Riize will unveil its first EP, “Riizing,” in Seoul on June 17 at a “premiere” showcase, according to label SM Entertainment on Wednesday. The six-piece band will perform “Boom Boom Bass,” its main track from the eight-track album, for the first time at the event, which will be broadcast live as well. The pop dance tune is mainly based on bass guitar, as the title suggests, and continues the theme of musical instruments that weaves through debut single “

Rom-com explores realistic, bubbly portrayal of woman with Down syndrome

Identifying as a ‘creator,’ Son participates as executive director

The 2024 Dream Concert will be held Oct. 19 at Goyang Stadium in Ilsan, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, according to the Korean Entertainment Producer’s Association on Wednesday. Dream Concert is the longest-standing K-pop concert, held annually since 1995. This year’s event is co-hosted by the Korean Entertainment Producer’s Association, the Korea Tourism Organization and Goyang city. Dream Concert has attracted 1.98 million concertgoers so far over the past nearly 30 years. Fro

Playwright Cha Beom-seok's "Hwal Hwa San," which premiered in 1974, was a work of political propaganda inspired by the real-life figure Kim Myung-soon, a model example of the Saemaul Undong movement. In bringing the play back to the stage after almost half a century, director Yoon Han-sol was intrigued by the question of how a 50-year-old propaganda play could resonate with a contemporary audience. Rather than adapt or alter the script, he chose to add twists in directing through

Director asks whether a play created as propaganda in the 1970s will still resonate in 2024

The conflict between Hybe and Ador CEO Min Hee-jin is showing no sign of improvement despite Min's offer of reconciliation, marked by a fresh lawsuit and the release of a rebuttal video by Belift Lab, the agency behind a K-pop rookie girl group Illit. Belift Lab announced Monday in a statement shared on X that they are filing an additional civil lawsuit against Min accusing her of business interference and defamation. Also on Monday, it released a 28-minute YouTube video refuting the alle

NCT127 will host a fan meetup in Seoul Aug. 3-4 to celebrate the eighth anniversary of its debut, label SM Entertainment announced on Tuesday. The live event will be broadcast online as well for fans who could not attend. The nine-member subunit will greet fans at the event dubbed “8ecret Inviation,” although only eight of them will be present, as Taeyong is serving his mandatory military service. In March, the nonet wrapped up its third international tour, “The Unity,” w

SM Entertainment has denied a claim made by Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin of boy band EXO that it is making an "unfair" demand regarding revenue from their individual activities. Shortly after the trio, also known as EXO-CBX, held a press conference in Seoul on Monday to issue the claim, SM released a press statement saying that the trio was able to get a good distribution deal and suffered no damage from their contract signed with the K-pop powerhouse in June last year. Last year, EXO-CBX

The bandmates of K-pop sensation Seventeen were appointed as Goodwill Ambassadors for Youth by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on Tuesday. It is the first time for a K-pop act to assume the role. According to Seventeen's agency Pledis Entertainment on Tuesday, the 13-member boy band was named for continuously sharing their growth narratives through music and their international influence on young people dating to their debut in 2015. "Seventeen and

Experts say producers showing vulnerability, personal charm adds new dynamic

Everglow dropped an intense new single, presenting themselves as hauntingly beautiful zombies. The new single comes in 10 months, during which they held tour concerts in the US, Europe and Japan. The group released a new single called “Zombie” on Monday. Besides the title track, two B-sides -- “Colourz” and “Back 2 Luv” -- are included. The title song “Zombie” already garnered attention for working with The Stereotypes -- a producer behind projects

Three members of the popular K-pop group EXO -- Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin -- claimed Monday their agency SM Entertainment is making an "unfair" demand over revenue from their individual activities, reigniting their conflict with the K-pop powerhouse after a year. They alleged that the agency is unjustly demanding a 10 percent royalty from revenue of their individual activities without fulfilling its end of a behind-the-scenes deal made to resolve the conflict in June last year. During

NewJeans will drop a B-side track from its debut single in Japan in advance of the full release, agency Ador said Monday. With the second teaser trailer for “Right Now” came the announcement that music video for the song will be unveiled June 17, four days before the single “Supernatural” is rolled out. It will feature characters from the American animation series The Powerpuff Girls stylized for each of the five members, as were those for “Get Up,” second EP

Star producer Kim Tae-ho says good TV show must consider sustainability