Articles by Hong Yoo
Hong Yoo
yoohong@heraldcorp.com-
Music bodies sides with agency in Fifty Fifty scandal
The Korea Entertainment Management Association publicly sided with K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty’s agency Attrakt on the allegations and controversy surrounding the group in a press statement on Tuesday. “We urge Fifty Fifty and Attrakt to resolve their dispute revolving around the exclusive contract between them so that they do not continue to create a stir in the industry,” said KEMA. Attrakt is alleging that there has been a buyout attempt of Fifty Fifty after its rise to sta
K-pop July 18, 2023
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K-pop album exports hit record high in H1
K-pop album exports for the first half of the year came to a record high, buoyed by sales in Japan and the US, the world's largest music market. South Korea’s album exports were tallied at $132.93 million, as of June — a 17.1 percent jump on-year, according to the Korea Customs Service on Tuesday. Japan holds the throne as Korea’s largest K-pop importer, posting $48.5 million in imports in the first half of this year. The US logged the second-highest demand for K-pop album
K-pop July 18, 2023
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NCT Dream rides MBTI wave with 3rd LP ‘ISTJ’
NCT Dream has returned with the concept of using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as the main concept of its third studio album, "ISTJ," which was released Monday. The K-pop boy band jumped on the current MBTI craze in South Korea by naming its album and its title track “ISTJ,” one of MBTI’s 16 personality types. “Producer Kenzie made this song for us. We loved the concept as MBTI is trending in Korea and we wanted to introduce the trend to people around the worl
K-pop July 17, 2023
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Line up for SM pre-debut reality show ‘NCT Universe: LASTART’ unveiled
SM Entertainment unveiled all 10 trainees who will take part in its pre-debut reality show, “NCT Universe: LASTART.” The trainees go by the names: Riku, Ryo, Haruta, Kassho, Jungmin, Anderson, Minjae, Ryu, Heitetsu, and Sakuya. These trainees are candidates who will debut as NCT’s new subgroup, one of the three new groups that the K-pop powerhouse plans to launch this year. Through the pre-debut reality show, SM will show the process of evaluating the 10 candidates to select th
K-pop July 17, 2023
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Solo debut with 'Seven' motivates BTS’ Jungkook to continue enhancing musical skills
BTS’ Jungkook finally made his official solo debut on Friday, with his first solo single, “Seven.” This solo debut comes a decade after Jungkook made his debut in the music scene as a member of K-pop sensation BTS back in 2013. “Through this single, I showed a new facet of myself that has never been shown better. The single is an addictive song that can be enjoyed easily by anyone. The first time I heard the song, I immediately thought, ‘I need to do this. This is i
K-pop July 14, 2023
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Koyote marks 25th anniversary with new single 'Wish'
Veteran dance music trio Koyote on Wednesday marked its 25th debut anniversary with a new digital single, “Wish.” “This single can be described as a very ‘Koyote-like’ single, a song that describes our music style very well. It is a powerful dance song but its lyrics are quite sad. Just like our previous songs, this song is also easy to sing along to,” said Shin Ji of Koyote during a press conference in Seoul on the day of the single’s release. The new s
K-pop July 13, 2023
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BamBam to embark on 1st standalone world tour in September
Thai rapper-singer BamBam of the K-pop boy band GOT7 is to set off on his first standalone world tour titled “Area 52” in September. Area 52 refers to unexplored places around the world. The tour is expected to offer a fruitful set list of newly arranged tracks and performances, according to label Abyss Company on Thursday. BamBam plans to have special performances that can only be seen at his solo concerts. The world tour will kick off at the Olympic Hall in Seoul on Sept. 16. BamBa
K-pop July 13, 2023
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Mamamoo Plus to drop 1st EP 'Two Rabbits' next month
Mamamoo Plus, a subunit of K-pop girl group Mamamoo, returns with new music on Aug. 3. The duo of Sola and Moonbyul will drop first mini album “Two Rabbits,” according to RBW, the agency that houses Mamamoo Plus, on Wednesday. Sola and Moonbyul came up with the name of the album as they each hope to be as clever as a rabbit, overcoming difficulties wisely to expand their musical and conceptual spectrum. The two say they took an active role in making the album to present music worth l
K-pop July 12, 2023
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Sandara Park returns to music scene, ends 6-year hiatus
K-pop solo artist Sandara Park is finally back in the music scene with a digital mini album that dropped on Wednesday. The new album, “Sandara Park,” is the artist’s first solo album, coming six years after 2NE1’s final single, “Goodbye,” was released in January 2017. Sandara Park had been a member of the now defunct 2NE1 since their debut in 2009. The concept of this new album that Sandara Park prepared especially for her fans, is inviting the solo artist&rsq
K-pop July 12, 2023
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Nmixx returns with summer song produced by Park Jin-young
JYP girl group Nmixx on Tuesday returned to the stage with its third single album, “A Midsummer Nmixx’s Dream.” The new single album carries lead track “Party O’Clock” along with “Roller Coaster,” which was released prior to the official album drop. “The storyline from our first mini album ‘expergo’ continues into this new album in which we finally meet with Nswers (the group's official fandom, pronounced 'answers')
K-pop July 12, 2023
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Zerobaseone blooms with debut album, making all-time record
Zerobaseone, a group that consists of nine artists chosen through Mnet’s idol survival program, “Boys Planet,” made its grand debut on Monday. “We’ve dreamed of this debut for so long. We prepared a lot for this debut, hoping to show enhanced performance and vocal skills to our fans and the public,” said Gyuvin of Zerobaseone during a press conference in Seoul on the day of its debut. “We were able to debut thanks to the interest and support of many peop
K-pop July 11, 2023
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Two candidates unveiled for SM’s new NCT subunit pre-debut reality show
SM Entertainment on Monday unveiled some of the trainees taking part in its pre-debut reality show, “NCT Universe: LASTART.” The trainees unveiled go by the names Riku and Ryo, while eight more trainees are set to be revealed in the coming weeks. These trainees are candidates who will debut as NCT’s new subgroup, one of the three new groups that the K-pop powerhouse plans to launch this year. Through the pre-debut reality show, SM will show the process of evaluating the 10 can
K-pop July 11, 2023
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EXO returns after 2 year hiatus with 7th LP “Exist”
Legendary K-pop group EXO is back, releasing its seventh studio album “Exist” on Monday. It is the first group effort in over two years since the release of the special album, “Don’t Fight the Feeling.” Prior to its official release, “Exist” had racked up a total of 1.6 million pre-order sales as of Sunday, according to SM Entertainment. The new album is led by the title track “Cream Soda,” which is of the pop dance genre composed with rhythm
K-pop July 10, 2023
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Attempts to poach popular K-pop artists nothing new
Allegations and controversy surrounding Fifty Fifty continue, but the group is not the first K-pop group to face suspicions over a potential buyout after rising to stardom in the competitive music industry. “Poaching members of a group or attempts to breach their exclusive contracts have been ongoing in the entertainment industry for a long time. These practices have impeded normal business activities, resulting in irreversible consequences for both the company and its artists,” said
K-pop July 10, 2023
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EXO to open pop-up store in Seoul to promote upcoming album
EXO is opening a pop-up store in time for the release of its seventh LP, “EXIST.” According to SM Entertainment on Thursday, EXO’s pop-up store “EXOcial Club -- Cream Soda” will be open from July 11 to Aug. 6 at the D Museum and Understand Avenue in Seoul. The concept of this pop-up store is “Cream Soda,” which is also the name of the title track of EXO’s upcoming LP. There will be a photo zone similar to the “Cream Soda” music video se
K-pop July 6, 2023
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