Fans were shocked Monday night to learn that project boy band X1 was disbanding."We negotiated with the agencies representing each member of X1 on terms of unanimous agreement but failed to reach an agreement and decided to disband (the group),” the agencies said in a joint statement after the talks fell through.The decision came months after the vote-rigging scandal surrounding the “Produce” series forced the musicians from X1 and Iz*One to put their careers on hold, leav

YG says the official debut of the revamped 12-piece boy band Treasure is on the way, marking the first boy band to debut from YG in over four years, since iKON in 2015.In a blog post on Monday, YG said the company is thankful for fans who have been waiting a long time, and added that new content is coming this month through multiple channels. Treasure consists of a dozen members who were put together after appearing on YG’s K-pop competition “Treasure Box,” which aired around a

CJ ENM, the company behind Mnet, has officially responded to the vote-rigging scandal surrounding the cable channel’s flagship audition show. “I’m extremely sorry for the hurt it caused to many trainees who passionately followed their dreams of debuting,” CEO Heo Min-heoi said at a press conference at the company’s headquarters in Seoul on Monday.The apology comes after the show’s key producers were found to have fixed the votes for some contestants in return

 진행자: 임현수, Kevin Lee Selzer1. Stalked by fans, Twice gets police protection아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638기사요약: JYP가 스토커 문제로 경찰에 트와이스 신분보호 요청[1] JYP Entertainment on Monday said it has requested police protection for the K-pop girl group Twice over concerns of stalkers.* over: ~ 때문에[2] The music label released an official announcement on its website, stating the protective measures have al

Debate heated up over whether successful K-pop stars should be exempted from Korea’s mandatory military service during a public hearing at the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday.Chaired by Rep. Ahn Min-suk of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, the hearing saw a panel of lawmakers and culture critics call for reform of the country’s military exemption rules in order to give international K-pop stars like BTS military service exemption.Pop culture critic Ha Jae-geun said exempti

Christmas is just around the corner and what is the festive season without Christmas songs?That’s why we’ve put together a list of 15 Christmas-themed tracks with a little K-pop twist to usher in one of the most celebrated holidays around the world.“Merry & Happy” – TwiceOur first choice is Twice’s 2017 track from the repackaging of the group’s first studio album of the same title, “Merry & Happy.”Released Dec. 11, 2017, the midtempo

Academics from around the world got together in Seoul on Wednesday to discuss the global success of BTS and K-pop in general.Sponsored by Big Hit Entertainment, which houses the likes of BTS and TXT, the global seminar “K-Pop Beyond BTS” took place at Yonsei University, attracting scores of scholars, journalists and YouTubers.  In a keynote speech, Hong Seok-kyeong, a professor of communication at Seoul National University, said BTS and other K-pop boy bands offer “soft ma

It wasn’t only a bold light blue Supreme coat and fashionable trainers that Holland was sporting that are new. He seemed more confident than ever when we met for the second time late November even as our conversation was on mental health -- an issue that has recently sparked debate in South Korea “I think agencies need to do more to take care of their artists as K-pop becomes bigger. And instead of being reactionary after something happens, people need to think twice and try to be mo

Streaming service Genie Music launched a new virtual reality-powered video service on Tuesday with girl group Mamamoo’s ultra-high resolution performances as the platform’s first project.The Korean streaming giant’s new platform, dubbed “Virtual Play,” uses all the latest VR technology to present a 360-degree, 3D, 8K ultrahigh resolution experience.  Speaking at a press conference in Seoul, Cho Hoon, CEO of Genie Music, explained the name was inspired by the co

K-pop Twitter was set abuzz Wednesday night as the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards went down at Nagoya Dome in Japan.BTS swept up nine awards, including the top three prizes -- Album of the Year, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year -- while Itzy and TXT took home Best New Female Artist and Best New Male Artist, respectively. While fans cheered on their favorite acts’ achievements, many viewers thought the show came across as rushed and lacking in energy. It had already faced criticism ove

Blackpink, a four-piece girl group consisting of Rose, Jennie, Lisa and Jisoo, each with her own charm, is undisputedly one of the biggest girl groups in the world -- if not the biggest.It is the highest-charting female K-pop act in the US, with its self-titled single and EP having peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 24 on the Billboard 200.With a huge international following, the group’s music videos are also some of the most watched to date, with four of them among the a

CIX is striking a political tone with the boy band’s second EP, “Hello Chapter 2: Hello, Strange Place,” set for release Tuesday.Having debuted in July, the five-piece act appears to be fairly comfortable in highlighting social issues facing teenagers in South Korea in their music, such as studying too hard, school violence and neglect on the part of adults.Speaking at a press showcase, Yonghee said, “The album talks about many of the issues affecting our generation with

In a rare move for K-pop, power couple HyunA and Dawn are releasing new singles simultaneously.HyunA is returning to the music scene Tuesday nearly after two years with “Flower Shower” crossing between Moombahton, pop and dance. Dawn, a former Pentagon member who recently changed his name from E’Dawn, is releasing his self-penned track “Money.”The two made headlines for going public with their relationship last year, defying the industry norm in which idols’ l

K-pop supergroup SuperM broke a record after appearing at the Twitter Blueroom in Los Angeles earlier this month, drawing over a whopping 2 million viewers -- the highest figure to date.The septet consists of members from various acts -- SHINee, EXO, NCT127 and WayV. It managed to attract the record-breaking global viewership on Oct. 7 as it directly engaged fans and showcased dance moves for nearly 1 1/2 hours. In another sign of the group’s popularity, over 30 million tweets using the #S

Monsta X has had a busy year, entering uncharted territory for a K-pop act by appearing on a number of high-profile TV shows as well as collaborating with pop heavy hitters like French Montana and Steve Aoki.And the seven-piece group is back again with its new album “Follow: Find You.”The septet became the first K-pop act to perform at the iHeart Radio Music Festival this year and performed on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” in September. Behind its growing popularity is its u

Winner is showcasing growth both artistically and personally in its third EP “Cross.”The album, released Wednesday, comes only five months after EP “WE,” as the group delivers on the promise to fans that they would release two records within this year.As the title subtly suggests, the group sings together but also separately on the album packed with crossover tracks. “The album mostly consists of crossover tracks with multiple meanings. We wanted to move away from o

Emails between a South Korean record importer and a US record dealer reveal that SuperM’s debut record, released only in the US, was sold here with an assurance that the sales will be reflected in the US charts.In the conversation, obtained by The Korea Herald, record importer Hani Music secured a supply of records from a dealer that reports sales to Nielsen SoundScan, which powers the Billboard music charts. The company previously said they sold at least “thousands of copies”

Despite dominating this week’s headlines with their No. 1 debut in the US, K-pop supergroup SuperM has come under scrutiny over album sales in their home market that industry sources say have helped them secure the top spot. The group, consisting of stars from multiple acts under S.M. Entertainment -- SHINee, EXO, NCT127 and WayV -- topped the Billboard album chart in the first week of October with 164,000 album sales and 4.9 million streams, which means nearly 95 percent of the hot debut

After pulling off a successful world tour in their first year, ATEEZ is on full steam with their very first full studio album “TREASURE EP.FIN: All to Action” which was released on Oct. 8.Known for their strong stage presence and powerful dance moves, the full-length album is the latest addition to the group’s short but growing discography, which naturally has plenty of intense dance tracks, accompanied by high-energy choreography.As the title suggests, the album is the end of

Mnet’s new survival audition show “World Klass” premieres Friday, with a score of contestants competing over the next few weeks to become the next K-pop star.Viewers will see 20 trainees from countries all over the world including South Korea, Japan, China, the US and Australia put on display a set of multiple entertainment skills such as singing, dancing, acting and even banter.And only 10 people will get to debut as Too – an acronym of Ten Oriented Orchestra -- a group