[Today’s K-pop] Blackpink receives MBE honors from King Charles

Blackpink was awarded an MBE by the UK's King Charles in recognition for the girl group's support for raising awareness for climate change.

The four bandmates accepted their medals for the honorary Members of the Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday in London, while President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee were present. Rose’s title came without the honorary classification, as she holds dual citizenship in New Zealand, which is part of the Commonwealth.

“It is especially inspiring to see Korea’s younger generation embrace the cause,” the king said at a state banquet on the previous day held for the state visit.

“I applaud Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rose, better known collectively as Blackpink, for their role in bringing the message of environmental sustainability to a global audience as ambassadors for the UK’s presidency of COP26, and later as advocates for the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

Seventeen to livestream Japan tour

Seventeen’s Japan tour will be partially available for live viewing in cinemas in Korea, according to Lotte Cinema on Thursday.

The band is set to go live at PayPay Dome in Fukuoka, Japan on Dec. 16 for its dome tour in the country, with the concert livestreamed on the big screen for fans in Korea.

The tour started at Tokyo Dome in September and resumes in Saitama on Thursday. It will continue in Nagoya on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2-3, and in Osaka on Dec. 7 and 9-10, before the final gig in Fukuoka.

Meanwhile, the 13-member act’s latest album, 11th EP “Seventeenth Heaven,” ranked No. 94 on the Billboard 200 dated Nov. 25, extending its stay to a third straight week. The EP debuted on the chart at No. 2 as the band’s sixth entry.

Le Sserafim drops holiday remix

Le Sserafim surprised fans with a remix of its first English-language single, “Perfect Night.”

The group unveiled a holiday remix version of the song along with visuals on Thursday, rearranging the two-step garage tune into a carol.

“Perfect Night” was released last month and topped the daily chart of Melon, the largest music chart at home, in a first for an all-English single from a K-pop girl group.

The original song has stayed on the Billboard’s Global 200 and Global Excl. the US charts for three consecutive weeks, climbing to No. 21 and No. 13, respectively, both the highest spots for the quintet, agency Source Music said Wednesday. The single sat at No. 55 on Spotify’s daily top songs global chart.

Meanwhile, the group made Billboard’s Year-End Charts for the first time, as “Antifragile,” the title track from its second EP, ranked No. 182 on the Global 200.

Baekho sings duet with fromis_9’s Jiwon: report

Baekho will bring out a digital single early next month and the featuring artist is Park Jiwon of fromis_9, according to a local media report Thursday.

Agency Pledis Entertainment confirmed the news, saying he is set to release the second song for his digital single project “The [Baed] Time” and will sing together with Park, who also is represented by the firm.

The two singers uploaded images of what seems to be a studio on their respective social media channels the night before, hinting at a collaboration.

The first song for Baekho’s project was a remake of “Elevator,” a '90s hit by Jinyoung Park, which was dropped in August. He debuted as a member of NU’EST in 2012 and went solo in October last year with the EP “Absolute Zero,” after the bandmates decided to go their separate ways after 10 years.