Singer-songwriter Sunwoo Jung-a sings of living together in new single

Two talent management agency executives have been sentenced to fines on charges of rigging votes on a popular K-pop audition program in which their trainees were competing, judicial sources said Friday. According to the sources, the Seoul Central District Court has slapped Kim Kwang-soo, the founder and chief production director of MBK Entertainment, with a fine of 10 million won ($9,090) on account of business obstruction. Another man surnamed Park, the CEO of Pocketdol Studio, which is a sub

South Korean online gaming giant NCSOFT Corp. said Thursday that it will launch its K-pop fan platform globally next week. The platform, named Universe, will be simultaneously available on Google's Android and Apple's iOS devices on Jan. 28, NCSOFT said. Universe allows users to enjoy different K-pop content on mobile devices through the gaming firm's latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology. More than 4 million K-pop fans around the world have already pre-registered in 188 countries, N

Rookie K-pop act TREASURE is set to release its first full album in Japan in March, officially debuting in the Asian country, its agency said Thursday. "The First Step: TREASURE Effect," set to drop on March 31, is a Japanese version of the band's debut full album and carries 13 tracks sung in Japanese, according to YG Entertainment. Apart from the 12 songs included in the Korean version of the album, it also includes "Beautiful," the band's first song sung only in Japanese

Baekhyun, the lead singer of K-pop boy group EXO, will release his first solo album in Japan this week, his agency said Tuesday. His first Japanese EP, titled "BAEKHYUN," is set to hit Japan on Wednesday, according to SM Entertainment. It is his first time to release a Japanese album as a solo artist since his debut in 2015. The main track of the love-themed album will be "Get You Alone," which was first performed during his first solo concert held on Jan. 3 and pre-releas

Musicians end seven-year contract with JYP Entertainment

Sending a message of hope has always been the backbone of Epik High’s music career spanning over 17 years. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, but the trio has never been so eager to reach out to and comfort listeners in this distressing time. “I’d once sworn that we wouldn’t release an album with two CDs anymore. But we couldn’t help but do it because there were so many stories we wanted to share,” said DJ Tukutz during the band’s self-hosted onl

K-pop soloist IU is set to release the new single "Celebrity" later this month ahead of releasing her long-awaited fifth studio album, her agency said Friday. The song, which Edam Entertainment described as an "upbeat pop sound track that IU will be experimenting with for the first time," will drop on Jan. 27. A teaser image for the upcoming single showed IU standing in between light green-colored doors, donning an elegant peach-colored gown and sparkly jewelry. "Cele

Jennie, the singer-rapper of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, has earned over 600 million views on YouTube with her 2018 hit song "Solo," her agency said Friday. The music video for her first solo single hit the milestone at around 5:19 a.m., some 26 months after its release in November 2018, according to YG Entertainment. With the feat, Jennie has become the first South Korean solo female artist to have a 600 million-view music video on the global video-sharing website. "Solo,"

Superstar BTS has swept the 2021 Gaon Chart Music Awards with six trophies for its successful albums and songs released last year. At the annual awards ceremony held virtually on Wednesday due to the new coronavirus pandemic, the K-pop act won three trophies in the "Artist of the Year - Digital Music" category and two in the "Artist of the Year - Physical Album" category. The awards are given to 12 digital songs that topped the chart each month and four physical albums that

"Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey)" has become global megastar BTS' second music video to earn 1.1 billion views on YouTube, the band's agency said Wednesday. The music video, released in April 2019 as the lead track for album "Map of the Soul: Persona," reached the milestone at around 1:17 p.m., according to Big Hit Entertainment. The upbeat track featuring American singer-songwriter Halsey debuted at No. 8 on Billboard's main singles chart and stayed there for eight consecutive

Continuing to carve out its own niche, (G)I-dle has released a new single, “Hwa,” named for a Chinese character that can mean both “flower” and “fire.” The rhythmic moombahton number fronts the band’s fourth EP, “I Burn,” which follows debut EP “I Am” and later editions in the series “I Made” and “I Trust.” The self-produced “I Burn” credits all six members as either composers or lyricists, wi

Super rookie boy band Treasure is completing the last puzzle of the group’s first chapter with hopeful voices filling up their first studio album, “The First Step: Treasure Effect.” Ahead of dropping a new album on Monday, the 12-member act livestreamed a global press conference conducted online due to concerns of the COVID-19 situation in South Korea. Released in a depressive period of the coronavirus pandemic, the band explained the album is all about sending a hopeful me

After selling 700,000 albums with just three singles and sweeping rookie prizes at year-end awards, TREASURE now aims to send out positive vibes to fans and listeners. The rookie band that debuted in August through a survival audition program by YG Entertainment, "YG Treasure Box," is set to drop its first full album "The First Step: Treasure Effect," a 12-track album fronted by lead track "My Treasure," late Monday. In a press conference livestreamed on YouTube,

Seven-piece boy band GOT7 will officially be leaving JYP Entertainment without renewing its contract, the agency announced Monday. "JYP held in-depth discussions with members of GOT7 ahead of their exclusive contract termination on Jan. 19. As a result, the two sides agreed not to proceed with a contract renewal, hoping for a new future," the entertainment agency said in a statement. JYP, led by K-pop guru and producer Park Jin-young, voiced gratitude to the band as well as its fan c