Haechan of NCT will restart all activities when NCT 127 returns with repackaged version of its 4th studio album on Jan. 30, SM Entertainment announced Friday. He has been taking a break for about three weeks for health reasons. He had chest problems and has been resting and recovering in accordance with his doctor’s orders. The idol will join the nine-member subunit of NCT as it rolls out “Ay-Yo,” a reissue of its fourth LP “Two Baddies.” “Ay-Yo” will c

Boy band aspires for Billboard No. 1 with new album 'The Name Chapter: Temptation'

Lisa of Blackpink set three new world records last year, the Guinness World Records said Tuesday. “Guinness World Records can confirm that in 2022, Lisa achieved three more record titles to add to her collection,” it said. She already has two records for the music video for her first solo song “Lalisa” from 2021. She is the first K-pop solo act to win at the MTV Video Music Awards and MTV Europe Music Awards for the Best K-pop prize. The third record is for her dominance

South Korean hip-hop trio Epik High is making a return with its new album “Strawberry” on Feb. 1. "Strawberry" comes one year after the release of Epik High’s 10th full-length album “Epik High Is Here Part 2” last February. The album comprises five tracks including the titular track “Strawberry” and side tracks “On My Way,” “Catch,” “Down Bad Freestyle,” and “God’s Latte.” This is the trio&#

Taeyang of Big Bang debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 as a solo musician with “Vibe,” ranking No. 76 on the chart. The collaboration with Jimin of BTS is Taeyang’s first entry on the chart on his own. It was No. 9 on Billboard’s Global Excl. the US chart. “Vibe” hit the UK’s Official Singles Chart Top 100 at No. 96 and Billboard Japan’s Hot 100 at No. 35. The digital single came out on Jan. 13 and topped iTunes top songs charts in 100 regions a

Key of SHINee is making a comeback with his second repackaged album “Killer” on Feb. 13, according to SM Entertainment. The comeback comes six months after the release of Key’s second solo studio album “Gasoline” last August. The album is comprised of three new tracks including the titular track “Killer” and side tracks “Heartless” and “Easy.” It also includes 11 tracks from Key’s second full-length album including “Ga

The K-pop industry is strategically expanding its wings beyond the Asian continent to unexplored markets such as the Middle East and the American continent. Following the success of globalization that dates back to the early 2000s, when singer BoA and boy group TVXQ successfully broke into the Japanese market, K-pop entertainment agencies have now moved on to full-fledged “glocalization” strategies by accentuating the originality of Korean culture and localizing their idol groups. Gl

Do you know what "ah-shot-chu" means? Recently, Hoshi of the K-pop group Seventeen used the phrase in a Weverse message, and Zee, who provides English translations of the group's messages via Twitter, said she had a hard time deciphering the meaning. "I never heard of it until then, but could get the gist that it was a drink due to the word 'shot.' After researching, I found out it's 'shot added to iced tea,'" Zee, who runs the biggest translatio

Exo's Baekhyun, Shinee's Taemin, Monsta X's Shownu among many to complete duty

Around 80,000 fans flock to the two sold-out shows at Osaka's Kyocera Dome

Super rookie group aespa will hold its first standalone concerts on Feb. 25 and 26, SM Entertainment announced Friday. Under the title “Synk: Hyper Line,” the two-day gig will be held in Seoul and be a showcase of both its hit songs and never-before-seen performances. The second day’s live show will be broadcast online as well for fans across the world. Separately, the foursome is set to become the first K-pop group to perform at the Governors Ball Music Festival 2023 in New Y

BTS reclaimed a spot on Billboard 200 with its fifth EP from 2017, according to the chart dated Jan. 21. EP “LOVE YOURSELF ‘Her’” ranked No. 13 on the albums chart, reentering the chart for the first time in over four years. The EP debuted on the chart at No. 7, the highest spot for an Asian musician at the time, and stayed on the chart for 29 weeks. Main track “DNA” peaked at No. 67 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and “MIC Drop Remix” came in at No.

Last December, Jin of BTS officially enlisted for duty, the first of the seven members. Jin has completed five weeks of training at a front-line infantry division boot camp in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, and has been assigned as an assistant drill instructor as his permanent military position. The assistant instructor's main responsibility is to discipline recruits and demonstrate training exercises. Only a handful are selected at each division, and the position requires strict qualificat

NewJeans hit Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first time with “Ditto,” a pre-release track from the single album “OMG.” “Ditto” debuted on the chart at No. 96, about six months since the rookie girl group’s debut. It is a record time for a K-pop artist to hit the main singles chart. Last week, “Ditto” hit UK’s Official Singles Chart Top 100 at No. 95 and ranked No. 11 on Spotify’s Weekly Top Songs Global chart. “Ditto&rdqu

NCT 127 is launching a virtual concert in collaboration with Roblox. SM Entertainment on Wednesday announced NCT 127 will hold a global virtual concert, "The NCT 127 Concert Experience," in the metaverse space of Roblox. Along with the platform's developer Roblox Corp., the nine-piece K-pop band will launch the first-ever K-pop concert inside the metaverse space. From Jan. 28-30, the concert will take place every hour from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Korean time, allowing fans from around