K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment and US music label Republic Records are expanding their strategic partnership. The labels announced Thursday their plan to expand their partnership, which includes global distribution of artists and catalogs, marketing, business development and artist repertoire. Their partnership was initially formed back in 2020 to promote JYP Entertainment’s girl group Twice outside South Korea. The partnership has proved successful, with Stray Kids and Twice housed by

After more than two years of hiatus, K-pop legend SHINee is finally returning to the music scene with its eighth studio album, “HARD,” on June 26. The upcoming album comprises a total of 10 tracks led by the titular track “HARD,” according to SM Entertainment. SHINee celebrates its 15th debut anniversary this year with this studio album which will open a new chapter in the group's career. The band established a strong position in the K-pop industry with irreplaceable

JYP Entertainment boy band Stray Kids have written themselves into K-pop history, logging the highest number of preorders for its upcoming album. Stray Kids' third full-length album “5-Star,” to release Friday, hit 4.93 million preorders on Tuesday, according to JYP Entertainment. Stray Kids became a million-selling act just three years since debuting with its second full-length album, “Noeasy,” in August 2021 selling more than 1.67 million copies. That success was f

The fourth-generation K-pop girl group aespa is rewriting K-pop history for female bands with its latest album “My World.” The four-member group’s latest album sold more than 1.69 million units just within the first week of its release breaking records for a K-pop girl group, according to label SM Entertainment. This dethrones Blackpink, whose second full-length album “Born Pink” logged 1.54 million copies in September last year. Despite it being a mini album, the E

The 29th Dream Concert enlightened Busan, the marine city of South Korea, on Saturday, starring major players of K-pop. The event was held at the Asiad Main Stadium with more than 31,000 K-pop fans in attendance. Nineteen acts, including Nmixx, Itzy, Oh My Girl and BTOB adorned the stage. Dream Concert, whose history dates to 1995, marked the finale of the 2023 World Climate Industry Expo. According to the event’s hosts, the Korea Entertainment Producers Association and Korea Tourism Organ

SHINee celebrated its 15th anniversary with its fans during the weekend in Seoul. The K-pop legends held a fan meeting “Piece of SHINE” at Jamsil Indoor Stadium for the first time as a full unit in four years and eight months. With all seats to the fan meeting sold out, SM Entertainment live-streamed the event via Beyond LIVE for the group’s global fans in 102 different regions including the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia, Singapor

Rapper Swings is hosting a free concert on June 3 with the artists that he houses in his hip-hop label AP Alchemy. “It was our CEO Swings’ decision to transition from the paid concert into a free one. He invested his personal money into it,” announced AP Alchemy on Thursday. The concert slated to be held at the Tiger Dome at Korea University on June 3 was initially planned as a paid concert with 5,000 tickets on sale. But as only 800 seats were sold, Swings decided to fill up t

Taeyong of NCT is holding a fan showcase to celebrate his solo debut. According to SM Entertainment, Taeyong will present his solo debut album “Shalala” to his fans during the showcase to be held in Seoul on June 5 at 8 p.m. The showcase, titled “Code: Stage,” will consist of Taeyong’s introduction of singles from his mini album, and performance of some of the tracks including the title track for the first time onstage. He is also expected to share with fans his rem

It took more than four years, but K-pop group Vanner is finally making a name for themselves. Over the last few years, the group struggled. The members had to work part-time jobs just to make ends meet, as becoming a K-pop artists only left them with debt. However, those days appear to have reached their end. “Once, I met a fan when working at a store. I was really worried about what the fan would think of me after seeing me off stage. But the fan told me that she likes me for who I am, w

Super Junior is the new ambassador of the Saudi Arabia Tourism Authority, SM Entertainment announced Tuesday. The inauguration took place during a tourism roadshow at the Westin Josun Seoul on Monday. “We will do the most we can to advertise tourism in Saudi Arabia. We were recently invited to the country by the Saudi Arabia Tourism Authority and there we made unforgettable memories. Saudi Arabia was not as far as we thought because there is a direct flight from South Korea to Saudi Arabia

Fantagio’s new boy group Lun8 will debut on June 15, the agency said Tuesday. The eight-member group is dropping its first mini album “Continue?” on the same day, according to Fantagio. The eight-piece is Fantagio's first boy group in seven years since the debut of Astro. Lun8 consists of seven Korean members -- Chael, Jinsu, Junwoo, Dohyun, Ian, Eunho and Eunseop -- and one Japanese member, Takuma. The group name holds the meaning of “eight boys who embrace the moon

K-pop solo artist B.I will perform at Lollapalooza Berlin, one of the biggest music festivals taking place at Olympiastadion and Olympiapark Berlin on September 9-10. He is the first K-pop artist to perform at the festival, according to 131 Label. B.I will take the stage on Sept. 10 along with other renowned artists including Imagine Dragons, Macklemore and Jason Derulo. B.I has previously performed at various hip hop festivals in both South Korea and abroad, including the Amazon Music Festival,

Singer-songwriter Lee Mu-jin wants to continue making songs that can be easily sung, listened to and sympathized with by many. True to his words, he tells the story of a boy with a crush in bright song “Ordinary Confession.” “Most of my songs loved by listeners were bright songs in which I try to portray the certain feelings and emotions of a moment with a melody. In this single, I tried to write about a feeling that most of us have experienced in our lives -- the feeling of an

ATBO returned to the K-pop scene after a seven-month hiatus with an album filled with bright energetic songs on Thursday. “Not only have we always wanted to perform bright music on stage but also have our fans. We thought they would like to see us performing with happy facial expressions and freewheeling dance styles so we focused on that,” said Hyunjun of ATBO at a media showcase in Seoul on Thursday. Unlike the band's previous albums, which had a darker, fiercer edge, ATBO&rsq

For Hui, an experienced vocalist of K-pop boy band Pentagon who has been active since 2016, every moment spent shooting Mnet’s K-pop competition "Boys Planet" was a challenge. “I was under a lot of pressure when I was looking forward to my first stage in the show because as an experienced artist, I faced higher expectations to do better. So I showed off as much talent as I could on stage. I don’t even remember myself performing because I was so nervous,” said Hu

Mamamoo will hold three encore concerts in Seoul as part of its first world tour, “My Con," from June 16-18 at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium. The encore concerts are to wrap up Mamamoo's world tour that has taken the quartet to nine cities in Asia and nine cities in the US beginning from November last year. Ahead of the encore gigs, Mamamoo unveiled a cinematic teaser clip with Wheein walking in a meadow, Hwasa immersed in thought, Sola walking down an eternal tunnel and Moonbyul

Singer Jay Park is set to drop a new single “Candy” next Tuesday. He announced the comeback by unveiling teaser content through his agency More Vision’s official social media account on Wednesday. The teaser image shows pieces of candy with “JAY PARK Flavor” written on their wrappers. The upcoming single “Candy” was produced by the renowned Cha Cha Malone and features singer Zion.T. All eyes are on what kind of synergy Jay Park will have with Zion.T'

The third-generation K-pop girl group Twice continues to be loved by many in Japan. Last weekend, Twice became the first K-pop girl group to hold a concert at a stadium in Japan. Tickets to the nine-member group’s two-day concert at the Yanmar Stadium in Osaka, Japan were sold out. These gigs were part of the Japanese leg of Twice's world tour “Ready to Be.” Next up are the act’s gigs at the Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday and Sunday. Around 220,000 fans are e

(G)I-dle has returned with a new album to deliver the message that those who are filled with self-esteem are the ones who look truly beautiful to others. The five-piece group released its sixth mini album “I Feel” on Monday, seven months after the group's last release. The girls took on a new challenge to dramatize the album through tracks that develop around one single story in which each member has their own character. “We wanted to make a dramatized album because when I

Virality was the key to success for the K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty to break records in the biggest Western music charts, US-based Billboard and UK-based Official Charts, despite its low profile in South Korea. Fifty Fifty, which consists of four members -- Keena, Aran, Sio and Saena -- debuted in November last year with its first EP “The Fifty” led by the title track “Higher.” Fifty Fifty, housed by a small-sized independent record label Attrakt, seemed set for an uphil