'Checkmate' becomes first million seller from ITZY A poster for ITZY's first world tour / Courtesy of JYP entertainmentK-pop girl group ITZY has recorded its first million seller with its latest album, "Checkmate," the band's agency said Thursday.Released on July 15, the group's fifth EP passed the 1 million threshold Wednesday afternoon, JYP Entertainment said, citing data from the country's benchmark Circle Chart.The EP earned the group its first top 10 spot on the Billboard 200 main albums chart by debuting at No. 8 later in the month.The quintet began the first world tour since its debut, with concerts in Seoul early last month. The tour will be continued in eight U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston and New York, until Nov. 13.On Oct. 5, the group is scheduled to drop its second Japanese-language single.The single will contain four tracks, including the lead single "Blah Blah Blah" and "Can't Tie Me Down," according to JYP. (Yonhap)Sep 1, 2022
S. Korea may conduct survey on BTS members' military duty Members of Korean K-pop band BTS, V, SUGA, JIN, Jung Kook, RM, Jimin, and j-hope from left to right, pose for photographers ahead of a press conference to introduce their new single "Butter" in Seoul, May 21. Korea may conduct a public survey to help determine whether to grant exemptions of the mandatory military service to members of the K-pop superstar boyband BTS, officials said Wednesday. AP-YonhapSouth Korea may conduct a public survey to help determine whether to grant exemption to the mandatory military service to members of the K-pop boyband BTS, officials said Wednesday. The question of active military service for the band's seven members has been a hot-button topic in South Korea as its oldest member, Jin, faces his enlistment in December, when he turns 30. Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup told lawmakers that he ordered officials to implement a survey quickly. He said his ministry will also look into various other factors like the BTS's economic effect, the importance of military service and overall national interests. After his comments created a stir, his ministry clarified Aug 31, 2022
BTS concert draws concerns due to poor preparation Members of K-pop group BTS, in the back row, pose at HYBE headquarters in Seoul, July 19, after being appointed as honorary ambassadors for Busan City's bid to host World Expo 2030. From left in the front row are Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won and HYBE CEO Park Ji-won. Korea Times photo by Hong In-kiBy Kim RahnSafety concerns are growing over the scheduled concert of K-pop titan BTS in Busan in October, as there are fears that a lack of necessary infrastructure and preparation at the concert venue may cause massive traffic congestion, inconveniences to the audience and even possible accidents. On Aug. 24, the group's agency, Big Hit Music, and the Busan Metropolitan Government said the septet will hold the “BTS Yet to Come in Busan” concert on Oct. 15 for free to support the port city's bid to host the World Expo 2030 as the group is one of the Expo bid ambassadors.For the audience of 100,000 members ― 50,000 for seats and 50,000 for standing room ― the city said it would set up a specAug 31, 2022By Kim Rahn
SHINee's Key: SM didn't stop me from writing autobiographical songs this time K-pop boy group SHINee's dancer-vocalist Key poses for the camera during an online press conference in Seoul, Aug. 30. Courtesy of SM EntertainmentHaving spent nearly 14 years in the music industry as a member of once hugely popular K-pop idol group SHINee, Key has many thoughts in his head these days before he turns 31 next month."Am I an adult? Can I become perfect if I marry like my parents did and make a lot of money? I wrote lyrics about such anguish of life, and SM didn't hold me back from doing it this time," the dancer-vocalist said Tuesday, laughing, during an online press conference to promote his second individual full-length album titled "Gasoline." The media event was held a few hours before the album's release set for 6 p.m."I thought I would have to include an autobiographical story to give life to the album," he said. "I definitely need a love song written by other people, but I wrote the lyrics myself to upgrade the album's quality.""Gasoline" is Key's first solo project since his first EP "Bad Love" last September. His most recent full-length album was "Face," releaAug 30, 2022
BLACKPINK's 'Pink Venom' makes debut on Billboard singles chart at No. 22 BLACKPINK / Courtesy of YG EntertainmentBLACKPINK's new single "Pink Venom" arrived on the U.S. Billboard's main singles chart at No. 22, Billboard has said.Billboard said on Twitter on Sunday (U.S. time) the song ranked 22nd on this week's Hot 100, earning the group its eighth career entry and fourth top 40 hit.It marks the quartet's second highest-charting song on the Hot 100 overall after "Ice Cream," a collaboration single with Selena Gomez collaboration which peaked at No. 13 in 2020."Pink Venom" debuted atop the Global 200, Global 200 Excluding United States charts and the Hot Trending Songs chart.Released on Aug. 19, the song merges the band's signature powerful hip-hop beats with the sound of "geomungo," a traditional Korean six-stringed zither.The track will be included in "Born Pink," the group's second studio album set to come out on Sept. 16. It marks the band's first full-group release in a year and 10 months since its first studio album titled "The Album" in October 2020. (Yonhap)Aug 30, 2022
BLACKPINK, BTS, SEVENTEEN sweep prizes at 2022 MTV Video Music Awards Members of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK pose at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, Sunday (local time). AP-YonhapThree K-pop groups honored at one of most prestigious music awards in USBy Dong Sun-hwaK-pop bigwigs BLACKPINK, BTS and SEVENTEEN took home multiple prizes at this year's MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), one of the most prestigious music awards in the U.S., Sunday (local time). BLACKPINK, which was the first K-pop girl group to bag a trophy at the VMAs in 2020, took two awards this time. The quartet received the Best Metaverse Performance award for its in-game concert, “BLACKPINK the Virtual,” on PUBG Mobile, after competing with BTS, Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. “BLACKPINK the Virtual” was held in July.Member Lisa nabbed the Best K-Pop award for her debut solo album, “LALISA,” which hit shelves last September. Fronted by the namesake lead track, “LALISA” has been acclaimed for fusing K-pop and Thai culture. This is the second time that the group has been recognized at the Aug 29, 2022By Dong Sun-hwa
How Busan prepares for BTS' October concert A poster for the "BTS Yet to Come in Busan" concert to be held in October in support of the city's World Expo 2030 bid / Courtesy of Big Hit MusicThe city government of Busan, South Korea's second-largest city, is busy establishing transportation, safety and quarantine measures for an unprecedentedly large audience at the BTS concert there in October, officials said Monday.K-pop superstars BTS recently announced a massive live concert in Busan, 450 km southeast of Seoul, on Oct. 15 to support the city's bid to host the World Expo in 2030.The one-day concert, titled "BTS in Busan," will take place on a makeshift stage to be installed in Gijang, northeastern Busan, in front of 100,000 fans, the largest number of spectators for a single-day BTS concert here, the group said.The municipal government is struggling to cope with a host of problems anticipated from the simultaneous gathering of some 100,000 people at the concert venue, such as transport chaos, spread of COVID-19, safety accident and accommodation shortages.It is also mapping out safety measures for about 10,000 people who areAug 29, 2022
Monthly K-pop album sales top 10 million copies for first time K-pop girl group aespa / Courtesy of SM EntertainmentMonthly sales of K-pop albums surpassed a combined 10 million copies for the first time last month thanks to the continued expansion of the global fandom of idol groups, a market tracker said Monday.According to Kim Jin-woo, head researcher of Circle Chart, which reports accumulated sales and streams, combined sales of the nation's top 400 physical albums reached 10,827,324 copies in July, a 40.2 percent jump compared with the previous month.It marked the first time that the monthly sales have topped 10 million since the chart began compiling data in 2010. The figure represents a 116.8 percent increase from a year ago.By album, girl group aespa's second EP "Girls" ranked No. 1 with 1.64 million copies sold. It was followed by boy group Enhypen's "Manifesto: Day 1" (1.4 million copies) and "Sector 17" by Seventeen, also a boy group, with 1.34 million copies. Ateez, ITZY, Kim Ho-joong, Youngtak, J-Hope, BTS and STAYC rounded out the top 10 list.The accumulated K-pop album sales in the first seven months increased by about 15 million Aug 29, 2022
New Jeans' agency refutes claims that lyrics of 'Cookie' have sexual connotations K-pop girl group New Jeans / Courtesy of AdorBy Dong Sun-hwaK-pop girl group New Jeans' management agency Ador refuted claims that the lyrics of the quintet's song, “Cookie,” have sexual connotations. The company released a statement on Saturday, just a few days after some online users claimed the word “cookie” in the lyrics refers to female genitalia, slamming the agency for having underage girls sing an inappropriate song.Some of the lines are: “Looking at my cookie. The scent is different (Taste it). One bite will not be enough.”“Numerous doctors in English literature, interpreters and native speakers told us that 'cookie' is not widely used sexual slang,” Ador said in a statement. “So the term itself cannot be a problem, although its interpretations can differ depending on people's subjective experiences. However, slang is not part of standard language that everyone should know about.”According to the label, the lyrics of “Cookie” liken baking cookies to burning CDs.“The tune is an encapsulation of New Aug 29, 2022By Dong Sun-hwa
Singer Psy's company under probe over death of water concert worker Singer Psy's "Drenched Show" concert takes place in Gangneung on July 30. (Yonhap)An artist management company established by world famous singer Psy has come under investigation by the labor ministry over the death of an outsourced worker during the dismantling of facilities after a Psy concert, officials said Thursday.The ministry's Gangwon Province branch office began a raid on P Nation's head office in southern Seoul and its subcontractors around 9:30 a.m., the officials said.On July 31, a male Mongolian worker in his 20s, who was hired by one of P Nation's subcontractors, died in a fall while taking part in the dismantling of stage facilities for Psy's water-shower concert, dubbed "Drenched Show," in Gangneung, an east coast city in Gangwon Province.It has been known that the fatal accident occurred while the man was working without adequate safety equipment despite rainy, inclement weather.According to the Industrial Safety and Health Act, work must stop when the weather is very bad due to rain, snow or other unstable conditions.The labor ministry has reportedly obtained a searAug 25, 2022
