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

K-pop Dec. 29, 2022

Treasure will tour seven cities in Asia from March next year, announced label YG Entertainment on Wednesday. It will be the boy band’s first tour in the regions since its debut in 2020. The band will begin its itinerary in Taipei on March 4 before going live twice each in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Jakarta, Indonesia in following weeks. The next month, it will hop around Bangkok, Singapore and the Philippine capital of Manila before wrapping up in Macau. The ten members have been touring

K-pop Dec. 28, 2022

RM of BTS notched No. 3 spot on Billboard 200, setting a record for a K-pop solo musician. His first solo album “Indigo” debuted at No. 15 on the chart dated Dec. 17 and slipped out of it on the following week. But sales of the physical album pushed it back on to the chart. He “is the first member of BTS to earn a solo top 10 album on the Billboard 200, and the second to reach the chart in 2022 with a solo project, following the No. 17 debut and peak of J-Hope’s Jack in

K-pop Dec. 27, 2022

Taeyang of Big Bang will leave label YG Entertainment and join The Black Label, said YG Entertainment on Monday. “We are sincerely pleased to deliver the news that Taeyang is making a fresh start,” said the company. It remains unchanged that Taeyang still is a family of YG Entertainment and a member of Big Bang, it added hinting that he will continue as a part of the veteran idol group. The Black Label is headed by Teddy, a creative director and songwriter best known for his works f

K-pop Dec. 26, 2022

Stray Kids will release its first studio album in Japan on Feb. 22, announced label JYP Entertainment on Friday. The company uploaded a teaser trailer for the album on the day in which the eight members exuded confidence with thumping beats in the background. The album’s release will coincide with the band’s encore concerts in Japan. It is hosting two concerts each at Saitama Super Arena and Kyocera Dome Osaka, on Feb. 11-12 and Feb. 25-26, respectively. Meanwhile, its digital album

K-pop Dec. 23, 2022

Loona decided to put a hold on their album release, announced agency Blockberry Creative on Thursday. The group was set to return as an 11-member act with the EP “The Origin Album [0]” on Jan. 3, 2023, despite being in the middle of controversy surrounding the agency’s firing of Chuu for bullying employees. We have come to the conclusion that promoting the album without solving the situation is meaningless, said the management firm. Launching the group has been a long-term pro

K-pop Dec. 22, 2022

   New Jeans will appear on Japanese television for the first time next week, said agency Ador on Wednesday. The rookie group will be on Nihon TV’s year-end music award for most-listened to songs on Dec. 28, performing “Attention” for the first time on Japanese TV show. “Attention” is the focus track from its eponymous debut album that rolled out in August. The song topped daily chart on Melon, the largest music platform in Korea, for 18 days. It generated

K-pop Dec. 21, 2022

SF9 will return with a 12th EP on Jan. 9, 2023, announced agency FNC Entertainment on Tuesday. The band surprised fans with a poster for the EP, “The Piece of 9,” that will be fronted by “Puzzle.” Seven members of the nine-piece act participated in releasing the album, including Rowoon who was absent from promoting its previous EP “The Wave of 9” as he was shooting a drama. He also missed the band’s recent US tour. The six members of the band toured New

K-pop Dec. 20, 2022

    NCT Dream sold more than two million copies of its winter album “Candy,” said label SM Entertainment on Monday. Main track of the same title is a retake on H.O.T.’s hit song from 1996 and topped a series of music charts at home when it was released in advance on Friday. The physical album will be rolled out on Monday. The album landed atop iTunes top albums chart in 16 regions and its worldwide albums chart. The seven-piece act’s second studio album &ld

K-pop Dec. 19, 2022

Vernon of Seventeen will put out his first solo mixtape on Dec. 23, announced agency Pledis Entertainment on Friday. A teaser image for mixtape “Black Eye” showed him standing on what looks like an all-terrain vehicle, and said “Turn up the radio” piquing interests of his fans. In the meantime, the 13-member act left for Manila on Thursday to resume touring Asia. It has toured three cities in Japan earlier this month and performed on stage at the 2022 Asia Artist Awards

K-pop Dec. 16, 2022

The music video for BTS’ “DNA” reached 1.5 billion views on YouTube on Thursday. “DNA” is the main track from “Love Yourself: Her,” which was released in September 2017. The video is the band’s third to reach the milestone, following “Boy With Luv (Feat. Halsey)” and “Dynamite.” The music video amassed 20 million views on the platform in the shortest time for a K-pop musical act at the time. The septet landed on both the Bi

K-pop Dec. 15, 2022

    A commemorative stamp featuring BTS will be issued in the first half of 2023, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Korea Post on Wednesday. The band will be on one of 23 stamps to mark next year under the theme “Record of Youth.” Its label Hybe will jointly finalize the design of the stamp. In the meantime, the septet extended its stay on the Billboard 200 to a 26th consecutive week with anthology album “Proof.” The album debuted at

K-pop Dec. 14, 2022

RM of BTS landed on the Billboard 200 at No. 15 with his first solo album “Indigo,” according to the latest chart released on Monday in the US. Main track “Wild Flower (with youjeen)” debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 83 and headed straight to the top of Top Selling Songs chart. This is the second time he made the Billboard 200 with his solo work, as his 2018 mixtape “mono” notched the No. 26 spot at the time. “Indigo” was dropped on D

K-pop Dec. 13, 2022

Red Velvet and aespa will jointly release a Christmas carol, according to label SM Entertainment on Monday. The two girl groups will roll out “Beautiful Christmas” on Wednesday in advance of the full release of the label’s winter album “2022 Winter SM Town: SMCU Palace.” The carol will front the album that is due out on Dec. 26. The upcoming single will be full of festivities, as the idols sing of how spending time together with a loved one makes for the best day e

K-pop Dec. 12, 2022

  Taeyang of Big Bang and Jimin of BTS will work together for Taeyang's upcoming solo album, according to a local media report on Friday. Jimin will be a featuring artist for one of the songs that is said to be released in January next year. Local media reported last week that the musician will make a comeback as a solo musician, about 5 1/2 years since his third solo full album “White Night.” Taeyang’s label YG Entertainment said “nothing has been confirmed yet&rd

K-pop Dec. 9, 2022