K-pop Herald, an in-house unit under the nation’s largest English daily The Korea Herald, held the first-ever “Herald K Awards with Twitter” to celebrate the global popularity of K-pop. Officially supported by Twitter, a total of 25 K-pop acts took awards in five categories: My Solo, an award for the best singer-turned-soloist; My Boys, the best male group; My Girls, the best female group; My Song, the song of the year award; and My Rookie, the rookie of the year. Voting for

K-pop Sept. 26, 2022

On May 30, thousands of fans flocked to The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido during the early morning hours to line up for Stray Kids’ pop-up store. A long single-file queue at Yeouido Station Exit No. 3 connecting the department store to the subway station was jam-packed, hours before the event opened its doors at 10 a.m. Dubbed “Stray Kids x SKZOO Pop-up Store ‘The Victory’ in Seoul,” the animal character-themed set was designed after the boy band. According to JYP Entert

K-pop Sept. 21, 2022

Seven months after making its debut, JYP Entertainment’s rookie girl group NMIXX beckoned music listeners to revel in its second digital single, “ENTWURF,” released Monday evening, just right in time for the new season. This marks a return for the act since it threw its hat into the ring with its debut single “Ad Mare” on Feb. 22. The band’s latest musical project is a follow-up to its debut single. The title of the seven-member act’s debut album transla

K-pop Sept. 19, 2022

Like the way hyphens connect differently to make new meanings, Enhypen was formed in September 2020 through TV competition “I-Land.” True to their words, the boy band populated the 4,000-seat venue Saturday night to signal the start of its first world tour, “Manifesto.” A sign in light-emitting diodes of “Enhypen World Tour Manifesto” beckoned Engenes, the group’s official fandom, who flocked to the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium. And as the sold-out aren

K-pop Sept. 19, 2022

Girl group Kara will make a long-awaited comeback in November in celebration of its 15th anniversary. After rumors that the K-pop act is gearing for a return, the band’s agency RBW confirmed Monday that the band will drop a new album sometime in November. “Since the new musical project is to celebrate the band’s 15th anniversary and is coming out after a long hiatus, we plan to fully support the members in gifting their fans with new music as much as possible,” the agency

K-pop Sept. 19, 2022

Blackpink is officially back in your area. The global K-pop sensation is back with its second LP, which dropped Friday. Aptly titled “Born Pink,” the eight-song set is born out of confidence, wildness, and slick, groovy and seasoned music. With YG Entertainment producer Teddy at the helm along with 24, Danny Chung, Bekuh Boom and R.Tee, it was clear why it took two years for Blackpink to return with "Born Pink" and why it was worth the wait. Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo and Rose, wh

K-pop Sept. 16, 2022

As a new season is right around the corner, K-pop sensation Blackpink is returning with a new batch of songs to fill the soft breeze of fall. After a 23-month hiatus, girl group Blackpink is making grand return with its second LP, “Born Pink.” Ahead of the album's release on Friday, the four bandmates shared their thoughts and musical ideas that went into their upcoming music project via an official press release. Ji-soo says she's just as excited for fans to hear the new

K-pop Sept. 15, 2022

The first music video to reach 1 billion views on YouTube, the most-streamed group on global music platform Spotify and the bestselling foreign touring act in Japan -- these are feats achieved by K-pop stars Psy, BTS and TVXQ, respectfully. A handful of years ago, entering the Billboard charts was a tough milestone, especially for non-English-speaking artists or those outside the US market. But recently, Korean singers have created a space for themselves on the charts and in the world’s bi

K-pop Sept. 14, 2022

Less than two months since its debut, NewJeans is taking the music world by storm with its namesake debut album, setting new records on Spotify, the world’s largest streaming platform. According to the music platform, the rookie band reached the highest number of monthly listeners on Spotify among fourth-generation K-pop bands, garnering more than 8.8 million listeners over the past 28 days. NewJeans also became the first K-pop act to log a debut track on the global music platform’s

K-pop Sept. 12, 2022

Global K-pop sensation Blackpink is ready to open a new era of K-pop with its second LP, “Born Pink,” which hits global music platforms on Sept. 16. On Wednesday, YG Entertainment released a poster emblazoned “Shut Down,” the title of its upcoming lead track. “There’s a special form of intuition in the track and it also gives a mysterious ambiance. As the term ‘shut down’ is synonymous with the act of stopping an operation or activity, it makes

K-pop Sept. 7, 2022

Right in time for the autumn breeze and the changing of seasons, boy band Oneus hopped on the September music craze lineup with its eighth EP, “Malus,” released Monday evening. This marks a return for the K-pop act for the first time in four months since its last musical project, “Trickster,” released in May. “I believe it’s the first time showing our slinky and seductive side since our debut. I know how meaningful it is for us to be able to showcase our so

K-pop Sept. 5, 2022

Comfortable in a pair of sneakers and a T-shirt, SMMT has been soaking up the spotlight as a globe-trotting DJ. Not much is known about him, but concertgoers will see him mixing live sessions for local rappers pH-1 and Sik-K and taking over the deck at parties. He’s also a member of Yelows Mob, a music crew helmed by Sik-K. Born Jung Sung-min, SMMT is one of the faces under H1ghr Music with a unique background. He kicked into gear as a DJ at 20. In 2020, he earned his first credit as a p

Performance Sept. 5, 2022

Spotify, the world’s largest music streaming platform, has rebranded its flagship Korean hip-hop playlist “K-Hip-Hop+82” to “KrOWN,” the company said Wednesday. K-Hip-Hop +82 was first launched in April 2017 as Spotify’s first-ever editorial playlist focusing on South Korea’s East-meets-West music. The playlist on the platform presents the latest and most famous Korean hip-hop tracks on the playlist. The word is a coined term combining “Korea,&r

K-pop Sept. 1, 2022

Less than a month since its debut, NewJeans, the first girl group from Ador, an independent label under Hybe, is taking the music world by storm. Seventeen days after dropping its namesake digital debut album on Aug. 1, the band’s title track “Attention” rose to No. 51 on the Billboard Global Excl. US chart, which ranks songs based on streaming and/or sales activity from more than 200 territories around the globe, excluding the US. The group’s name stems from a class

K-pop Aug. 25, 2022

Boy band CIX has rounded out the summer by finally deciphering the code to its “OK” series. The quintet dropped its 5th EP “OK’ Episode 1: OK Not” on Monday evening. This marks the boy band’s first return to the local music world since the release of its first LP “‘Ok’ Prologue: Be OK” in August 2021. “We’ve poured all we got into this project because it’s been a year since we last released an album. From settling

K-pop Aug. 22, 2022