Keyveatz debuts with fresh take on girlish hip-hopHip-hop and R&B label AOMG's first-ever girl crew Keyveatz made its official debut Tuesday, dropping its title track "OXY" and staking a claim in one of K-pop's last open spaces — girlish hip-hop. The five-member group — Son Ju-one, Newy, Um Ji-one, Kim Yu-na and Kang Ye-seul — have been deliberate about the "girl crew" label, positioning themselves apart from the typical girl group mold for an identity rooted in "subculture and underground aesthetics." Hours before the release of its debut EP "OXY_GEN," the group met press at YES24 Wanderloch Hall in Seoul, arriving in sharp streetwear but radiating first-day nerves. "I'm incredibly nervous," said Son, the group's leader. "Standing on an official debut stage, I feel excited and anxious all at once. A lot of time and effort went into getting here ... Our slogan is 'Don't miss what's next,' so we're asking you to keep an eye out for us." On what "girl crew" means in practice, the members pushed back against the idea of image as something manufactured. "It's built on attitude, not concept," Kim said. "Creating unpredictable individualJun 30, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
CORTIS faces backlash over late boarding for Paris flightBigHit Music apologized after rookie K-pop group CORTIS were late boarding a flight departing from Paris, saying traffic congestion caused by an accident delayed their arrival at the airport. The agency issued a statement Tuesday following online posts claiming the group’s late arrival Friday delayed the departure and inconvenienced passengers aboard the aircraft. The agency attributed the group's late arrival to traffic delays. An online user claimed the flight had been scheduled to depart at 2:40 p.m. The user alleged the members boarded at 2:45 p.m., which delayed the departure until 3:18 p.m. BigHit Music firmly denied the additional allegations circulating online. The agency explained that images showing the members on a jet bridge were taken last October while returning to Korea from promotional activities in Japan. The agency said the members were not changing clothes, but merely gathering their belongings after all other passengers had disembarked. CORTIS is a five-member group comprising James, Juhoon, Martin, Seonghyeon and Keonho. The act made its debut last August. The caseJun 30, 2026By Hankookilbo
Global BTS conference to explore next chapter of Korean waveAs K-pop juggernaut BTS enters a new era following the release of its latest album, "ARIRANG," scholars from around the world will gather in Korea to examine the group's cultural influence through fandom, technology, politics and globalization. The fifth BTS: A Global Interdisciplinary Conference will take place Thursday and Friday at the International Convention Center of Jeonbuk National University, under the theme "The Next Generation Hallyu & BTS." Hallyu refers to the Korean wave. Hosted by the International Society for BTS Studies (ISBS), the conference will bring together 50 presenters from 10 countries, including Korea, the United States, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Mongolia, the Czech Republic, Canada, Australia and Japan. The event is co-organized by Jeonbuk National University's Namwon Glocal Campus Administration, Center for Glocal University Project, department of K-entertainment and Big Movement. Opening the conference, Lee Ji-haeng, professor of K-entertainment at Jeonbuk National University, will deliver the keynote address exploring the cultural significance ofJun 30, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
RESCENE's rise proves small K-pop agencies still have a chanceIn a K-pop landscape where entertainment giants hold most of the cards, one five-member girl group is proving the rules can still be bent. RESCENE is winning over the public through a playbook that looks nothing like conventional K-pop marketing, fueling hope that small agencies still have room to break through, even as industry watchers debate exactly what RESCENE's formula is. RESCENE debuted in March 2024 with the album "Re:Scene" under The Muse Entertainment, a newly formed agency. The multinational lineup, made up of Woni, Liv, Minami, May and Zena, built its identity around an unusual concept: reviving a "scene" through "scent." But without the backing of a major label or a big-budget marketing push, the group struggled for years to make a name for itself. Momentum finally arrived this year through social media. In March, content showing Woni and Minami sporting Japanese "gyaru"-style (a flashy, dramatic Japanese street-fashion look) makeup while touring Woni's rural hometown of Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, went immensely viral online. The YouTube moment also sent a spotlightJun 30, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
CORTIS agency vows legal action after GPS tracker found on group’s vehicleBigHit Music is taking legal action over invasive and malicious behavior targeting K-pop boy group CORTIS, including alleged privacy violations by obsessive fans. The agency said Monday in a notice posted on the fan platform Weverse that it regularly files criminal complaints based on round-the-clock monitoring and reports submitted by fans. BigHit Music said it has continued to take firm action against malicious online posts, violations of the artists’ rights, the illegal distribution of flight information and other invasions of privacy or breaches of fan etiquette. “We identified posts and comments across online platforms that infringed upon the artists’ rights,” the agency said. “The latest complaints cover content involving disparagement and insults, the dissemination of clearly false information about the artists and the performance of their albums and songs, as well as maliciously altered images that violate their dignity or cause sexual humiliation.” The agency also said it had gathered evidence against several high-volume accounts accused of illegally selling informatJun 30, 2026By Hankookilbo
K-pop Report Card From meme hooks to industrial pop, here's what defined K-pop's wildest 2 monthsFor K-pop, May and June were gloriously messy. Over the past two months, artists bounced between internet memes and club sounds, nostalgia and reinvention, minimalist production and maximalist spectacle. Veteran acts proved they could still evolve without losing themselves, while younger groups continued searching for sounds they could truly call their own. Some experiments paid off. Others raised more questions than answers. Here's what stood out, or fell flat, in K-pop's latest wave of releases. BABYMONSTER, 'CHOOM' EP — title track released May 4 Verdict: Nearly there BABYMONSTER deserves some credit for refusing to chase trends. The track is unmistakably YG: a throwback packed with production choices that recall the label's glory days, when BLACKPINK, or even 2NE1 before them, defined its identity. The instrumental, in particular, feels lifted from that era, and there's certainly an audience still hungry for that sound. The question is whether nostalgia is the right strategy for one of K-pop's youngest groups. A familiar formula can keep longtime YG fans happy, but whether it's the sJun 30, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
BTS to take 'The City' project to LondonK-pop supergroup BTS' large-scale cultural program "The City" will be held in London next month to celebrate the group's stop there for its ongoing world tour, the group's agency said Monday. The band will stage the offline event, titled "BTS The City Arirang London," alongside its "Arirang" world tour concerts scheduled for July 6-7 (local time) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, according to the agency, BitHit Music. The main events of "The City" will kick off on July 6, the first day of the London shows, starting with lighting installations. The London Eye, one of the city's most iconic landmarks, will be illuminated in a vivid red, the key color of the "Arirang" tour. On the same day, a large floating boat carrying a sculpture featuring the "Arirang" logo will appear on the River Thames. From July 8 to 10, a special BTS-themed media art exhibition will be held at Outernet London, a public entertainment space focused on the arts, music and culture. The venue's massive digital LED canvases will be filled with visuals from "Arirang," offering an immersive audiovisual experience. AdJun 29, 2026By Yonhap
TVXQ's U-Know Yunho to release new single next monthU-Know Yunho of K-pop duo TVXQ will release a new single, "Time's Tickin," on July 20, his agency SM Entertainment said Monday. The release marks his first new release in eight months, following his first full-length album "I-Know," which came out in November. The upcoming single will feature two tracks: the title track "Time's Tickin" and a B-side titled "An Ordinary Story." It will be released in both digital and physical formats, according to the agency.Jun 29, 2026By Yonhap
ReviewBABYMONSTER wraps up 3 explosive nights of sold-out shows in Seoul to kick off 2nd world tourK-pop girl group BABYMONSTER closed out a three-night homecoming run at Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul, Sunday, capping the Seoul leg of its second world tour, "CHOOM," and leaving little doubt that this is a group built for live performance. The world tour will take the group across five continents, including its first-ever visits to Oceania, Europe and South America in addition to previously covered Asia and North America. So far, 18 cities and 29 shows have been announced, a sharp expansion from the group's first world tour, "HELLO MONSTERS," last year. The stadium was packed Sunday evening, the last of the three-day run, with fans who came specifically to hear the thing that separates BABYMONSTER from its peers — vocals that hold up completely unguarded, live. The show opened with the volume cranked on the group's latest single, "SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA," and the screaming started before the first chorus hit. Members Ruka, Pharita, Asa, Ahyeon, Rora and Chiquita opened with the hip-hop track "WE GO UP," handheld mics up, vocals exposed with nothing to hide behind. Member Rami, who hasJun 28, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
Le Sserafim to return to BlizzCon stageK-pop girl group Le Sserafim will return to the BlizzCon stage this year to deliver the closing performance for Blizzard Entertainment’s flagship community event in September, the U.S. game developer said Friday. The five-member act is scheduled to take the main stage on Sept. 13 (Pacific Time) at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. The performance will take place just ahead of the group's upcoming U.S. tour. This marks their return to the event three years after the group’s appearance in 2023, where they became the first K-pop artists to perform at BlizzCon, one of the world's largest single-franchise gaming conventions. BlizzCon is a massive weekend-long festival that draws gaming fans from around the world to celebrate major announcements, esports tournaments and cosplay, centering on Blizzard’s iconic franchises such as "World of Warcraft," "Diablo" and "Overwatch." Le Sserafim has established a strong global presence since their 2022 debut. The quintet's return to the prominent game event underscores their rising status in the mainstream American music scene.Jun 26, 2026By Baek Byung-yeul
