K-pop super rookie NewJeans performs at Japan's music festival 'Summer Sonic'

SEOUL -- K-pop girl band NewJeans has performed in front of some 30,000 fans at Summer Sonic, a major music event held in Japan. The five-member band, debuted in July 2022, showcased 11 songs including Attention and Hype Boy for about 40 minutes. NewJeans was invited to the operator of Summer Sonic 2023 only after about a year of its debut, the band's agency said. This year's summer music festival took place at "Zozo Marine Stadium," a baseball stadium in Chiba on A

August 21, 2023

BLACKPINK's 'Lovesick Girls' surpasses 700 mln views on YouTube

SEOUL -- The music video for BLACKPINK's dance song Lovesick Girls has garnered more than 700 million views on YouTube, about two years and 10 months after its release in October 2020. The title track of the group's first studio album incorporated electronic dance music and country-style guitar sound. It debuted at No. 59 on Billboard's weekly song chart which ranks top 100 popular songs. The music video exceeded 700 million views at 4:06 p.m. (GMT) on August 16, the

August 16, 2023

State regulator reviews NewJeans' performance amid iPhone advertising controversy

SEOUL -- South Korea's media regulation body is currently reviewing K-pop girl band NewJeans' performance regarding its indirect iPhone advertising controversy. The state regulator has received a complaint after group members performed their dance song "ETA" on a weekly live music ranking show where they took photos and videos using a new iPhone product on the stage. The five-member band was embroiled in controversy for showcasing their song at SBS's "Inkigay

August 10, 2023

Girl band aespa completes two-day concert in Tokyo

SEOUL -- K-pop girl band aespa has completed its concert at Tokyo Dome, an indoor stadium regarded as a "dream stage" among Japanese artists. About 94,000 audience attended the two-day event. The four-member band will continue its world tour in the United States and other countries in South America and Europe. "aespa sets the record for holding a concert at Tokyo Dome the fastest since debut among foreign artists," the band's agency said on Twitter after gro

August 8, 2023

BLACKPINK's 'Pink Venom' surpasses 700 mln views on YouTube

SEOUL -- The music video for BLACKPINK's dance song Pink Venom has garnered more than 700 million views on YouTube, 350 days after its release on August 19, 2022. The song, which incorporated various genres including hip-hop and electronic dance music (EDM), entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart and topped the charts of major domestic online music streaming services in 2022. The music video exceeded 700 million views at 4:27 p.m. (0727 GMT) on August 4. The number of music vide

August 4, 2023

NewJeans tops Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart with 'Get Up'

SEOUL -- K-pop super rookie band NewJeans has topped Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart with its mini-album "Get Up." The five-member band topped the Billboard chart about a year after its debut in July 2022. The album, released on January 21, arrived atop the list on Billboard 200 chart with 126,500 equivalent album units sold in the United States in the week ending July 27. The ranking is confirmed based on the number of album sales, track equivalent album (TE

August 3, 2023

V to be seventh BTS member to release solo album

SEOUL -- V, a member of BTS, will become the boy band's seventh member to roll out his first solo album after J-Hope, Jin, RM, Suga, and Jungkook. The 27-year-old will work with Min Hee-jin, a genius idol incubator who has planned concepts for K-pop superstar band NewJeans. Min is currently nurturing rookie artists and overseeing music production at ADOR, a subsidiary label of Big Hit, the agency of BTS. During her time at SM Entertainment, she designed costumes, styling, and a

August 2, 2023

BLACKPINK's 'DDU-DU DDU-DU' surpasses 2.1 bln views on YouTube

SEOUL -- The music video for BLACKPINK's dance song DDU-DU DDU-DU has garnered more than 2.1 billion views on YouTube about five years and a month after its release. The song features a catchy chorus and a unique choreography of shooting handguns. The music video exceeded 2.1 billion views at 4:27 p.m. (0727 GMT) on July 30, the band's agency said. The dance song released in June 2018 set a record for the most-viewed K-pop music video in less than 24 hours, gaining some 36 mill

July 31, 2023

New Zealand's governor-general visits SM Entertainment to explore Korean Wave

SEOUL -- New Zealand's governor-general Dame Cindy Kiro visited the office of South Korea's entertainment powerhouse SM Entertainment to explore the country's music industry. During the meeting with the agency, the New Zealand delegate of Maori descent suggested discussing collaboration methods with artists of traditional Maori music performance "kapa haka." Kapa haka is a traditional Maori performing art that involves singing, dancing, and chanting. It is

July 26, 2023

Virtual model Lucy to make foray into Thailand's live commerce market

SEOUL -- Lucy, a 29-year-old virtual model created by the home shopping channel of South Korea's conglomerate Lotte, will make her make a foray into Thiland's live commerce market through Lazada, one of the leading e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia. The virtual influencer with more than 175,000 Instagram followers will promote various fashion items in Thai targeting young consumers in the Southeast Asian country. The virtual human was created by synthesizing a face wit

July 26, 2023