FT Island to release new album next month

FT Island is returning to the music scene next month with a new album. The band’s last release was its eighth EP, “Lock Up,” in December 2021. The band unveiled a teaser clip of its upcoming ninth EP on social media on Monday. The teaser clip for the album scheduled for release on Sep. 7 shows the band performing in a living room. It also casts a spotlight on the performance of the three members of the band -- lead vocalist Lee Hong-gi, bassist Lee Jae-jin and drummer Choi Min

K-popAug. 29, 2023

Hwasa to return solo next month

Hwasa is set to release a new solo album next month with a concept that will highlight another aspect of herself as a singer. P Nation unveiled a teaser image for Hwasa’s upcoming album on social media Tuesday, showing Hwasa surrounded by pink balloons in the shape of various letters of the alphabet. This solo comeback scheduled for Sept. 6 comes two years after Hwasa’s single “Guilty Pleasure.” The upcoming album is also Hwasa’s first release under the new agency,

K-popAug. 29, 2023

Court denies Fifty Fifty's injunction request to suspend contract with agency

A Seoul court rejected Monday an injunction request by K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty to suspend the effectiveness of its contract with its agency. The Seoul Central District Court denied the request the group filed on June 19, claiming the company, Attrakt, failed to fulfill its contractual obligations, such as providing financial documents and caring for their health. The court attempted to mediate a settlement between the two sides on Aug. 9 but failed. Earlier Monday, the group's legal re

K-popAug. 28, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] NCT127 to return in October with 5th LP

NCT127 will return on Oct. 6 with a fifth full-length album, according to SM Entertainment on Sunday. The nine-piece subunit shared the news that it is bringing out a new album at the full-group concert on Saturday. “It will be of a huge scale,” said Taeyong after unveiling a teaser clip to the audience, and the LP “will be the epitome of NCT127,” added Jungwoo. The upcoming LP is titled “Fact Check,” and comes about nine months since “Ay-Yo,” a r

K-popAug. 28, 2023

Twice’s Jihyo becomes half-million seller with 1st EP ‘Zone’

Twice’s Jihyo became a half-million seller with her solo debut album “Zone” in just a week since its release on Aug. 18. As of last Thursday, a total of 534,565 copies of the EP “Zone” were sold, according to local album sales tracker Hanteo Chart on Monday. This makes "Zone" the highest-selling mini album by a K-pop female soloist in the first week of its release. Her album and its title track “Killin’ Me Good” is currently thriving on t

K-popAug. 28, 2023

Kara’s Hur Youngji to debut solo with single ‘Toi Toi Toi’ next month

Second-generation K-pop girl group Kara’s youngest member, Hur Youngji, is making her debut as a solo artist with a single album next month. The artist announced her solo debut with a teaser poster of her upcoming single album, “Toi Toi Toi,” on social media, according to DSP Media on Monday. The title of her first single album, "Toi Toi Toi," which drops on Sept. 12, comes from the expression used in the performing arts industry, derived from German, to wish an artis

K-popAug. 28, 2023

BTS' V releases 3 songs ahead of solo debut

BTS' V on Monday released a series of songs ahead of his solo debut, scheduled for early September. At 1 p.m. on Monday, the singer put out three self-made songs -- "Scenery," "Winter Bear" and "Snow Flower" -- all of which he had previously unveiled for free streaming. The song releases come as V gears up to drop his first solo EP, "Layover," on Sept. 8. V released "Scenery" in January 2019 for free download on SoundCloud. He composed and p

K-popAug. 28, 2023

Hybe to launch girl group audition project in the US

South Korea's Hybe and Universal Music Group affiliate Geffen Records are embarking on a global girl group project together, Tuesday. Hybe, the company behind global K-pop phenomenon BTS, on Monday in Korea announced it is set to hold a press conference in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon there to unveil its global girl group audition project called "The Debut: Dream Academy." The event will give a first look into the long-awaited female pop group project that the two companies hav

K-popAug. 28, 2023

BTS Jungkook's 'Seven' third most-streamed song on Spotify this summer

BTS member Jungkook's debut solo single, "Seven," became the third most-streamed song of the summer on the global streaming platform Spotify, his agency said Saturday. "Seven" was ranked only behind "Ella Baila Sola" by Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma at No. 1 and Bad Bunny's "Where She Goes" on Spotify's "most-streamed songs of the summer" list, BigHit Music said. Jungkook achieved the feat in only about 40 days following the releas

K-popAug. 26, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Overexcited fan grabs BTS’ V in Japan

    An overexcited fan grabbed BTS member V by his hair in Tokyo on Wednesday, according to media reports. The singer was visiting the newly renovated flagship store of Celine in Omotesando as the global ambassador of the French house. It was first time in about four years since the artist visited the Japanese capital. He greeted fans who had gathered on the street, waving and even giving high fives. While he was trying to get in the vehicle to leave, a woman reached out and grabb

K-popAug. 25, 2023

DKB hopes to reach global audiences with English single 'All yours'

K-pop boy band DKB hopes to expand its reach beyond Korea's borders with the help of its latest English-language single, according to Brave Entertainment. DKB released its sixth mini album repackage, “We Love You,” on Aug. 14 which is led by two title tracks, “All yours” and “Told You.” The single, “All yours,” which garnered love from many foreign fans, is the group’s first song released completely in English. “We wanted to give b

K-popAug. 25, 2023

NewJeans' 'Super Shy' most popular summer song on TikTok

Global short-form video platform TikTok announced Friday that K-pop girl group NewJeans’ “Super Shy” generated the most music-based content in Korea this summer. TikTok’s “Song of the Summer” list by country and globally shows the top 10 popular singles used to create short-form content from June to August by collecting data on the most used songs within the platform. K-pop sensation NewJeans topped the list for Korea with its latest single “Super Shy.&r

K-popAug. 25, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink to wrap up tour at Korea’s largest concert venue

    Blackpink will host the final concert of its tour at Gocheok Sky Dome, the largest indoor concert hall in Korea, according to label YG Entertainment on Thursday. The group is the first female K-pop act to perform at the venue, which can accommodate about 20,000 audience. The concert will be held on Sept. 16-17 and the second day’s live performance will be streamed online as well. The gig closes off the group’s “Born Pink” tour that spanned across 34 cit

K-popAug. 24, 2023

Fantasy Boys to debut on Sept. 21 without winner Yu Jun-won

Fantasy Boys, the project group from MBC's namesake idol audition show, will debut without the No. 1 winner Yu Jun-won, as a feud continues between Yu and the group's agency over his contract. The team's management agency PocketDol Studio on Thursday announced that the band is set to debut on Sept. 21, pulled forward from the originally announced Sept. 25. The announcement comes a day after the agency released a statement saying Fantasy Boys will debut as an 11-piece without Yu du

K-popAug. 24, 2023

[Herald Interview] 'Queendom Puzzle' winners to debut as El7z Up

The top seven finalists of "Queendom Puzzle" are aiming to show a never-before-seen girl group chemistry as El7z Up. A total of 26 participans competed in the Mnet girl group reboot program over the past four months for seven spots on the project group El7z Up, to be launched next month. One member each from seven different already existing or inactive groups compose the team: H1Key's Hwiseo, WJSN's Yeoreum, Rocket Punch's Yeonhee, woo!ah!'s Nana, Lovelyz's Kei

K-popAug. 24, 2023

Yerin gains new insight working as solo artist

Yerin returned with her second solo mini album “Ready, Set, LOVE” on Wednesday ready to take the listeners back to the ’80s. The new album carries four singles led by the title track “Bambambam” which is a combination of city pop and synth-wave disco. “I wanted to work with a concept and musical genres that I’ve never tried before, so I came up with the retro concept for this album. The title track has an addictive melody. I’m sure the song will ke

K-popAug. 24, 2023

SBS Premium collects K-pop data through interactive content

SBS Premium, a website that explores major current events through expert and data-based news insights, released the second installation of its interactive “K-POP Spelling Quiz” in late July. The interactive quiz asks users to choose the correct Korean spelling of the lyrics of a song that participants listen to for 15 seconds. Participants then get a score ranging from zero to 100 and a “wrong answer note” to improve Korean spelling skills. The “K-POP Spelling Quiz&

K-popAug. 24, 2023

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ V debuts at No. 96 on Billboard’s Hot 100 with solo song

   V of BTS hit Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 96 with the solo single “Love Me Again,” according to the latest chart published on Tuesday in the US. It is the pre-release from its upcoming solo album “Layover” due out on Sept. 8. The song was dropped in advance on Aug. 10 and landed atop Billboard’s Hot Trending Chart as well as the iTunes top songs chart in 35 regions. All seven members of the band now has made the Hot 100 chart with officially publish

K-popAug. 23, 2023

[Herald Interview] Rapper Kisum wants to continue telling her story through rap

It took more than a year and a half for rapper Kisum to return to the music scene with a new single, but she says the time away was necessary for her to grow as a singer-songwriter. “The time I had to solely focus on making music was a relief. It had been a long time since I had (taken time to myself), and I enjoyed writing lyrics and composing songs. I used to get so stressed out making new music when there was time pressure,” said Kisum during an interview with The Korea Herald. Ki

K-popAug. 23, 2023

Seventeen tops Japanese charts with best-of album 'Always Yours'

K-pop band Seventeen is sweeping Japanese music charts with its new album "Always Yours." The band's agency Pledis Entertainment on Wednesday said Seventeen released its first Japanese best-of album at Tuesday midnight. Titled "Always Yours," the 27-track package includes 25 of Seventeen's hit songs and two new original Japanese songs, "Ima -Even if the world ends tomorrow-" and "Sara Sara." Upon release, "Always Yours" soared to the to

K-popAug. 23, 2023