[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ ‘Dynamite’ music video surpasses 1.6b views

The music video for BTS’ “Dynamite” reached 1.6 billion views on YouTube, label Big Hit Music said Tuesday.

It became the band’s second video to reach the milestone, after that of “Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey).”

“Dynamite,” which came out in August 2020 as the septet’s first English-language song, made K-pop history when it topped Billboard’s Hot 100 shortly after its release. The disco pop single stayed atop the chart for three weeks and maintained a spot on the chart for 32 weeks in total. It also earned the band a nomination from the Grammy Awards for best pop duo/group performance.

Separately, BTS won two awards from this year's American Music Awards -- favorite pop duo/group and the newly installed favorite K-Pop artist. The band won the former for the fourth consecutive year. Its first AMA nod it got was in 2018 as favorite social artist.

BoA returns as singer with 3rd EP

BoA brought out her third EP “Forgive Me” on Tuesday, about two years since “Better,” an album that marked her 20th anniversary.

She co-wrote the titular track and admits that it is her personal favorite from the six-track EP. She wanted to put out a song that was not about love, and also tried to show how one can keep her cool even when she is framed in a wrong situation. The veteran performer, of course, also aspires to demonstrate her performance skills along with the fast-paced, strong hip-hop tune.

“But the last track ‘Hope’ also is dear to me. I myself was consoled by the song while writing it,” she said of the acoustic ballad through her label SM Entertainment.

Separately, BoA was one of the judges for the Mnet dance battle show “Street Man Fighter” that wrapped up earlier this month.

SHINee’s Minho to release 1st solo EP next month

Minho of SHINee will put out his first solo album on Dec. 12, label SM Entertainment announced Tuesday.

The EP is titled “Chase” and will consist of six tracks. He has released solo songs before -- “I’m Home” in 2019 and “Heartbreak” in 2021 -- but this will be his first solo album since he debuted as a member of the boy band in 2008.

On Dec. 7-8, he will host a fan meet event, “Lucky Choi’s,” in Seoul, and give fans a taste of the upcoming EP.

Meanwhile, the singer and actor is set to appear as the male lead in the Netflix drama “The Fabulous.” The series was to go on air on Nov. 4 but the premiere date was pushed back out of respect for the victims of the deadly Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon.

Ateez unveils tracklist for Japan EP

Ateez uploaded a group photograph and a list of tracks for its third Japanese EP on Monday.

EP “The World Ep. Paradigm” will include a new Japanese-language song, “Paradigm,” as well as the Japanese version of “Cyberpunk” and “New World” from the eighth EP “The World Ep. 1: Movement.” The eighth EP from July notched third place on Billboard 200 and sold over 1 million copies, a first for the eight-member act.

The band is currently touring the US on its “Break The Wall” world tour. It will go live in Newark on Nov. 27-28 and in Ontario, Canada, on Dec. 2 before wrapping up the North American leg of the tour. On Dec. 11-12, the band will host concerts in Chiba, Japan.

By Hwang You-mee
(glamazon@heraldcorp.com)