Baek-seung’s pick was “Love Virus.” “It sings about love spreading, and it’ll make you feel better when you’re down or feeling lonely,” he explained. Meanwhile, “Traveller” is like a fan song, MU said, saying it would suit any winter playlists. “The album has different songs ready for different moods. ‘Do 4 Me’ is for when you’re in up for something fun, while ‘Love Virus’ is a song to play wh...

CJ ENM, the entertainment arm of conglomerate CJ Group, conducted a panel on the future of K-pop and laid out the company’s blueprint in the US during a countdown event to 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Los Angeles. The event, held on Tuesday in CGV theater in LA, was attended by CJ ENM America CEO, Angela Killoren, CJ ENM director of US music business, Jake Hong, Apple Music’s radio host, Broo...

K-pop supergroup BTS will be unable to attend the 2021 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMAs) scheduled for next week as the members have to go through COVID-19 isolation upon arrival from the United States due to tightened quarantine rules. The government decided to place all overseas arrivals under a 10-day quarantine for two weeks starting Friday, regardless of their nationalities and vaccination st...

“Best of the best players in soccer are usually categorized as ‘best 11,’ and the same idea applies to our group. Ive is a group with the best members, so we made our debut as a sextet. And we will keep on expanding our trendy tunes and stage performance to cement our presence in the music scene,” she said. Leading the album is title track, “Eleven,” which Won-young described as “a pop-dance-bas...

An independent music label under Hybe, the K-pop powerhouse behind boy band BTS, announced a plan Wednesday to hold its first global audition aimed at launching next-generation boy bands and girl groups. According to All Doors One Room (ADOR), anyone born between 2002 and 2010 can apply for an audition from Wednesday to Jan. 10, regardless of their nationality and country of residence. Since th...

Tuesday marks Kai’s first anniversary as a soloist, but he said he had never intended to release his second album on the same day. “It seems like yesterday that I dropped my first-ever solo print, and yet I’m celebrating my one-year anniversary today -- the way how time flies surprises me. I should’ve put out an album earlier, but I needed to devote more of my time and effort to release a better...

Universal Music Korea’s first K-pop act aims to stand out in competitive landscape

LOS ANGELES – Witnessing the emotional reunion of K-pop titans BTS with their fans in Los Angeles, it was clear that the two years apart left their bond not just completely unscathed, but stronger than ever. “I really wanted to say I missed you, and we know how hard things were for you, how thankful I am. In Korea, we didn’t have any fans and performed in front of the camera. I really shouldn’t ...

Designer Seo Seung-yeon’s wedding dresses become inspiration for K-pop stage outfits

Stray Kids put out “Christmas EveL” on Monday to celebrate the winter holiday season with fans. “I’m so happy that many can listen to Stray Kids’ first season song. I wish you can spend this Christmas warm with our new song,” said Bang Chan in a statement. The bandmates spent a long time thinking about how to express the seasonal theme in an original way, especially since it is their firs...

K-pop band holds global conference for “Permission to Dance on Stage” in Los Angeles

K-pop sensation BTS conducted a global press conference at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday, after opening the curtains to the “Permission to Dance on Stage” concert series the previous night. The seven bandmates -- RM, V, Jimin, Suga, Jungkook, Jin and J-Hope -- shared their emotions and thoughts after reuniting with their global fans, known collectively as Army, in person for the first ti...

RM, leader of the K-pop sensation BTS, said Sunday (US time) he felt there is an "invisible wall" for Korean artists despite the group's back-to-back success in the global music industry. The remark was seen as referring to the group's failure to win nomination for the top four Grammys despite a series of dazzling successes, such as producing back-to-back Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers and winn...

The long-awaited concert kicked off on Saturday night, as concertgoers filled up SoFi Stadium. The venue became a small universe unto itself, with fans of all ages, genders, ethnicities and styles, coming together with a shared love for BTS and excitement for their monumental reunion. Ayda, who said she “became a solid Army in 2018” after seeing them at the United Nations, was set to celebrate h...

The Korea Creative Content Agency and state-run broadcaster KBS are joining hands to present immersive K-pop shows for Hallyu fans around the world, featuring augmented reality and extended reality content. The state agency and broadcaster presented Friday’s episode of the popular KBS K-pop program “Music Bank” to 114 countries on KBS 2TV, KBS World TV and the KBS World YouTube channel. The titl...