Taemin of SHINee returned to the music scene with a solo album for the first time in two years and five months on Monday. His fourth mini album, “Guilty,” is led by the title track “Guilty,” and carries five other tracks including “The Rizzness,” “She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not,” “Not Over You,” “Night Away” and “Blue.” “I tried to portray my identity in this album by accentuating my musical characteris

K-pop Oct. 30, 2023

JYP Entertainment’s Japanese girl group NiziU officially debuted in South Korea with its first Korean single album, “Press Play,” on Monday. The nine-member group debuted in December 2020 as part of the agency’s project to localize K-pop in different places, “Globalization by Localization.” NiziU was trained under JYP’s strategic K-pop training system, which focuses on differentiating the group from other local bands bands through developing a K-pop iden

K-pop Oct. 30, 2023

JYP Entertainment’s girl group NiziU has won the best pop video award at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2023. According to MTV, NiziU’s titular track of its 5th single album “Paradise,” also the theme song of “Doraemon the Movie,” won as this year’s best pop video. Before this, NiziU had received the best dance video award at MTV VMAJ in 2020 with its pre-debut single “Make You Happy,” and the best buzz award -- given to artists who have ge

K-pop Oct. 29, 2023

진행자: 홍유, Beth Eunhee Hong 1. From ‘Parasite’ actor to chaebol scion, drug use back in spotlight 기사 요약: 마약 투약 혐의로 내사를 받고 있는 배우 이선균이 이번 주 중 경찰에 소환돼 조사를 받을 예정이다. [1] Lee Sun-kyun, known for his role in Oscar-winning movie “Parasite,” could be summoned for questioning sometime this week, reports said Sunday, citing police, as part of an expanding investigation into suspected drug use involving the actor and seven others. *summon: 소환하다, 호출하다, 소집하다 [2] According to the

Podcast Oct. 26, 2023

K-pop boy group The Boyz is making a rapid comeback with a new album next month. The Boyz is releasing the EP “Phantasy Pt. 2 Sixth Sense,” which is the second part of its second LP “Phantasy” on Nov. 20, according to IST Entertainment. The group’s second LP is a trilogy of which the first part, “Phantasy Pt. 1 Christmas In August” was released three months ago and has helped the group see remarkable growth. The Boyz’ second full-length album, &ldq

K-pop Oct. 25, 2023

JYP Entertainment, the K-pop powerhouse that houses some of the major K-pop groups such as Twice and Stray Kids, is constructing a new building to be used as its headquarters. The agency announced Tuesday that it has bought 10,675 square meters of land in Gangdong-gu, Seoul from Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation. “The land will be used to establish a new office building for the agency. We anticipate expanding office space which is part of our mid-to-long-term business plan, helps i

K-pop Oct. 25, 2023

A partial list of artists performing at the 2023 MAMA Awards at the Tokyo Dome on Nov. 28-29 was announced Tuesday. The awards organizer CJ ENM announced a total of eight K-pop groups that are confirmed to perform at the one of the biggest annual K-pop award ceremonies. The bands are Ateez, INI, JO1, NiziU, Riize, TVXQ, Xikers, and Zerobaseone. INI, JO1, TVXQ and Xikers will perform on Nov. 28, the first day of the event. INI is a K-pop boy group that recently topped Oricon’s Weekly Single

K-pop Oct. 24, 2023

K-pop boy group Stray Kids received the Prime Minister’s commendation at the 2023 Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards. The Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards honor figures of various fields -- singers, actors, comedians, directors and more -- who have contributed to the development of the local pop culture and art scene. The boy band was unable to attend the ceremony on Saturday due a concert it held in Seoul on the same day. “We are really grateful for having been honored with

K-pop Oct. 24, 2023

K-pop agency Attrakt has notified Saena, Sio and Aran of Fifty Fifty of the termination of their exclusive contracts. “We notified Saena, Sio and Arin of Fifty Fifty, excluding Keena, of the termination of their exclusive contracts on Thursday,” Attrakt announced Monday in a press release. “This move comes as these three members show no remorse for breaching the contract with the agency. We will discuss what actions we will take against these members later on,” the statem

K-pop Oct. 23, 2023

Thousands of international fans gathered at Gocheok Sky Dome, the biggest concert venue in South Korea, on Sunday for the last day of the K-pop boy band Stray Kids’ “5-Star Dome Tour 2023 Seoul Special.” Stray Kids’ signature red rippled through the dome to signal the beginning of the globally popular artists’ show. Soon, members of the group jumped one by one on the stage from an underground lift, eliciting deafening roars from the audience. Stray Kids were dressed

K-pop Oct. 23, 2023

Jungkook of BTS announced a music collaboration with world-renowned artists on Friday. He featured in the Australian rapper The Kid Laroi’s new single “Too Much” along with British rapper Central Cee, according to Big Hit Music. This marks the first time the artists have collaborated with each other. Jungkook added his rapping and unique rhythmic vocal styling to the song composed of funky instrumentals with an addictive hook. He also starred in the music video of the new singl

K-pop Oct. 20, 2023

Keena of Fifty Fifty confessed that Ahn Sung-il, a representative of outsourcing company The Givers, incited the group to apply for an injunction to suspend the group’s exclusive contract with agency Attrakt. In an interview with local media outlet Dispatch, Keena said that Ahn suggested that she fake having been diagnosed with COVID-19 in June to use the isolation time to leave the dormitory provided by Attrakt. “Producer Ahn said that we would be able escape the agency’s atte

K-pop Oct. 20, 2023

K-pop sensation Le Sserafim has teamed up with Overwatch 2, a free-to-play team-based action game developed by Blizzard Entertainment, for an in-game collaboration. Le Sserafim-inspired game mode and exclusive in-game items will be revealed on Tuesday and go live in-game on Nov. 1, Blizzard Entertainment said in a statement Thursday. It also announced that they took part in creating the music video for Le Sserafim’s first English single, “Perfect Night,” which will debut on Oct

K-pop Oct. 19, 2023

D.O. of EXO is leaving SM Entertainment after his exclusive contract with the agency expires next month. “Our exclusive contract with Doh Kyung-soo (D.O.) expires early next month. After a thorough discussion, he decided that he will continue to work as a member of EXO even after leaving SM,” announced SM Entertainment on Wednesday in a press release. D.O. will establish his own agency with his manager from SM Entertainment and will continue his career as an actor and singer. D.O. de

K-pop Oct. 19, 2023

K-pop boy group Kingdom on Wednesday made a comeback with its 7th EP, “History Of Kingdom: Part. VII. Jahan.” The album faced difficulties before its official release as all 70,000 pre-made copies of the album had to be discarded and redesigned due to its resemblance to the Quran. The album cover drew backlash from fans as soon as the group’s agency, GF Entertainment, shared the design of the album for pre-orders, which had been scheduled to start on Sep. 21. “We want t

K-pop Oct. 18, 2023