K-pop boy group Riize took its signature genre, "emotional pop," to the next level in its first mini album, “Riizing,” released on Monday. “Our first mini album carries eight tracks to offer a full experience of our signature genre, emotional pop. The title of the album shows our desire to continue moving forward,” said Sungchan of Riize during a press conference in Seoul on Monday held to mark the album's release. Riize describes “emotional pop&rdquo

Standing on top of a green grass hill, the main stage decor, a children's choir opened the K-pop sibling duo AKMU’s two-day concert singing “Last Goodbye.” AKMU then appeared on a lift in a navy suit and dress to perform “Every Little Thing” with a live band and a string orchestra. The K-pop duo was welcomed by 10,500 people in the audience holding green fan lights that shined like fireflies glowing on summer evenings. Sunday’s show was the last day of AK

K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty is returning as a quintet with four new members joining original member Keena in September. “We’ve been holding auditions in search of new members for the group’s new leap. We finalized four new members in April,” announced Fifty Fifty’s agency, Attrakt, on Friday in a press release. Fifty Fifty’s comeback was initially scheduled for June. “We know that many people have been waiting for their comeback but we needed more time

K-pop boy group Riize is opening a pop-up store to promote its first mini album, “Riizing,” to be released on Monday. The pop-up store will be open at Starfield Suwon in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province for 10 days, June 14-23. Visitors can tune into “Boom Boom Bass,” the lead track of Riize’s upcoming EP, at a special listening zone in the pop-up store. The six-piece band has also prepared a photo booth in which fans can take pictures with members of the group in its frame

K-pop girl group XG, which consists of seven Japanese members, is expanding its first-ever world tour to the US and Europe. Starting with a concert in Las Vegas on Oct. 4, XG is to visit seven more cities in the US to meet with American fans. The group is then crosses the Atlantic to perform in Manchester, England, on Nov. 18, followed by shows in five more cities in Europe. XG kicked off its first world tour with two days of concerts at the Osaka-Jo Hall in Osaka, Japan, on May 18 and 19. Altho

The 2024 Dream Concert will be held Oct. 19 at Goyang Stadium in Ilsan, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, according to the Korean Entertainment Producer’s Association on Wednesday. Dream Concert is the longest-standing K-pop concert, held annually since 1995. This year’s event is co-hosted by the Korean Entertainment Producer’s Association, the Korea Tourism Organization and Goyang city. Dream Concert has attracted 1.98 million concertgoers so far over the past nearly 30 years. Fro

SM Entertainment has denied a claim made by Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin of boy band EXO that it is making an "unfair" demand regarding revenue from their individual activities. Shortly after the trio, also known as EXO-CBX, held a press conference in Seoul on Monday to issue the claim, SM released a press statement saying that the trio was able to get a good distribution deal and suffered no damage from their contract signed with the K-pop powerhouse in June last year. Last year, EXO-CBX

The K-pop industry has begun using artificial intelligence in making music videos and songs for K-pop artists in line with technological advancements. Seventeen, a world-renowned K-pop boy group, for instance, introduced the music video for their latest song, “Maestro,” last month with a scene created by AI. The music video makes its viewers question who is the real maestro, when the subject responsible for creation is unclear, in a world where virtually everything can be made with A

K-pop boy group Ateez landed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated June 15) with its 10th EP “Golden Hour: Part 1.” This is the group’s fourth consecutive album to chart in the top 3 on the Billboard 200 following its eighth EP “The World EP. 1: Movement,” ninth EP “The World Ep. 2: Outlaw” and second LP “The World Ep. Fin: Will.” The eight-member group’s latest EP carries six tracks led by the lead track “Work,”

Red Velvet is releasing a new album in time for its 10th debut anniversary. The K-pop girl group is dropping its seventh EP, “Cosmic,” on June 24 at 6 p.m., according to SM Entertainment. The new album will carry six tracks that accentuate Red Velvet’s unique musical identity and are perfect for listening during summer, said the agency. This album marks the first release in seven months after the group put out its third full-length album “Chill Kill” in November 202

Jeonghan and Wonwoo of the popular K-pop boy group Seventeen’s first single album will be led by the title track “Last Night (Guitar by Park Ju-won).” “Last Night (Guitar by Park Joo-won)” was composed by Woozi and singer-songwriter Bumzu. Woozi, another Seventeen member, has produced various hit singles for his group. The single album “This Man,” which will be released on June 17, will carry a total of three tracks. The other two tracks are “Beaut

SM Entertainment denied rumors that its artists bought sex and used drugs at an adult entertainment establishment in Japan. “Currently, groundless rumors about Johnny and Haechan of NCT regarding prostitution, drugs and other disturbing content are being spread and reproduced indiscriminately online. These rumors are completely false and spreading these rumors are criminal acts that severely defame our artists,” wrote SM Entertainment on Kwangya 119, its website established for repor

SM Entertainment’s China-based K-pop boy group WayV released its fifth EP, “Give Me That,” on Monday. The new EP includes six tracks led by the titular track “Give Me That” released in Chinese and Korean. This is the first time WayV has included a Korean song in their album. “We are glad to introduce a Korean song because it means that we now have more fans in Korea. We hope to meet with our fans from all around the world by making it to global music charts wi

K-pop boy group Big Bang's member T.O.P will not go to the moon after the world's first civilian moon mission, “dearMoon,” was canceled Saturday. T.O.P. was to blast off as part of what would have been the first civilian mission to the moon on a rocket developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The launch had been scheduled for 2023. “It’s unfortunate to announce that ‘dearMoon,’ the first private circum-lunar flight project, will be canceled. We thank e

K-pop sibling duo AKMU released its third EP, “Love Episode,” on Monday. The new release consists of six tracks, led by “Hero.” Lee Chan-hyuk, the older brother, took part in composing and writing the lyrics for the entire album. “The songs convey acoustic sounds with various genre variations, giving them newness. They are light and comfortable easy-listening music under the theme of ‘love’ that anyone can sympathize with,” YG Entertainment said in

K-pop boy group Zerobaseone opened a pop-up store with IPX, the digital IP platform company formerly known as Line Friends, on Friday at the Line Friends store in Gangnam, southern Seoul. The pop-up store celebrating the release of the group’s third EP, “You Had Me at Hello,” will operate until June 9. Diverse merchandise made with official cartoon characters of Zerobaseone called “Zeroni” are available for purchase at the store. The pop-up store includes a photo zo

K-pop boy group Ateez released “Golden Hour: Part 1,” its 10th EP, on Friday. This is the first installment of the “Golden Hour” series that comes after three previous series: “Treasure,” “Fever” and “The World.” “The new series will portray the golden moments we’ve experienced and plan on making in the future through music,” said Seonghwa of Ateez during a press conference in Seoul on Thursday. The eight-member group&

Gnocchi Bar turns into summer fruit market Gnocchi Bar, a restaurant specializing in gnocchi in Hannam-dong, central Seoul that opened in 2018, has introduced a new seasonal menu, turning the store into a summer fruit market. Under the new theme, the restaurant is decorated with lemons, oranges, dragon fruit and pottery. The new menu includes light brunch choices including: strawberry burrata salad, corn basil soup, sweet potato gnocchi and gno-bokki, which is gnocchi served like tteokbokki. The

  Hybe Chairman Bang Si-hyuk on Tuesday met with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in South Korea on a two-day state visit, to discuss possible cooperation in K-pop ventures. While the details of the discussion have not been disclosed, Bang has reportedly shared his ideas of expanding K-pop's presence in the UAE, particularly by holding the entertainment company’s “The City” project in the country. "The City" project is a citywide festiv

Inside one of the many semi-transparent cubicles representing city skyscrapers, Doyoung of NCT appeared in a glittering white jacket and pants singing “Beginning,” a B-side track from his first solo album “Youth.” His mellow voice quickly mesmerized around 3,500 people gathered at Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace on Monday for the final performance of Doyoung’s three-day concert, “Dear Youth.” Doyoung’s first-ever standalone concert