BTS' V drops solo album 'Layover'

SEOUL -- BTS member V has released his very first solo album called "Layover." V had previously released original soundtracks for dramas and mix tapes, self-composed experimental songs distributed for free, but this is the first time for the 27-year-old to release an official album. Layover is a rhythm and blues (R&B)-themed piece containing six songs. V pre-released songs "Rainy Days" and "Love Me Again" about a month before the release of his album

September 8, 2023

​Boy band Seventeen completes two-day concert in Tokyo

SEOUL -- Multinational K-pop boy band Seventeen has completed its concert at Tokyo Dome, an indoor stadium regarded as a "dream stage" among Japanese artists. About 100,000 audience attended the two-day event held at the stadium with a total capacity of around 50,000. The group will continue its Japan tour at four other domes in Saitama, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka. The 13-member band debuted in May 2015 and won the "World Performer Award" at the 2016 Mnet Asian

September 8, 2023

Global art fair Frieze begins in southern Seoul

SEOUL -- Frieze, a major global art fair, has started at a convention center in Gangnam District, Seoul's heart of fashion and finance. Some 120 galleries from 30 countries including the United States, Britain, and South Korea are presenting various artworks at the four-day event. The annual contemporary art event, run by a British art magazine publisher of the same name, is one of the largest art fairs along with Switzerland's Art Basel and France's Foire Internationale d&

September 6, 2023

Justin Timberlake's label signs contract with rookie boy band Riize

SEOUL -- RCA Records, an American record label that includes Justin Timberlake and Khalid, has signed a contract with Riize, a seven-member band formed by South Korea's entertainment powerhouse SM Entertainment. Pre-orders for the group's debut album "Get A Guitar" exceeded more than one million copies before its release on September 4. SM Entertainment said in a statement on September 5 that the boy band signed a label contract with the American label owned by Sony M

September 5, 2023

​Stray Kids achieves second highest album sales in US

SEOUL -- Boy band Stray Kids ranked second in album sales in the United States, with Taylor Swift topping the sales. The eight-member band has gained explosive popularity through "5-Star," an album released in June 2023, and Maxidient, an album rolled out in October 2022. Through 5-Star, the group topped Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart in June this year. The music video of S-Class, the album's title track featuring hip-hop elements, has gained more than 11

September 4, 2023

French K-pop dance group RISIN' to perform at 'Busan Day in Paris'

SEOUL -- French K-pop dance group RISIN' will participate in an event in Paris designed to support Busan's bid for the World Expo 2030. The dance crew, consisting of only French members, will showcase its talents in the capital city where the Bureau International des Expositions, an intergovernmental organization in charge of the World Expo, is located. The group with 60 members from France covers various dance performances of famous K-pop groups such as BTS, NewJeans, EXO, and

August 30, 2023

Hybe reveals final 20 contestants for global girl group audition 'The Debut: Dream Academy'

SEOUL -- The agency of BTS has revealed the final 20 contenders for "The Debut: Dream Academy," a global audition program to launch a new girl band with K-pop features. The 20 members were picked among about 120,000 applicants from all over the world. Starting on September 2, the twelve-week final audition process will be uploaded on YouTube and other social media platforms. Hybe has worked with Geffen Records, a major music label of Universal Music Group (UMG) since 2021 to

August 29, 2023

Busking festival to be held on Seoul's artificial island in late August

SEOUL -- Seoul City will hold a three-day busking festival on Nodeul Island, an artificial island known as a cultural space. A total of 50 artist teams will perform various music genres such as jazz, acoustic music, and traditional Korean music on the island on the Han River that flows through Seoul. Nodeul Island is under the Han River Bridge that connects the central district of Yongsan and the southern district of Dongjak. The artificial island has various cultural facilities su

August 24, 2023

14.3 mln copies of K-pop albums sold in July 2023: market data

SEOUL -- The global popularity of K-pop reached the highest-ever point in South Korea's cultural history in July 2027. According to Circle Chart, a state-operated songs and albums chart formerly known as Gaon Chart, a total of some 14.3 million copies of K-pop albums were sold in July, up 32.1 percent compared to the same period last year. Data released by Circle Chart on August 22 showed that 14,305,353 physical K-pop albums were sold globally in July, marking the highest-ever m

August 22, 2023

K-pop festival KCON attracts 140,000 global fans in Los Angeles

SEOUL -- CJ ENM, a leading creator and distributor of the Korean cultural wave, has attracted some 140,000 global fans through KCON, an annual Korean culture convention. A total of 21 performance teams including boy band Stray Kids and girl band IVE showcased their talents at the three-day event in Los Angeles. This year, the K-pop concert festival attracted about 50,000 more people than the previous festival held in 2022 with about 90,000 global audience. CJ ENM said this year's K

August 22, 2023