All members of Seventeen renew contracts with agency

All 13 members of K-pop boy band Seventeen have agreed to renew contracts with their agency before expiry, the group's agency said Monday. "While the existing contract is yet to expire, all 13 members of Seventeen and the company held in-depth discussions on the group's future plans and reached a consensus to renew the contract in advance," Pledis Entertainment said in a statement. Seventeen was quoted as saying that its 13 members all agreed to "stay together (based on) faith f

K-popJuly 19, 2021

Who are the key players at Hybe in the post-Bang Si-hyuk era?

On July 2, K-pop juggernaut Hybe announced it was reshuffling the company’s topmost personnel in an effort to vitalize its global operations. Most notably, founder Bang Si-hyuk stepped down as CEO to focus on production. Replacing him is Park Ji-won, formerly CEO of Hybe’s headquarters. Hybe also introduced new leadership at its headquarters in South Korea, the US and Japan, ushering in a new era for the entertainment conglomerate. Here’s a brief look into the new leadershi

K-popJuly 19, 2021

Inside Hybe: Seven agencies making a splash on the music scene

Hybe has continued to grow through acquisitions and restructuring, adding multiple subsidiaries. The company announced plans in March to augment its business portfolio to bring people together through music. The music industry heavyweight also aims to enter the international market with its lineup of labels. The firm boasts some of the biggest names in the Korean and global music scene, including megastars like BTS and Seventeen. Here’s a list of seven subsidiaries under Hybe’s

K-popJuly 19, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen cancels offline fan meet

Seventeen will not meet fans in person during its fifth fan meet “Seventeen in Carat Land,” agency Pledis Entertainment said Friday. 　 Through its official fandom channel Weverse, the company announced that it would cancel the in-person meet for the event after the social distancing guideline was strengthened as the country seeks to overcome another COVID-19 wave. 　 The 13-member group was originally planning to host the fan meet events in southern Seoul from Aug. 6-8, both off- a

K-popJuly 16, 2021

Unlikely K-pop act rules Korean music charts

MSG Wannabe, an all-male act that formed on the popular Korean TV show "Hangout With Yoo," is going strong on South Korean music charts. The eight-piece act is far from a typical K-pop band. The group consists of a comedian, singers and actors -- including two in their 50s and three in their 30s -- and their name MSG Wannabe comes from monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is often derided here for being a junk food ingredient but making food flavorful. Nonetheless, the project group t

K-popJuly 16, 2021

Kakao Entertainment to merge with music streaming platform Melon

Kakao Entertainment announced Thursday that it has decided to merge with South Korea’s leading online music streaming platform, Melon. The decision comes as Kakao aims to secure competitiveness and leadership in the showbiz industry. The two companies jointly agreed at a board meeting held Thursday and attended by both sides. The deal is expected to be finalized through a shareholders meeting on Sept. 1. Under the merger, one share of Kakao will be exchanged with around 7.8 shares of

K-popJuly 15, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] BTS may collaborate with Coldplay: report

Another bout of speculation on a collaboration between Coldplay and BTS emerged after lyrics from “My Universe,” thought to be the British band’s new song, was registered on lyrics database MatchLyrics on Thursday. 　 BTS’ label Bit Hit Music, however, said that it cannot confirm the news and asked fans for their understanding. 　 There have been talks about a potential collaboration since April when Chris Martin was reported to be in Korea. Earlier in June a tweet appear

K-popJuly 15, 2021

EXO's D.O. unveils details for upcoming solo EP

D.O., member of K-pop boy band EXO, on Thursday released the details of his debut solo EP ahead of the album's scheduled release later this month. SM Entertainment earlier announced the singer will drop his first-ever solo release, titled "Empathy" in Korean, on July 26. The eight-track album, which includes six new tracks in addition to two bonus tracks, will be fronted by the main track "Rose," the agency said Thursday. D.O. wrote the lyrics for "Rose," it added

K-popJuly 15, 2021

BTS logs top US CD album sales in first half of 2021

BTS became the top-selling artist in total CD album sales in the United States in the first half of this year, according to Billboard on Tuesday (US time). The K-pop juggernaut sold 573,000 copies of its CD albums from Jan. 1 to July 1, the most by a single music act in the US, Billboard said, citing MRC Data, a music sales data provider. American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift came in next with sales of 414,000 units. In terms of broader physical album sales that took vinyl albums and casset

K-popJuly 14, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] NCT’s Taeil sets Guinness record with Instagram account

Taeil of NCT set a world record with his Instagram account, Guinness World Records announced Tuesday in the UK. 　T he idol broke the record for the fastest time to reach 1 million followers on Instagram, as he reached the seven-digit milestone in just one hour and 45 minutes after his first post, it said. 　 He announced on a fandom application that he opened an account on Instagram on July 6. 　 “I never imagined myself becoming a Guinness World Records title holder,” he said after

K-popJuly 14, 2021

BTS performs 'Permission to Dance' on Jimmy Fallon show

Superband BTS appeared on the popular American talk show "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" on Tuesday (US time), putting on its first TV performance of new release "Permission to Dance." The band's seven members appeared holding violet and purple balloons to perform the upbeat track at an indoor stage filled with balloons. Dancers wearing white and orange later joined the band for a group choreography session. It marked the band's first performance of the new song on

K-popJuly 14, 2021

BTS to join global live show to fight COVID-19, climate change

K-pop sensation BTS and dozens of top international artists will join Global Citizen Live, a 24-hour broadcast show intended to help fight COVID-19, climate change and extreme poverty in September, the organizer said. Global Citizen, an international advocacy group based in New York, announced details of the global philanthropic concert Tuesday. The epic daylong show will take place Sept. 25, featuring live performances and events filmed in major cities across six continents, including Seoul,

K-popJuly 14, 2021

BLACKPINK to join Hybe's fan community platform Weverse in Aug.

K-pop queen BLACKPINK will be the next act to go on Hybe's growing fan community platform Weverse, its agency said Wednesday. The four-piece act, which already has a massive fan base on YouTube, will join the virtual platform starting Aug. 2, according to YG Entertainment. The move follows a partnership between YG Entertainment and Hybe -- the K-pop powerhouse behind acts like BTS, Tomorrow X Together and Enhypen -- signed in January. The companies, two of the biggest agency-labels in the K-p

K-popJuly 14, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink Rose’s “On the Ground” video tops 200m views

The music video for “On the Ground,” the solo debut of Blackpink’s Rose, surpassed 200 million views on YouTube on Tuesday, announced label YG Entertainment on the same day.   　 It has been 123 days since the video’s release. It stormed past 100 million views in about a week, the shortest time for a video by a K-pop solo female artist. The song topped iTunes top songs chart in 51 regions and topped both of Billboard’s worldwide tallies, the Global 200 and Bil

K-popJuly 13, 2021

JYP Entertainment teams up with Sony Music to create boy band

Sony Music Entertainment Japan announced Monday that it would team up with K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment to launch a new boy band. The two jointly held an online press conference in Korea and Japan to share their plans for the production of the new group, which will be elected through the survival reality program “Nizi Project.” The upcoming audition show will be aired in the latter half of the year. Park Jin-young, the chief of the label, expressed his excitement about cre

K-popJuly 13, 2021

K-pop rookie Enhypen sweeps Oricon music charts with debut Japanese single

K-pop rookie Enhypen has topped a key daily and a weekly music chart in Japan with its debut Japanese single, music tracker Oricon said Tuesday. "Border: Hakanai" ranked No. 1 on Oricon's latest weekly singles chart, selling over 200,000 copies from July 5 to Sunday, according to Oricon News. The band's first Japanese single also sat atop Oricon's daily singles chart for the seventh consecutive day since its release last Tuesday. Enhypen, which debuted in November, is the first amon

K-popJuly 13, 2021

BTS extends No. 1 streak on Billboard Hot 100 to seven straight weeks

K-pop sensation BTS' summery, up-tempo number "Butter" remained atop Billboard's main singles chart for the seventh consecutive week in the group's best chart record since its debut. ""Butter" is officially No. 1 on this week's #Hot100 chart for a seventh week," Billboard said on its Twitter account on Monday (US time). The septet's second English song drew 10.8 million US streams and sold 108,800 downloads in the week ending July 8, it said. The song also attract

K-popJuly 13, 2021

[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink’s Lisa to shoot solo music video

Lisa of Blackpink will shoot a music video for her solo debut song this week, label YG Entertainment said Monday. 　 It confirmed an earlier media report that said she would start shooting the video and is set to drop her first solo music this summer. 　 The label announced last year that the members, except for Jennie who was the first to drop her solo album in 2018, will put out solo projects one by one after the release of the band’s full-length album in September. Rose rolled out hers

K-popJuly 12, 2021

BTS' 'Permission to Dance' ranks No. 2 on Spotify's global chart

"Permission to Dance" by South Korean superband BTS snatched the No. 2 spot on Spotify's Global Top 200 chart, the global streaming giant said Sunday. The upbeat number was streamed 7,339,385 times on Spotify on the day of its release Friday, the streaming service said. The song was only second to "Beggin'" by Italian rock band Maneskin, the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest this year. "Permission to Dance" also came in first on 13 regional top 200 charts

K-popJuly 11, 2021

New BTS song 'Permission to Dance' tops iTunes charts in 92 regions

Supergroup BTS has swept more than 90 regional iTunes charts with its new release "Permission to Dance," the act's agency said Saturday.    The upbeat number, released at 1 p.m. the previous day, debuted at No. 1 on iTunes top songs charts in 92 regions, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan, according to Big Hit Music.    The music video for the song, also released at 1 p.m. on Friday, has proven to be a hit, breaking 10 million views on

K-popJuly 10, 2021