The third EP from aespa sold more than 1.37 million copies on the first day, a record for a K-pop girl group. It is the group’s second million-seller, after its previous EP “Girls” sold 1.12 million in the first week, then fourth highest for a K-pop girl group. The mini album came out Monday, about 10 months after the last album, and logged 1.8 million in preorders. It swept a series of major music charts at home and topped iTunes top albums chart in 20 regions.   NewJean

Jungkook of BTS set a Guinness World Record for amassing 1 billion streams on Spotify in the shortest time for a K-pop male solo artist, said the global record authority on Monday. He achieved the feat on the platform in 409 days with three songs: “Stay Alive” from the original soundtrack for the webtoon “7Fates: Chakho,” the Charlie Puth collaboration track “Left and Right” and “Dreamers” from the official soundtrack for the 2022 FIFA Qatar World

Taeyong of NCT will bring out his first solo album early next month, according to label SM Entertainment Thursday. He is shooting a music video for the album, added a source. He will be the first member of the mega band to release an album on his own although many, including Mark, Taeil, Jaehyun and Doyoung, dropped solo singles before. Taeyong also put out “Long Flight” as the label’s singles project in 2019. The musician debuted in 2016 as a member of the band and has partic

Shownu and Hyungwon of Monsta X will form a subunit, a first from the six-member band, this summer, according to a local media report on Wednesday. Agency Starship Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. No specific timetable, though, has been set yet, it added. It will be Shownu’s first official activity since he was discharged from the mandatory military service last month. The band debuted in 2015 with EP “Trespass” and bandmates will pursue individual career

Jisoo of Blackpink set a record on Spotify with her solo song, “Flower,” which fronted the album “Me.” It took the single only 32 days to generate 100 million streams, a record time for a K-pop female soloist. This replaces the record Lisa set with “Money” that achieved the feat in 37 days. Meanwhile, Lisa surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify with her first solo album “Lalisa” as of last week. She became the first K-pop solo artist to reach the

Tomorrow X Together will roll out its second studio album in Japan on July 5, announced label Big Hit Music on Friday. The band will also hold a showcase to mark the release of LP “Sweet.” The album will consist of 12 tracks – four new songs and Japanese-language versions of its hit songs, including “Sugar Rush Ride,” the main track from its fifth EP, “The Name Chapter: Temptation.” The quintet has placed seven consecutive albums atop Oricon’s wee

(G)I-dle will launch an international tour in mid-June with concerts in Seoul, said agency Cube Entertainment on Thursday. The group will hold two concerts June 17-18 and from July, tour nine cities in Asia and the US, including Bangkok and Hong Kong, as well as New York, Chicago and San Francisco. More concerts may be added as the concert poster wrote “And More.” In the meantime, the quintet gave fans a taste of its upcoming sixth EP on Thursday. Part of “All Night,” on

    NCT Dream will go live again in Seoul on June 2-3, announced label SM Entertainment on Wednesday. The band will greet its fans at the encore concert for the first time in seven months after its previous gig in the Korean capital. The last day’s performance will be broadcast live online. The seven-member act returned to Seoul on Sunday after its first US tour came to an end last week in Seattle. The American leg of the tour brought the bandmates to seven cities across the

    Seventeen broke the record for sales during the first week with its tenth EP, “FML,” according to agency Pledis Entertainment on Tuesday. The EP sold more than 3.99 million units on its first day, replacing the previous record set by BTS, whose fourth studio album from 2020 logged 3.37 million in the first week. The mini album is the first in K-pop history to sell more than 3 million copies in one day. The new album surpassed 4.64 million in pre-orders, another rec

Stray Kids will make a comeback in early June, according to a local media report on Monday. JYP Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. It will be about eight months since its last EP “Maxident,” which notched the top spot on Billboard 200. It was the band’s second EP to claim the No. 1 spot on the main albums chart after its previous EP “Oddinary,” and the eight-piece act became the second K-pop artist to top the chart more than once, after BTS. The

On Friday, the Korean Army commented on a media report that claimed it gave J-Hope of BTS certain privileges when he entered the boot camp. A local media asserted that six cars were allowed into the camp in Gangwon Province on Tuesday instead of one, as announced by the military. Access passes were given to the artist’s entourage in advance while other people were only given one on the site after confirming notice of enlistment. There have been prior consultations with his label to preven

Three members of six-piece act Victon left agency IST Entertainment, said the company on Thursday. Choi Byungchan, Do Hanse and Jung Subin decided not to renew their contracts that expired as of Thursday. Han Seungwoo, Kang Seungsik and Im Sejun will stay with the agency as theirs are extended due to serving their military duties. Han was discharged in January and Kang is currently serving, as will Im from June. The remaining three members “will carry on their activities as arranged inclu

Twice will release its tenth single in Japan “Hare Hare” on May 31, according to label JYP Entertainment on Wednesday. The company floated teaser photographs for the single album via its social media channel in the country. The nine-member act is set to go live in Osaka and Tokyo on May 13-14 and 20-21, respectively. It will be the first K-pop girl group to hold concerts in stadiums in Japan. It is part of the group’s fifth international tour that began in Seoul last weekend.

Blackpink set yet another Guinness World Record, as its YouTube channel became the most viewed music channel on YouTube, according to YG Entertainment on Tuesday. The group’s channel has registered 3.01 billion views as of last week, edging past Justin Bieber. The channel opened about six years and nine months ago and had the most subscribers among artists as of September 2021. It currently has 86.9 million subscribers. This is the foursome’s 21st time to set a record recognized by

Blackpink will hold four more concerts in the US in August, said label YG Entertainment on Sunday. The quartet will perform in New Jersey, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles from Aug. 12-26, returning to the US where they held 14 concerts in seven cities last year. On Saturday in the US, the bandmates headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival as the first K-pop act to do so. They will go live again on Saturday, the last day of the music fest. Meanwhile, speculations claiming t

Girl group aespa will make a much-anticipated return on May 8, according to a local media report Friday. SM Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. More details and a timetable for promotions will be announced soon, the company said, asking fans to keep their expectations high. It has been about 10 months since the release of the group's second EP “Girls,” which went on to hit the Billboard 200 at No. 3. The EP sold 1.64 million copies in preorders and became the firs

(G)I-dle is gearing up for a return in May, according to a local media report Thursday. Agency Cube Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. The group’s previous album was its fifth EP “I Love” in October last year. The group entered the Billboard 200 for the first time with the EP at No. 71. The mini album topped iTunes top albums charts in 40 regions and sold more than 678,000 copies in the first week, a record for the five-member act. (G)I-dle debuted in May 2

Enhypen is set to make a comeback in May, according to a local media report on Wednesday. Its last album, the group's third EP “Manifesto: Day 1,” hit the Billboard 200 at No. 6. It stayed on the chart for six weeks in a row before reentering it twice, in October and December. The mini album and its first studio album “Dimension: Dilemma” from 2021 each sold one million copies. The boy band hosted its first international tour last year holding 22 concerts in 12 cities. I

  The music video for Blackpink’s “How You Like That” surpassed 1.2 billion views on YouTube, according to label YG Entertainment on Tuesday. It is the group’s sixth video to reach the milestone, after music videos for “Ddu-du Ddu-du,” “Kill This Love,” “Boombayah” and “As If It’s Your Last” as well as the dance video for “How You Like That.” The song came out in June 2020 as the focus track from its f

Suga of BTS shared the track list for its first solo album on Monday. Album “D-Day” will consist of 10 tracks including “People Pt. 2,” a collaboration with singer and actor IU that was dropped in advance Friday. The pre-release landed atop the iTunes top songs chart in 87 regions and ranked No. 11 on Spotify’s daily top song global chart. It also headed straight to the top of Oricon’s daily digital single ranking. Japanese composer Sakamoto Ryuichi, who pass