Enhypen's second LP sells 1.88 million copies on release day

K-pop boy group Enhypen has broken its own first-week sales record by selling more than 1.88 million copies of its second full-length album, a market tracker said Saturday. Sales of the album, titled "Romance: Untold," reached 1,883,143 units on Friday alone, the day of its release, according to Hanteo Chart, a leading local album sales tracker. It broke the group's previous record of 1.87 million copies set in November last year with its latest EP, "Orange Blood." The

K-popJuly 13, 2024

BTS' Jin to carry Olympic torch near Louvre Museum on Sunday: reports

Jin of K-pop supergroup BTS will be the first torchbearer in the Louvre Museum section of the 2024 Paris Olympics torch relay in Paris this weekend, according to local news outlets specializing in Olympic news. The South Korean singer is expected to begin carrying the flame at the Louvre Pyramid at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday. The French domestic torch relay, which began May 8 in Marseille, southern France, has been under way for more than two months. The torch is scheduled to arrive in Paris o

K-popJuly 13, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Twice surpasses 500m views with debut music video

The music video for Twice’s debut song reached 500 million views on YouTube Thursday, label JYP Entertainment said Friday. It is the group’s eighth music video to reach the milestone, following “TT,” “Likey,” “What Is Love?,” “Fancy,” “Cheer Up,” “I Can’t Stop Me” and “Feel Special.” The group debuted in October 2015 with “Ooh-Ahh” which was the main track on its debut EP “The

K-popJuly 12, 2024

Enhypen heralds sweet romance with second studio album 'Romance: Untold'

K-pop sensation Enhypen marked a triumphant return to the music scene with the release of its second studio album, “Romance: Untold,” at a showcase event held at the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Seoul on Thursday. Returning with a full-length album after nearly two years and nine months, the K-pop septet expressed gratitude to fans for their unwavering support and patience. “We prepared this album with a determination to present a complete work to the fans who have waited

K-popJuly 12, 2024

BBC to unveil entertainment series encapsulating launch of British K-pop boy group this summer

BBC is airing the entertainment series “Made in Korea: The K-pop Experience” this summer, encapsulating the process of launching a British K-pop boy group under the K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment. SM Entertainment partnered with the British entertainment company Moon&Back to launch the upcoming five-member boy group. The six-episode series follows the members being brought together by Moon&Back and the K-pop training they underwent with SM Entertainment. SM Entertainment a

K-popJuly 12, 2024

Unis to return next month with new single ‘Curious’

K-pop girl group Unis is making a comeback in August. According to F&F Entertainment, Unis is introducing its new single “Curious” on Aug. 6. Unis is a K-pop girl group comprising eight finalists from the SBS audition program “Universe Ticket” that debuted with its first mini album “We Unis” in March. The album sold more than 55,000 copies just within five days of its release. Unis recently won the Asia Star Award at the 2024 Korea Best Brand Awards held i

K-popJuly 12, 2024

Enhypen embraces sweet romance with 2nd studio album

K-pop boy group Enhypen embraced a new musical direction, unveiling a bright and romantic song from its upcoming album "Romance: Untold," which captures the heartfelt confessions of a young boy. Set for release on Friday at 1 p.m., the second full-length album from the group follows its fifth EP, "Orange Blood," released last November. "We've released many dark songs in the past, so it feels unfamiliar and nerve-wracking to return with a bright and sweet song as

K-popJuly 11, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] NewJeans adds Japan debut single to million-seller list

NewJeans’ debut single in Japan sold more than 1 million copies and became the group’s fifth straight million-selling album, agency Ador said Thursday. The single “Supernatural” was rolled out on June 21 and hit the milestone following in the steps of all NewJeans' four previous albums. The single landed atop Oricon’s daily single ranking and kept the spot for two more days. Both songs from the single album -- titular track and “Right Now” – a

K-popJuly 11, 2024

[Herald Interview] From busker to Coachella star, The Rose blooms

Last April, the four-member band The Rose from Korea took the stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the largest music festival in the United States, becoming the first Korean indie band to perform at Coachella. Park Dojoon, the guitarist, keyboardist, and vocalist of The Rose, sat down for an interview with The Korea Herald on June 20, sharing the dynamic story of the band from its busking days to its rise to internationally traveling band. The Rose – consisting of Park Do

PerformanceJuly 11, 2024

Onew of Shinee to release solo EP in September

Onew of the legendary K-pop group Shinee is returning to the K-pop scene with a solo album. On Thursday, the artist posted on Instagram that he is releasing his third mini album “Flow” in September. Onew’s comeback as a solo artist follows the release of his first LP “Circle” in March 2023. Before releasing his third EP, Onew is also dropping a new digital single entitled “All Day” at 6 p.m., July 15. He will hold an Instagram live on the day of the digi

K-popJuly 11, 2024

Dreamcatcher transformed into heroes through ‘VirtuouS’

Dreamcatcher returned with its 10th EP “VirtuouS,” presenting an energetic performance that embodies the image of heroes, in contrast to the previous release, November's "VillainS." The focus track, "Justice," is an alternative rock song depicting a hero fighting against evil. Dreamcatcher is a seven-member band, but due to health issues, the main vocalist Siyeon will not participate in the promotion of the new release. "Siyeon is the voice of our team a

K-popJuly 11, 2024

[Exclusive] CJ ENM's 'KCON Saudi Arabia' canceled this year: source

KCON, the globally renowned K-pop music festival organized by CJ ENM, will not be held in Saudi Arabia this year, according to an industry insider. Earlier this year, CJ ENM announced its 2024 KCON schedule that included events in five locations: Hong Kong, Japan, Los Angeles, Europe and Saudi Arabia. While specific dates were released for the first three locations, the dates for Europe and Saudi Arabia were left unspecified. In June, CJ ENM announced that the European KCON would take place in F

CultureJuly 11, 2024

K-pop fans uneasy about return of main culprits in ‘Burning Sun’ scandal

The recent sights of former K-pop singers who were central figures in the “Burning Sun” scandal -- Jung Joon-young, Seungri and Choi Jong-hoon -- are raising questions about the image of K-pop and where to draw the line between celebrities' public and private lives. The roots of the scandal began in 2016 with Jung's illegal filming and distribution of sex videos. Investigations into an assault at the Burning Sun nightclub owned by Seungri in 2019 revealed a group chat in wh

K-popJuly 10, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] Seventeen subunit duo goes gold in Japan

Seventeen’s Junghan and Wonwoo earned gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan with their first subunit single, according to the organization, Wednesday. The duo’s single album “This Man” logged 100,000 shipments as of last month, and the band now has 16 albums that went gold in the country. The single came out on June 17 and topped Oricon’s daily single ranking and ranked No. 2 on its weekly and weekly combined album rankings. The album s

K-popJuly 10, 2024

BTS items displayed at Grammy Museum in special Hybe exhibition

The Grammy Museum is opening an interactive exhibition with K-pop powerhouse Hybe that explores K-pop music, culture, technology and fandom. The “Hybe: We Believe in Music” exhibition will be held from Aug. 2 to Sept. 15 at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. The venue showcases items worn and used by Hybe’s roster of artists and creators over a space of 372 square meters. It includes original outfits worn in the music videos of “Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)&rdqu

K-popJuly 10, 2024

Blackpink’s Lisa to headline 2024 Global Citizen Festival

Lisa of Blackpink is headlining the 2024 Global Citizen Festival in New York City's Central Park on Sept. 23. This is the K-pop superstar’s first live performance at a music festival as a solo artist since her solo debut with the digital single “Rockstar” on June 28. “We are thrilled to join forces with Lisa for what will be her first-ever solo performance at a music festival. Lisa is not only an incredible performer, but also a powerful advocate, leveraging her voic

K-popJuly 10, 2024

Stray Kids to embark on new world tour ‘dominATE’

K-pop boy group Stray Kids is going on a grand-scale standalone world tour “dominATE,” according to JYP Entertainment. The world tour which kicks off in August includes six stadium concerts. This is the group’s third world tour coming two years and four months after their second world tour “Maniac” held from April 29, 2022, to April 2, 2023. Stray Kids’ upcoming tour begins at the Kspo Dome in Seoul on Aug. 24-25 followed by 21 shows in 12 different cities. Un

K-popJuly 9, 2024

[Today’s K-pop] BTS’ Jimin logs 5th solo entry on Billboard’s Hot 100

Jimin of BTS made Billboard’s Hot 100 for the fifth time on his own with the single “Smeraldo Garden Marching Band (feat. Loco),” according to the publication on Monday. The single claimed the No. 88 spot on the main singles chart dated July 13. It was dropped in advance of the release of his second EP “Muse” which will be out on July 19. His previous entries include “Like Crazy,” which fronted his first solo EP “Face.” The lead track debut

K-popJuly 9, 2024

Jay Park to hold fan meeting

Jay Park, also known as Park Jae-beom, is to hold his first solo fan meetings in 11 years. According to his agency More Vision, Jay Park will host "Jay Park Season 3: Dedicated 2 U" at the Myunghwa Live Hall in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on Aug. 10 and 11. The event marks the first solo fan meetings for the singer since "Jay Effect" in 2013. It is the third of the season projects that the singer kicked off in April with a video trailer promising fans that he would focus on music

PerformanceJuly 9, 2024

Lia to join Itzy’s comeback in H2

Lia of Itzy is returning to the K-pop scene after taking a break since September 2023 due to health issues. According to JYP Entertainment, Lia will be joining her group for the upcoming album scheduled for release sometime this year. “Lia has been getting treatment for her anxiety issues and has recovered remarkably. After a thorough discussion with Lia, we’ve decided Lia will be resuming her group activities for their upcoming solo album scheduled for release in the second half of

K-popJuly 9, 2024