BOYNEXTDOOR's Sungho named new host of 'Show! Music Core'BOYNEXTDOOR member Sungho has been named a new host of MBC's weekly K-pop music program "Show! Music Core." The position opened after ZEROBASEONE's Kim Gyuvin and TWS' Dohoon stepped down following the Aug. 22 broadcast, ending their approximately 17-month run as hosts. Sungho is set to host the show alongside another new host who has yet to be announced. Sungho debuted as a member of BOYNEXTDOOR in May 2023 and has since been active with the six-member boy group. The group has gained popularity with songs including "If I Say, I Love You" and "Hollywood Action," and released its first full-length album, "HOME," in June. BOYNEXTDOOR is also set to return Sept. 28 with a repackaged version of its first studio album. Sungho will become the latest BOYNEXTDOOR member to take on a hosting role for a major Korean music program. Fellow member Jaehyun previously hosted Mnet's "M Countdown," while Woonhak served as a host of SBS' "Inkigayo." Attention is now on whether Sungho can continue the group's run of music show hosting projects with his steady presenting skills and approachable personality. "Aug 29, 2026By Hankookilbo
K-pop Report Card Bops, flops, way too much tropical popAs hot as the season itself, July and August saw a relentless stream of K-pop releases all fighting for their own moment. Some delivered, but quite a few were just lukewarm. One question kept coming to mind: How much longer is K-pop going to see something work and immediately decide everyone needs to do the same thing? Taste in music is subjective, and one person's skip might be another's song of the year. These are my takes, not court rulings, so you're more than welcome to disagree. i-dle, "We Made" EP — Track "Gimme Dat Love" released July 6 Verdict: Nearly there Electronic had barely finished sweeping through K-pop when "Gimme Dat Love" showed up like an ominous message — Latin-tropical sounds and Afrobeats are next. Genre-hopping is all fun and games until the song fits the beat better than it fits the people singing it. The production begs for some attitude, while a few of the vocals stay almost too clean and straight. The beat is sweating, but some of the vocals sound freshly showered. Yeonjun, "NO LABELS: PART 02" EP — Track "Ice Cream" released July 10 Verdict: Worth replayingAug 28, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
ENHYPEN's new EP becomes double-million sellerK-pop boy band ENHYPEN's eighth EP, "The Sin: Bliss," has sold more than 2 million copies, its agency Belift Lab said Thursday. The EP had recorded cumulative sales of 2,022,369 copies as of Wednesday, becoming the group's fifth album to achieve double-million seller status, the agency said, citing data from local album sales tracker Hanteo Chart. ENHYPEN previously reached the milestone with its fifth EP, "Orange Blood"; second full-length album, "Romance : Untold"; sixth EP, "Desire : Unleash"; and seventh EP, "The Sin: Vanish." "The Sin: Bliss" is the group's first release since it was reorganized as a six-member act. The 10-track EP includes lead single "Bloody Paradise" and B-side track "Two Fools."Aug 27, 2026By Yonhap
SM Entertainment forms China joint venture with Tencent MusicKorean K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment has announced a joint venture with Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) as it seeks to expand its presence in Chinese-speaking markets. The new Beijing-based company, named STE, will develop and manage Chinese artists, SM said Thursday. Zhoumi, a member of Super Junior-M, Super Junior's China-based unit, has been appointed chief executive of the venture. SM said the partnership followed a memorandum of understanding signed with Tencent Music Entertainment in May in a move aimed at stepping up the expansion of its influence in the Chinese-speaking entertainment markets. STE will launch a new Chinese idol group within two to three years, according to SM. For this, the venture will run auditions to recruit members and oversee the group's management in China after its debut. The company will also support the activities of SM artists from Chinese-speaking regions, including NCT Dream's Renjun and WayV members Yangyang and Xiaojun. "We will present differentiated content and create meaningful results as a bridge between the two companies by combining SAug 27, 2026By Yonhap
Tomorrow X Together to launch new world tour in NovemberK-pop boy group Tomorrow X Together will embark on a new world tour, beginning with three concerts in Seoul from Nov. 13-15, its agency BigHit Music said Thursday. The "Steal the Wind" tour will then continue in other Asian countries, North America and Europe through June next year, according to the agency. The quintet's previous world tour, "Act: Tomorrow," drew some 564,000 fans across 29 shows in 17 cities around the world.Aug 27, 2026By Yonhap
SF9 marks 10th year with new album 'TENACITY,' vows 6 more decadesK-pop boy band SF9 marks its 10th anniversary this year, but the eight-piece is measuring its career in a much longer unit: 60 more years, by the group's own reckoning, health permitting. The FNC Entertainment act returned Wednesday with "TENACITY," its second full-length album, led by the single "Without Wings," coming back to the scene with a decade's worth of added experience behind it. "We plan to keep this going for another 60 years or so, and we're a group with the will and the nerve to do it," Inseong said at a media showcase in Seoul, Wednesday afternoon. "As long as we stay healthy, it's possible." SF9 debuted in October 2016 with the single album "Feeling Sensation" and opened its 10th year in March with the special album "About Love." Wednesday's release caps off that run, with 10 tracks spanning a range of genres. The group, now made up of Youngbin, Inseong, Jaeyoon, Dawon, Zuho, Yoo Tae-yang, Hwiyoung and Chani, held the press event at Cube Convention Center in Seoul's Mapo District hours ahead of the release, performing the new song for the first time and reflecting on theAug 26, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
NewJeans' Haerin returns to spotlight in new Dior photos amid hiatusNewJeans member Haerin has offered fans a rare glimpse of herself amid the group's prolonged hiatus, appearing in new photos highlighting her continuing ties with luxury fashion house Dior. Several photos of Haerin were posted to NewJeans' official account Tuesday, showing the singer posing with perfume and flowers from Dior, for which she has served as an ambassador. Wearing a gray jacket paired with a light-colored skirt, Haerin sports long wavy hair and bright makeup, presenting a more mature look than the youthful image she had when NewJeans debuted in 2022. The photos drew particular attention as Haerin has largely remained out of the public eye since NewJeans suspended activities amid its dispute with agency Ador. They also signal that her relationship with Dior, which began before the group's hiatus, remains intact. Born in 2006, Haerin turned 20 this year. She has long attracted attention among K-pop fans for her distinctive features. NewJeans announced in November 2024 that it was terminating its exclusive contracts with Ador and later pursued independent activities. The group suAug 26, 2026By Xportsnews
Soyeon looks back on her 20s with first full-length solo albumSoyeon, the leader and producer of K-pop group i-dle, is returning to the solo stage with her first full-length album, “The Awesome Life,” five years after her last solo release. Cube Entertainment said Wednesday that it released an intro film for the album on i-dle’s official social media channels at midnight, coinciding with Soyeon’s birthday. The film follows Soyeon as she looks back on her life on her final birthday in her 20s, beginning with her first birthday party and moving through her trainee years, appearance on Mnet’s “Produce 101,” i-dle’s debut and her work as a producer. The video then turns to her present as she prepares her first full-length solo album, with phrases including “I always wanted to be new” and “I wanted to do better” appearing throughout. Soyeon said she had put off making a full-length solo album for quite some time. “If I look back on this album when I’m a grandmother, I think I’ll say, ‘Ah, it was really romantic,’” she said, asking fans to look forward to “The Awesome Life.” The film ends by revealing the album’s tAug 26, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
InterviewStray Kids' music chart milestone points to system, not luck, scholar saysSince its debut in 2018, K-pop boy band Stray Kids have released more than 20 albums, with all nine of their albums to make the Billboard 200 debuting at No. 1. — a first for any act. The group's latest release, "THIS & THAT," debuted atop the chart on Aug. 22. The eight-track EP also earned 369,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Aug. 13, according to Luminate. Traditional album sales accounted for 357,000 units, marking the biggest sales week of the group's career. By now, the pattern is familiar enough that the more interesting question is not how Stray Kids did it again, but why it keeps happening. Since its 2018 debut, the eight-member group has built its identity around an unusually high degree of creative control. Its inhouse producing unit 3RACHA — composed of members Bang Chan, Changbin and Han — writes and produces much of the group's music, while its relationship with its official fandom, STAY, has grown alongside its global reach. Those two elements have become central to understanding the group's sustained chart performance. Some 8,000 kilometers away from SeoAug 26, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
KATSEYE lands 4 songs on Billboard Hot 100U.S.-based K-pop girl group KATSEYE has simultaneously landed four songs on Billboard's Hot 100, according to the latest chart released Tuesday (U.S. time), after scoring its first No. 1 on the main albums chart. "Animal," a single on the group's third EP, "Wild," rose six notches to No. 24, while "Hootie Frutti," the title track, debuted at No. 31, according to the singles chart. "Pinky Up" came in at No. 81, while the group's collaboration single "Iconic By Mistake," with fellow HYBE girl groups LE SSERAFIM and ILLIT, ranked No. 94. Elsewhere on the Hot 100, BLACKPINK's Jennie held steady at No. 8 with "Dracula," a collaboration song with Australian act Tame Impala. On the main albums chart, Katseye clinched its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with "Wild," while the group's other albums "Beautiful Chaos" and "SIS (Soft is Strong)" also made the chart. Stray Kids' "This & That" reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, down from the top spot last week, while the BTS album "ARIRANG" ranked No. 24.Aug 26, 2026By Yonhap
