From its record-breaking debut in August, the unprecedented breakout success of rookie band Wanna One, formed by 11 survivors of the TV audition show "Produce 101," has proven to be a classic K-pop Cinderella story. But what happens to those who narrowly missed the final cut? Former contenders who fell short of making it into the final round, many by painfully slim margins, have wiped away their tears and banded together to launch their own projects -- the first of which is RAINZ, who came out w

Park Jin-young, better known as JYP, will embark on a new “Naughty Party” concert tour titled “Blue & Red” in December and release two songs for the concerts, the singer announced on his Instagram Thursday. The artist also said that he will release two new songs -- a ballad and a dance song -- for the tour. The ballad song, which represents the “Blue,” will be released on Monday while the dance song, which represents the “Red,” will be released in the first week of December.  A promotional poste

Artists under H1GHR Music Records, a global hip-hop label led by Jay Park and Cha Cha Malone, will have its solo showcase at the next South by Southwest festival.Jay Park was among the first round of Showcasing Artists announced on the website of the Austin, Texas-based festival. Alongside Park on the list were other artists from the label -- Sik-K, pH-1, Woodie Go Child, Phe Reds, Avatar Darko, Yultron, Raz Simone, Jarv Dee and JP the Wavy .  A promotional image for H1GHR Music Records’ showcas

Veering away from its hip-hop-focused past, GOT7 is all set to embark on a new chapter with its recently released seventh EP “7 for 7,” which features the lead track “You Are.” This time, the seven-piece group is more laid-back and introspective in its musical style, with JB and Jinyoung -- members of the group’s subunit JJ Project -- joining GOT7 for the latest album after wrapping up the duo’s most recent activity for “Verse 2” in August.“It’s true that the sonic path of ‘7 for 7’ was somewhat

Korean fans have pinpointed the source of K-pop celebrities’ charm: the contrast between stars’ onstage and offstage personas.Online K-pop fan communities have been recently flooded with compilations of clips featuring stars, from EXO’s Baekyun to BTS’ V, and their different attitudes on and off stage.Wanna One’s Kang Daniel, who is enjoying massive popularity after nabbing first place in the second season of the K-pop idol audition program “Produce 101,” is said to embody the epitome of such co

Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra’s composer-in-residence Chin Un-suk has won the prestigious Wihuri Sibelius International Prize, the orchestra said Tuesday.Established in 1953 by the Finland-based Wihuri Foundation for International Prizes, the Sibelius Prize, one of the highest recognitions in classical music composition, is awarded when a suitable recipient has been found. Chin, the first Asian winner of the prize, is the 20th winner. The prize carries a cash award of 150,000 euros ($177,130).The

BTS keeps on with its chart-slaying streak as it has stayed on Billboard magazine’s Hot 100 chart and Billboard 200 chart for three consecutive weeks.On the week of Oct. 21, the band’s latest album “Love Yourself Seung Her” secured the No. 35 spot on the “Billboard 200” chart while its lead track “DNA” remained on the No. 87 spot on “The Hot 100” chart. It is the first time a Korean artist has stayed on the American music publication’s two main charts for three weeks. (Big Hit Entertainment)“It

Taemin of the boy band SHINee on Tuesday dropped the first teaser video for “Move,” the title track for his upcoming solo album of the same name.According to S.M. Entertainment, the vocalist is slated to release the songs at 6 p.m. Monday via local music streaming and downloading websites including Melon, Genie and Naver Music.  A promotional image for “Move” (S.M. Entertainment)It will mark the singer’s second album as a solo artist, after releasing his first solo album “Press It” in January 20

After a decade, Girls’ Generation stands at crossroads with three members leaving group’s agency

Tiffany, Sooyoung and Seohyun of Girls' Generation will quit their management agency S.M. Entertainment, sources in the local music scene said Monday.With the possible departure of the three members, it is unclear whether they will continue working with the idol group."The three members decided to terminate their contracts with the agency," an industry official familiar with the matter said. "Although Girls' Generation will stay afloat, it would be difficult in practical terms for those members

Celebrating the group’s 12th anniversary with a new album, Super Junior will reveal how it prepared for its much-anticipated comeback in a special reality show. The show “SJ Returns -- Super Junior Real Comeback Story,” which started its six-week run Monday on the Naver TV Cast channel and V Live channel, captures how the members prepared for the new album over 120 days, according to the group’s agency Label SJ on Monday. A poster for Super Junior’s comeback reality show “SJ Returns - Super Juni

Boy band will introduce rankings of its 40 released tracks based on fan voting

K-pop stars Hwanhee and Brian Joo will reunite as Fly to the Sky once again as the duo is set to release a new album in November, its agency said Monday. The new album will be the duo’s first work together since releasing EP “Love & Hate” in September of 2015.  (H2media)According to H2media, the group will follow up with a concert at the end of the year. The two members have focused on their solo careers during the past two years, with Hwanhee recently holding his concert “The Original” in Seoul

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