Articles by Hong Yoo
Hong Yoo
yoohong@heraldcorp.com-
Will Blackpink survive the 7-year curse?
YG Entertainment girl group Blackpink will mark its seventh debut anniversary on Tuesday. After making its debut in 2016 with singles “Whistle” and “Boombayah,” Blackpink has flourished as a popular world-renowned K-pop girl group enchanting the public with its imposing charm and topping major music charts in the US and in the UK. But as their seven-year exclusive contract with YG Entertainment is close to being expired, all eyes are on whether the members -- Jennie, Lisa
K-pop Aug. 6, 2023
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Treasure hits reboot with 2nd studio album
It took around 10 months for YG Entertainment’s youngest boy group Treasure to return with a new album, but the group hopes it will be a new start. Treasure hopes that its second studio album, “Reboot,” released on Friday will help them start off fresh and break free from its previous teenlike music and image. “Just like the title of our album, we hope to reboot the group with this album. Three years have passed by since our debut during which we matured and enhanced our
K-pop July 28, 2023
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Saturday returns as quartet under new agency
K-pop girl group Saturday returned with a new single album after a 2 1/2-year hiatus. “We’ve longed for a comeback so much that it feels surreal to be performing on stage again. We put in everything we can in this album because we took a long time getting back on stage. We hope our new album can be loved by many around the world,” said Yuki of Saturday. Saturday entered the music scene in July 2018 with its first single album “Mmook Jji Bba” as a septet under the ag
K-pop July 27, 2023
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2PM to hold 15th-anniversary concerts in Seoul, Tokyo
K-pop boy group 2PM is marking its 15th anniversary with concerts in Seoul and in Tokyo. The concerts will be held in Seoul at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium on Sept. 9-10, and also in Tokyo at the Ariake Arena on Oct. 7-8, JYP Entertainment announced Thursday on social media with a poster. The last day of the concert in Seoul will be livestreamed via platform Beyond LIVE. The “It’s 2PM” concerts would be the first full-unit performances in six years in Korea and in seven years in J
K-pop July 27, 2023
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NewJeans climbs to No. 64 on Billboard’s Hot 100
NewJeans’ latest single, “Super Shy,” one of the three title tracks from the group's second EP “Get Up,” rose to a new peak on the global Billboard music chart. The song climbed to No. 64 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart dated July 29, marking the group’s highest ranking on the chart so far, according to Billboard on Wednesday. This comes a week after “Super Shy” debuted at No. 66 on the same chart. NewJeans’ former hit songs “OM
K-pop July 26, 2023
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Everglow to return next month after long hiatus
K-pop girl group Everglow is returning to the music scene in August, ending its 20-month hiatus. Everglow is currently working on its new album set for release on Aug. 18, according to Yue Hua Entertainment on Wednesday. The group dropped its comeback teaser poster on its official social media account, in which each member is individually silhouetted striking a pose behind a transparent veil. This new album puts an end to Everglow's lengthy break since the release of its third mini album &l
K-pop July 26, 2023
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Le Sserafim, Japanese singer-songwriter imase collaborate for new single
Le Sserafim released a new single with the Japanese singer-songwriter imase on Tuesday. The single “Jewelry (Prod. imase)” is one of the tracks from its upcoming second Japanese single “Unforgiven,” released prior to the official album drop on Aug. 23. Imase, known for his hit track “Night Dancer” which hit 1.2 million views on TikTok and became the first J-pop track to land on Korea’s Melon Chart Top 100, produced the song. The single is of the city pop
K-pop July 25, 2023
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Oh My Girl to make this summer its golden time
Oh My Girl returned as a full unit for the first time in a year and four months with its ninth mini album “Golden Hourglass” on Monday. “The title of this album is a combination of ‘golden time’ and ‘hourglass.’ Once the sand goes down the hourglass, it does not go back up on its own. But we wanted to convey the meaning that we will make our own golden time by flipping the hourglass because our golden time is now,” said Hyojung, the band's lea
K-pop July 25, 2023
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NewJeans likely to see 3 songs from 2nd EP on Billboard Hot 100
K-pop girl group NewJeans is making strides in the US, the world's largest music market. According to Ador, the agency which houses NewJeans, all six tracks of the group's second EP, “Get Up,” landed on Spotify US’ Daily Top Song Chart -- “Super Shy” at No. 10, “Cool With You” at No. 16, “New Jeans” at No. 20, “ETA” at No. 22,” “ASAP at No. 25 and “Get Up” at No. 32. This is the first time for a K
K-pop July 24, 2023
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StayC to drop 3rd EP ‘Teenfresh’ next month
K-pop girl group StayC is releasing its third mini album “Teenfresh” on Aug. 16, according to agency High-Up Entertainment. StayC unveiled a teaser poster of its upcoming album on its official social media account on Monday. The orange-colored poster shows the title of the new album with a message saying “coming soon.” The new album comes six months after the group dropped its fourth single album “Teddy Bear” in February. The single “Teddy Bear” wa
K-pop July 24, 2023
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BTS’ Jungkook debuts on UK's Official Singles Chart at No. 3
Jungkook of BTS made his successful debut on the UK's Official Singles Chart “Top 100” at No. 3 on Saturday with his solo debut single “Seven.” The Official Singles Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company, based on sales of downloads, CDs, vinyl, audio streams, and video streams. The Official Singles Chart is one of the two most recognized music charts in the world along with the Billboard chart. Jungkook is the K-pop soloist with the second-highest record o
K-pop July 23, 2023
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NewJeans ‘Cool With You’ videos reinterpret Eros, Aphrodite, Psyche
NewJeans released two music videos for “Cool With You” from its upcoming second EP “Get Up” on Thursday. The music videos star world-renowned actors including “Squid Game” star Jung Ho-yeon as Eros, the Hong Kong actor Tony Leung as Aphrodite, and actor Micol Vela as Psyche. NewJeans’ producer Min Hee-jin again created the music videos with director Shin Woo-seok, who runs commercial and movie production company Dolphiners Film. The same team was behind
K-pop July 20, 2023
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Brave Girls rebranded as BB Girls, to drop new album early next month
BB Girls, formerly known as Brave Girls, are returning with a new album on Aug. 3. The group’s agency Warner Music Korea released a poster announcing the group’s comeback on its official social media accounts on Wednesday. In the photos, the BB Girls members exuded charisma, radiating confidence and intensity. This was in stark contrast to the refreshing mood of the band's last mini-album “Summer Queen.” This is the first time the group is releasing an album under a
K-pop July 20, 2023
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Ichillin’ ready for summer takeover with new album
K-pop girl group Ichillin’ is back with a new album, ready to take the music scene by storm this summer. Ichillin’ dropped its second mini album “I’m on It!” on Wednesday, which comes two months after the group’s fifth digital single “Siren.” Ichillin’ made its debut on Sept. 8, 2021, with the digital single “Got’ya.” The group consists of seven members — Chowon, Yeju, Chaerin, Joonie, Jackie, E.Ji and Jiyoon. The ener
K-pop July 19, 2023
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Trendz expands global activities
K-pop boy group Trendz is expanding its reach into the overseas music market. Trendz, a seven-member group, is visiting Kazakhstan this Saturday as they’ve been invited to perform at an event to celebrate a year of mutual cultural exchange between Korea and Kazakhstan. As this will be their first time visiting Kazakhstan, the group will present diverse performances including the performance of its debut single “TNT,” and other hit tracks “Who,” “Vagabond,&rdqu
K-pop July 19, 2023
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