Today in K-Pop

BLACKPINK's third EP "DEADLINE" has shattered records for K-pop girl groups by selling roughly 1.77 million copies in its first week, achieving massive commercial success despite sharply divided reviews from music critics. The album, released Feb. 27, sold 1,774,577 copies by Thursday, according to Hanteo Chart, an increase of about 230,000 copies from the quartet's previous 2022 studio album "BORN PINK," setting a new high-water mark for female K-pop acts. The release surpassed aespa's "My World," which held the previous record with 1.69 million copies sold in its first week in May 2023. NewJeans' "Get Up" sits in third place with 1.65 million copies, followed by IVE's "I've Mine" and BLACKPINK's "BORN PINK." "DEADLINE" dominated immediately, selling over 1.46 million copies on its first day and topping iTunes "Top Albums" charts in 38 regions globally. YG Entertainment said, "As global demand greatly exceeds expectations and additional production is underway, the final sales volume will increase even more." The commercial triumph, however, contrasts with sharply divided reviews from the

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SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- Police have begun investigating suspected use of bots...

BTS

BTS' return this month will be the most closely watched K-pop comeback in recent memory. But the spotlight surrounding the comeback is not focused only on the artists. It is also turning to Army, the worldwide fandom that has played a central role in BTS’ rise and stands as one of the largest and most organized communities in pop music today. By the numbers alone, Army is formidable. More than 44.7 million users follow the group on X, while 33.5 million users are registered on Weverse, the globa

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Irene of Red Velvet is poised to drop her first solo full-length album on March 30, SM Entertainment announced Monday. The album will be titled “Biggest Fan” and consist of 10 tracks, including the title track. As the name of the album and lead single suggest, she portrays how she has matured into her own biggest fan through the support of her fans. The LP rolls out more than a year after her first solo endeavor, EP “Like A Flower.” the eight-track set sold over 250,000 copies in one day and top

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SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- Korean American singer-songwriter Ejae, who performed...

K-pop boy band RIIZE ended its first world tour the way every rising group dreams of — loud, confident and fully in command of the stage. At the finale concert of its "RIIZING LOUD" tour at KSPO Dome in Seoul's Songpa District Sunday, the six-member act delivered a two-and-a-half-hour performance that showcased a level of cohesion that felt striking for a group still early in its career. With relentless choreography, polished live vocals and production that rarely slowed for breath, RIIZE turned the final stop of the tour into a convincing case for why the group is worth following. The Sunday performance marked the third and final night of the Seoul concerts, wrapping up a global tour that drew roughly 420,000 fans across 21 cities. The group also performed at Tokyo Dome in February — a milestone venue for any K-pop act — just two years and five months after debut, setting a record for the fastest entry to the venue by a K-pop boy band. The Seoul finale reflected the group's rising momentum. All available seats sold out, filling the arena with roughly 32,000 fans across three nights

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Police have begun investigating suspected use of bots to purchase tickets for K-pop group BTS' upcoming comeback concert, a senior police official said Monday, amid concerns over ticket-resale scams. Park Jeong-bo, chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, told reporters that ticket platform Nol Universe requested a probe into signs of automated programs buying tickets for the event on March 21 at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. Police are currently investigating three cases of alleged criminal activity linked to ticket sales, Park said. "In connection with signs of suspected use of macro (programs), Nol Universe has requested an investigation," he said. "(Offers) asking for money in exchange for tickets are mostly scams." Police have also identified some 110 online posts about proxy ticket purchases and ticket resales. They have taken measures for the posts to be deleted or blocked. Meanwhile, police plan to dispatch 4,800 officers for crowd control on the day of the concert, which is estimated to draw as many as 260,000 people. In preparation for possible emergency situations, such as

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The latest album from girl group BLACKPINK has landed at No. 8 on the U.S. Billboard's main albums chart. Billboard announced Sunday (U.S. time) that the group's third EP "Deadline" debuted on the Billboard 200 with 52,000 equivalent album units. "Deadline" is the K-pop quartet's first full-group project in three years and five months, following its second studio album "Born Pink" in 2022. The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums of the week in the United States, measured by equivalent album units, comprising physical album sales, track equivalent albums and streaming equivalent albums. Of the 52,000 album units "Deadline" earned, 41,000 came from physical album sales. This week's Billboard 200 was topped by "The Romantic," the first studio album in a decade from global pop star Bruno Mars.

BLACKPINK

SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- The latest album from girl group BLACKPINK has landed...

BLACKPINK

Korean American singer-songwriter Ejae, who performed songs for the Netflix animation sensation "KPop Demon Hunters," was the most-streamed K-pop artist in the United States last year, according to data recently released by U.S. entertainment data company Luminate. Ejae recorded about 2.1 billion on-demand streams, a figure combining audio and video plays, in 2025, topping all K-pop acts in the U.S. market, Luminate said. On-demand streams count how many times listeners choose and play specific tracks or videos. Huntr/x, the in-film girl group whose songs were partly performed by Ejae, ranked second with 1.8 billion streams. It was followed by boy band Stray Kids in third place with 1.2 billion. The film's fictional boy group Saja Boys took fifth place with 921 million streams, while K-pop supergroup BTS, set to make a full-group comeback this month, placed tenth with 892 million. Luminate said eight of the 10 most-streamed K-pop acts were artists or groups connected to the film's original soundtrack, underscoring the film's global reach. The company noted that the success of "KPop Demon H

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Kep1er will put out a new album on March 31, but Seo Youngeun will be nowhere to be found, Klep Entertainment said Monday. The group is set to release “Crack Code,” returning about seven months since seventh EP “Bubble Gum.” The upcoming set will feature the six remaining bandmates after Seo decided to leave the team. She had been on a break since July 2025 due to health reasons. Last week she made her departure official. “The time I spent with Kep1er and Kep1ian was like a treasure, which I wou

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Stray Kids exceeded 400 million mark on YouTube with the music video for “Back Door,” label JYP Entertainment announced Monday. This is the third time the group has reached the milestone, following “God’s Menu” and “Thunderous.” “Back Door” was released in 2020 as the lead track from “In Life,” a repack of the group's first album “Go Life.” With the single, the group came in first place on television music chart shows twice and made Time magazine's “The Best K-pop Songs of 2020” list. The repack

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Blackpink’s third EP “Deadline” debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 8, according to the chart preview released Sunday in the US. The mini album is the group's first new release in almost 3 1/2 years, after its second album “Born Pink,” a chart-topper on the main albums chart. Blackpink claimed spots for all of its albums on the chart: first EP “Square Up” at No. 40; second EP “Kill This Love" at No. 24; and first LP “The Album” at No. 2. "Deadline" landed atop the iTunes Top Albums chart in 38 regio

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