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Itzy’s Chaeryeong to release 1st solo set next month
Chaeryeong of Itzy will bring out her first solo effort, the EP “Lovesick,” on Nov. 9, JYP Entertainment announced Monday. A teaser video shows the idol going from indifferent to everything to suddenly developing an interest in “something.” The upcoming mini album will consist of four tracks, including the title track and “Favorite Reason,” for which she participated in writing lyrics. Chaeryeong debuted in 2019 as the main dancer of the five-member group and will be the third member to release
Oct. 19, 2026 -
Katseye hits 1b on Spotify for 1st time with ‘Gabriela’
Katseye exceeded 1 billion streams on Spotify with “Gabriela” on Friday, marking a first for the group in adding its name to the platform’s “Billions Club,” Hybe X Geffen Records announced Sunday. “Gabriela” released in June last year ahead of the group's second EP, “Beautiful Chaos,” entering Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 21, the highest rung for the six-member act at the time. The pop number tinged with Latin vibes spent 28 weeks on the main songs chart. In the UK, it rose to No. 38 in the Offici
Oct. 19, 2026 -
Free K-pop albums? Seoul shop turns fan waste into treasure
Cardboard boxes brimming with K-pop albums sat inside a Seoul shop on Thursday afternoon. Among the offerings were releases from chart-topping idol groups such as NCT and Ive, alongside those of lesser-known acts. Some were bundled with photobooks. Yet every album was free for the taking. Muller, a 24-year-old German tourist and fan of Tomorrow X Together, returned to the shop for a second visit during her weeklong trip to Korea, hoping to pick up more albums as souvenirs for her friends back ho
Oct. 18, 2026 -
Aespa, Ateez lead MMAs lineup, as BTS, Blackpink earn nominations
The Melon Music Awards will expand to a two-day event for the first time this year, bringing together established K-pop stars and rising acts while introducing a new award based on music streaming activity across South Korea, China and Japan. Melon, South Korea's largest music streaming platform, operated by Kakao Entertainment, will hold the 18th edition of the awards at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Nov. 14 and 15. Voting for the Top 10 award, recognizing 10 of the year's most popular artis
Oct. 16, 2026 -
Winner's Mino to return to military after guilty verdict
Winner's Song Min-ho, better known as Mino, will receive notification to resume his military service, the Military Manpower Administration said Friday. An MMA official said the decision followed the finalization of a ruling against Song earlier this month. The agency will review the exact duration of his remaining service and determine where he will be assigned. Song was accused of repeatedly failing to report for duty while serving as a social service agent at a facility in Mapo-gu, Seoul, from
Oct. 16, 2026 -
Crush, IU to drop new single next week
Crush is set to drop a new digital single, “Seesaw,” featuring IU on Wednesday, agency P Nation announced Friday. The agency released a teaser video showing the singers working together in a studio, with a snippet of the new song playing in the background. The two have collaborated since 2019, when they appeared as guests at each other’s concerts. In 2022, Crush was a guest on IU’s music talk show, “IU’s Palette.” The forthcoming single will be Crush’s first new material in over a year, after hi
Oct. 16, 2026 -
BTS 1st group ever to log 10b annual streams on Spotify
BTS has become the first group to accumulate 10 billion annual streams on Spotify, according to label Big Hit Music on Friday. The group's fifth full-length album, “Arirang,” drove the achievement, generating 5 billion streams since its release in March, the most for an album dropped this year. On the day the album rolled out, all 14 tracks, including the all-instrumental track, “No. 29,” swept the top 14 spots on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs Global chart. Meanwhile, the seven-piece act is in Santi
Oct. 16, 2026 -
Le Sserafim to perform ‘Aeiou’ for first time in Osaka
Le Sserafim set fans in Japan abuzz with the news that it will perform its song “Aeiou” for the first time in Osaka, Japan, in December. Agency Source Music uploaded a video for the song, the B-side track from its second single album, “Made My Night,” on Thursday. The video is a composite of moments captured during the preparation of the two-set effort and the North American leg of its world tour. It ends with the song title and the announcement, “See You Soon at Kyocera Dome Osaka.” The quintet
Oct. 16, 2026 -
NCT Dream to release sixth studio album next month
NCT Dream announced Friday that it will release its sixth studio album, “Dream After Dream,” on Nov. 9, according to label SM Entertainment. This is the group's first release since it reorganized into a six-member act in April, when Mark left both the team and the label to pursue a solo career. It also is the first album after the bandmates renewed their contracts with the label. The group celebrated its 10th anniversary in August. The upcoming LP will contain 10 tracks, including lead single “B
Oct. 16, 2026 -
A2O groups debut with young, multinational lineup and old-school K-pop formula
A2O Lite’s debut single “Neon” topped Melon’s Top 100 on Wednesday, giving producer Lee Soo-man a strong start to his return to the Korean music industry. Beyond its early chart success, however, A2O’s two new groups reveal how the veteran producer is approaching this generation of K-pop idols: The young, multinational lineups are paired with a musical style reminiscent of his earlier work at SM Entertainment. A2O Lite and boy group A2O Soul made their first official appearances at a joint showc
Oct. 15, 2026 -
A2O Lite tops Melon faster than NewJeans
A2O Lite, the new girl group produced by Lee Soo-man and A2O Entertainment, topped Melon's Top 100 chart just 29 hours after releasing its debut single, setting a record for the fastest debut song to reach No. 1 since the chart was revamped in 2021. The nine-member group's debut single, "Neon," reached No. 1 at 11 p.m. Wednesday. The milestone came considerably faster than NewJeans' debut single "Attention," which took eight days to top the chart in August 2022. "Neon" entered Melon's Top 100 at
Oct. 15, 2026 -
Singer Solbi to wed actor Lee Kyu-han: report
Singer turned artist Solbi and actor Lee Kyu-han are getting married next year, according to a local media report on Thursday. Her agency Jian Castle confirmed the news, adding that the couple’s families had met and set a date for a private wedding ceremony in April. The couple had not previously announced they were dating, but they appeared together in a reality show last year. On the show, celebrities who were single took trips to try to find a special someone, and Solbi picked Lee. Solbi debu
Oct. 15, 2026 -
Enhypen unveils interactive story film
Enhypen fans will be able to interact with the group's extensive lore through “Enhypen World: Story Film” starting Thursday. Based on last year's “Enhypen World: Eternal Moment” mobile game, the story film uses the bandmates' voices to build on their vampire story. Fans, alongside the members, can venture into the past and fight against mysterious creatures to restore memory. Meanwhile, the six members flew to Macao on Thursday for three shows. Their international “Blood Saga” tour will visit 22
Oct. 15, 2026 -
Red Velvet’s Wendy to release new music next month
Wendy of Red Velvet will return as a solo singer in November, her agency Ascend said Wednesday. Her last solo effort was her third EP, “Cerulean Verge,” released in September 2025. Following the mini album, she launched her first solo tour, “W:ealive.” She kicked it off with a two-date show in Seoul, then visited six cities in Asia and six in the US before wrapping up the tour in Seoul in March. Between the two sets, she participated in a string of soundtracks, including for the Netflix dramas “
Oct. 15, 2026 -
BTS exceeds 100m views with ‘Hooligan’ music video
BTS' music video for “Hooligan” had reached 100 million views on YouTube as of Wednesday, according to Big Hit Music. “Hooligan” is a side track from the septet’s fifth studio album, “Arirang,” and the video is the third promoting the album to achieve the feat, following “Swim” and “2.0.” The alternative hip-hop track entered Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 35 and spent four weeks on the main songs chart. BTS has been using the song as an opener during the world tour, which is in Santiago, Chile for
Oct. 15, 2026