2022 MAMA Awards to kick off in Japan The logo of the 2022 MAMA Awards / Courtesy of MnetThe MAMA Awards, the K-pop industry's biggest annual year-end music awards, will open in Japan on Tuesday.The two-night awards show will bring a combined 70,000 spectators to the Kyocera Dome Osaka, a baseball stadium located in Osaka, according to CJ ENM, the media and entertainment company that hosts the event.The show will be streamed live across the world through the music cable channel Mnet's official YouTube channel.This year's edition boasts a star-studded lineup of performers, presenters and emcees.Actor Park Bo-gum and singer Jeon Somi will co-host the awards ceremony, while former figure skater Kim Yu-na, actors Jung Woo-sung and Hwang Jung-min, and golf legend Pak Se-ri are among those who will present awards.J-Hope of K-pop supergroup BTS, Korean trot sensation Lim Young-woong, Zico and (G)I-dle will hit the stage to perform. It will become the BTS member's first performance as a solo artist on a Korean TV channel.This composite photo shows K-pop acts that will perform at the 2022 MAMA Awards on Nov. 29-30. Courtesy of MnNov 29, 2022
Ex-LOONA member Chuu denies abuse of power allegations raised by former agency Ex-LOONA member Chuu / Courtesy of BlockBerry Creative By Kwak Yeon-sooChuu, the former member of K-pop girl group LOONA, has denied allegations raised by her former agency regarding “gapjil,” (abuse of power in a workplace setting), clarifying that she did not do anything shameful in a message to her fans. “Thank you for your comforting messages and for trusting me. I have not been contacted (by the agency) regarding the situation and don't know anything about it. I'm still trying to get a grasp on the situation, but I can assure you that I haven't done anything that would be shameful to my fans,” she wrote on her Instagram Story, Monday.Her statement came three days after LOONA's agency BlockBerry Creative announced that Chuu, whose real name is Kim Ji-woo, would be expelled from the girl group. It stated that Chuu had been verbally abusive and misusing her power against members of staff.“We recently investigated Chuu's abuse of power allegations, which turned outNov 29, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
KARA to return with special album after 7 year hiatus Girl group KARA is seen in this photo provided by its agency, RBW. YonhapKARA, a K-pop girl group that was hugely popular in Korea and Japan, will be back Tuesday with its first release in 7 1/2 years, the band's agency said.The special album, "Move Again," will hit music services at 6 p.m., RBW said.It marks KARA's first whole-group project since May 2015, when its seventh EP "In Love" came out. "Move Again" will involve members Gyuri, Seungyeon, Youngji, as well as Nicole and Jiyoung, who both left the group in 2014.Debuting in 2007, the group had been one of the top second-generation K-pop girl groups, along with Girls' Generation, with hit songs such as "Pretty Girl," "Mister," "Honey" and "Lupin," before practically being disbanded in January 2016.It also garnered a large following in Japan after "Mister" became a big hit in the country.According to the agency, the band made the album to repay support from its fans, as this year marks the 15th anniversary of its debut. "All members participated in the songwriting and album production to complete a work that has KARA's unique colNov 29, 2022
BTS' Suga to host his own talk show 'Suchwita' This image from a teaser video for "Suchwita," the first talk show to be hosted by Suga of K-pop boy group BTS, was provided by Big Hit Music. YonhapSuga of K-pop supergroup BTS will host an online talk show set to launch next week, the band's management agency said Tuesday.The rapper also teased the show, "Suchwita," on the group's official YouTube channel, Bangtan TV, the previous day. The video showed him talk over a cup of liquor with his first guest, who appears to be his bandmate RM.Suga of K-pop supergroup BTS / Courtesy of Bit Hit MusicThe show's title is short for "Time to drink with Suga" and a combination of the two words, "Suga" and "Daechwita," the name of the main track off his mixtape, "Agust D.""Suchwita is a talk-show type content where Suga drinks and talks frankly with people from various fields," Big Hit Music said. "Suga will reveal the charms of guests with his talking skills, based on his knowledge of music and a wide range of issues.""Suchwita" will premiere Monday on various online platforms, including Weverse, a K-pop fan community service, and YouTube. (YonNov 29, 2022
IVE notches Best Female Group at MMA 2022 K-pop group IVE member Jang Won-young, third from left, speaks after receiving Best Song during this year's Melon Music Awards ceremony, held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro District, Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Kakao EntertainmentBy Lee Gyu-leeK-pop group IVE has bagged four awards, including the highest honor for girl groups, at this year's Melon Music Awards (MMA), a music award organized by Kakao Entertainment.The six-piece girl band won Best Female Group, beating out strong contenders like (G)I-DLE, aespa, BLACKPINK and NewJeans, during the ceremony held Saturday at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro District, Seoul. This was the first offline ceremony for MMA in three years following online ones due to anti-coronavirus social distancing rules.“We weren't expecting it but feel so honored to receive this award,” the group's member Jang Won-young said in her acceptance speech. “Today has been a motivational day for us. We'll continue to work hard, so we ask for much support.”The group also notched TOP10, an award for top 10 artists of the year; Best Song with its hit soNov 27, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Hwang Jung-min, Jung Woo-sung among lineup of presenters at 2022 MAMA Awards The lineup of presenters at 2022 Mnet Asian Music Awards / Courtesy of CJ ENMBy Kwak Yeon-sooThe star-studded lineup of actors, dancers and sports stars serving as presenters for the upcoming 2022 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) was announced on Friday. The 2022 MAMA, which is hosted by media giant CJ ENM and aired on Mnet, will take place on Nov. 29 and 30, at 6 p.m. in Osaka's Kyocera Dome in Japan. Actor Park Bo-gum and singer Jeon So-mi will host the event.Actors Hwang Jung-min, Jung Woo-sung and Yeo Jin-goo will join singer-turned-actors Ahn So-hee, Han Sun-hwa, Yim Si-wan and Hwang Min-hyun as presenters for the annual music awards.Retired Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yuna, retired golf legend Park Se-ri, as well as short track speedskater Kwak Yoon-gy will present awards at this year's MAMA awards. Comedians Kim Hae-jun and Lee Eun-ji, dance crew Lachica's Gabee and Hook's Aiki will also give out awards at the event. “I have decided to attend the event to support the power of music, which comforted people around the world during COVID-19,” Kim said in a stateNov 26, 2022By Kwak Yeon-soo
Girl group Le Sserafim to make Japanese debut in January A photo of girl group Le Sserafim / Courtesy of Source MusicRising rookie girl group Le Sserafim will make a debut in Japan with its first Japanese-language single, "Fearless," on Jan. 25, the band's agency said Friday.The single will contain three tracks ― Japanese versions of "Fearless," its hit debut song released in May, and "Blue Flame" and a new song, according to Source Music.The K-pop quintet was on a songs chart of the U.S. Billboard for 19 consecutive weeks with the original debut EP "Fearless" while the music video for the song attracted more than 100 million YouTube views."Antifragile," the group's second EP, has surpassed 300 million streams on the world's largest music streaming platform Spotify. (Yonhap)Nov 25, 2022
BTS member RM's solo debut album to be led by 'Wild Flower Play' RM, leader of K-pop superstar BTS, is shown in this concept photo provided by Big Hit Music for his upcoming solo debut album "Indigo." YonhapA song with a Korean title that roughly translates as "Wild Flower Play" will be the main track of the first individual album from K-pop group BTS' leader RM, the band's agency said Friday.The rapper will drop the album "Indigo" next Friday to become the third BTS member to debut as a soloist."Wild Flower Play" carries the rapper's wish to live just like a calm wild flower, not a flame that is flamboyant but disappears in an instant, according to Big Hit Music.Cho Yu-jin, a vocalist of mixed K-pop band Cheery Filter, and DOCSKIM, a session keyboardist and producer of the Seo Taiji Band, participated as a featured artist and a producer for the track, respectively, Including "Wild Flower Play," "Indigo" will have a total of 10 tracks, with "Still Life," "All Day" and "Closer" being among the subtracks.Also among the artists featured on the album are Erykah Badu, Anderson .Paak, Tablo of South Korean hip-hop trio Epik High and British singer-songwNov 25, 2022
BTS' Jin to enter front-line boot camp next month: sources Jin, a member of K-pop supergroup BTS / Courtesy of Big Hit EntertainmentJin, a member of the K-pop superband BTS, will join a front-line Army boot camp north of Seoul next month to start his mandatory military service, defense sources said Thursday.The 29-year-old is set to enter the boot camp of a front-line Army division in Yeoncheon, 60 kilometers north of the capital, on Dec. 13 and undergo a five-week training program, according to the sources.After the basic training, Jin will be assigned to a local unit.The vocalist announced his plan to serve in the military after the band's concert in the southern port city of Busan last month.All able-bodied men are obliged to serve between 18 and 21 months in the military.Later in the day, Jin left a message online to ask fans not to visit the military recruit training center to see him off."ARMY (BTS' fandom) shouldn't come to the boot camp. It could be dangerous because the place will be crowded with many people besides me who are coming. ARMY, I love you," Jin said on Weverse, an online K-pop fan community platform. (Yonhap)Nov 24, 2022
BoA returns with 'Forgive Me' after about two years This photo provided by SM Entertainment shows K-pop soloist BoA. YonhapK-pop soloist BoA dropped her third EP, "Forgive Me," on Tuesday, her management agency said.It is her first album since December 2020, when she released her 10th full-length album, "Better," to mark the 20th anniversary of her career.The new EP consists of six songs, including the title track, "Forgive Me," her self-composed song named "Sketch" and "ZIP," an RB dance song. She expressed her affection for her fans in the track "After Midnight."The title song is a hip-hop dance piece with a strong electric guitar sound. Its lyrics are about giving a blow to the opponent who is mistaken and judges others based on his own twisted frame. BoA participated in writing and composing the song.The music video depicts the singer's image as a strong woman in all different historical backgrounds."I wanted to deal with a subject that is far from love songs after a long time," she said of the new song through her agency, SM Entertainment. The song is about a girl who reacts coolly in a situation that she is viewed from a wrong fNov 22, 2022
