Riize marks 3rd anniv. with pledge to keep evolvingK-pop boy group Riize marked its third anniversary on Friday with a promise to keep growing and avoid settling for a comfort zone. "Our goal has always been growth, and that remains unchanged today," the six-member act said through its agency, SM Entertainment. "We want to show our new sides rather than staying in a place of familiarity." Since debuting in 2023, Riize became best known for hit singles including "Get a Guitar," "Love 119" and "Boom Boom Bass." This year, the act completed a world tour that has drawn 420,000 fans in 21 destinations. The group thanked its fans, known as "Breeze," for steady support during moments of doubt. "Whenever we wondered whether we were doing well or whether this was the right path, Breeze gave us confidence and guided us positively. We are thankful for that," it said. Member Sungchan said he owed his current position to sharing "both good times and hard times" with his bandmates and fans, and vowed to keep "cherishing each moment" going forward. Eunseok said he felt more composure onstage, able to enjoy the moment as well as execute choreography andSep 4, 2026By Yonhap
IU to release new digital single next weekSinger-songwriter IU will release a new digital single next Thursday, her agency said, marking her first new music in a year after health issues forced concert cancellations and delayed her sixth studio album. EDAM Entertainment announced the return in a statement Friday, alongside a teaser video uploaded to the artist's social media channels. The agency did not provide further details about the single, including its title. IU's most recent release was the digital single "Bye, Summer" in September 2025. The 33-year-old artist, one of Korea's best-selling solo acts, had planned to hold standalone concerts in Goyang near Seoul earlier this month. The shows were canceled after she suffered a flare-up of patulous Eustachian tube, a condition in which the tube inside the eardrum remains abnormally open. She also postponed the release of her sixth studio album due to the same health issue and has not announced a new date.Sep 4, 2026By Yonhap
Stray Kids' EP 'This & That' certified gold in FranceK-pop boy band Stray Kids' latest album, "This & That," has been certified "gold" by a major French recording industry association, the group's agency said Thursday. The EP received the certification from France's National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing for achieving 50,000 sales units across physical copies, downloads and streams, according to JYP Entertainment. With the latest certification, Stray Kids now owns six gold-certified albums in France, including "5-Star" and "Rock-Star." In August, "This & That" debuted atop the U.S. Billboard 200, the main albums chart, becoming the group's ninth No. 1 album. Stray Kids now has the second-most Billboard 200 No. 1 albums in the chart's history among group acts, behind the Beatles, who has 19, and tied with the Rolling Stones.Sep 3, 2026By Yonhap
Solo queens crowd September's K-pop comeback raceThe heat has finally started to break, but nobody told the K-pop release calendar. September opens with Chung Ha, Kwon Eun-bi, Lisa and Jisoo all putting out new music in just a four day span, the densest run of solo releases by women in K-pop this year. The month only gets busier, with a long-delayed first full-length album, a debut EP, a band's second wave and a rapid-turnaround return from HYBE's girl group LE SSERAFIM still to come. Solo queens open the month Chung Ha started the run on Tuesday, releasing the digital single "México" through MORE VISION. It is her first new music since "Save me," the birthday single she put out in February. Kwon Eun-bi then arrives Sept. 3 with the digital single "DEJAVU," her first release in a year and four months. It is also her first since signing with RBW in April, after ending a long run with Woollim Entertainment at the end of March. RBW has been teasing a wider tonal range with the single, compared to the sharply sexy register of her last release. BLACKPINK's Lisa also lands on Sept. 3 with "SaWaDiKa," the lead single from her six-track EP "PRSep 3, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
InterviewKwon Eun-bi opens new chapter with 1st single since label moveK-pop singer Kwon Eun-bi has taken to numbering versions of herself. The first one, she said, was spent working out who she actually was. The second one starts Thursday. "The Kwon Eun-bi at Woollim Entertainment was a time of getting to know myself," the singer said during an interview with The Korea Times at a cafe in Seoul's Gwangjin District, Monday. "Going solo meant having to think hard about who I am, and that was quite difficult at the time. I'd had so little time alone that I hadn't thought about it much." The second, she said, "feels like a fresh start, finally knowing what I enjoy doing." Some of what she found was smaller than expected. "I discovered that I like little things more than I'd expected. Traveling abroad, meeting friends and giving out small gifts," she said. "I was always the older sister, always the leader, so I lived pretending to be that person. Turns out I was more than that." That leadership role is where most listeners first encountered her. Kwon debuted in 2014 with the short-lived girl group Ye-A, left the following year and signed as a trainee with WoollimSep 3, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
Mark to drop 1st solo project after leaving NCTMark, the rapper and singer who rose to fame as a member of K-pop boy group NCT, will release his first solo single since leaving the band, his new agency Upper Room said Wednesday. The track, "My Friend," will come out on Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. (Korean time), marking the artist's first new release in 17 months and his first public appearance as a solo act since departing NCT 127 and NCT Dream in April. Mark debuted in 2016 as part of SM Entertainment's rotational supergroup NCT, quickly becoming one of the act's most prominent members through his appearances in multiple subunits, including NCT 127 and NCT Dream. After nearly a decade with the company, he chose not to renew his exclusive contract and instead founded Upper Room, a one-person agency he describes as a "creative company" built with long-time collaborators he trusts. He currently serves as a co-chief executive of the company.Sep 2, 2026By Yonhap
TUNEXX tunes in to single frequency on 2nd EP 'BLUE MODE'There's a passage in the bridge of rookie boy band TUNEXX's new title track that the members simply call the "kill part." "If I mess it up, I'm the one who gets killed," Sungjun said. "If I actually pull it off, it's whoever's watching. I'm practicing hard so it lands the second way." It was a bold line in an otherwise pretty quiet morning. The seven-member rookie group met with The Korea Times in central Seoul on Aug. 20 for an interview ahead of its first comeback, in what was also the members' first official opportunity to speak directly with the press. Questions drew pauses. Answers sometimes trailed off halfway through and several members looked toward leader Dongkyu before speaking. They had, after all, debuted only five months earlier. TUNEXX will release its second EP, "BLUE MODE," on Sept. 2 at 6 p.m., marking the IST Entertainment group's first comeback since its March debut with "SET BY US ONLY." Dongkyu described the new four-track album as a contrast to the group's debut, which he characterized as a declaration of individuality. "If the last album felt like each of us saying,Sep 2, 2026By Pyo Kyung-min
Los Angeles declares 'BTS Week' ahead of concertsLos Angeles has officially declared "BTS Week" ahead of the K-pop supergroup's four sold-out shows, the latest in a series of such honors bestowed on the group by cities around the world, the group's agency BigHit Music said Tuesday. The U.S. city designated Sept. 1-8 as "BTS Week" to mark the group's "Arirang" world tour concerts at SoFi Stadium on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. As part of the tribute, Los Angeles City Hall will be lit in red Tuesday, matching the key color of BTS' fifth studio album, "Arirang," in what officials described as an official welcome and gesture of friendship to the group and visiting fans. A formal proclamation ceremony was held at the City Hall on Monday, attended by members of the City Council, tourism officials and executives from BigHit Music. Mayor Karen Bass said the declaration reflects a belief in the power of arts and culture to foster mutual understanding and unite communities, according to BigHit. The city is proud to honor BTS' remarkable contributions to global culture and celebrate its special connection with Los Angeles, Bass was quoSep 1, 2026By Yonhap
Stray Kids' Lee Know donates $72,000 for Nepal flood reliefLee Know of the K-pop boy band Stray Kids donated 100 million won (about $72,000) to support relief efforts for people displaced by severe flooding in Nepal, his management agency, JYP Entertainment, said Monday. Lee Know delivered the donation on Aug. 28 to World Vision, an international humanitarian and development NGO, requesting that it go toward saving the lives of children and families affected by the flooding and helping them sustain their livelihoods. The funds will support food and nutrition assistance, temporary housing and clean water and sanitation programs for flood-affected residents. "I hope my gesture can offer even a small bit of strength to those going through a difficult time," Lee Know said in a statement released through JYP Entertainment. "I sincerely hope that both those displaced and everyone working on relief efforts can return to peaceful daily life as soon as possible." Lee Know has donated regularly to causes at home and abroad. He began sponsoring children overseas through World Vision in 2014. In 2024, he gave 100 million won to the Christian organization'sAug 31, 2026By Jhoo Dong-chan
Seoul to glow in champagne green for NCT's 10th anniversaryA decade after SM Entertainment launched its ambitious blueprint to reshape K-pop through unlimited global expansion, NCT is taking over the Korean capital for a monthlong festival celebrating its 10th anniversary. Throughout September, the powerhouse mega-group — encompassing distinct sub-units including NCT 127, NCT DREAM, WayV, NCT U and NCT WISH — will anchor a multi-disciplinary cultural takeover across Seoul. Blending live music, high fashion and public light installations, the festival marks 10 years since the brand debuted in 2016. Its experimental, open-member model, initially viewed as a risky structural departure in an industry historically built on fixed bands, has since established NCT as a dominant commercial pillar of modern popular culture. The public celebration kicks off along the Han River at Banpo Hangang Park, where the famous Moonlight Rainbow Fountain will execute daily water shows choreographed to the group’s biggest hits. Over at Jamsil’s iconic Lotte World Tower, the group is joining forces with the 2027 S/S Seoul Fashion Week for a series of high-profAug 31, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
