SHINee’s Key returns with 2nd repackaged album 'Killer'

Key of SHINee unveiled his second repackaged album, “Killer,” on Monday. The comeback comes six months after the release of Key’s second solo studio album “Gasoline” last August. The album includes three new tracks, including "Killer," “Heartless” and “Easy.” It also includes 11 tracks from Key’s second full-length album, including “Gasoline,” “I Can’t Sleep” and “Ain’t Gonna Dance.&rd

K-popFeb. 13, 2023

NewJeans' 'OMG, 'Ditto' most-streamed in the US

NewJeans continues to take the world by storm, with its releases recently showing a steady yet significant growth in the US music market. "OMG" and "Ditto" were the most-streamed on Spotify in the US among all regions, the world's biggest music streaming service said Monday in a press release. "OMG," the title track of the act's namesake second EP released in January, tallied accumulated streams of 111.28 million on the global music platform as of Friday.

K-popFeb. 13, 2023

Woodz to return with pre-release single ‘Abyss’

Singer and songwriter Woodz, also known as Cho Seung-youn, is making a comeback with the pre-release single “Abyss” from his fifth mini-album. EDAM Entertainment, Woodz's managing agency, unveiled Monday the teaser image and title of the pre-release single. The teaser image, which looks like a movie poster, shows Woodz standing alone in front of an old castle with a message that reads “It’s alright if you want a lot. I’ll let you have it all.” “Abys

K-popFeb. 13, 2023

BTS wins 6 trophies without attendance at Hanteo awards

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Hanteo Chart, the Hanteo Music Awards 2022 took place in person for the first time this year. The awarding ceremony happened over two days at the Jamsil Arena in Seoul, on Friday and Saturday, with the winners of the grand prizes, or "Daesang" in Korean, announced on the second night. BTS was the biggest winner of this year's awards, taking home six trophies in total, including two grand prizes, the best artist prize and the best song pr

K-popFeb. 12, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink adds concert to Mexico tour

Blackpink will perform one more time in Mexico City on April 27, label YG Entertainment announced Friday. The group originally planned to only hold one concert in the Mexican capital on April 26, but tickets sold out so fast it decided to add another on the following day. The foursome is in the middle of its international tour that started last year. It visited seven cities each in North America and Europe last year for 24 concerts. It resumed the tour in Asia this year that brings the bandmate

K-popFeb. 10, 2023

Big Bang's Seungri finishes 18-month jail term

Seungri, a former member of K-pop boy band Big Bang, was released from Yeoju Prison in Gyeonggi Province on Thursday after completing his 18-month sentence, according to the Ministry of Justice. Seungri, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, was indicted in January 2020 over his involvement in the “Burning Sun scandal,” a far-reaching sex and drug scandal since 2018. The 33-year-old singer began his military service during trial and was sentenced to three years in prison in a military c

Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2023

SM founder Lee Soo-man joins hands with Hybe to counter SM’s Kakao partnership

SM Entertainment’s founder and former producer Lee Soo-man joined hands with Hybe in the latest development of an internal business management feud between Lee and the co-CEOs of SM. Hybe, the Korean entertainment agency that houses supergroup BTS, announced Friday that it has signed a deal with Lee Soo-man to buy 14.8 percent of his SM shares at 422.8 billion won ($334.28 million). Lee Soo-man was the largest shareholder of SM Entertainment with an 18.46 percent share. While this deal alr

K-popFeb. 10, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Twice to launch 1st unit in Japan

    Three members of Twice will form the group’s first subunit and roll out an EP in Japan, label JYP Entertainment announced Thursday. Mina, Sana and Momo will release their first EP as a trio, named Misamo, which takes the first syllable from each of their names, on July 26. They sang “Bouquet” last month in Japan for an original soundtrack for the drama “Liaison – Children’s Heart Clinic” on TV Asahi. The song topped Line Music’s

K-popFeb. 9, 2023

Im Chang-jung releases 3rd mini album ‘I’m a fool’

Ballad king Im Chang-jung has returned with his third EP “I’m a Fool” on Wednesday. It took him longer than expected to release a new album, as he usually introduces a studio album once a year in the autumn, which is usually seen as the best season for ballads in Korea. “This mini album comes after six years since the last one. For studio albums, I sing a track twice or thrice but because there are not many tracks on this one, I put more effort into recording them. I thin

K-popFeb. 9, 2023

Misamo, first unit debut from Twice coming soon

Mina, Sana, and Momo of Twice are making a unit debut in Japan as Misamo with their first mini album on July 26. JYP Entertainment made their debut official Thursday by dropping some teaser photos. Misamo consists of all three Japanese members and is the first subunit from the girl group. In the teaser shots, the trio is dressed all in white, looking like luxurious goddesses. Prior to their debut as Misamo, Mina, Sana, and Momo released the track “Bouquet” as part of the soundtrack t

K-popFeb. 9, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] NCT Dream drops 1st Japan single

NCT Dream put out its first single in Japan, “Best Friends Ever,” on Wednesday, said label SM Entertainment. The NCT subunit of seven members dropped the single that consists of two tracks: a main track of the same title and the Japanese-language version of “Glitch Mode,” the titular track from its second studio album. The band will perform the new song for the first time at its upcoming concert in Osaka. It is set to go live at Kyocera Dome next week as part of its seco

K-popFeb. 8, 2023

YG's next big thing: Babymonster members unveiled

YG Entertainment is gearing up to debut its first new girl group in seven years, Babymonster, and has unveiled the last member of the seven-piece band this week. Just like the label's previous hit group Blackpink, Babymonster is a multinational group. There are three Koreans, two hailing from Thailand and two from Japan. Since the band was first announced on Jan. 1, YG has disclosed information about the new group in gradual stages. Here, we take a deeper look into Babymonster to get an ide

K-popFeb. 8, 2023

BoA to hold 20th anniversary concert next month

K-pop diva BoA will celebrate her 20th debut anniversary with fans by holding a concert in March. “BoA 20th Anniversary Live – THE BoA: Musicality,” her solo concert, will be held for two days from March 11 to 12 at the Olympic Hall in the Olympic Park in Jamsil, Seoul, according to SM Entertainment. This comes four years after the artist’s last solo concert in 2019 “#mood in SEOUL.” BoA, also known as the queen of performance, is expected to show powerful per

K-popFeb. 8, 2023

SM faces management dispute led by founder Lee Soo-man

The rift between SM Entertainment and its founder Lee Soo-man continues to deepen as Lee called out the process of making Kakao the company's second-largest shareholder an “act of illegality.” On Tuesday, SM Entertainment and South Korean tech giant Kakao announced a partnership that involved Kakao acquiring a 9.05 percent stake in the K-pop powerhouse. The share acquisition amounts to more than 217 billion won ($173.12 million). The partnership was a trilateral deal between SM

K-popFeb. 8, 2023

Kakao becomes SM's 2nd largest stakeholder

Kakao has become SM Entertainment's second largest shareholder, venturing into one of the biggest tech and entertainment alliances in South Korea. IT conglomerate Kakao announced Tuesday that it has acquired a 9.05 percent stake in SM Entertainment. SM Entertainment is one of the nation's biggest K-pop agencies, home to big names like Exo, Red Velvet, aespa and NCT. The latest partnership comes in a move to join force and secure competitiveness amid the burgeoning of K-pop and Korean e

K-popFeb. 7, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen unit sets sales record with 1st single

Seventeen’s three-piece unit BSS sold over 478,000 copies of its first single on the first day of release. This tops the first-week sales record for an album from a K-pop band subunit, according to agency Pledis Entertainment on Tuesday. Single “Second Wind” -- from Seungkwan, Dogyeom and Hoshi -- came out Monday, about five years since their digital single “Just Do It.” Lead track “Fighting” from the three-track album landed atop iTunes top songs chart

K-popFeb. 7, 2023

Super Junior in Latin America for world tour ‘Super Show 9: Road’

K-pop legend Super Junior is in Latin America for its world tour “Super Show 9: Road.” The Latin American leg of its world tour begins on Tuesday in Santiago, Chile and will be followed by gigs in Brazil, Peru and Mexico. Super Junior’s ninth world tour began in July last year in Seoul, followed by performances in Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Manila. This world tour comes for the first time in three years. It has also been five years since th

K-popFeb. 7, 2023

Ex-gov't employee summarily indicted for alleged attempt to sell Jungkook's lost hat

Prosecutors have summarily indicted a former foreign ministry employee on charges of attempting to sell BTS member Jungkook's lost hat online for 10 million won ($7,950), legal sources said Tuesday. The former government employee, whose identity has been withheld, allegedly shared a photo of the bucket hat on an online flea market, claiming the K-pop superstar had left it at the ministry building in Seoul when he visited to apply for a passport. The seller further said he had acquired the o

Social AffairsFeb. 7, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] EXO’s Baekhyun signals return with livestream

Baekhyun of EXO went live on the band’s YouTube channel Monday evening, a day after he completed his military service. He will chat with fans and share episodes from when he shot his own vlogs. He served his duty as a social service agent from May 2021 and was discharged Sunday. He uploaded a handwritten letter addressed to his fans last month, thanking them for not forgetting him and promising them that he is ready to give it his all. With Baekhyun back, the band is likely to make a full

K-popFeb. 6, 2023

Enhypen successfully wraps up first world tour ‘Manifesto’

K-pop boy group Enhypen successfully wrapped up its first world tour “Manifesto” in the Philippines' capital Manila on Sunday. Starting from Seoul last September, the septet visited a total of 12 cities around the world and held 22 concerts over the past 5 months. The group proved its global popularity, selling out 19 of 22 world tour gigs despite it being their first. In Japan alone, the act attracted 140,000 fans to their eight concerts held in the country. In particular, Enhy

K-popFeb. 6, 2023