BtoB’s contracts with CUBE Entertainment reportedly expire, agency responds

Stray Kids have scored their first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 with their new single, ‘LALALALA’.Today (November 21), Billboard confirmed Stray Kids’ new achievement in a tweet through its official Billboard Charts account. ‘LALALALA’ makes its debut on the Hot 100 at Number 90 this week.Notably, this makes Stray Kids the second-ever K-pop boyband to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, following BTS.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Blackpink, the multinational female music act that is the biggest girl group in the Korean pop (K-pop) firmament, may finally be close to renewing its collective contract with YG Entertainment. The news was widely reported in Korea on Monday and comes after months of speculation that the four-piece act – Jisoo (real name Kim Ji-soo), Lisa (Lalisa Manobal), Jennie (Kim Jennie) and Rose (Roseanne Park) – would take their acts to another shop. Blackpink’s previous contracts with YG expired in August. The Munhwa Ilbo (or Culture Daily) publication Monday claimed an exclusive with the information that Blackpink will re-up with YG, but the four individuals will not renew their exclusive contracts with the agency.

Stray Kids have topped the Billboard 200 with their latest mini-album, ‘ROCK-STAR’.‘ROCK-STAR’, which Stray Kids released on November 10, has become the K-pop boyband’s fourth consecutive Billboard 200 chart-topper and second of 2023, following ‘5-Star’ in June.According to data from Luminate, per Billboard, ‘ROCK-STAR’ topped the chart with 224,000 equivalent album units earned in the US, with the majority of those coming from traditional album sales.The group’s first Billboard 200 Number One record was the March 2022 mini-album ‘Oddinary’, which featured the hit single ‘Maniac’. Later that year, they would go on to top the chart again in October with ‘Maxident’.On the same night, Stray Kids also made an appearance at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards, where they performed their hit songs ‘S-Class’ and ‘LALALALA’, from ‘5-Star’ and ‘ROCK-STAR’ respectively.Later during the night, the K-pop boyband would also go on to win Top K-Pop Album for ‘5-Star’, beating out the likes of BTS’ Jimin, NewJeans, TXT and Twice.“Without the love and support from everyone, we would probably not have made it this far, and if wasn’t for the people that have been running by our side this whole time, the music that we create would not have been able to reach the people in need,” said Bang Chan of the win.“So us, Stray Kids, would like to say thank you to STAY and Billboard for giving us an unforgettable gift,” he added.

Margot Robbie is addressing all of the rumors surrounding her and Britney Spears.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Tyra Banks is shaking things up at her production company. Formerly known as Bankable Productions, the production shingle will now go by the name SMiZE Productions. The move is a nod to Banks’ ice cream company, SMiZE & Dream.

BLACKPINK will be hosting their first-ever virtual concert called ‘BLACKPINK: A VR Encore’ in partnership with Meta and production company The Diamond Bros.The concert was announced by Billboard today (November 15), and is confirmed to be a recreation of the group’s special finale show for their ‘Born Pink’ world tour in Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome. Fans can expect performances of the band’s roster of hits including ‘Pink Venom’, ‘How You Like That’ and ‘Kill This Love’, as well as solo music performed by each individual member.Emmy Award-winning production company The Diamond Bros.

K-pop label YG Entertainment has provided an update on contract renewal negotiations with BLACKPINK, saying that they are still ongoing.The entertainment company made a brief statement to South Korean media, including Sports Chosun, yesterday (November 14) saying that it is “still negotiating with the artists regarding their exclusive contracts”, as translated by Koreaboo. No other details regarding the current status of the discussions were divulged, but YG Entertainment shared in the same statement that an announcement of the negotiations’ outcome “will be revealed through the document regarding major management issues related to investments.” An exact date for this report’s publication has yet to be announced.Negotiations surrounding the status of BLACKPINK’s expiring contracts with YG Entertainment have been underway since July, and their contracts were said to have expired in August.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Variety chief correspondent and rising star Elizabeth Wagmeister is heading to CNN, where she’ll cover the entertainment beat for the news cabler, based in Los Angeles. Wagmeister was a driving force who helped Variety reclaim its role as the most-read, No.

Lynne Spears is reacting to a couple of claims that her daughter Britney Spears made in her recently released memoir “The Woman In Me.”

Reese Witherspoon and Kevin Costner dating?!

Reese Witherspoon is shooting down a report about a rumored romance.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is reeling after the deaths of four “beloved” active and retired officers. In an email statement to KTLA on Tuesd

Pledis Entertainment, home to K-pop group SEVENTEEN, has announced the upcoming debut of a brand-new boyband in early-January 2024.South Korean media outlet JTBC reported on November 7 that Pledis Entertainment is planning to debut their first boyband in nine years in early January 2024. The report claimed that the group will consist of five to six members, including some who are not native Korean.Shortly after speculations surfaced, the company confirmed the news in an official statement to SPOTV News.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy nominee Camila Morrone has signed with Brillstein Entertainment Partners for representation.

(G)I-DLE, aespa and IVE will release a new collaboration, titled ‘Nobody’.Today (November 6), South Korean YouTube channel M:USB announced that one member from (G)I-DLE, aespa and IVE each will collaborate on an upcoming song, titled ‘Nobody’.According to a report by Dispatch, the members of the girl groups who will be participated in the upcoming single will be “introduced sequentially” over the coming days through the YouTube channel’s official social media accounts.The song will be written by HYBE producer El Capitxn (known for his work with BTS, Tomorrow X Together and more) and lyricist Seo Ji-eum (known for working with Red Velvet and NCT 127, among others).“This is a collaboration that breaks existing conventions and formats,” said one of the song’s producers, per Dispatch. With the participation of artists, composers, lyricists and staff members who all represent K-pop, it will be a special gift for global music fans.”‘Nobody’ will be released on November 16 at 6pm KST.

BtoB and Hongseok of PENTAGON have left long-time agency CUBE Entertainment.CUBE Entertainment announced today (November 6) that all six members of K-pop boyband BtoB would not be renewing their contracts, with the agency saying that it was “mutually decided”, as translated by Koreaboo.The news comes just days after it was reported that the contracts of five BtoB members had ended, with CUBE Entertainment saying that it and the K-pop idols were “working through this situation with an open mindset, looking at various options”.According to a new report today by Sports Chosun, BtoB had decided to leave CUBE Entertainment as early as last week over the trademark of the group’s name. Meanwhile, the K-pop agency told Dispatch that it is “positively discussing trademark rights with the BTOB members”.“We cannot provide details about the trademark rights discussions,” CUBE Entertainment added.

Uh-oh! It appears Sabrina Carpenter ruffled some feathers with her new music video!

Kourtney Kardashian and Tristan Thompson aren’t exactly close. Although other members of the Kardashian family, such as Kim, have become close to Khloe Kardashian’s baby daddy, Kourt isn’t sold.During a recent episode of “The Kardashians” on Hulu, Kourtney Kardashian opened up about her feelings on Tristan Thompson. Kourt admitted that she gets triggered by Tristan’s presence after everything he’s put Khloe through over the years.

BLACKPINK‘s Jisoo was reportedly paid up to US$80,000 per episode for her 2021 K-drama series, Snowdrop.From December 2021 to January 2022, BLACKPINK’s Jisoo starred in the JTBC K-drama series, Snowdrop, alongside Jung Hae-in. The series was the singer-actress’ first starring role in a TV show, following a number of guest appearances over the years.It’s been reported that the BLACKPINK member and co-star Jung were reportedly paid up to ₩110million (roughly US$81,000) per episode of the K-drama series, according to data obtained by SBS.The figure was part of an October 24 report that was presented by Lee Sang-heon, a member of South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party, who is also the chairman of the Cultural, Sports, and Tourism Committee.The report, submitted by the Korean Broadcasting Actors Union and the Performing Arts Rights Association of South Korea, was part of efforts to highlight the pay gap between lead and supporting actors in the entertainment industry.According to the report, Lee Sun-kyun was paid ₩200million (US$148,000) for an episode of the 2023 SBS series, Payback.

Weeekly have made their long-awaited return with new single, ‘Vroom Vroom’.‘Vroom Vroom’ is the title track of Weeekly’s new mini-album’s ‘ColoRise’, which comes a year-and-a-half after their previously release, March 2022’s ‘Play Game: Awake’.The single was arranged and co-composed by NOMASGOOD, who previously worked with the girl group on their 2021 song ‘Uni’. The songwriter is also known for working on Teen Top’s 2019 single, ‘Run Away’.‘Vroom Vroom’ finds Weeekly exploring a new sound that’s more disco-inspired, notably recalling the later works of their IST Entertainment seniors Apink.“Time to be brave / The same path is just too predictable / We’re curious about a new place / A world we’ve never been to,” the six-member group sing on ‘Vroom Vroom’.“For fans who have waited for us, we wanted to show you that we made use of this time to enhance our talents,” member Park So-eun said of ‘ColoRise’, per The Korea Herald.