Jungkook of BTS surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify with solo work “Dreamers” on Thursday.
It is from the original soundtrack for 2022 FIFA World Cup and reached the milestone in 35 days, record time for a K-pop solo artist. The single debuted on the music platform’s global chart at No. 2, the highest spot for a solo musician from Asia.
“Dreamers” landed atop the iTunes top albums chart in 102 regions and Billboard’s digital song sales chart.
Pictures of him performing the song at the opening ceremony for the soccer tournament made The Best Photos of the 2022 World Cup listed by CNN Sports. FIFA President Gianni Infantino picked “performances from the incredible Jungkook” and Fahad Al Kubaisi as one of his favorite memories from the event in his recent Instagram post.
Blackpink re-enters Billboard 200 after 3 weeks
Blackpink returned on the Billboard 200 at the No. 186 spot with its second studio album “Born Pink,” according to the tally published on Wednesday in the US.
The LP slid off the chart for three weeks but made a re-entry, extending its stay on the chart for 12 weeks in total. It made a “hotshot” debut on the main albums chart dated Oct. 1 and was the only K-pop album included in Billboard’s 50 Best Albums of 2022.
Meanwhile, the quartet wrapped up the European leg of its international tour last week. It went live 10 times in seven cities, from London and Copenhagen to Amsterdam, the first destination of its first European tour in 2019. It will resume touring Asia and Oceania next year.
Lee Seung-gi donates W2b to children’s hospital
Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi donated 2 billion won ($1.58 million) to a children’s hospital on Thursday.
He visited Seoul National University’s children’s hospital in central Seoul on the day and donated the money to fund improving the facilities. Part of the hospital’s wing may be named after the celebrity, according to the hospital.
This also means that he is keeping his promise that he will give back all the money he receives for overdue payments from his former agency Hook Entertainment, besides the legal costs for suing the company.
Lee took legal action against the agency for fraud and embezzlement last week. The agency paid him 5.4 billion won after media reports that it has a longstanding debt to him, but Lee said that it is not about money and that he will donate the whole amount.
Cravity to greet fans in February
Cravity will host a fan concert in Seoul from Feb. 18-19, said agency Starship Entertainment on Thursday.
The boy band uploaded a poster for the event “Dear My Luvity” on the day full of boyish charms and warm energy. Luvity is the name of its official fandom community.
It has been about 10 months since the nine members went live at its first concert “Center of Gravity.” The second day’s live show will be broadcast online via Beyond Live.
Earlier this month, the band held a fan meet event in Osaka, Japan, themed after a Christmas party. It took to the stage four times over the weekend.
By Hwang You-mee
(glamazon@heraldcorp.com)
