(G)I-dle hit the Billboard 200 at No. 41 with its sixth EP “I Feel,” according to the latest chart rankings announced on Wednesday in the US. The album came out on May 15 and topped the iTunes top albums chart in 18 regions. It sold over 1.16 million copies in the first week, the fourth-highest first-week sales figure for a K-pop girl group. The lead track “Queencard” debuted on Billboard’s Global 200 at No. 157 last week and climbed up to No. 38 this week. Separat

K-pop June 1, 2023

SHINee will meet fans at its sixth standalone concert in Seoul on June 23-25, according to label SM Entertainment on Wednesday. The concert, titled “Perfect Illumination,” will see the veterans go live in front of fans at home for the first time in over 6 1/2 years. Its most recent live gig was the online concert “SHINee World” held more than two years ago. The last day’s performance will be livestreamed online for fans from around the world. Over the weekend, the

K-pop May 31, 2023

Enhypen’s fourth EP, “Dark Blood,” headed straight to the top of Oricon’s weekly album ranking, according to the latest chart published on Tuesday. The mini album did so with only three day’s sales at 165,000 copies. The band placed six consecutive albums atop the chart, the second-best record for an international artist, said Oricon in an article online. The band ties with BTS and is only topped by Tomorrow X Together, which has seven. “Dark Blood” lan

K-pop May 30, 2023

Blackpink has amassed 1.8 billion views on YouTube with the music video for “Kill This Love,” according to YG Entertainment on Friday. It is the group’s second video to reach the milestone, following “Ddu-du Ddu-du.” The foursome is the first K-pop act to have two videos achieve the feat. “Kill This Love” is the titular track from its 2019 EP that hit the Billboard 200 at No. 24. The single also ranked No. 41 on its Hot 100 chart. Both were records for

K-pop May 26, 2023

Stray Kids reached 400 million views with the music video for “God’s Menu,” said label JYP Entertainment on Wednesday. It is the band’s first video to reach the milestone and has been setting records in YouTube viewings for the band. It is also the first music video from the so-called fourth-generation K-pop boy bands. The eight-member act has nine music videos with over 100 million total views on the platform. “God’s Menu” fronted the group's first ful

K-pop May 24, 2023

Stray Kids will hold its third fan meet event in Seoul on July 1-2, announced label JYP Entertainment on Tuesday. Titled “Pilot: For Five-Star,” the eight bandmates will meet fans in person over two days, and the second day’s live performance will be broadcast online as well. Its last fan meeting was held around 1 1/2 years ago. The event was named after its third studio album, “Five-Star,” which is due out on June 2. The album consists of 12 tracks including main

K-pop May 23, 2023

Seventeen will host concerts in Seoul on July 21-22, announced agency Pledis Entertainment on Monday. It has been about 13 months since it went live in Seoul kicking off its third international tour. The live shows will be broadcast online as well. In the meantime, the 13-member act is set to greet its fans in Japan at its fan meet event held at Tokyo Dome on May 27-28. It met a total of 80,000 fans at the Osaka fan meet held last week at Kyocera Dome. The band also performed songs from its lat

K-pop May 22, 2023

Stray Kids teamed up with veteran hip-hop musician Tiger JK. The band uploaded a teaser trailer for “Topline,” the fifth track from its upcoming third full album, on Friday. It starts with Han rapping and shows the eight members before focusing on Tiger JK. The song is written by 3Racha -- songwriting trio of Bang Chan, Changbin and Han -- that performed together with the senior last year at MAMA Awards. LP “5-Star” is due out on June 2 and consists of 12 tracks includin

K-pop May 19, 2023

Ren, formerly of NU’EST, will bring out his first solo album next month, according to a local media report on Thursday. Agency Big Planet Made Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. He debuted in 2012 as a member of the boy band, which disbanded last year, and has dropped a series of solo songs including “Loco” from last year as well as “Paradise” and “Rocket Rocket,” but it will be his first full-fledged effort as a solo musician. The p

K-pop May 18, 2023

Suga of BTS maintained a spot on the Billboard 200 for the third week with his solo album, “D-Day,” according to the latest chart published on Tuesday in the US. It debuted on the chart at No. 2, tying the record for a K-pop solo artist set by bandmate Jimin. The album ranked No. 36 in its third week. The EP also sat at No. 3 on its world albums chart, No. 5 on its top album sales and top current albums chart, and No. 8 on top rap albums chart. “D-Day” is the final insta

K-pop May 17, 2023

Jungkook of BTS generated 1.1 billion streams on Spotify on his own in the shortest time for a K-pop solo artist. He was recognized by the Guinness World Records for surpassing 1 billion streams on the platform in record time for a K-pop male solo artist on March 27, and added another 100 million to that tally in 44 days. Jungkook has been setting records with Spotify streams with just three solo songs: “Stay Alive,” a theme song for webtoon “7Fates: Chakho,” the Charlie

K-pop May 16, 2023

Girl group aespa sold more than 1.69 million units of its third EP, breaking the first week sales record for a K-pop girl group, according to label SM Entertainment on Monday. This dethrones Blackpink, whose second full-length album “Born Pink” logged 1.54 million copies in September last year. The EP “My World” sold more than 1.8 million albums in pre-orders and over 1.37 million on the day of release, another record for a K-pop girl group. The quartet has been touring

K-pop May 15, 2023

BTS will release an autobiography in July, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing American publisher Flatiron Books. The publishing company confirmed the news by sharing the article on its official social media account. The book, titled “Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record of BTS,” is penned by journalist Kang Myeong-seok and the seven members of the K-pop jugganaut, with the English translation by Anton Hur, in collaboration with Clare Richards and Slin Jung. The Korean editi

K-pop May 12, 2023

Girl group Billlie will officially debut in Japan on May 17 with the single “GingaMingaYo (the strange world) – Japanese ver.),” according to agency Mystic Story on Thursday. It uploaded a group photograph of the bandmates coordinated in blue tones on the day. The titular track from the upcoming single is a Japanese-language version of its hit song from last year. The seven-member act will host a showcase in Tokyo on May 20 and will also greet fans at a series of in-person eve

K-pop May 11, 2023

Lucas of NCT told fans that he is leaving the band, as well as WayV, he said on social media on Wednesday, approximately two years after he suspended activities. “After a long consideration, I’ve decided to quit groups NCT and WayV,” he wrote in Chinese. He said he feels really sorry and bad to leave his bandmates who have been together for almost eight years. He reiterated that this was the "best decision" for all of them, and that he will soon be back on his own. H

K-pop May 10, 2023