showed. Upgraded Points released the results of its poll titled, “How Far Would You Travel to See Your Favorite Artist?” on its website, based on answers from 3,200 American music fans. On the website’s 100-point loyalty index, BTS scored 88.4 points to lead all artists. The score was based on survey questions that included how fa

K-popJuly 14, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] TXT tops CD album sales in US in H1

Tomorrow X Together sold the most CDs in the US in the first half of this year, according to a report from data company Luminate on Wednesday. Its fifth EP “The Name Chapter: Temptation” sold over 395,000 copies in the country and ranked No. 1 on the Top CD Album Sales chart, said Luminate, whose data is used to compile Billboard's weekly charts. The mini album was No. 2 on the Top Albums Total Sales chart that tallies sales of physical and digital album, only after Taylor Swift&rsq

K-popJuly 13, 2023

Koyote marks 25th anniversary with new single 'Wish'

Veteran dance music trio Koyote on Wednesday marked its 25th debut anniversary with a new digital single, “Wish.” “This single can be described as a very ‘Koyote-like’ single, a song that describes our music style very well. It is a powerful dance song but its lyrics are quite sad. Just like our previous songs, this song is also easy to sing along to,” said Shin Ji of Koyote during a press conference in Seoul on the day of the single’s release. The new s

K-popJuly 13, 2023

BamBam to embark on 1st standalone world tour in September

Thai rapper-singer BamBam of the K-pop boy band GOT7 is to set off on his first standalone world tour titled “Area 52” in September. Area 52 refers to unexplored places around the world. The tour is expected to offer a fruitful set list of newly arranged tracks and performances, according to label Abyss Company on Thursday. BamBam plans to have special performances that can only be seen at his solo concerts. The world tour will kick off at the Olympic Hall in Seoul on Sept. 16. BamBa

K-popJuly 13, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Lisa may leave label: report

Lisa of Blackpink might not renew her contract with label YG Entertainment that expires next month, according to a local media report on Wednesday. The two parties have not been able to reach an agreement and a Chinese agency which requested to remain anonymous tipped off the media that the label told the company that it cannot arrange an activity for the artist from August and on due to the uncertainty surrounding the contract. YG Entertainment said that it was because of the group’s tou

K-popJuly 12, 2023

Mamamoo Plus to drop 1st EP 'Two Rabbits' next month

Mamamoo Plus, a subunit of K-pop girl group Mamamoo, returns with new music on Aug. 3. The duo of Sola and Moonbyul will drop first mini album “Two Rabbits,” according to RBW, the agency that houses Mamamoo Plus, on Wednesday. Sola and Moonbyul came up with the name of the album as they each hope to be as clever as a rabbit, overcoming difficulties wisely to expand their musical and conceptual spectrum. The two say they took an active role in making the album to present music worth l

K-popJuly 12, 2023

Sandara Park returns to music scene, ends 6-year hiatus

K-pop solo artist Sandara Park is finally back in the music scene with a digital mini album that dropped on Wednesday. The new album, “Sandara Park,” is the artist’s first solo album, coming six years after 2NE1’s final single, “Goodbye,” was released in January 2017. Sandara Park had been a member of the now defunct 2NE1 since their debut in 2009. The concept of this new album that Sandara Park prepared especially for her fans, is inviting the solo artist&rsq

K-popJuly 12, 2023

Nmixx returns with summer song produced by Park Jin-young

JYP girl group Nmixx on Tuesday returned to the stage with its third single album, “A Midsummer Nmixx’s Dream.” The new single album carries lead track “Party O’Clock” along with “Roller Coaster,” which was released prior to the official album drop. “The storyline from our first mini album ‘expergo’ continues into this new album in which we finally meet with Nswers (the group's official fandom, pronounced 'answers')

K-popJuly 12, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen garners 100m views with ‘Super’ music video

Seventeen has already received 100 million views on YouTube for the music video for “Super,” according to agency Pledis Entertainment on Tuesday. The video was unveiled on April 24 and hit the mark in 78 days, a record for the band. It is the sixth video from the 13-member act to reach the milestone, following those for “Don’t Wanna Cry,” “Clap,” “Very Nice,” “Left ＆ Right” and “Hot.” “Super” is one of the

K-popJuly 11, 2023

Jin of BTS named 'elite soldier,' gets early promotion

Jin of BTS announced on Weverse, a social platform the band uses to communicate with fans, that he was promoted to corporal two months earlier than scheduled after receiving the "elite soldier" title. In South Korea, all men deemed physically eligible between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to serve in the military. Jin is currently serving as an assistant instructor at a front-line infantry division boot camp in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, since last December. He was the first of

K-popJuly 11, 2023

Zerobaseone blooms with debut album, making all-time record

Zerobaseone, a group that consists of nine artists chosen through Mnet’s idol survival program, “Boys Planet,” made its grand debut on Monday. “We’ve dreamed of this debut for so long. We prepared a lot for this debut, hoping to show enhanced performance and vocal skills to our fans and the public,” said Gyuvin of Zerobaseone during a press conference in Seoul on the day of its debut. “We were able to debut thanks to the interest and support of many peop

K-popJuly 11, 2023