Today in K-Pop

Girl group NewJeans has begun erasing traces of ousted member Danielle and ex-label CEO Min Hee-jin across its official platforms. On Tuesday, NewJeans changed its official social media profile photo to an image of its official light stick, the “Binky Bong.” The banner image, previously a group photo, was also replaced with the group’s logo. Search results on platforms now show only the four remaining members when searching for “NewJeans,” with Danielle omitted. On Spotify, the artist bio no longer lists individual member names, and former CEO has also been deleted. The removal of Danielle and Min extends beyond social media to nearly all platforms associated with the group. Although member Minji’s future with the agency remains undecided, the move is widely seen as signaling that NewJeans has effectively entered a new phase as a four-member group. NewJeans attempted to terminate their exclusive contract, accusing Ador of breaching the agreement and seeking to pursue activities independently. However, their path ended abruptly when a court ruled in favor of Ador, confirming t

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With a little more than a month left until BTS’ historic return to the stage, Seoul is already feeling the heat. The group’s concert on March 21 at Gwanghwamun Square — their first full-member performance in over three years — has sent ripple effects through Seoul’s hospitality, retail and aviation industries, with nearby luxury hotels booked out and even budget motels hiking rates to nearly 500,000 won ($344) a night. Hotel industry data and tourism platforms show that the “BTS effect” is alrea

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The soon-to-be-released album from BTS amassed 3 million presaves on Spotify as of Wednesday. Its fifth full album “Arirang” has remained atop the platform's Countdown Chart Global for two weeks. The album will be available on March 20, a much-hyped return of the septet as a full group after more than 3 1/2 years away from the music scene. Fans have been listening to its old songs on repeat, pushing a number of them past milestones. “Yet To Come” from anthology album “Proof” and “Love Maze” from

BTS

Global excitement around BTS is reaching a fever pitch even before the group’s long-awaited comeback officially arrives. BTS’ fifth full-length album, "ARIRANG," surpassed 3 million presaves on Spotify as of Wednesday, signaling explosive worldwide anticipation months ahead of release. The album crossed 1 million presaves just two days after the campaign began, exceeded 2 million by day four and has continued to climb steadily since then. The figure has reignited comparisons with global pop heavyweights. Fans and industry watchers are closely watching whether BTS can overtake the all-time Spotify presave record set by Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," which drew around 6 million presaves. Momentum is also evident on Spotify’s "Countdown Charts Global," where "ARIRANG" ranked No. 1 for two consecutive weeks on Jan. 21 and Jan. 28. The chart tracks presave activity for upcoming albums and singles and is widely viewed as a barometer of global fan expectations. Interest is spilling over into fan platforms as well. After the album release and world tour annou

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Min Hee-jin, the former CEO of Ador, is preparing to unveil her first project under newly founded K-pop agency Ooak Records, marking an early return to the industry amid ongoing legal disputes with Hybe, Ador’s parent company. Ooak Records posted a short teaser video featuring its corporate logo on social media Tuesday, accompanied by the message, “20260205 10AM Coming soon.” The following day, the company released additional images revealing its official website address and a newly created X ac

Le Sserafim wrapped up its first world tour, “Easy Crazy Hot,” with a sold-out encore concert in Seoul on Sunday, closing a run that spanned 31 shows across 20 cities. Held at Jamsil Indoor Stadium, the final performance drew a near-capacity crowd, excluding limited-view seats. The tour, which began in Incheon in April last year, marked nearly a full year on the road for the group. Despite the demanding schedule, the members powered through a three-hour set featuring 26 songs, including original

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Like many other things in Korea, K-pop rarely pauses to explain itself. New groups debut, concepts cycle, controversies surface and fade. The industry absorbs the moment, recalibrates and quickly moves on. That forward momentum has long been part of its appeal. It is also what makes the system difficult to read from the outside. However, beneath the choreography and camera-ready polish, a quieter question persists: Why does K-pop feel so engineered, not just in sound or style, but in how its artists are trained, presented and sustained over time? That question sits at the center of "Almost Everything You Need to Know About K-pop," a new book by Choi Jung-kiu, published in Korea last December. Positioned as a cultural primer, the book breaks K-pop into its working parts, grounding its analysis in concrete examples drawn from active idol groups, recent releases and everyday industry practice. Rather than treating K-pop as a trend-driven genre or a series of isolated successes, Choi frames it as a system shaped over time, one in which training, production, performance, technology and fandom

With the confirmation that BTS will hold a massive free concert to mark its comeback at Gwanghwamun Square and the adjacent royal palace on March 21, attention is now shifting to how the K-pop megastars will use the historic backdrop for the spectacle. Current predictions suggest a performance that dramatically fuses Korean traditional heritage with state-of-the-art stage production. According to the music industry and Seoul city officials Wednesday, discussions are under way for an opening sequence of "BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang" set to begin at 8 p.m. that day. The seven members are expected to appear from within the palace grounds, walking through Geunjeongmun and Heungnyemun gates before exiting through the main Gwanghwamun Gate with the three major southern gates of Gyeongbok Palace thrown open, according to the sources. This scenario is supported by reports that the group has secured approval to utilize these three gates as well as the "woldae" — a restored ceremonial stage located in front of the main gate, historically used by kings of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) for ro

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SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- With the confirmation that BTS will hold a massive fre...

BTS

FTIsland is planning to hold a fan meeting in Seoul on March 7, its first in a decade, its agency FNC Entertainment said Wednesday. The band uploaded a poster with a detective agency theme, showing each of the three members dressed in suits. The event, dubbed “FT Agency,” also celebrates the three bandmates committing to the future of the group, having renewed contracts with the agency last week. The trio has been with the agency since the group's debut in 2007. Also on March 7, Lee Honggi will

Riize will give fans an early listen to its second single in Japan, unveiling the title track as a prerelease on Feb. 9, label SM Entertainment announced Wednesday. The group is set to release its single album “All of You” on Feb. 18, but will drop the title track beforehand. Starting with Shotaro’s narration, the hip-hop tune is a confession of love to the group's fans, peppered with “saranghae,” meaning "I love you" in Korean. The upcoming single follows about 1 1/2 years after Riize's first s

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The Seoul metropolitan government compiled a set of crowd control and anti-price-gouging measures Wednesday to effectively handle the large crowds expected to gather for K-pop group BTS' comeback show next month. During a meeting led by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, the city government discussed ways to prepare for the concert set to be held at Gwanghwamun Square on March 21. With tens of thousands of fans expected to converge on the square and its surrounding areas, the local government said it plans

BTS

SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- The Seoul metropolitan government compiled a set of cr...

BTS

Twice’s subunit Misamo released its first studio album in Japan, “Play,” on Feb. 4, label JYP Entertainment announced Wednesday. Mina, Sana and Momo put out the LP as the final piece of an art-themed trilogy, following “Masterpiece” and “Haute Couture.” The former signaled the unit's debut in Japan in 2023, and the second EP came out in November 2024. The group's debut EP was the most-sold album from a female musician in Japan in 2023, and topped Oricon’s Daily and Weekly Album Rankings. The sec

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"Golden" from the original soundtrack of Netflix's animated film sensation "KPop Demon Hunters" placed fourth on the latest U.S. Billboard singles chart. According to Billboard's chart released Tuesday (U.S. time), "Golden" remained at No. 4 on the Hot 100 for a second consecutive week, extending its streak to 32 weeks on the chart. The track won Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 68th Grammy Awards on Sunday, marking the first-ever Grammy victory for a K-pop genre song. Another track from the same soundtrack, "How It's Done," ranked 59th this week. Hybe's U.S.-based girl group Katseye placed two songs on the chart — "Gabriela" at No. 29 and "Internet Girl" at No. 80 — while its second EP "Beautiful Chaos" came in at No. 56 on the Billboard 200. The group's first EP "SIS (Soft Is Strong)" ranked No. 138. On the albums chart, the "KPop Demon Hunters" soundtrack stood at No. 8, while K-pop boy group Enhypen's latest album "The Sin: Vanish," which debuted at No. 2 last week, dropped to No. 21. Another boy group Stray Kids' "Do It" stayed at No. 88.

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SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Yonhap) -- "Golden" from the original soundtrack of Netflix's ani...