Adventurous singer aims for a global audience with her latest release

Jimin of the K-pop group BTS is thriving with his second solo album “Muse” released on Friday. “Who,” the lead track of Jimin’s second solo album, landed at No. 3 on Spotify’s Daily Top Song Global chart dated July 19 after accumulating a staggering 7,901,507 streams. All of the seven tracks in his new album made it to Spotify’s Daily Top Song Global chart, with the Side-B tracks “Smeraldo Garden Marching Band (feat. Loco)” and “Closer

The plagiarism dispute between K-pop girl group NewJeans and British band Shakatak looks likely to become drawn out. Shakatak posted to its official account on social platform X on Friday that it has hired a musicologist to analyze the similarities between its song “Easier Said Than Done,” released in 1981, and NewJeans’ latest hit, “Bubble Gum.” “To all our fans and friends in Korea, thank you for all your comments about the usage of ‘Easier Said Than D

Blackpink announced Thursday that it will have an autograph session on Aug. 8 in time to celebrate the eighth anniversary of its debut. The supergroup will invite 88 fans selected through a lucky draw. The event is the first full-group activity since the four members were awarded honorary medals from Britain’s King Charles in November last year. Since then, they renewed their contract with YG Entertainment to handle their group activities but took their individual careers elsewhere. Rose s

Music critic attributes increase in plagiarism claims to global popularity of K-pop, enlarged market size

JYP Entertainment announced Thursday that it will establish a local subsidiary in Latin America and launch an audition program under the title "L2K" to create a new Latin girl group, marking its first major foray into the Latin American music market. JYP Entertainment said it plans to launch its subsidiary within the current quarter, expanding its artists' tour regions and new business ventures, while also building communication channels with local fans. JYP Entertainment also unv

The 2024 MAMA Awards, the world’s largest K-pop awards ceremony, organized by CJ ENM, will kick off in the US for the first time in its history, the company said Thursday. The awards are to start at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Nov. 21, before moving to the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Japan on Nov. 22-23. This marks a significant step in expanding the reach of K-pop and connecting global fans across different time zones. The MAMA Awards, which have a 25-year legacy, have prev

Stray Kids have returned with confidence and aspirations to reach a broader audience. The eight-member group dropped its 9th mini album, “ATE,” on Friday, expressing ambitions to broaden their musical spectrum. "This is our first album of the year. As our unique style has become more distinct, we've worked hard to prepare it, so please enjoy it," said leader Bang Chan during a press conference held at the Conrad Seoul in Yeongdengpo-gu, Seoul on Friday. The title track

BTS's Jimin set to perform "Who" from the upcoming solo album on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." Jimin will appear on the popular American NBC program at 12:35 p.m., Tuesday, Korean Standard Time, performing "Who" from his second solo album "Muse." The Jimmy Fallon Show announced Jimin's appearance on Thursday via a teaser video released on its official social media accounts. The teaser shows Jimmy Fallon drinking from a can labeled &qu

Despite Ador CEO Min Hee-jin’s wish to reconcile with Hybe, the parent company’s anger shows no signs of abating as its subsidiary labels continue to take legal measures against Min. On Monday, Source Music, the Hybe music label behind K-pop girl band Le Sserafim, filed a lawsuit against Min for defamation, obstruction of business and insult, seeking damages of around 5 billion won ($362,450). Source Music claimed that Min's comments have caused Le Sserafim to suffer from rumors

All eight members of Stray Kids agreed to stay with label JYP Entertainment and signed contract renewals, the company announced Thursday. Their exclusive contracts were due to expire in March next year, but were renewed in advance. The octet is set to bring out their ninth EP, “Ate,” on Friday, amid high expectations after the four previous albums – EPs “Oddinary,” “Maxident” and “Rockstar” as well as third LP “Five-Star” -- all d

K-pop sensation NewJeans will perform during the halftime at the big match between Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur. NewJeans will perform at the halftime show of the "2024 Coupang Play Series" match between Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur, scheduled for 8 p.m. on Aug. 3 at Seoul World Cup Stadium, according to Ador, the group's agency. The "2024 Coupang Play Series" is a highly anticipated game that has local football fans excited about the prospect of seeing Tot

K-pop albums have accounted for six of the 10 most-sold CD albums in the United States in the first half of this year The six albums were from boy groups Tomorrow X Together, Ateez, Stray Kids, Enhypen, and Seventeen, plus girl group TWICE, according to the 2024 Midyear Music Report released Tuesday by Luminate, an American music and entertainment industry data research firm. Tomorrow X Together's sixth EP, "minisode 3: Tomorrow," was the second most-sold CD album, with 190,000 un

The Korea Tourism Organization has come under fire for offering a promotional product created by NewJeans, its honorary ambassadors, in collaboration with Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami as part of its tourism event that launched July 11. Although the merchandise itself is not tied to any political issue, critics contend that the organization should promote products related to Korean culture, given its role in representing the country’s tourism interests. The controversy involves the

Ateez will release its fourth single in Japan “Birthday” on Oct. 2, agency KQ Entertainment announced Wednesday. It will consist of six tracks including the lead track of the same title. The upcoming single album comes about seven months after the previous Japanese single “Not Okay,” which topped Oricon’s daily single and weekly combined single rankings before earning platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan in February. The band also