K-Pop
Chuu Removed From LOONA Amid Back-and-Forth Reports Between K-Pop Group & Label
Chuu is no longer a member of the K-pop girl group LOONA, and the events surrounding the exit have raised eyebrows in Korea’s media and music industry. BlockBerryCreative, the K-pop girl group’s label, announced through LOONA’s online “fan cafe” on Friday that Chuu had been expelled and withdrawn from the 12-member outfit. The fan cafe post is only available to subscribers of the Korean site, but local media widely shared the news and statement. In the report, the agency cited an investigation that found Chuu using “violent language” and “misuse of power toward staff” (as shared by translations from Soompi). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news BlockBerryCreative and Chuu’s relationship has been a source of concern a...
Kris Wu Sentenced to 13 Years in Chinese Prison for Sex Crimes
HONG KONG — Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu was sentenced to 13 years in prison for rape and other sexual offenses, a Chinese court said on its official Weibo account on Friday (Nov. 25). The Chaoyang District People’s Court in Beijing said that from November to December 2020, Wu, also known as Wu Yifan, raped three women at his home when they were under the effect of alcohol. Wu was sentenced to 11.5 years for rape and 22 months for “assembling a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities” in July 2018, according to the Weibo post. Wu, who is a Canadian citizen, will serve a 13-year term in China before being deported. “Justice was delayed, but now it’s here,” Du Meizhu, the Chinese influencer who blew the whistle on Wu, wrote on Weibo after the announcement. Born in Chi...
RM of BTS Announces New Solo Album Indigo
BTS leader RM has announced a new solo album called Indigo, which is set for release on December 2nd. Indigo “recounts the stories and experiences RM has gone through, like a diary,” a press release notes. “The album will present a different charm of RM with various featured artists.” Spanning 10 tracks, Indigo includes collaboration with Anderson .Paak and Erykah Badu. As part of BTS’ “second chapter,” a time for the group to explore solo activities alongside their work as a septet, RM is following bandmates j-hope, Jin, and Jungkook as the next member to release music on his own. Recently, j-hope unveiled his solo album Jack in the Box, Jin teamed up with Coldplay on “The Astronaut,” and Jungkook debuted “Dreamers” during the 2022 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony. Advertisement Related Vi...
After ‘Embracing the Darkness’ & Confronting K-Pop Concerns, VERIVERY See Breakout Hit ‘Tap Tap’ as ‘A Fresh Start’
While making your debut into the K-pop industry is a battle in and of itself, carving your place in it is another conversation entirely that VERIVERY found required a series of experimenting and ultimately confronting harsh realities about themselves and their futures. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news After VERIVERY hit the K-pop scene in early 2018 with their feel-good, throwback-pop single “Ring Ring Ring,” the K-pop boy band dipped into singles that spanned into hard-hitting EDM, smooth-groove R&B, experimental electronica and more. The septet always had international expansion top of mind with a DIY mindset being hands-on with music they felt was relatable beyond core K-pop fans and creatively directing and editing some of their ...
BTS‘ Jungkook Explores Qatar in ’Dreamers’ Video Featuring Flying Whales
BTS‘ Jungkook dropped the video for his solo track “Dreamers” on Tuesday (Nov. 22), a kind of travelogue in which the singer explores Qatar, the site of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The dreamy song that is part of the official soundtrack of the global football classic that kicked off this week in the tiny Middle Eastern country features Jungkook singing alongside Qatari artist Fahad Al-Kubaisi. The clip opens with a stunned-looking Jungkook wandering through a brightly lit corridor before emerging into a space filled with pulsing lasers as dancers in a market join him on a stroll through the city. Meanwhile, Al-Kubaisi sings his bits from the deck of a huge schooner as Jungkook croons from atop a skyscraper amid images of children watching digital whales break free from the bonds of the ocean ...
Jung Kook’s 19 Best Solo Musical Moments
Throughout Jung Kook‘s professional career, the BTS superstar has made a point to use his birthday to share more of himself as a musician with fans. Whether it’s been to upload a cover of a song by any of his favorite artists or share work-in-progress demos of his solo work, Jung Kook uses every Sept. 1 to celebrate music in a big way. Even before his official debut with BTS in 2013, Jung Kook had shared covers and collaborated with his band members on SoundCloud tracks — crucial early steps in creating the BTS ARMY we know today. Despite being the group’s youngest member — who debuted when he was still a teenager — Jung Kook has always taken the time to share the latest artists and tracks he loves while also giving fans glimpses into his budding career as a soloist. While BTS ensured the ...
K-Pop Legend J.Y. Park Brings the Funk Throughout the World for New Single ‘Groove Back’: Watch
While artists like TWICE, Stray Kids and ITZY under J.Y. Park‘s namesake JYP Entertainment label have been conquering the Billboard charts, the K-pop producer and exec makes his musical return with his retro-dance single “Groove Back” and a globally focused dance challenge. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news His first new single after a pair of duets in 2020 with “When We Disco” alongside Sunmi and “Switch to Me” with Rain, Park’s newly released “Groove Back” features rapper Gaeko and Mr. JYP returning to his first love of performing that he once described to Billboard as “a fever” in a rare interview. Park’s showmanship is on full display as he moves through punc...
Jungkook Debuts New Single “Dreamers” at FIFA World Cup Opening Ceremony: Watch
Jungkook debuted his new solo single “Dreamers” during the opening ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar on Sunday. The BTS member was joined by popular Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaisi. Watch the replay below. Other performers at the 2022 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony included Robbie Williams and Black Eyed Peas. Rod Stewart revealed he turned down over $1 million dollars to play the event in protest of Qatar’s poor human rights record. Shakira and Dua Lipa also reportedly declined offers to perform at the event. “I look forward to visiting Qatar when it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup,” Dua Lipa said in a statement earlier this week. As part of BTS’ “second chapter,” a time for the group...
BTS’ Jung Kook Announces New World Cup Song ‘Dreamers’ & Performance at Opening Ceremony in Qatar
BTS‘ Jung Kook will release a new single as part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup soundtrack. Revealed alongside official artwork featuring the K-pop star, “Dreamers” will be released this weekend to coincide with the Opening Ceremony at the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar. BTS’ Korean label BIGHIT MUSIC also shared that Jung Kook will perform the new song at the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The music video to “Dreamers” will be released on Nov. 22 on FIFA’s official YouTube channel. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The upcoming track joins other official songs for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 soundtrack, including “Tukoh Taka” by Nicki Minaj, Maluma and Myriam Fares, as well as “Hayya Hayya (Better Together)” by Davido, Trinid...
Stanning BTS Introduces MiniMonis: RM x Pharrell
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Radio Public | Pocket Casts | RSS Stanning BTS is here to cover all things big and small in BTS — just like the small/large pairing of Jimin and Namjoon! That’s why we’re introducing MiniMonis, a series of miniature episodes where hosts Kayla and Bethany cover topics they weren’t able to fit into their regularly scheduled programming. Today, MiniMonis debuts with a talk about RM’s recent interview with Pharrell Williams for Rolling Stone. Advertisement Related Video The reverence that RM has for Pharrell warmed everyone’s hearts and makes this interview a powerful one. During the chat, RM gets some much-needed insight and advice from one of his idols on how to have a career w...
K-Pop Star AleXa Holds Minute of Silence for Itaewon Crowd Crush Victims at Los Angeles Tour Stop
As the world and the Korean entertainment industry react to the crowd-crush tragedy in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood in South Korea, AleXa took a moment of her tour to remember those lost. At her concert Sunday at Los Angeles’ Avalon Hollywood, the final date in AleXa’s First Meet & Live Tour in U.S. tour, the star asked for a minute of silence to pay respect to the victims. “I’m saddened and quite devastated to hear what happened in Itaewon recently in Korea,” the 25-year-old told the audience. “Many bright, young stars, many young lives were lost in this tragedy that will forever go down in history as one of the worst things to happen in modern times in Korea. It’s forever going to change the lives of people they knew, friends, family, and loved ones. I kindly ask that we altogether o...
K-Pop Events, New Music Releases Canceled & Postponed in Light of Seoul Halloween Stampede
Multiple K-pop-related events and new music releases have been canceled or postponed following a national tragedy in South Korea where more than 150 people, so far, have lost their lives in a crowd crush at Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood during Halloween weekend. The New York Times reports that officials do not know what caused the disaster that’s left dozens killed and injured. South Korean president Yoon Sukyeol declared a period of national mourning following the incident through Saturday, Nov. 5. Since the tragedy, the Korean-pop industry has announced several cancelations of scheduled events and postponements of upcoming music releases. Artists including BTS, Roy Kim, fromis_9, Oh My Girl, Tomorrow X Together, Stray Kids, Park Jihoon, The Boyz, Yuju, DKZ, Wonho, ENHYPEN, StayC, aespa, P...
