[Today’s K-pop] TXT logs 100m views with ‘Back for More’ music video

Tomorrow X Together’s music video for “Back for More (with Anitta)” garnered 100 million views on YouTube Sunday, label Big Hit Music said Monday. It is the band’s eighth video to reach the milestone. The Latin pop-imbued song featuring Brazilian songstress is a prerelease from its third studio album “The Name Chapter: Freefall,” which came out in October 2023. The LP hit Billboard 200 at No. 3 and stayed on the main albums chart for five weeks in a row. It topped iTunes Top Albums Chart in 17 r

Jan. 13, 2025

Hearts2Hearts, SM's latest girl group, to debut in February

SM's first new girl group in 5 years revealed at SM Town Live 2025 Hearts2Hearts, SM Entertainment’s newest girl group, is set for a highly anticipated debut on Feb. 24. SM surprised the audience by unveiling a teaser video announcing the group’s debut at the SM Town Live 2025 concert held at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome on Sunday. The name Hearts2Hearts signifies the aspiration to connect with global fans through a unique, enchanting musical world, fostering a sense of togetherness and unity. Compr

Jan. 13, 2025

SM Town Live shows past, present, future of K-pop

From legendary 1st generation K-pop singers to today's top stars and trainees, SM presents 30-year legacy SM Entertainment marked its 30th anniversary with the grand "SM Town Live 2025" concert, a dazzling two-day celebration at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul. Held under the theme "The Culture, The Future," the event showcased the legacy and vision of one of K-pop's most iconic agencies, drawing 40,000 fans and reaching a global audience through live broadcasts on Beyond Live and Weverse. Th

Jan. 13, 2025

Taemin expands world tour, announces encore concerts

Taemin's world tour "Ephemeral Gaze" to hit 29 cities in 20 countries Taemin revealed additional stops for his solo world tour. Big Planet Made Entertainment announced on Sunday via its official social media channels that additional stops have been added to Taemin’s ongoing world tour, “Ephemeral Gaze.” The newly confirmed performances will take place in Brussels, Belgium on March 15, Manchester, UK on March 18, and Honolulu, USA on March 22. The tour, which has received an enthusiastic response

Jan. 12, 2025

From balloons to light sticks, fans' cheering evolves

K-pop fans often arrive at concerts carrying bags filled with essentials: banners to support their idols, water and snacks to endure the long performance, and, most importantly, the iconic light sticks. These customized light sticks, crafted to embody each artist's or group's unique identity and style, have become an essential part of the K-pop concert experience and a powerful symbol of fan solidarity. "When you're surrounded by people holding the same light stick, all glowing in the same color

Jan. 11, 2025

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Jennie graces cover of Billboard magazine

Jennie of Blackpink fronted the January issue of Billboard magazine on her own. The cover photo accompanies an in-depth interview with the artist, who is poised to release a new solo album. “It’s a fight between me, myself and I,” she admitted in the interview, adding that as a “self-described workaholic” and a “perfectionist,” she is “not easy to convince … It’s not easy working with me.” Jennie is preparing to release her first album in 11 months, as she said in a video posted last month. She

Jan. 10, 2025

Virtual idol Plave to drop 3rd EP 'Caligo Pt.1' on Feb. 3

Quintet to unveil preview of physical album for first time to give early look at design, components Virtual K-pop idol Plave is set to return with a new album, "Caligo Pt.1," on Feb. 3, marking the quintet's first release in nearly six months since their digital single "Pump Up The Volume!" in August last year. On Thursday, the group dropped a snippet of its third EP on its official social media account by releasing a "coming soon" image and a promotion schedule for its upcoming musical portfoli

Jan. 10, 2025

Kim Wan-sun, Red Velvet's Seulgi to present collaboration

New dance track 'Lucky' sings of courage, hope Legendary singer Kim Wan-sun announced a fresh collaboration with Red Velvet’s Seulgi, delivering courage and energy to listeners. Kim and Seulgi’s duet song “Lucky” will be released on Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. The music video is expected to showcase their chemistry that transcends their 25-year age difference. The dance track with the message that walking away from a relationship can be a blessing in disguise was written, composed, arranged and produced b

Jan. 9, 2025

BTS’ J-Hope to host solo concert in Seoul: report

J-Hope of BTS will hold a concert on his own in Seoul on Feb. 28 and March 1-2, according to local media reports Thursday. The announcement for the solo show was uploaded on a Korean ticket seller on the day but was taken down soon after, likely for making corrections. It will be the first concert from a member of the septet which is expected to make a full-group return within this year after everyone completes serving their military duty. J-Hope was discharged in October last year and wrote on

Jan. 9, 2025

Davolink chairman admits discussing poaching NewJeans with ex-Ador CEO Min Hee-jin

Min allegedly proposed 5 billion won ($3.43 million) investment in NewJeans to Park Davolink Chairman Park Jung-kyu has disclosed details of a secret meeting with former Ador CEO Min Hee-jin, during which they discussed removing NewJeans from their current agency and securing investments for the group, a local media outlet reported Thursday. This revelation comes after Min denied the existence of such a meeting last month, following reports about her alleged attempts to move NewJeans to Davolink

Jan. 9, 2025

Seo Eve showcases heart of teenager in 'They Never Know'

12-year-old content creator looks to continue music career Seo Eve, a 12-year-old content creator who rose to fame last year with her hit debut single “Malatanghulu,” is back with a third single. This time, she combines her unique charm with complex teenage emotions. Her new song, “They Never Know,” is a remake of the theme song from the 1988 movie of the same name. The song conveys a child’s longing for genuine care and love from adults, rather than material gifts. While retaining the playful a

Jan. 9, 2025

Stray Kids to host fan meetup next month

Stray Kids announced its fifth official fan meetup Wednesday via label JYP Entertainment. A poster for SKZ 5’Clock showed that the eight members will greet fans at Inspire Arena in Incheon on Feb. 14-16. The last day’s event will be livestreamed as well. This specifies the yearlong plan the band put out Monday, which also includes resuming world tour dominATE from March. It is slated to visit 20 cities across the world from Santiago, Chile and Los Angeles to Paris and London. Last month, the oct

Jan. 8, 2025

New Japanese Breakfast album for the downhearted

Korean-American singer-songwriter delves into deep melancholy Korean-American singer-songwriter Michelle Chongmi Zauner, who leads Japanese Breakfast, is set to return with a new full-length album after four years. Japanese Breakfast will release its fourth studio album, "For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women)," on March 21. The album was recorded at the renowned Sound City studio in Los Angeles and produced by Grammy Award winner Blake Mills, who has collaborated with music legends such as Bob

Jan. 8, 2025

SM's 30th-anniversary concerts reveal discord at K-pop pioneer

industry insiders speculate there wasn’t enough time to satisfy everyone Amid growing complaints from senior idols at SM Entertainment about the company’s upcoming 30th-anniversary concerts, fans and industry insiders speculate that the perceived lack of support for long-standing artists could be fueling internal discord. The “SMTown Live 2025 in Seoul” concerts are set to take place at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Saturday and Sunday. Just two days after Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon and Red Velv

Jan. 8, 2025

Nmixx's Tiny Desk Korea performance featured on NPR Music YouTube

Six-member group becomes the first K-pop girl group to appear on NPR Music's main YouTube channel Girl group Nmixx has set a milestone, becoming the first K-pop girl group to be featured on NPR Music's main YouTube channel with its "Tiny Desk Korea" performance. "Tiny Desk Korea" is a live performance content series featuring musicians and bands. officially licensed by NPR (National Public Radio), the renowned American public radio network behind the original "Tiny Desk Concerts." The series cap

Jan. 8, 2025