(Credit: JYP Entertainment) Stray Kids claimed the top spot on Oricon’s monthly album chart with first studio album in Japan “The Sound,” announced label JYP Entertainment on Friday. Since the release on Feb. 22, the LP has swept Oricon charts, from daily and weekly to weekly combined. The LP consists of 10 tracks, including the titular track and Japanese-language version of “Case 143” and “Thunderous,” lead tracks from EP “Maxid

Eighteen-member NCT is preparing to roll out the first album of its subunit consisting of members Doyoung, Jaehyun and Jungwoo, according to a local media report on Thursday. The subunit is set to debut in the first half of this year, it added. Label SM Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. The three members performed their song, “Can’t We Go Back,” for the first time at NCT127’s standalone concert held in Seoul in October last year, raising expectations

Twice's upcoming EP sold over 1.7 million copies in pre-orders, announced label JYP Entertainment on Wednesday. The group’s 12th EP “Ready to Be,” due out on Friday, is set to be another multi-million-seller following the previous EP “Between 1＆2” in August last year. Expectations for the album have been high, and pre-release from the EP “Moonlight Sunrise” ranked No. 84 on Billboard’s Hot 100 last month. The nine-member group will perform the mai

The first self-written song from Jimin of BTS topped the iTunes top songs chart in 51 regions, according to label Big Hit Music on Tuesday. Single “Promise” was unveiled in 2018 through music platform SoundCloud. Another work of his “Christmas Love” from 2020 claimed the No. 1 spot on the chart in 17 regions. It was a surprise gift dropped on Christmas Eve and still holds the record among K-pop solo musicians for logging 10 million views on YouTube. The artist officially

Stray Kids will release a new album in late April, according to a local media report on Monday. Label JYP Entertainment acknowledged that the band finished shooting the music video for the new album but said that no specific date has been set yet for its return. Its last album was the EP “Maxident," released in October last year. It notched the top spot on the Billboard 200, as did the previous EP “Oddinary,” and sold over three million copies, a first for the band. Meanw

Red Velvet will hold its fourth standalone concert in Seoul on April 1-2, label SM Entertainment announced Friday. It has been almost 3 1/2 years since its last concert in Korea and the show “R to V” will be livestreamed on Beyond Live for fans around the world. Meanwhile, the group is set to perform at Primavera Sound 2023 in June. It is the only K-pop band to be invited to the Spanish music festival and will go live in Barcelona on June 1 and in Madrid on June 8. This year’s

Mino of Winner will start to fulfill his mandatory military service from March 24, according to a local media report on Thursday. He is to serve as an alternative social worker, YG Entertainment confirmed following the report. He will be the third member of the quartet to enlist. Kim Jinwoo and Lee Seunghoon have completed their service and Kang Seungyoon will start his soon. Mino hinted at the news last week while on a TV competition show as a judge. Saying that he was sad to leave the show af

Jungkook of BTS assured fans it was he who deleted his Instagram account, not a hacker. The boy band star wrote to fans on fan community platform Weverse that he left the social media service as he just did not feel like doing it anymore, lest fans worry. Jungkook opened his own account in December 2021 at the same time as his bandmates. His account had more than 51 million followers as of last week. He was the second Korean celebrity to log 50 million followers on the platform, following bandm

Hwang Minhyun held a media showcase in Seoul on Monday to introduce his first solo EP, titled “Truth or Lie.” “I wanted to tell a story of my own, as it is my first solo album,” said the musician, who debuted as a member of NU’EST in 2012. He chose “Hidden Side” as the main track since it can best demonstrate his strong performance. “I wanted to dance on stage. I’ve had thirst for performance even while I was acting,” said the singer a

Kai of EXO uploaded a teaser poster for his third solo EP “Rover” on Friday. The performer instantly drew attention with neon green feathered wings on his back. A series of teaser content will follow until the EP is rolled out on March 13. The album will have six tracks including the titular track. His second EP “Peaches” topped the iTunes top albums chart in 65 regions when it came out in November 2021. Separately, EXO greeted fans in Japan with a video letter on Thursd

Stray Kids ranked No. 1 on Oricon’s daily album ranking with its first studio album in Japan. LP “The Sound” was rolled out on Wednesday and headed straight to the top of the chart. The album consists of 10 tracks including the titular track as well as Japanese-language version of “Case 143” and “Thunderous,” lead tracks from EP “Maxident” and LP “Noeasy,” respectively. The eight-member act will take to the stage in Osaka this we

The music video for the collaboration of BTS’ Jungkook and Charlie Puth, “Left and Right,” has surpassed 300 million views on YouTube. The American singer and songwriter and the Korean idol joined forces for the song unveiled in June last year. It stayed on Billboard’s Hot 100 for 17 weeks in a row after hitting the chart at No. 22. It also was No. 1 on iTunes top songs charts in 106 regions and has been streamed via Spotify over 500 million times. The single was picked

The music video for BTS’ “Save Me” surpassed 700 million views on YouTube on Monday, according to Big Hit Music on Tuesday. It is the band’s 11th music video to reach the milestone. It was touted as a “top-notch music video” as the artists “perform their intense choreography … in a one-take video which solidifies how strong and cohesive this group is with their performances,” commented American media outlet Fuse TV when it was unveiled. &ld

Tomorrow X Together maintained a spot on the Billboard 200 for the third week, according to a preview article from the publication. The group's fifth EP “The Name Chapter: Temptation” ranked No. 10 on the chart dated Feb. 25, making them the third K-pop act to sit among the top 10 on the chart for three weeks in a row, following BTS and Blackpink. The EP debuted on the chart at No. 1 and was No. 3 the following week. The album sold more than 2.18 million copies in its first week. Se

Jungkook of BTS amassed 500 million streams on Spotify with “Left ＆ Right,” a collaboration with American singer and songwriter Charlie Puth. He achieved the feat in record time for a K-pop solo artist and has been breaking records with the song on the platform, reaching milestones in the shortest time in K-pop history: 100 million streams in 24 days, 200 million in 61 days, 300 million in 104 days and 400 million in 159 days. The single was released in June and debuted on Spotify&r

NCT Dream will tour 22 cities across the world starting next week, according to a statement by SM Entertainment on Wednesday. The boy band will go live in Osaka for three days next week before hopping over to Jakarta, Bangkok and Hong Kong. The tour will take the seven members to London, Paris and Berlin before they head over to the US where they will host the first of their standalone concerts in seven cities. The band will resume greeting fans in Asia, going live in Manila, Singapore, Macau a

Kai of EXO will make a comeback as a solo performer in mid-March, according to a local media report Tuesday. SM Entertainment confirmed the news following the report. His last solo release was his second EP, “Peaches,” which came out in November 2011. The EP reached first place on the iTunes top albums chart in 68 regions. During the last week of January, Kai held his first solo live event in Japan, greeting fans in Nagoya, Osaka and Yokohama. He is also preparing for the group&rsqu

Onew of SHINee will perform one more time on March 3, SM Entertainment announced Monday. He was set to host his first stand-alone concert as a solo musician, dubbed “O-New-Note,” in Seoul on March 4-5, but decided to add a day as tickets sold out upon release. The veteran idol put out his first solo album, “Voice,” in 2018 and second EP, “Dice,” last year. He also released his first full album in Japan, “Life Goes On,” last year and toured four ci

Blackpink will perform one more time in Mexico City on April 27, label YG Entertainment announced Friday. The group originally planned to only hold one concert in the Mexican capital on April 26, but tickets sold out so fast it decided to add another on the following day. The foursome is in the middle of its international tour that started last year. It visited seven cities each in North America and Europe last year for 24 concerts. It resumed the tour in Asia this year that brings the bandmate

    Three members of Twice will form the group’s first subunit and roll out an EP in Japan, label JYP Entertainment announced Thursday. Mina, Sana and Momo will release their first EP as a trio, named Misamo, which takes the first syllable from each of their names, on July 26. They sang “Bouquet” last month in Japan for an original soundtrack for the drama “Liaison – Children’s Heart Clinic” on TV Asahi. The song topped Line Music’s