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British K-pop group Dear Alice returns with 'Sweet'

SM Entertainment’s first-ever British boy group, Dear Alice, is back with a new track. On Friday, the group released its second single “Sweet” across global music platforms. The song is an upbeat and

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aespa scores best song trophy at Music Awards Japan 2025

Aespa picked up the best song Asia trophy at Music Awards Japan 2025 for “Supernova,” according to SM Entertainment on Friday. At the awards ceremony held in Kyoto on Thursday and livestreamed via NHK, the quartet’s smash hit won the vote. “Supernova” was a prerelease and one of two focus tracks from the girl group's first full album “Armageddon,” which topped iTunes top albums charts in 25 regions. The single swept across music charts at home and stayed at No. 1 of Melon’s Top 100 for 15 weeks
May 23, 2025
Mamamoo’s Moonbyul to drop solo single

Moonbyul of Mamamoo will be dropping a solo digital single on June 17, announced agency RBW Entertainment on Friday. Dubbed “Icy Bby,” the single will give fans a taste of her soon-to-be-released album. The news came on the seventh anniversary of her solo career, which began with single album “Selfish.” More recently, she released “Starlit of Twinkle: Repackage” in August last year, a reissue of her first solo studio album, “Starlit of Muse.” The original album topped the iTunes Top Albums chart
May 23, 2025
Le Sserafim adds dates to world tour

Le Sserafim decided to add two shows to its ongoing international tour, agency Source Music announced Thursday. Additional dates have been added to both the Taipei and Hong Kong shows in July, expanding the Asian leg of the tour to a total of 19 shows. The group kicked off its “Easy Crazy Hot” tour last month with a two-day show in Incheon. Next month, it heads to its third Japan stop, Fukuoka, where the group will drop its fourth single, “Different,” on June 24. Heo Yunjin was absent from the t
May 23, 2025
[Exclusive Interview] TikTok becomes K-pop’s launchpad: BTS, Blackpink lead the way

SINGAPORE — TikTok, the short-form video platform owned by ByteDance, is expanding its influence in the music industry — evolving from a space for streaming songs to an active driver of discovery and promotion. In K-pop especially, the platform partners with idols and creators to fuel fan-driven engagement and cross-cultural momentum that goes beyond traditional chart metrics. The Korea Herald recently spoke with Christo Putra, Southeast Asia music and artist partnership lead at TikTok APAC, abo
May 22, 2025
Korea’s digital music market nearly doubles over 4 years: report

Korea’s digital music market has nearly doubled in size over the past four years, according to a new report released by the Korea Music Copyright Association on Thursday. Based on research conducted by accounting firm EY Han Young, the market grew from $692 million in 2019 to nearly $1.32 billion in 2023, marking a 90.5 percent increase. The figures, which combine the value of streaming and digital downloads from major domestic music platforms, highlight a remarkable surge in a relatively short
May 22, 2025
Top Asian artists to gather in Incheon for the 2025 Asian Pop Festival

Some of Asia’s most prominent musicians are set to thrill music fans once again this year. Now in its second year, Asian Pop Festival 2025 will bring together diverse genres of Asian music, featuring over 50 acts from 8 countries across Asia. The festival will unfold simultaneously across various venues in Paradise City in Yeongjongdo, Incheon. The spacious outdoor venue Culture Park will offer a picnic-like atmosphere while the light and sound production at Chroma promises an electrifying conce
May 22, 2025
Daybreak's Summer Madness is back

Daybreak will hold a two-day concert in Seoul on July 5-6, said agency Mystic Story on Thursday. This year's show, titled “Blue,” will be the 11th edition of its annual Summer Madness shows, which began in 2013. The 17-year-old band is hosting "Blue" about six months after its “Semicolon” concert in December last year. After the two-day performance, Daybreak participated in a series of music festivals and teamed up with the band Lucy in March for their joint show, “The Player Season 1.” The band
May 22, 2025
EXO’s D.O to return as solo act: report

D.O of EXO is gearing up for renewed solo activities, according to a local media report Thursday. He is putting together a full album to be released in early July at the latest, the report added. His latest endeavor was third solo EP “Blossom” a year ago. The solo set topped iTunes top albums charts in 36 regions. The track “Mars” landed atop top songs charts in 23 regions, while prerelease “Popcorn” did so in 17. Earlier this year, D.O dropped the winter single “Snowfall at Night,” while just l
May 22, 2025
EXO’s Baekhyun sets solo record with 4th million-seller

The fifth solo EP from Baekhyun exceeded 1 million copies sold in three days, agency INB100 said Wednesday, citing a local tally. “Essence of Reverie” became the artist's fourth million-seller as a solo act, making him the first K-pop solo singer to achieve the feat in the 21st century. Baekhyun's three previous albums — the second to fourth EPs, “Delight,” “Bambi” and “Hello World” — each sold over 1 million copies, but the new mini album set the record in just three days, marking the shortest
May 22, 2025
How TikTok is fighting deepfakes of K-pop idols

SINGAPORE — TikTok’s Transparency and Accountability Center in Singapore on May 13, is a strangely quiet place for a platform that hosts the noise and energy of a billion users. Here, the chaos of global short-form content is filtered, analyzed and — when necessary — stopped before it reaches a single screen. And, increasingly, among the digital debris being swept away are AI-generated deepfake videos targeting K-pop idols. It is an issue whose urgency is increasing. In 2023, cybersecurity firm
May 21, 2025
J-Hope graces cover of Billboard magazine

J-Hope of BTS has landed on the May cover of Billboard Magazine, marking a significant milestone in his solo career. He is the second Korean male solo artist to appear on the magazine's cover following Psy in 2012. BTS as a group previously graced the cover in 2018 and 2021. In the accompanying interview, J-Hope reflected on his goals as a solo musician saying he aims to bring positive energy to listeners and fans. J-Hope continues to prove his unwavering popularity and musicality both as a memb
May 21, 2025
Golden Child members to host solo fan meetups

Lee Jangjun of Golden Child announced Tuesday via his agency that he is planning a meet-and-greet on his own for the first time. He invited fans to the event dubbed "Jangjun Town" which will be held twice in Seoul on June 22. Lee was the main rapper of the band and is appearing in marathon-themed show “Live to Run.” In the meantime, Choi Sungyun will greet fans eight more times in Japan, according to his agency W& Entertainment on Wednesday. He will hold fan meetings twice each day in Osaka on J
May 21, 2025
NewJeans’ Danielle hints at solo collab with Emotional Oranges. Was Ador out of the loop?

A now-deleted social media post has fueled speculation about possible solo activity by Danielle of NewJeans, amid an ongoing contract dispute between the girl group and its agency, Ador. On Monday, American R&B duo Emotional Oranges posted a photo of member Azad Right with Danielle on social media, hinting at a potential collaboration. The image showed Danielle seated in a studio chair while Azad stood behind her, gazing in her direction. The caption read, “Just wait a little bit. Coming soon,”
May 21, 2025
GOT7’s Mark to return as solo act

Mark of GOT7 is gearing up to make a comeback as a solo singer and will release a single in advance on May 30, agency Transparent Arts said Wednesday. The prerelease titled “High As You” is an alternative pop tune that highlights his unique sense of melody as well as performance skills, added the management company which signed with him recently. Mark debuted in 2014 as a member of the seven-piece boy band and has been forging a solo career as well since 2021. He established indie label Dreamers
May 21, 2025
Dane joins Grammys 'ReImagined' series

Rising Korean R&B artist Dane, who is signed with Nostalgiaa Records, was featured in the Grammys’ official YouTube content series "ReImagined" on Wednesday. "ReImagined" invites a new generation of artists to reinterpret Grammy-winning or nominated tracks through their own musical lens. For the project, Dane reimagined Giveon’s “Heartbreak Anniversary,” a track nominated for best R&B song at the 2022 Grammy Awards. With his signature emotive vocals and minimalist arrangement, Dane offers a fres
May 21, 2025

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