As K-pop veteran Shinee's final encore concert began Sunday at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, the giant LED screens showed video art of the boy band's silhouette. When the mid-section of the LED screens lowered, they revealed the main stage with Onew, Minho, Key and Taemin. The members kicked off the final performance of their three-day encore concert, "Perfect Illumination: Shinee’s Back," with their mega-hit singles “Clue” and "Sherlock." The enco

K-pop May 27, 2024

진행자: 홍유, Elise Youn Seoul rolls out W250b package in bid to lure foreign talent 기사요약: 서울시는 5년간 2천506억원을 투입해 외국인 인재와 기업을 유치하고 이들의 안정적인 정착을 돕는 외국인주민 정책 마스터플랜을 발표했다. [1] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Monday its plans to invest 250.6 billion won ($184.8 million) over five years to attract foreign talent and businesses and to help them adjust to the city. *adjust: 적응하다 (=adapt) [2] The plan, announced in a press briefing, comes amid an increase in the overall number of foreign n

Podcast May 27, 2024

Even as K-pop giant Hybe’s multilabel system is being tested by the ongoing feud with the CEO of one of its subsidiaries, Ador’s Min Hee-jin, the longest-standing K-pop agency, SM Entertainment is forging ahead with establishing its own multilabel system, dubbed “SM 3.0.” SM 3.0 focuses on broadening the spectrum of K-pop, according to Choi Jin-suk, global A&R executive of Kreation Music Rights (KMR), a music publishing subsidiary of SM Entertainment. “Within KM

K-pop May 26, 2024

진행자: 홍유, Elise Youn Mystery deepens after hundreds of cat deaths in S. Korea 기사요약: 최근 고양이들이 신경질환 등 증상을 보이다 급사했다는 신고가 잇따랐지만 원인이 밝혀지지 않아 반려인들이 불안감을 호소하고 있다. [1] A wave of unexplained cat deaths has sparked a dispute between pet owners and authorities in South Korea, with owners unconvinced that the pet food thought to be at the center of the controversy was not to blame. *dispute: 분쟁, 분규; 논란, 논쟁 *controversy: 논란 [2] According to local animal activist groups Life and Myoeon, a total of 513

Podcast May 23, 2024

SM Entertainment signed a memorandum of understanding with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday to enhance its contribution to conserving urban biodiversity by expanding Kwangya Forest. Kwangya Forest was established on 400 square meters of land in Seoul Forest located at Seongdong-gu, Seoul in May 2023. This partnership involves SM’s financial support in expanding Kwangya Forest and its maintenance for the next five years, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s provision of

K-pop May 22, 2024

JYP Entertainment launched its first Japanese boy group, Nexz, Monday -- the agency's first boy group in six years. Nexz consists of six Japanese nationals and one South Korean national born and raised in Japan, selected through the K-pop agency’s “Nizi Project Season 2” audition program which aired on YouTube and Hulu Japan last year. The audition program is part of JYP Entertainment’s “Globalization by Localization” project aimed at localizing K-pop in

K-pop May 21, 2024

New releases by girl group Babymonster and boy group Treasure were among YG Entertainment's projects for the second half of the year announced by Yang Hyun-suk, YG founder and executive producer, in a three-minute video on YouTube Monday. Earlier this year, YG revealed that it had increased the number of music producers to 50 from 10 in an effort to introduce new projects more quickly. Babymonster will release its first regular studio album in October. “Ahead of the full album release

K-pop May 20, 2024

Veteran K-pop boy group Infinite is celebrating its 14th anniversary as a full unit with a fan meeting event on July 13 and 14. It will be the group's first meeting with fans in seven years. Infinite announced the event by posting its schedule for May, June and July on Friday. The band is also due to release a new digital single on June 9. The band will also hold a live-streaming event on the same day to celebrate its 14th anniversary with fans and talk about the latest release. Infinite es

K-pop May 17, 2024

K-pop boy group Stray Kids performed its new English digital single, “Lose My Breath,” on stage for the first time on “Good Morning America” on Wednesday. “We do have some good news. We are preparing a tour. It’s big news because it’s been so long since we’ve prepared for something so big,” group member Felix said during a talk session with local fans in the studio before the special performance. When asked by a fan about the creative process

K-pop May 17, 2024

Mark of the K-pop boy group NCT released his first solo single, “200,” on Thursday. The single “200” is a rock number with trendy, fast-tempo bass and drum sounds. Mark took part in writing the lyrics and composing the single, which is about a fateful meeting with someone that leads to a perfect relationship in which together the couple shines even brighter. Mark used cartoons and a vintage-style video filter to give the song's music video an early 2000s look. Mark a

K-pop May 16, 2024

K-pop boy group Treasure is releasing a new single on May 28, according to YG Entertainment. This comeback comes after nine months. Treasure unveiled a 14-second teaser clip on Wednesday that has “My love is like” written on a typewriter, hinting that the new single will be about love. Choi Hyun-suk and Yoshi of Treasure took part in writing the lyrics to the single, and renowned K-pop producers including Airplay, Jared Lee and Choice37 took part in composing. “The single bring

K-pop May 16, 2024

YG Entertainment will release digital collectibles using its girl group Blackpink's intellectual property. Blackpink’s first-ever digital collectibles will be released through VeVe, a New Zealand-based company specializing in licensed digital collectibles, from May 22-26, says the agency. A digital collectible is a unique or limited-edition copy of a virtual item. Blackpink’s digital collectibles are inspired by “Pink Venom,” the group’s hip-hop single released

K-pop May 14, 2024

K-pop rookies Zerobaseone wrapped up their “Youth” trilogy with a third EP, “You had me at HELLO,” released Monday. This album comes after the band’s two million-selling EPs: “Youth In The Shade,” which kicked off its “Youth” trilogy about how the hardships youth face make them shine even brighter, and “Melting Point,” about becoming a thorn to protect their fans who have made their dreams of becoming K-pop artists come true. Zero

K-pop May 14, 2024

NewJeans collaborated with American pop star Pharrell Williams for their Japanese debut single album. According to Ador, Pharrell Williams participated in composing and writing the lyrics to the K-pop girl group’s titular track of their first-ever Japanese single album, “Supernatural.” The lead track, “Supernatural,” is composed with a melody that brings back memories from the past and harmonizes well with the group’s mellow vocals, says the agency. “Pro

K-pop May 13, 2024

BTS’ digital single “Dynamite” has reached a new milestone in the US. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the digital single released in August 2020 was certified with "5X Platinum" for recording more than 5 million units of download sales. This is BTS' first 5X platinum certification from RIAA. The K-pop sensation currently has a total of nine platinum certifications from RIAA for its singles including “Idol,” “Bo

Performance May 12, 2024