[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Jennie sets record with solo music video

Jennie of Blackpink generated 900 million views on YouTube with the music video for her solo song “Solo,” according to label YG Entertainment on Tuesday. She is the first K-pop female artist to reach the milestone. It is the seventh video from the group to achieve the feat. “Solo” fronted her solo album of the same title that came out in November 2018. It topped the iTunes top songs chart in 40 regions as well as all major charts in Korea. The song also was the first fro

K-popMarch 21, 2023

Bol4 to release new album, hold concerts in Seoul, Taiwan in April

Singer-songwriter Bol4, better known locally by her full name Bolbbalgan4, is gearing up for an April comeback and live concerts. The singer's agency Shofar Entertainment on Tuesday released a comeback poster on Bol4's social media. The poster reveals that Bol4 will release a new album on April 16 and hold concerts at the Olympic Hall in Jamil, Seoul, on April 29-30. Ahead of her official comeback with the new album, Bol4 is set to greet her Taiwanese fans first. According to the pos

K-popMarch 21, 2023

Bobby's 1st solo single 'S.i.R' marks start of year-long series

Boy band iKON's member Bobby is setting off on a new chapter of his music career with his new single "S.i.R" on Tuesday. As the first single he is releasing as a soloist musician, 'S.i.R" marks the rapper-producer's return after two years and three months since he last dropped his second full-length album "Lucky Man" in 2021. A renowned member of the six-piece group, Bobby is putting out two new songs with the new single. He took part in writing these two

K-popMarch 21, 2023

Nmixx’s new album 'expergo' tackles connection, change

JYP Entertainment’s latest K-pop girl group Nmixx launched its first mini album “expergo” on Monday. “The storyline of this album is a sequel to our previous album as we tried to connect the dots to portray our worldview,” said Haewon, the leader of the group during a media showcase in Seoul. “If you see the music video of our titular track ‘Love Me Like This,’ we deliver wisdom, love and courage to people. In the process, we connect with them and

K-popMarch 21, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Twice hits Billboard 200 at No. 2

Twice entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 with their 12th EP, “Ready To Be,” Billboard announced in advance of the chart's full release on Monday. It is the highest spot on the main albums chart for the nine-member act, whose previous EP, “Between 1＆2” and third studio album, “Formula of Love: O+T=〈3” each ranked No. 3. The group is the second K-pop girl group to notch the No. 2 spot, after Blackpink. The EP sold over 1.7 million copies in pre-orders and is li

K-popMarch 20, 2023

Blackpink's Jisoo ready to bloom with solo 'Flower'

Blackpink's Jisoo is set to launch her solo career with her new song "Flower." YG Entertainment on Monday unveiled the title of Jisoo's first solo song and released the track's title poster. The poster shows Jisoo lying over what appear to be red flower petals as they wrap around the singer. Dressed in jet-black, Jisoo gazes flirtatiously into the camera. "Flower" is the main track of Jisoo's upcoming debut solo album "Me." The song is set to be

K-popMarch 20, 2023

Le Sserafim holds first-ever fan meet

For the first time since their debut, Le Sserafim hosted a fan meet during the weekend at the Olympic Hall in Seoul. The fan meet, called “Fearnada 2023 S/S,” featured special performances by the five-member K-pop girl group for their fandom Fearnot. Le Sserafim kicked off the event with a performance of “No Celestial,” a side track of their second mini album, and “Antifragile,” the titular track of the same album. “Through this moment, Fearnot and we wi

K-popMarch 20, 2023

[Herald Interview] Hybe training and development leader Shin Seon-jeong behind K-pop stars' success

Unlike other entertainment agencies with separate training and development teams for each label, Hybe has only one T&D department in charge of educating and nurturing the trainees of all its labels. That’s the key to Hybe’s differentiated competitiveness in the K-pop scene, according to the leader of the T&D department at Hybe, Shin Seon-jeong. “We are in charge of educating and nurturing trainees in a way that fits the color of each different label to create the best s

K-popMarch 20, 2023

BTS member Jimin's single tops iTunes charts in 110 countries

BTS member Jimin's single "Set Me Free Pt. 2" topped iTunes charts in 110 countries Saturday, the group's agency BigHit Music said. The hip-hop track, released at 1 p.m. Friday, is part of his debut solo album, "Face," which will roll out next Friday. The song had claimed the No. 1 spot on the iTunes Top Songs charts in 110 countries, including Britain, Canada, Italy and Finland, as of 9 a.m., BigHit Music said. The music video for "Set Me Free Pt. 2" ha

K-popMarch 18, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Ive to return next month with 1st LP

Ive will make a comeback on April 10 with its first full album, announced agency Starship Entertainment on Friday. According to a local media report, the album will consist of 12 tracks and star lyricist Kim Eana will write words for the lead track. It has been about seven months since its third single, “After Like,” which sold over 1 million copies in the first week of sales and topped all major charts at home. The group picked up 14 trophies in total last year with the titular tra

K-popMarch 17, 2023

BTS' Jimin to pre-release hip-hop song 'Set Me Free Pt. 2'

Jimin of BTS will drop a pre-release song "Set Me Free Pt. 2" from his first solo album "Face" on Friday. Jimin is set to make his official solo debut with his EP "Face" on March 24, and the pre-release single is the first song unveiled from the forthcoming album. According to BTS' agency Big Hit Music, "Face" tells the 27-year-old's story as he confronted himself to embark on a new journey as a solo musician. It depicts the various emotions that the artis

K-popMarch 17, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Aespa to release new album in May: report

    Aespa will drop a new album early next month, reported a local media report on Thursday. Label SM Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. The group was set to do so in February, but the dates were postponed due to a conflict over the company’s management. It, however, held its first standalone concert in Seoul on Feb. 25-26. Its last album was second EP “Girls,” which sold more than 1.42 million copies in the first week and became the first alb

K-popMarch 16, 2023

Top artists set for solo debut, comeback

Groups can break out big, but for some, the individual members, even bigger when fans have waited a long time to see them come out as independent artists. The coming weeks are set to welcome some big names as make their solo debut and comebacks. The most-anticipated among the names are Jimin of BTS who is set to make an official start as a solo artist. Jimin will drop his solo debut album "Face" on March 24. Led by synth pop score "Like Crazy," the album will tell his story a

K-popMarch 16, 2023

BTS members continue to thrive in their solo journey

It’s been 10 months since BTS began its hiatus from group activities as the members needed to take some time off to fulfill their mandatory military service. Jin, the oldest in the group, was the first member to enlist in the Army in December last year. Since then, Jin has been sharing his moments in the Army with fans by posting pictures on social media. Last week, Jin posted a picture of himself in his military uniform with other BTS members J-Hope and Jimin, who had come to pay him a vi

K-popMarch 16, 2023

[Herald Interview] Kim Jae-hyung cherishes love with 'One Second'

In singer-songwriter Kim Jae-hyung's latest single "One Second," there is no mention of the word "second" in either Korean or English. The song itself is an embodiment of that one second we wish to spend more with those who we love, that one second which feels like forever as our senses are numbed and our mind, overwhelmed by happiness. It is this metaphor that mainly defines the alternative folk singer's music. "One second feels different according to situatio

K-popMarch 16, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] NewJeans tops 200m Spotify streams with ‘OMG’

NewJeans amassed 200 million streams on Spotify with “OMG,” according to the music platform on Wednesday. It is the main track from the single album of the same title and became the group’s third song to achieve the feat, after “Hype Boy” and “Ditto.” The rookie girl group generated 1 billion streams combined on Spotify as of last week. Both “OMG” and “Ditto” have stayed strong on Spotify charts as well, ranking No. 21 and No. 43

K-popMarch 15, 2023

[Herald Interview] Trendz targets takeoff with 2nd single album ‘Blue Set Chapter: New Dayz’

A “stepping stone” is what K-pop boy band Trendz hopes for with their second single album, “Blue Set Chapter: New Dayz.” “We are now in the second year of our career as Trendz. Last year was a blessing for us because we could do a lot of performances and appearances. But we have this mindset that, just like the title track of this album ,'New Dayz,' we will start anew," said Havit of Trendz during the group’s interview with The Korea Herald on T

K-popMarch 15, 2023

K-pop singer admits cult affiliation, vows to cut ties: Dispatch

Kyoungyoon, a member of the K-pop band DKZ, has admitted his affiliation to scandal-ridden cult JMS, but denied he attempted to spread the religious beliefs to his bandmates. Local entertainment outlet Dispatch on Monday released an exclusive interview with Kyoungyoon and his parents, through which the K-pop singer broke his silence about his connection to Christian Gospel Mission, better known as Jesus Morning Star. The interview comes around a week after Kyoungyoon initially denied that he was

K-popMarch 14, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ J-Hope hits Billboard Hot 100 at No. 60 with solo song

J-Hope of BTS got on Billboard’s Hot 100 with his solo digital single “On The Street with J. Cole” at No. 60. The single also was No. 2 on its top selling songs chart. This is the fourth time the artist made the main songs chart, following “Chicken Noodle Soup,” a Becky G collaboration from 2019, as well as “More” and “Arson,” double title tracks from his first solo album “Jack In The Box” from last year. “On The Street&rdq

K-popMarch 14, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jungkook tops 200m Spotify streams in record time with solo song

Jungkook of BTS has generated 200 million streams on Spotify with solo song “Dreamers,” about 110 days since its release. The song is from the official soundtrack for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It achieved the feat in the shortest time ever for a K-pop solo artist. The single debuted on Spotify’s global daily chart at No. 2 -- a record for an Asian musician. It also notched first place on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart and topped the iTunes top songs chart in 100 reg

K-popMarch 13, 2023