Preorders for BLACKPINK's second LP surpass 2 million copies K-pop girl group BLACKPINK / YonhapGirl group BLACKPINK's upcoming second full-length album "Born Pink" has sold over 2 million copies in preorders, its agency said Thursday."This is a record for K-pop female acts of all time," YG Entertainment said. "We can expect the album to break 3 million with about three weeks left before its release."BLACKPINK became the first million-selling K-pop girl group with its first full album "The Album" in 2020. "Born Pink," set to drop on Sept. 16, had been expected to break the sales record set with the first album since it secured 1.5 million copies in preorders less than a week after the prior purchase began.The band finished filming the music video for the upcoming album's lead song on Wednesday, according to the agency.Earlier Thursday, the quartet left Incheon International Airport in Incheon, just west of Seoul, for the United States. The group will perform at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards ceremony slated for Aug. 28 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. It is also competing in three categories ― Best Group Of The Year, Best K-popAug 25, 2022
RM teases second volume of BTS' photo book series A teaser image for BTS rapper RM's upcoming book of photography, "Me, Myself, and RM: Entirety” / Courtesy of Big Hit MusicRM, leader of K-pop sensation BTS, teased his upcoming book of photography on social media Wednesday.He is the second runner of the septet's "Special 8 Photo-Folio" project, in which eight 80-page photo books featuring the seven members and the group, respectively, will be published in turn.Jungkook, the youngest member, earlier announced the beginning of the project with his photo book of a vampire concept set to come out on Sept. 1.The teaser video for RM's book, titled "Me, Myself, and RM: Entirety," begins with the rapper appreciating artworks and then shows him posing for photos in various places, like an art museum and a park.He will reveal himself as he is, from his comfortable self to his charismatic side, in the forthcoming photo book, according to Big Hit Music, the band's agency.The book was entitled "Entirety," meaning it contains his all, the agency added.The artist, whose real name is Kim Nam-joon, took part in the whole process of the book's Aug 24, 2022
BTS to hold concert next month to support Busan's World Expo bid A poster for the “BTS Yet to Come in Busan” concert to be held in October / Courtesy of Big Hit MusicBy Kim RahnK-pop giant BTS will hold a concert for an audience of 100,000 in Busan in October, as part of its support for the port city's bid to host the World Expo 2030. The group's agency Big Hit Music said Wednesday that the show, titled “BTS Yet to Come in Busan,” will be held at a special concert venue to be set up near Busan's Ilgwang Beach, Oct. 15. It will be the first time for the septet to hold a concert in Korea since the “BTS Permission to Dance on Stage ― Seoul” concert at the Olympic Stadium in Jamsil last March.The special venue will accommodate about 100,000 audience members, and the show will also be broadcast live to a separate place ― the outdoor parking lot of the international passenger terminal at Busan Port ― where another 10,000 people will be able to gather.The concert will also be livestreamed on the fan community platform Weverse and the metaverse platform Zepeto.Last month, the government appointed BTS members as public rAug 24, 2022By Kim Rahn
MAMAMOO to debut its first sub-unit group A teaser image for the new single of MAMAMOO's sub-unit group, MAMAMOO+ / Courtesy of RBWBy Lee Gyu-leeK-pop girl act MAMAMOO will debut its first sub-unit group, consisting of its two members, Solar and Moonbyul. The singers' agency, RBW, announced Tuesday that the sub-unit group, MAMAMOO+, will release a new single this month, unveiling a teaser poster with the two artists. “As this is the first sub-unit group, (the artists) will showcase a new style of music and performance. We hope fans will look forward to the synergy of the sub-unit duo,” it said in the release. “MAMAMOO+ intends to pick up MAMAMOO's act and expand on new concepts and music beyond the limits,” it said.The sub-unit duo will be the first of four-piece group MAMAMOO's new projects to pursue music in different genres. The upcoming single, the name of which has yet to be disclosed, will hit streaming sites at 6 p.m. on Aug. 30.MAMAMOO debuted in 2014 with the single, “Mr. Ambiguous,” and soon rose to stardom with the single, “Um Oh Ah Yeh,” the following year, topping Aug 24, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
Male solo artists to return to K-pop scene Teaser images for singer Key's new full-length album, “Gasoline,” left, and for Kim Jae-hwan's upcoming mini-album, “Empty Dream” / Courtesy of SM Entertainment, Swing EntertainmentBy Lee Gyu-leeA string of male K-pop artists, like Key of the boy group SHINee and singer Kim Jae-hwan, are slated to hit the music scene with their new releases in the coming weeks. Singer Key is rolling out his second full-length solo album, after releasing his first solo mini-album, “BAD LOVE,” last year.The new album, “Gasoline,” set to hit streaming sites at 6 p.m. on Aug. 30, will be the artist's second solo full-length album following “FACE” in 2018. It will consist of 11 tracks, including the title track, for which the artist himself wrote the lyrics.Singer-songwriter Kim Jae-hwan, who is also known as Jaehwan of disbanded project group Wanna One, will be releasing a new album, following the success of his previous self-produced album, “THE LETTER,” last December. The singer's agency, Swing Entertainment, announced Monday that Aug 23, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
BLACKPINK's 'As If It's Your Last' video tops 1.2 bil. YouTube views This image provided by YG Entertainment on Aug. 22, shows K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's "As If It's Your Last" has surpassed 1.2 billion views on YouTube. YonhapThe music video for K-pop girl group BLACKPINK's 2017 hit song "As If It's Your Last" has surpassed 1.2 billion views on YouTube.YG Entertainment said Monday the video passed the threshold at about 7 p.m. the previous day, five years and a month after it was uploaded on the global video sharing service.This increased to five the total number of BLACKPINK videos that have garnered more than 1.2 billion views, including "Ddu-du Ddu-du," "Kill This Love" and "Boombayah."With an addictive rhythm and romantic lyrics, "As If It's Your Last" was included on YouTube's Global Top 25 Songs of the Summer for 2017. The video for the group's new single "Pink Venom" broke 100 million views in just 29 hours after it was unveiled Friday. (Yonhap)Aug 22, 2022
BLACKPINK's 'Pink Venom' tops iTunes top songs charts in 69 countries A photo of K-pop girl group BLACKPINK / Courtesy of YG EntertainmentK-pop girl group BLACKPINK's new single "Pink Venom" debuted atop iTunes charts in 69 countries around the world, the group's agency said Saturday.YG Entertainment said the song, released the previous day, ranked No. 1 on iTunes Top Songs charts in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania as of Saturday.The song also started on top of domestic music streaming services such as Melon, Bugs, Vibe and Genie.Its music video surpassed 70 million views in just 15 hours after being uploaded on YouTube timed for the song's release.The single 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.The album is sure to become the quartet's second million seller as it has already secured over 1.5 million copies in preorders less than a week after advance purchases began. (Yonhap)Aug 21, 2022
BTS, BLACKPINK nominated for 2022 MTV VMAs' group of year BTS/ Courtesy of Big Hit EntertainmentK-pop supergroups BTS and BLACKPINK have been nominated for group of the year in the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, the U.S. music channel has announced.The two K-pop bands will compete for Best Group Of The Year with City Girls, Foo Fighters, Imagine Dragons, Maneskin, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Silk Sonic, MTV said Friday (U.S. time) on its homepage and social media.BlACKPINK /Courtesy of YG EntertainmentBTS has won group of the year, one of the three socially voted categories along with Song Of Summer and Album Of The Year, in the last three years.Jungkook of BTS was nominated for Song Of Summer for "Left and Right," his collaborative single with U.S. singer-songwriter Charlie Puth. The additions increased to six the total number of categories where BTS got a nod in this year's event.The group has earlier been announced as a nominee for Best K-pop, Best Choreography, Best Visual Effects and Best Metaverse Performance.BLACKPINK will also perform at the awards show slated for Aug. 28 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Yonhap)Aug 20, 2022
BLACKPINK returns as lovely yet fatal 'Pink Venom' Members of K-pop act BLACKPINK pose during an online press conference, Friday. Courtesy of YG EntertainmentBLACKPINK seeks to show its identity through 'Pink Venom'By Dong Sun-hwaAfter taking a break for nearly two years, K-pop bigwig BLACKPINK has returned with a new song, “Pink Venom,” which plays up the group's two contrasting images: loveliness and fatality. During an online press conference held Friday, member Jennie revealed that “Pink Venom” encapsulates BLACKPINK's identity as a multifaceted group. The tune ― which is part of the quartet's second full-length album, “Born Pink,” which will drop on Sept. 16 ― hit multiple streaming platforms at 1 p.m., Friday (KST). “Since our debut in 2016, we have frequently said our contrasting images are our charm,” Jennie told reporters. “And we think 'Pink Venom' clearly shows them.”According to Jisoo, “Pink Venom” is a powerful hip-hop track sprinkled with sounds of the geomungo, a traditional Korean plucked zither. “There are many good tunes in our upcoming stAug 19, 2022By Dong Sun-hwa
NCT Jaehyun drops first solo single 'Forever Only' K-pop singer Jaehyun of NCT / Courtesy of SM Entertainment By Lee Gyu-leeSinger Jaehyun, a member of K-pop group NCT, has released a single, “Forever Only,” as his first solo work in his six-year music career. The singer's agency, SM Entertainment, announced Thursday that the singer dropped his first solo single at 6 p.m. that day.The new single is an R&B track and is written by the singer. It is the fourth release of the group's project, SM STATION : NCT LAB, which intends to expand into different musical acts of the NCT members, including their solo and unit act.One of the group's members, Mark, made the first release of the project, unveiling his first self-written, self-composed single “Child.” Jaehyun debuted as a member of NCT's unit group, NCT U, in 2016 with the song “The 7th Sense.” NCT was created by the agency's founder Lee Soo-man, with the aim to produce endless sub-unit groups under the NCT umbrella in major cities around the world. The singer has beenAug 18, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
