Koyote marks 25th anniversary with new single 'Wish'

Veteran dance music trio Koyote on Wednesday marked its 25th debut anniversary with a new digital single, “Wish.” “This single can be described as a very ‘Koyote-like’ single, a song that describes our music style very well. It is a powerful dance song but its lyrics are quite sad. Just like our previous songs, this song is also easy to sing along to,” said Shin Ji of Koyote during a press conference in Seoul on the day of the single’s release. The new s

K-popJuly 13, 2023

BamBam to embark on 1st standalone world tour in September

Thai rapper-singer BamBam of the K-pop boy band GOT7 is to set off on his first standalone world tour titled “Area 52” in September. Area 52 refers to unexplored places around the world. The tour is expected to offer a fruitful set list of newly arranged tracks and performances, according to label Abyss Company on Thursday. BamBam plans to have special performances that can only be seen at his solo concerts. The world tour will kick off at the Olympic Hall in Seoul on Sept. 16. BamBa

K-popJuly 13, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Lisa may leave label: report

Lisa of Blackpink might not renew her contract with label YG Entertainment that expires next month, according to a local media report on Wednesday. The two parties have not been able to reach an agreement and a Chinese agency which requested to remain anonymous tipped off the media that the label told the company that it cannot arrange an activity for the artist from August and on due to the uncertainty surrounding the contract. YG Entertainment said that it was because of the group’s tou

K-popJuly 12, 2023

Mamamoo Plus to drop 1st EP 'Two Rabbits' next month

Mamamoo Plus, a subunit of K-pop girl group Mamamoo, returns with new music on Aug. 3. The duo of Sola and Moonbyul will drop first mini album “Two Rabbits,” according to RBW, the agency that houses Mamamoo Plus, on Wednesday. Sola and Moonbyul came up with the name of the album as they each hope to be as clever as a rabbit, overcoming difficulties wisely to expand their musical and conceptual spectrum. The two say they took an active role in making the album to present music worth l

K-popJuly 12, 2023

Sandara Park returns to music scene, ends 6-year hiatus

K-pop solo artist Sandara Park is finally back in the music scene with a digital mini album that dropped on Wednesday. The new album, “Sandara Park,” is the artist’s first solo album, coming six years after 2NE1’s final single, “Goodbye,” was released in January 2017. Sandara Park had been a member of the now defunct 2NE1 since their debut in 2009. The concept of this new album that Sandara Park prepared especially for her fans, is inviting the solo artist&rsq

K-popJuly 12, 2023

Nmixx returns with summer song produced by Park Jin-young

JYP girl group Nmixx on Tuesday returned to the stage with its third single album, “A Midsummer Nmixx’s Dream.” The new single album carries lead track “Party O’Clock” along with “Roller Coaster,” which was released prior to the official album drop. “The storyline from our first mini album ‘expergo’ continues into this new album in which we finally meet with Nswers (the group's official fandom, pronounced 'answers')

K-popJuly 12, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen garners 100m views with ‘Super’ music video

Seventeen has already received 100 million views on YouTube for the music video for “Super,” according to agency Pledis Entertainment on Tuesday. The video was unveiled on April 24 and hit the mark in 78 days, a record for the band. It is the sixth video from the 13-member act to reach the milestone, following those for “Don’t Wanna Cry,” “Clap,” “Very Nice,” “Left ＆ Right” and “Hot.” “Super” is one of the

K-popJuly 11, 2023

Jin of BTS named 'elite soldier,' gets early promotion

Jin of BTS announced on Weverse, a social platform the band uses to communicate with fans, that he was promoted to corporal two months earlier than scheduled after receiving the "elite soldier" title. In South Korea, all men deemed physically eligible between the ages of 18 and 35 are required to serve in the military. Jin is currently serving as an assistant instructor at a front-line infantry division boot camp in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, since last December. He was the first of

K-popJuly 11, 2023

Zerobaseone blooms with debut album, making all-time record

Zerobaseone, a group that consists of nine artists chosen through Mnet’s idol survival program, “Boys Planet,” made its grand debut on Monday. “We’ve dreamed of this debut for so long. We prepared a lot for this debut, hoping to show enhanced performance and vocal skills to our fans and the public,” said Gyuvin of Zerobaseone during a press conference in Seoul on the day of its debut. “We were able to debut thanks to the interest and support of many peop

K-popJuly 11, 2023

Two candidates unveiled for SM’s new NCT subunit pre-debut reality show

SM Entertainment on Monday unveiled some of the trainees taking part in its pre-debut reality show, “NCT Universe: LASTART.” The trainees unveiled go by the names Riku and Ryo, while eight more trainees are set to be revealed in the coming weeks. These trainees are candidates who will debut as NCT’s new subgroup, one of the three new groups that the K-pop powerhouse plans to launch this year. Through the pre-debut reality show, SM will show the process of evaluating the 10 can

K-popJuly 11, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] EXO’s 7th LP sells over 1.6m copies in pre-orders

The seventh studio album from EXO sold more than 1.6 million units in pre-orders, a record for the band. The LP “Exist” debuted Monday, over two years since the release of its special album “Don’t Fight The Feeling.” Its previous LP was “Obsession” that came out in November 2019. The new album was supposed to be the band’s full-group effort, but Kai will be absent from the promotional activities, as he was unexpectedly summoned to serve his milita

K-popJuly 10, 2023

EXO returns after 2 year hiatus with 7th LP “Exist”

Legendary K-pop group EXO is back, releasing its seventh studio album “Exist” on Monday. It is the first group effort in over two years since the release of the special album, “Don’t Fight the Feeling.” Prior to its official release, “Exist” had racked up a total of 1.6 million pre-order sales as of Sunday, according to SM Entertainment. The new album is led by the title track “Cream Soda,” which is of the pop dance genre composed with rhythm

K-popJuly 10, 2023

Attempts to poach popular K-pop artists nothing new

Allegations and controversy surrounding Fifty Fifty continue, but the group is not the first K-pop group to face suspicions over a potential buyout after rising to stardom in the competitive music industry. “Poaching members of a group or attempts to breach their exclusive contracts have been ongoing in the entertainment industry for a long time. These practices have impeded normal business activities, resulting in irreversible consequences for both the company and its artists,” said

K-popJuly 10, 2023

BTS' Jungkook to perform in 'Good Morning America' 2023 Summer Concert Series

Jungkook of K-pop megastar BTS will headline this year's "Good Morning America" Summer Concert Series, an annual summer concert hosted by the famous U.S. morning talk show. The vocalist will open the concert on July 14 at New York's Central Park with "Seven," his first official solo song set to come out earlier that day, the show's broadcaster ABC said on social media Friday (US time). It will be Jungkook's first performance in the annual event as a solo a

K-popJuly 8, 2023

Infinite joins second-generation boy band comeback rush

K-pop boy band Infinite is returning as a full group this month, amid the rush of veteran boy band comebacks. The band's agency, Infinite Co., on Friday heralded the six-piece's long-awaited comeback for July 31 with a poster in black and gold. The sextet's return comes five years after it released its last album, its third LP "Top Seed," in 2018. This is the first time the group is getting together following its departure from its former agency Woolim Entertainment unde

K-popJuly 7, 2023

Tomorrow X Together teams up with Jonas Brothers

Tomorrow X Together has unveiled a collaboration with US pop group Jonas Brothers. The K-pop quintet on Friday afternoon dropped its collaborative single with Jonas Brothers, "Do It Like That." The song and its music video was released globally at 1 p.m. The rhythmical dance pop tune gives out summer vibes as it spells out the enchanting feelings of fledgling love. The band, also known as TXT, said via Big Hit Music on Friday that "it will be the best summer song of 2023." &q

K-popJuly 7, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] TXT tops Oricon chart with 2nd Japan LP

Tomorrow X Together's second Japanese studio album placed atop Oricon’s daily album rankings dated for July 4, according to the chart announced Tuesday. LP “Sweet” also was No. 1 on Line Music’s real-time albums chart, as was the music video for main track “Sugar Rush Ride (Japanese Ver.)” on its weekly music videos chart. Its first LP in Japan, “Still Dreaming” from January 2021, hit the Billboard 200 at No. 173 and landed atop Oricon’s dai

K-popJuly 6, 2023

BTS' Jimin tops as K-pop soloist on US' Pandora Music

Jimin of the world's biggest K-pop band BTS is setting new records as a Korean solo artist on Pandora Music. Jimin's first breakthrough on the American music streaming platform came on June 27 when he reached 500,000 monthly listeners as the first K-pop soloist to do so. The feat came around three months after his official solo debut in March with his album "Face." The number soared to 594,000 listeners on June 30, surpassing BTS' 571,000 and setting a new all-time high

K-popJuly 6, 2023

Le Sserafim tops sales among rookie artists in Japan in the first half

Japan's Oricon named Le Sserafim as the nation's top-selling rookie artist of the first half of the year. Oricon, the biggest music chart provider in Japan, on Thursday announced that the five-piece topped album sales among the new artists in the local market dated between Dec. 12 and June 11. Since 2018, Oricon has been releasing the ranking based on the compiled sales of the artist's physical singles and albums, as well as streams, Blu-rays and DVDs. "Le Sserafim logged sal

K-popJuly 6, 2023

EXO to open pop-up store in Seoul to promote upcoming album

EXO is opening a pop-up store in time for the release of its seventh LP, “EXIST.” According to SM Entertainment on Thursday, EXO’s pop-up store “EXOcial Club -- Cream Soda” will be open from July 11 to Aug. 6 at the D Museum and Understand Avenue in Seoul. The concept of this pop-up store is “Cream Soda,” which is also the name of the title track of EXO’s upcoming LP. There will be a photo zone similar to the “Cream Soda” music video se

K-popJuly 6, 2023