As the days are getting long in summer and the weather is getting hotter outside, Nicole, a former bandmate of the now-disbanded girl group Kara, returned with a new digital single, “You.F.O“ to put music listeners in a sunny mood. This marks the singer-turned-soloist’s return to the music charts in nearly eight years since she last dropped her first EP, “First Romance,” in 2014. “It’s been eight years, and I took the time to look back on myself,&rd

K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment has teamed up with Republic Records, an American music label owned by Universal Music Group, to launch a joint audition in search of a new global girl group. On Tuesday, the two labels announced the launch of “America2Korea,” a new global audition project that will scout for talent in the US and Canada. Kicking off on Sept. 10 in Atlanta, the A2K auditions will take place in five cities in the US -- Chicago on Sept. 14, New York on Sept. 17-18,

J-Hope of K-pop superband BTS made a good start high on the US Billboard's main albums chart for this week. The rapper-dancer placed 17th on the Billboard 200 with his first formal solo album, "Jack in the Box," Billboard said on a social media Tuesday. "Arson," one of the two main singles off the album, landed at 96th on the Hot 100 main singles chart. "Jack in the Box," featuring 10 songs, is also the first-ever official solo album from BTS, which recently an

Mark of NCT Dream tested positive for COVID-19 and will not be able to join the band’s upcoming concert, said label SM Entertainment on Monday. 　 The idol band is holding three concerts in Seoul from July 29, its first in-person gig in Korea in over 2 1/2 years. The concert, dubbed “In A Dream,” was to be the first since Mark rejoined the subunit in 2020 and drew more than 1.5 million fans concurrently when the tickets opened for purchase online. All tickets were sold upon re

As a playlist of upbeat tunes sets the mood for the summer, girl group Purple Kiss returned with its 4th EP titled “Geekyland,” released Monday evening, to thrill listeners with warm-weather vibes. The band didn‘t wait long between projects, with a surprise return just four months since “memeM,” released in March. Ireh expressed her excitement about releasing a new album, saying the process of preparing new music and performance was a joy. “It seems lik

Former figure skater Kim Yuna announced Monday that she will marry Ko Woo-rim, member of the quartet Forestella. According to Kim’s management firm, All That Sports, the two plan to tie the knot at the end of October in Seoul. “Kim Yuna and Ko Woo-rim met for the first time at the celebration performance of the 2018 All That Sports ice show, where Forestella performed. After dating for three years, they have decided to get married,” the officials said. Ko’s agency Bea

Iconic K-pop group Girls’ Generation will make a long-awaited comeback next month in celebration of its 15th anniversary. On Monday, the band officially announced the date and details of its August comeback by unveiling a logo via official social media. The image shows that the group will release a seventh full-length album, “Forever 1,” on Aug. 8. The upcoming album will feature a total of 10 tracks, according to the group’s label SM Entertainment. It will mark Girl

South Korean girl group ITZY claimed its first top 10 spot on the US Billboard's main albums chart, with its fifth EP, "Checkmate." "ITZY's Checkmate debuts at No. 8 on the Billboard 200, giving the South Korean quintet its first top 10 effort," 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 ot

The Boyz will make a comeback with its seventh EP on Aug. 16, agency IST Entertainment announced Friday. 　 The EP comes about nine months after it released its third single “Maverick” that swept a series of television music chart shows and sold over 480,000 copies in the first week of sales. The single topped the iTunes top albums chart in seven regions and the titular track hit the iTunes worldwide songs chart at No. 17. 　 Since late May, the 11-member act has been touring the worl

Rookie girl group Kep1er will debut in Japan with the single “Fly-Up” on Sept. 7, agencies Wake One and Swing Entertainment announced Thursday.   　 The single will be available in four versions and will consist of three tracks: focus track “Wing Wing” and Japanese-language versions of the main tracks from its first and second EPs: “Wa Da Da” and “Up!” Some albums will also have the new Japanese-language song “Daisy.”   　 The

Four BTS members -- Jin, Jimin, V and Jungkook -- will drop a collaboration project with US producer-singer-songwriter Benny Blanco and rapper Snoop Dogg next month, the K-pop group's agency said Thursday. The song "Bad Decisions" will come out Aug. 5 and will be included on Blanco's third full-length album set for release later in the year, Big Hit Music said. "The collaboration was accomplished as Blanco offered to do so," the agency said. "Jin, Jimin, V and

K-pop soloist HyunA’s new album is titled “Nabillera,” a Korean phrase that means “to fly like a butterfly,” according to the artist’s explanation. Speaking about the album through an online press conference conducted on Wednesday afternoon ahead of the release later that day, HyunA said, “the title conveys my will to fly softly like a butterfly on the hearts of the listeners. I want to leave my trace wherever I go, and I hope that many people could thi

Setting a foot out into the world through the window, K-pop rookie band Blitzers dropped the group’s third EP, “Win-Dow,” on Wednesday. Jinhwa, Go_U, Juhan, Sya, Chris, Lutan and Wooju said they are finally embarking on a journey to discover their fans in the upcoming album. The album marks the septet‘s return with new music six months after the first single “Bobbin” in January. Ahead of the album drop later in the day, the seven bandmates conducted a pres

Having successfully wrapped up its first global tour in March, P1Harmony said the secret behind its growing popularity overseas is each member’s unique charms and great synergy. At a press showcase event ahead of the fourth EP “Harmony: Zero In”’s 6 p.m. online release, the act’s leader Keeho said, “Since it was our first tour, everything seemed so strange. We were so nervous but felt thankful.” “After seeing the fans’ reactions in person

J-Hope of BTS lept straight to the top of Oricon chart with his solo album “Jack In The Box.” 　 The album debuted at No. 1 on Oricon’s weekly digital album ranking, according to the latest tally announced on Wednesday. 　 The 10-track album topped iTunes top albums charts in 49 regions and lead single “Arson” ranked No. 1 on its top songs chart in 62 regions. “More,” a double title track from the LP, was the chart-topper in 84 regions. 　 The latter en