Today in K-Pop

BTS wrapped up its live comeback declaration to the world on Netflix, but before the excitement had any real chance to fade, the platform followed up with a feature-length documentary centered on the group. “BTS: The RETURN” traces BTS’ comeback journey as the members reunite and make music together once again. Released last Friday, the documentary looks back on the group’s past and the way it rewrote pop history through unprecedented global popularity, before turning to the members as they prepare for a new chapter. For BTS fans, the emotions from watching the group’s globally broadcast comeback show still linger. The clearly deliberate timing, then, seems to suggest that extending that momentum was a key objective for Netflix. And after weighing how to make long-term use of BTS as a global entertainment property, Netflix appears to have chosen the feature-length documentary as a way to deepen the group’s narrative and further draw fans into its orbit. The depth and weight of Netflix’s documentaries have long been one of its biggest competitive strengths. Across crime, spo

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Illit's debut music video "Magnetic" has surpassed 300 million YouTube views as of Sunday, agency Belift Lab said Monday. The video was unveiled in March 2024 for the main track of the group’s first EP “Super Real Me,” showing the goofy yet lovely sides of the five members. “Magnetic” entered Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 91, becoming the first debut single from a K-pop group to enter the main songs chart. It did so barely three weeks after the quintet’s debut, a record in K-pop. The single swept a

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K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment has signed a new partnership with UNICEF to support children in Indonesia, expanding its social contribution program across Southeast Asia, the company said Monday. SM said it concluded the agreement with the Korean Committee for UNICEF at the UNICEF Indonesia office in Jakarta on Friday, aimed at empowering Indonesian girls and improving eco-friendly school environments. The latest accord marks the fourth partnership between SM and UNICEF Korea since their first collaboration in 2015, following earlier projects in Vietnam and the Philippines. Under the deal, the Korean entertainment firm will install gender-separated modern toilets and introduce water quality monitoring systems in 60 Indonesian schools by 2028. The signing ceremony was attended by SM's Chief Global Officer Choi Jung-min, UNICEF Korea Secretary-General Cho Mi-jin and UNICEF Indonesia Deputy Representative Jean Lokenga, among others. Members of SM's girl group Hearts2Hearts, Jiwoo and Indonesian member Carmen also joined the event. "It's a great honor to take part in this meaningful initiat

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Lee Soo-man, founder and key producer of A20 Entertainment, is likely to meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday during his two-day state visit to South Korea, an industry source said Monday. Lee is best known for founding SM Entertainment, the K-pop powerhouse that pioneered a systematic approach to discovering and training idols. “Lee and Macron have met previously in France, and if the president meets figures from the K-pop industry, he is likely to see Lee again,” the source told The

SEOUL, March 30 (Yonhap) -- K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment has signed a new p...

Day6’s Wonpil’s new solo EP, “Unpiltered,” marks a clear shift in his musical direction, as he experiments with sounds he had long wanted to try. His first solo EP, “Unpiltered” set to release at 6 p.m. Monday, marks his first solo release since 2022 LP “Pilmography.” While his previous work leaned more toward warmth and comfort, the new album reflects a broader and more experimental approach. Musically, “Unpiltered” marks a shift not only in tone, but in process. Wonpil said he has always liste

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A roaring race car, a pounding beat and a cryptic title — K-pop girl group BABYMONSTER is revving up anticipation for its next release, signaling a bold new turn just two years after its debut. YG Entertainment said Monday that the group will release its third mini album, “CHOOM,” on May 4 at 6 p.m., marking its first comeback of the year. The announcement came with a motion teaser posted on the company’s official blog, offering a glimpse of the album’s concept. The video features a racing car accelerating to a thunderous soundtrack, leaving behind a glowing trail that forms the word “CHOOM,” a Korean word for dance. The teaser’s kinetic imagery and high-intensity sound have fueled speculation about a concept shift for the group, whose previous releases leaned heavily on hip-hop and pop influences. Yang Hyun-suk, executive producer at YG Entertainment, had previously hinted at the shift as part of the company’s 2026 road map, saying the upcoming album would showcase a style the group has never revealed before. YG Entertainment said the album aims to capture “thrilling

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Irene of Red Velvet wants everyone to be their own biggest fan and exclaims it through her first solo studio album, “Biggest Fan,” which released Monday. Irene not only looks back at her life, but works up the courage to appreciate and accept herself, hoping listeners will offer warm words to themselves when they listen to her new music, she said via label SM Entertainment. The 10-track LP marks her return as a solo singer, close to 1 1/2 years since her first EP, “Like A Flower.” She was set to

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Jin of BTS reached 1.2 billion streams on Spotify with his second solo EP “Echo,” label Big Hit Music announced Monday. The EP debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 3 and, led by lead track “Don’t Say You Love Me,” generated 1 billion streams in about seven months to become the most-streamed K-pop solo single on the platform last year. The single debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 13 and on the UK Official Singles Top 100 at No. 10. Meanwhile, BTS on Friday released “Keep Swimming,” a remix of the

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K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment has signed a new partnership with UNICEF to support children in Indonesia, expanding its social contribution program across Southeast Asia, the company said Monday. SM said it concluded the agreement with the Korean Committee for UNICEF at the UNICEF Indonesia office in Jakarta on Friday, aimed at empowering Indonesian girls and improving eco-friendly school environments. The latest accord marks the fourth partnership between SM and UNICEF Korea since their firs

On a quiet Tuesday morning in a cafe tucked inside Seoul's Gangnam district, Wonpil sits in a camel-colored jacket, his wide, expressive eyes flickering between excitement and visible nerves. Known to fans as the spirited keyboardist and vocalist of K-pop band DAY6, the 31-year-old singer is preparing to introduce a more vulnerable side of himself through his upcoming solo mini-album, "Unpiltered," set for release Monday. "It still feels surreal," Wonpil told The Korea Times with a soft laugh. "Even doing this interview feels unbelievable. Preparing this album made me realize once again that music can never be created by one person alone." The new project comes a whopping four years after his first solo release, "Pilmography" in February 2022. The seven-track release features the emotionally charged lead single "Highs and Lows," alongside songs like "Toxic Love," "Up All Night" and "Step by Step." While DAY6 has long been associated with youthful K-band anthems and uplifting pop-rock, Wonpil says he reached a turning point around the band's 10th anniversary. "I kept thinking about the ima

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K-pop giant BTS has claimed its seventh No. 1 debut on the U.S, Billboard's main albums chart with its new album, "ARIRANG." "ARIRANG," the band's first group project in three years and nine months, debuted atop the Billboard 200 for the week of April 4, Billboard said in a chart preview released Sunday (U.S. time). It marks BTS' seventh No. 1 debut on the chart, following "Love Yourself: Tear," "Love Yourself: Answer," "Map of the Soul: Persona," "Map of the Soul: 7," "Be" and the anthology album "Proof." 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 (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). "ARIRANG" opens with 641,000 equivalent album units earned — the largest week for an album by a group since the chart began measuring by units in December 2014, according to Billboard. Of that sum, 532,000 came from physical and digital album sales, landing it the biggest sales week for an album by a group in more than a decade. SEA units comprise 95,000, BTS' biggest

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SEOUL, March 30 (Yonhap) -- K-pop giant BTS has claimed its seventh No. 1 debut ...

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As BTS’ new track “Swim” echoed across the Han River, a cruise ship slicing through the river became the center of a unique fan experience, blending music, visuals and memorable shared moments among fans under Seoul’s spring night sky. Following Spotify’s fan campaign event “Spotify X BTS Swimside” in New York on March 23, the fan experience continued at the Han River near Yeouido Hangang Park in western Seoul, where approximately 2,000 Spotify Premium users were invited from March 27 to 29. The

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BTS’ V, often ranked among the world’s most handsome men, revealed that he once gave up on becoming a singer after seeing one particular actor’s face. The surprising anecdote, shared in a YouTube video uploaded March 29 on the channel “Fairy Jaehyung,” has quickly spread across social media, drawing attention given V’s current global status. Appearing as a guest, V recalled how he had been the only child among his peers to say he wanted to become a singer when adults encouraged more traditional career paths. “When we were told to choose ‘professional’ jobs as kids, I was the only one who said I wanted to be a singer,” he said. “My grandmother told me, ‘Singers and actors are people like that,’ and showed me what she meant.” That moment came when V saw a banner featuring South Korean actor Gang Dong-won, widely known in Korea for his striking visuals and film roles. “There was a banner with him on it, and my grandmother pointed at it and said, ‘That’s the kind of person who becomes a celebrity,’” V said. “I just accepted it and gave up my dream for a

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Irene of the girl group Red Velvet released her first full-length album, “Biggest Fan,” Monday. The 10-track album is set for release at 6 p.m. across major streaming platforms, alongside a music video for the title track on SM Entertainment’s official YouTube channel, SMTOWN. A special live broadcast marking the release is also being held on Irene’s YouTube channel and Red Velvet’s TikTok account, starting at 5 p.m. The album arrives roughly 16 months after Irene’s solo debut mini-album, “Like A Flower.” Irene said the album is about learning to believe in yourself. “I wanted to convey the message that your own biggest fan is yourself,” she said in a press release. “I felt that we become stronger when we trust and support ourselves — it's something I wanted to say to my fans and to myself.” She added she focused heavily on the album's overall narrative, ensuring the tracks form a cohesive sequence from start to finish. Among the 10 tracks, Irene singled out “Don’t Wanna Get Up” and “Million Miles Away” as personal favorites, describing them as pop songs w

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BTS may now be one of the world’s biggest music acts, but member V recently looked back on a time when just a few dozen fans showed up to see them — and it meant everything. In a YouTube appearance on the channel “Fairy Jaehyung” uploaded on March 29, V reflected on the group’s early years before global fame, revealing that their first fan meeting drew only around 25 attendees. "About 25 to 30 people came to our first fan meeting, but it was more than the number of members, so we were happy," V said. "We were touched that people came all that way just to see us." BTS, which debuted in 2013 under BigHit Entertainment, is now widely considered a global K-pop powerhouse with a massive international fan base known as ARMY. But V’s comments highlighted the stark contrast between their humble beginnings and current status. Host Jung Jae-hyung pointed out that it took several years for BTS to gain momentum, noting that the group’s breakthrough did not come immediately after debut. He referenced their 2016 hit “Fire,” which marked a turning point in their popularity. "After ‘F

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Lee Changsub of BTOB will release a single on April 23, his agency Fantagio announced Sunday. The teaser trailer spelled out the song title in Korean in the singer's handwriting. “Youth” will be the singer's first new music in six months, after his second solo EP “End And.” He promoted the mini album with a solo tour of the same name, visiting seven cities across Korea. The tour ended last month with three encore concerts in Seoul. Changsub also spent his birthday with fans, hosting a party-them

After four years, Day6’s Wonpil returns with a fresh solo sound, ready to lay his emotions bare. Wonpil's EP “Unpiltered,” released Monday, is his first solo release since his 2022 album “Pilmography.” The seven-track mini album, written and composed by Wonpil, reflects his desire to present a side of himself that feels “newer, more vulnerable and less polished.” “This album will probably feel very different from my first solo album,” said Wonpil during a round interview at a cafe in southern Se

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K-pop giant BTS has claimed its seventh No. 1 debut on the US Billboard's main albums chart with its new album, "Arirang." "Arirang," the band's first group project in three years and nine months, debuted atop the Billboard 200 for the week of April 4, Billboard said in a chart preview released Sunday (US time). It marks BTS' seventh No. 1 debut on the chart, following "Love Yourself: Tear," "Love Yourself: Answer," "Map of the Soul: Persona," "Map of the Soul: 7," "Be" and the anthology album "

BTS

SEOUL, March 30 (Yonhap) -- K-pop giant BTS has claimed its seventh No. 1 debut ...

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