Trendy rapper Zico returns with 4th EP ‘Grown Ass Kid’

The season of upbeat music has arrived, and rappers are known to save their strongest material for summer, Zico made his grand return with his 4th EP, “Grown Ass Kid,” released Wednesday evening. This marks the solo artist‘s return nearly two years since he last released his “Random Box” in July 2020. It’s also his first material after officially being discharged from his mandatory military service in April this year. Zico dropped “Grown Ass Kid&rdq

K-popAug. 1, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen’s repackage album enters Billboard 200 at No. 4

Seventeen’s repackaged fourth LP hit Billboard 200 at No. 4, according to Billboard’s preview of the forthcoming chart that came out Sunday in the US. 　 The reissue of “Sector 17” is the 13-member act’s highest-charting album so far. Its 4th LP “Face The Sun” reached No. 7 in June and has remained on the chart for seven consecutive weeks. 　 The repackaged album sold over 1.12 million copies in its first week, becoming the band’s seventh million-

K-popAug. 1, 2022

Hybe indie label Ador launches first group NewJeans

NewJeans, the first girl group from Ador, an independent label under K-pop powerhouse Hybe, threw its glitzy hat into the ring with its namesake debut album on Monday. Hybe is the multi-label entertainment company home to several big-name K-pop labels, including Big Hit Music, the label behind superstars BTS. Brought together by Ador’s CEO and head producer Min Hee-Jin, NewJeans released its debut digital album “New Jeans” on Monday evening. As the name suggests, the band&

K-popAug. 1, 2022

Stray Kids releases new digital single

K-pop group Stray Kids put out its new digital single, titled "Mixtape: Time Out," on Monday, the group's agency said. "Aug. 1 is a meaningful day, when the name of the band's fandom 'Stay' was made, so the band prepared a surprise present to celebrate the fandom's birthday," JYP Entertainment said. "Mixtape: Time Out," released at midnight, is a rock genre song written by the members based on their experience from their latest trip to Gangw

K-popAug. 1, 2022

Seventeen lands at No. 4 on Billboard main albums chart

The latest repackage album from Seventeen has come in fourth on the US Billboard's main albums chart, becoming the band's highest-charting album. "Sector 17" was fourth on the Billboard 200, selling 34,000 equivalent album units, Billboard said Sunday (US time) in a preview of the upcoming chart. The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums of the week in the United States, measured by equivalent album units, comprising physical album sales and other digital sales records.

K-popAug. 1, 2022

[Herald Interview] UKiss’ Soohyun is hopeful a group activity is in store this year

It took Soohyun of UKiss years to drop his first solo EP, “Count on Me,” and the 33-year-old artist views the album as an achievement he’s made thanks to the help of many others. Soohyun’s first album has taken a great weight off of his shoulders and is packed with feel-good rock melodies bursting with jovial energy, which is exactly the spirit he hoped to share with the world as part of his first set of songs released under his new label. Soohyun -- along with two ot

K-popAug. 1, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Kang Daniel ready to tap into Japan

Kang Daniel has set his eyes on Japan, and will give fans a taste of his music with a single soon before releasing an EP. 　 He joined hands with Warner Music Japan in June and will drop the single “TPIR (feat. Miyavi)” first on Aug. 17, a collaborative work with Japanese guitarist Miyavi. The song will be a pre-release from his upcoming EP “Joy Ride.” 　 The EP will be his first album to come out in Japan, and consists of six tracks. They will be Japanese language versi

K-popJuly 29, 2022

BTS’ J-Hope to make history as first K-pop headliner at Lollapalooza 2022

J-Hope of K-pop sensation BTS will make history as the first Korean musician to take the main stage at Lollapalooza, an annual four-day music festival held in Chicago’s Grand Park. He is scheduled to perform as the main headliner on Sunday (US time). This year’s Lollapalooza kicked off on Thursday at noon, with some 170 big-name artists set to perform on eight different stages. J-Hope will perform onstage between 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. (US time) on the last day of the rock festival. A

K-popJuly 29, 2022

[Today’s K-pop] Ateez challenges itself with new EP

Ateez held a media showcase to bring out a new album in Seoul Thursday. 　 The EP “The World Ep. 1: Movement” is the beginning of a new series, said Mingi, and aims to awake people who feel like they are repeating an endless rounds of routine. 　 It also is a challenge for the bandmates as they tried a new style in terms of music, said Yeosang. The seven-track EP includes focus track “Guerrilla” that features psychedelic sounds. 　 “To many, Ateez signifies strong

K-popJuly 28, 2022

TO1 return as funky drummers with 3rd EP ‘Why Not??’

K-pop boy band TO1 on Thursday dropped its 3rd EP “Why Not??,” marking its return to the music scene after eight months. TO1 is a nine-piece multinational K-pop group consisting of Dong-geon, Chan, Ji-su, Jae-yun, J.You, Kyung-ho, Daigo, Renta and Yeo-jeong. This is its first album with three new members -- Daigo, Renta and Yeo-jeong -- who joined the group last year. After dropping the new album, the group conducted a press conference in Seoul on Thursday afternoon to discuss i

K-popJuly 28, 2022

[Video] Everything about India’s first K-pop idol, Sriya from Blackswan

We have been receiving many messages from our Indian viewers about how to become a K-pop idol here, so we decided to invite India’s first K-pop idol, Shreya Lenka. Shreya is about to debut with the K-pop band Blackswan as Sriya. From why she decided to debut here, to what it was like to secure that one spot competing against 4,000 applicants and her goals as a K-pop idol, Shreya shared with us her Korea journey! Park Sun-yeong, Kim Su-hyeon and Lee Ji-min contributed to this report. By K

K-popJuly 28, 2022

IU to hold concerts at Jamsil Olympic Stadium in September

K-pop diva IU, the star of Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda's first Korean-language film "Broker," will return as a singer this fall. She will hold "The Golden Hour" concerts on Sept. 17 and 18 at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in southern Seoul, her agency, EDAM Entertainment said Thursday. It marks her first concerts in three years since the "Love, Poem" shows held in four South Korean cities and six other Asian countries in 2019. She will be the first female

K-popJuly 28, 2022

[Graphic News] K-pop album sales hit record high in H1

　Sales of K-pop albums have once again reached an all-time-high in the first half of this year, a local market tracker said. 　According to Kim Jin-woo, head researcher of Circle Chart, which reports accumulated sales and streams, combined sales of the nation‘s top 400 physical albums have risen to 34.9 million copies in the first half of 2022, up 34.6 percent from a year ago. It was the highest first-half sales figure of all time. 　First-half sales of physical albums have risen from 10.

K-popJuly 28, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘We want to define our own genre’

Ulala Session’s rise to fame was sudden, starting as the winner of TV audition program “Super Star K” in 2011, and its popularity has lasted. However, after 10 years in the mainstream music scene, the group is still asked: “So, what kind of musicians are you?” Giving their answer to this question, the group recently launched the project “U.L.S,” a series of albums that will present the new identity of Ulala Session and mark the start to the act’

K-popJuly 28, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘K-pop cover dance is democratizing dance education’

K-pop cover dance videos rack up tens of thousands of views on YouTube. They are filmed in places all around the world, from a shopping mall in China to a park in Spain. In the clips, young dancers, typically dressed in colorful and coordinated outfits, show off their moves to an intrigued audience, as the latest K-pop hits play through the speakers. Exuding confidence, the dancers look almost as if they are in their own music video. In her book “K-pop Dance: Fandoming Yourself on Social

K-popJuly 27, 2022

Boy band ATBO debuts, hopes to color the world with originality

IST Entertainment’s new boy band ATBO has embarked on their journey with debut album “The Beginning.” Formed through the TV survival show “The Origin - A, B, Or What?,” the seven-member group finally entered the K-pop scene and conducted a debut showcase a few hours ahead of the album drop on Wednesday. Making their first appearance in front of the media, the band’s leader Oh Junseok said, “Our long-held dream of debuting is finally here. It didn&rsquo

K-popJuly 27, 2022

[Today's K-pop] Blackpink’s “Lovesick Girls” video tops 600m views

The music video for Blackpink’s “Lovesick Girls” reached 600 million views on YouTube, according to label YG Entertainment on Wednesday. 　 The video was fully unveiled in October 2020, and became the group’s 12th video to reach the milestone. The music video for “Ddu-du Ddu-du” is in the lead with over 1.9 billion views, followed by those for “Kill This Love” (1.6 billion) and “Boombayah” (1.4 billion).  　 “Lovesick Girl

K-popJuly 27, 2022

Seven-member girl group CSR debuts with EP ‘Sequence: 7272’

New K-pop girl group CSR made its debut on Wednesday with its first EP, “Sequence: 7272” under the label Pop Music. The seven-piece act – with members Sua, Geumhee, Sihyeon, Seoyeon, Yuna, Duna and Yeham -- is comprised of 17-year-old girls under the Korean age system. CSR is an abbreviation of “cheotsarang,” the group’s Korean name, which means “first love.” CSR held its debut media showcase in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, Wednesday,

K-popJuly 27, 2022

CIX to return with 5th EP ‘‘OK’ Episode 1: OK Not’ next month

Boy group CIX will return next month with its fifth EP, “‘OK’ Episode 1: OK Not.” CIX‘s label, C9 Entertainment, on Wednesday announced the date and details of its August return by unveiling an image showing the band’s schedule via its official social media. The upcoming album marks the group‘s first release since its debut album “’OK‘ Prologue: Be OK,” released in August last year. Prior to the release on Aug. 22, CIX will unv

K-popJuly 27, 2022

BTS nominated in 4 categories at MTV Video Music Awards

South Korean superband BTS has won four nominations at this year's MTV Video Music Awards, the US TV station said Tuesday (US time). The septet was nominated in the categories of Best K-pop, Best Choreography, Best Metaverse Performance and Best Visual Effects. The band has been awarded at the MTV awards ceremony for the past three years. It won two titles in 2019 and took home four prizes in 2020. Last year, it won three trophies, including Group of the Year. For the Best K-pop category, B

K-popJuly 27, 2022