NewJeans logged 600 million plays on Spotify with “Ditto,” agency Ador said Friday, citing the platform’s data. It is the group’s second song to achieve the feat after “OMG.” “Ditto” is the pre-release song from the single “OMG” and the five-member group's first song to land on Billboard’s Hot 100. It debuted on the main songs chart at No. 96 about only six months after the group’s debut, setting a record for a K-pop ac

Kep1er will begin a new chapter as a seven-member group, according to a local media report Thursday. The group debuted in January 2022 with survivors of the audition show “Girls Planet 999: Girls Saga” and was supposed to disband in July. Seven members, however, decided to renew their contracts to continue as Kep1er, a first for an idol group launched through such a program in Korea. Kang Yeseo and Mashiro will return to their original agency and join another girl group Limelight, ad

Zerobaseone’s third EP sold over 1 million copies on the day of its release, as did its two previous albums, said agency WakeOne Entertainment on Tuesday, citing a local tally. The rookie band is the first in K-pop history to achieve the feat. Its first and second EPs have both sold over 2 million units so far. The EP “You Had Me at HELLO” was released Monday and topped the iTunes Top Albums Chart in 22 regions while the title track “Feel the POP” landed atop its

Seventeen claimed the No. 5 spot on the Billboard 200 with its best-of album, according to the chart preview posted Sunday in the US. Expectations were high for the album “17 Is Right Here” as the main track “Maestro” debuted on its Global 200 and Global excl. the US charts at No. 91 and No. 40, respectively, in less than four days after release. The lead single topped the iTunes Top Songs chart in 32 regions and the album landed atop Oricon’s weekly and weekly comb

Mark of NCT is gearing up to put out his first solo album, label SM Entertainment said Friday. It is due out in February next year, and he will give fans a taste of what is to come on May 16 with the single album “200," consisting of two tracks – the titular track and “200 (Minhyung’s Ver.).” At midnight, the musician surprised his fans with a video clip in which he sang the lead single while playing an acoustic guitar. Mark has released the solo songs “C

Stray Kids will bring out a new album on July 19, according to a local media report Thursday. The group's last album was the eighth EP “Rock-Star” from November last year, which became its fourth consecutive chart-topper on Billboard 200, following EPs “Oddinary” and “Maxident” as well as LP “Five-Star.” The eight-track extended play sold over 3 million copies in the first week and topped the iTunes Top Albums Chart in 32 regions while the mai

NCT Dream will roll out the Japanese single “Moonlight” online on Wednesday, in advance of the full release of its second single album of the same title that is due out on June 5, according to SM Entertainment. The band will perform the pop dance tune on stage at its concert in Osaka on May 11-12, giving the audience the first look at the performance. The concert will be the beginning of the Japan leg of the tour, “The Dream Show 3: Dream Escape in Japan,” which will brin

Seventeen notched the No. 1 spot on Oricon’s weekly album ranking with best-of album “17 Is Right Here,” according to agency Pledis Entertainment on Tuesday. It is the 12th time the band topped the chart, extending its record for an international artist. The compilation album is its eighth album to achieve the feat. The album sold over 2 million copies on the day of release and 2.96 million in the first week of sales. The main track “Maestro” topped the iTunes Top S

Sunmi will release a self-written single in June, agency Abyss Company said Friday. She finished shooting a music video in Croatia, it added. The songstress uploaded several pictures and wrote “Rainy Croatia” on her social media last month. The upcoming single comes about eight months after her eighth digital single “Stranger.” The songstress debuted as a solo act in 2013, about 3 1/2 years after she suspended activities as a member of group Wonder Girls. She rejoined the

Stray Kids earned gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America with “Maniac,” according to the organization’s announcement Wednesday in the US. It is the fourth time the band has gone gold in the US -- after the single “God’s Menu” and the albums “Five-Star” and “Rock-Star.” “Maniac” fronted the band’s sixth EP “Oddinary” which came out in March 2022 and made a hotshot debut on the

Seventeen’s best-of album, “17 Is Right Here,” sold more than 22.6 million copies on the day of release, according to a local tally released Tuesday. It sets the record for a compilation album from a K-pop act, according to agency Pledis Entertainment. The album topped iTunes top albums chart in 17 regions, while main track “Maestro” topped songs charts in 32. The band added four new songs -- “Maestro” and three songs from among subunits -- to 28 focus

NewJeans uploaded teaser photographs for its upcoming single album Friday, via agency Ador. The five bandmates went for a hip and sporty look with the single “How Sweet,” with each showing off their charms in different styles. The double single will be available in two versions. For one of them, the group has collaborated again with American animation "The Powerpuff Girls," after having previously teamed up with the cartoon heroes for second EP “Get Up.” The a

Project girl group Kep1er will not extend its term beyond July, when it is due to end, according to a local media report on Thursday. The nine members will go separate ways when the group project ends but not before releasing an album and hosting a concert, it added. Management companies of the members – WakeOne and Swing -- gathered once last year to discuss continuing on as Kep1er but did not reach a decision. WakeOne Entertainment said that it is still in talks with the other agency as

Stray Kids uploaded a teaser photograph for upcoming digital single Wednesday. The band of eight gazed into the camera exuding calm energy for much-hyped single “Lose My Breath,” a collaboration with Charlie Puth. The producing trio within the band – of Bangchan, Changbin and Han – participated in writing the song as it has for all lead singles since its debut in 2018. The digital single will be unveiled on May 10. Separately, the band’s “Why?,” its firs

Ateez announced plans for its North American tour Tuesday via agency KQ Entertainment. The band will resume the American leg of tour “Towards the Light: Will to Power” that began with a concert in Seoul in January, starting with a live show in Tacoma, US on July 14. It will then visit nine cities in the US and Canada, including: Los Angeles, Washington DC, New York and Toronto. The eight-member act hinted at visiting the region, telling the audience that it will be back in the US thi

Rookie girl group Illit generated 100 million streams on Spotify with its debut single “Magnetic,” said agency Belift Lab on Monday citing the platform’s data. It reached the milestone in 26 days and set a record for a K-pop girl group’s debut song. The single fronted the EP “Super Real Me” and made Billboard’s Hot 100 and the UK’s Official Singles Top 100 charts, at No. 91 and No. 87 respectively, becoming the first debut song from a K-pop artist

Illit set fans abuzz Thursday with remixes of debut single “Magnetic.” There are three different remixes -- a soft and dreamy R&B version, a fresh and upbeat “starlight” version and a slower “city night” take on the tune. The original song is a dance song that combines house and trap and fronted the rookie girl group’s first EP “Super Real Me” that came out last month. It hit Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 91, a first for a debut single

Zico has raised expectations for his upcoming digital single with a picture showing him with Jennie of Blackpink. In the photo uploaded Wednesday on his Instagram account, the two artists are looking at Polaroid pictures of themselves between working on his 11th single, “Stop!,” which marks the 10th anniversary of the singer and songwriter’s debut. “Come vibe with us,” he wrote in the caption, also sharing a video that captured Jennie perched on a table singing and

A pop-up event for fans of BTS will run in Seoul from April 26 to May 12, according to an announcement by Big Hit Music on Tuesday. The news for the event “Monochrome” came with posters, one of which used a never-seen-before black-and-white photograph of the seven members, shot before they enlisted. Another showed boxes moving along a conveyor belt hinting that the temporary occasion will be theme after “memory clouds” which was the main concept from its fan meetup held

Stray Kids is gearing up for a new release in the summer, according to a local media report on Monday citing industry sources. Considering that it is slated to headline a series of music festivals abroad -- “I-Days” in Milan, “British Summertime Hyde Park” in London and “Lollapalooza Chicago” in Chicago -- from mid-July, an album is likely to be released in June, it speculated. Its last album was the November's “Rock-Star” tEP, which topped