IKON’s Bobby dropped his second solo studio album Monday. In “Lucky Man,” he sings of the diverse emotions he experienced in his youth. “The key was threading the tracks into an agreeable story. I worked on arranging the order of the songs and the lyrics so that they could make listeners want to listen to the next song when they finish the previous song on the track list,” Bobby said during a press conference held in Seoul on Monday ahead of the album’s rele

D.O., member of K-pop boy band EXO, has completed his mandatory military service and was officially discharged Monday. D.O., whose legal name is Doh Kyung-soo, was recently on his final leave and was discharged without having to return to his base, according to the military's COVID-19 guidelines, according to SM Entertainment. In a handwritten note posted on fan community Lysn, the 28-year-old thanked fans for waiting and said he will do his best in upcoming activities. D.O., who enlisted in

Fans looking forward to the solo debuts of BLACKPINK members Rose and Lisa can get a glimpse of Rose's solo material in the quartet's online concert this weekend. Rose is set to perform her first solo song during BLACKPINK's online concert "The Show" scheduled for Sunday, YG Entertainment said Monday, adding the singer wanted to first share the song with her fans on stage. The agency said it plans to officially announce Rose's solo debut schedule soon as post-production for her music

K-pop dynamo BTS is set to drop a new edition of its hit album "BE" next month, the band's agency said Monday. The new edition, titled the "Essential Edition," will drop on Feb. 19, according to Big Hit Entertainment. BTS initially released the "Deluxe Version" of "BE" in November. The agency explained the new edition is a way for BTS to thank their fans for the historic milestones the group has achieved, such as topping the Billboard Hot 100 and getting

The music video for "Dynamite," the historic BTS song that topped the Billboard's main singles chart last year, has earned 800 million YouTube views, the band's agency said Sunday. YouTube views for "Dynamite" hit 800 million views at 12:26 p.m. on Sunday, becoming the septet's sixth music video to reach the milestone, according to Big Hit Entertainment. The feat came just a month after it earned 700 million views, it added. "Dynamite," an upbeat disco-pop track t

Singer-songwriter Sunwoo Jung-a sings of living together in new single

Two talent management agency executives have been sentenced to fines on charges of rigging votes on a popular K-pop audition program in which their trainees were competing, judicial sources said Friday. According to the sources, the Seoul Central District Court has slapped Kim Kwang-soo, the founder and chief production director of MBK Entertainment, with a fine of 10 million won ($9,090) on account of business obstruction. Another man surnamed Park, the CEO of Pocketdol Studio, which is a sub

South Korean online gaming giant NCSOFT Corp. said Thursday that it will launch its K-pop fan platform globally next week. The platform, named Universe, will be simultaneously available on Google's Android and Apple's iOS devices on Jan. 28, NCSOFT said. Universe allows users to enjoy different K-pop content on mobile devices through the gaming firm's latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology. More than 4 million K-pop fans around the world have already pre-registered in 188 countries, N

Rookie K-pop act TREASURE is set to release its first full album in Japan in March, officially debuting in the Asian country, its agency said Thursday. "The First Step: TREASURE Effect," set to drop on March 31, is a Japanese version of the band's debut full album and carries 13 tracks sung in Japanese, according to YG Entertainment. Apart from the 12 songs included in the Korean version of the album, it also includes "Beautiful," the band's first song sung only in Japanese

Baekhyun, the lead singer of K-pop boy group EXO, will release his first solo album in Japan this week, his agency said Tuesday. His first Japanese EP, titled "BAEKHYUN," is set to hit Japan on Wednesday, according to SM Entertainment. It is his first time to release a Japanese album as a solo artist since his debut in 2015. The main track of the love-themed album will be "Get You Alone," which was first performed during his first solo concert held on Jan. 3 and pre-releas

Musicians end seven-year contract with JYP Entertainment

Sending a message of hope has always been the backbone of Epik High’s music career spanning over 17 years. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, but the trio has never been so eager to reach out to and comfort listeners in this distressing time. “I’d once sworn that we wouldn’t release an album with two CDs anymore. But we couldn’t help but do it because there were so many stories we wanted to share,” said DJ Tukutz during the band’s self-hosted onl

K-pop soloist IU is set to release the new single "Celebrity" later this month ahead of releasing her long-awaited fifth studio album, her agency said Friday. The song, which Edam Entertainment described as an "upbeat pop sound track that IU will be experimenting with for the first time," will drop on Jan. 27. A teaser image for the upcoming single showed IU standing in between light green-colored doors, donning an elegant peach-colored gown and sparkly jewelry. "Cele

Jennie, the singer-rapper of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, has earned over 600 million views on YouTube with her 2018 hit song "Solo," her agency said Friday. The music video for her first solo single hit the milestone at around 5:19 a.m., some 26 months after its release in November 2018, according to YG Entertainment. With the feat, Jennie has become the first South Korean solo female artist to have a 600 million-view music video on the global video-sharing website. "Solo,"

Superstar BTS has swept the 2021 Gaon Chart Music Awards with six trophies for its successful albums and songs released last year. At the annual awards ceremony held virtually on Wednesday due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the K-pop act won three trophies in the "Artist of the Year - Digital Music" category and two in the "Artist of the Year - Physical Album" category. The awards are given to 12 digital songs that topped the chart each month and four physical albums that