City Seoul Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Zico has revealed that ‘Spot!’, his new collaboration with BLACKPINK‘s Jennie, was “crafted specifically” for the K-pop idol.In a new interview with Johnathan of YouTube channel The K-star Next Door, Zico opened up about the process that led to him collaborating with BLACKPINK singer Jennie on their new hit song, ‘Spot!’, and what it was like working together.The rapper revealed that he “didn’t pick the song first and then decide on the featuring artist” because he wanted to work with Jennie in particular. “I thought, ‘I want to collaborate with Jennie,’ and then created the song [which] was crafted specifically for [her],” he said, per SBS Star.Zico added that in addition to ‘Spot’, he had made “five other options” for Jennie to choose from.

XG have made their return with a powerful visual for their new single ‘WOKE UP’.On May 21 at 6pm KST, the septet – formed by Jurin, Chisa, Hinata, Juria, Cocona, Maya and Harvey – unveiled their latest single ‘WOKE UP’ and its music video. The futuristic new visual for the track features the members launching into space as the world explodes around them.“Woke up lookin’ like this / So don’t get under my skin / Woke up lookin’ like this / Woke up lookin’ like this / So don’t get under my skin / Woke up lookin’ like this,” they chant on the refrain.‘WOKE UP’ marks XG’s first release of 2024, arriving nearly eight months after their debut EP ‘New DNA’.

Dates: May 23-26Location: Busan, South KoreaFind tickets and more info hereIt’s The Ship takes to the high seas once again. Its 2024 Korea edition charts a course for Busan-Nagasaki-Busan in May. This cruise festival will feature at least two stages and over 50 DJs.

NME’s compiled a list of musicians and bands performing in the continent this year, from pop heavyweights like Olivia Rodrigo and Anne-Marie to metal favourites like Arch Enemy and more.And if you’re wondering where all the K-pop concerts and fanmeets have gone – we’ve got a whole other list for them, which you can check out here. And here’s a small sample of the K-pop artists who are coming to Asia in 2024: aespa, RIIZE, (G)I-DLE and many more.If music fests are more up your alley, you can check out NME’s list of Asia festivals taking place in 2024.

BIBI has gone viral again for kissing at fan at one of her concerts, this time during her set at Head in the Clouds New York 2024.BIBI performed on the second day of Head in the Clouds New York 2024 this past weekend on May 12, which also featured appearances from Joji, ATARASHII GAKKO!, Warren Hue and more.While performing her 2022 single ‘BIBI Vengence’, the singer jumped offstage to get closer to the audience. In one clip, which has since garnered over 139,000 likes, the singer serenades an audience member before kissing the fan’s hand.mother bibi at hitc ny is now a core memory #bibi #bibivengeance #hitcny #headintheclouds #88rising #newyork #foryou @Head In The Clouds Festival @88rising @nakedbibi ♬ BIBI Vengeance – BIBI A separate clip of the moment, which has since gone viral on X (formerly Twitter) with over 1.5million views, shows BIBI hugging a fan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Seoul-based film sales company, Finecut has notched pre-sales for its upcoming action-comedy “The Desperate Chase, which it is launching this week at the Cannes Film Festival‘s Cannes Market,. The film is an action comedy featuring a hot-blooded detective and a swindler who is also a master of disguise who team up to combat an evil mafia. Early rights buyers include Rights Cube for Japan, Apex Success Global for Taiwan and Mockingbird Pictures for Vietnam. Screening as a rough cut in the Cannes Market, the film is the second feature by Kim Jae-hoon, known for his debut with the body-switch action thriller “Devils,” which released in South Korea last year.

NME, Japanese rock band King Gnu have discussed touring abroad for the first time, frontman Daiki Tsuneta’s upcoming collaborations with Daniel Caesar, and much more.NME caught up with the quartet at the Singapore stop of their sold-out Asia tour in April, which also called at Taipei, Shanghai and Seoul and marked the J-rockers’ first-ever tour abroad. King Gnu sold out all seven shows on the tour – a victory lap after the band’s sold-out dome tour in Japan three months prior.King Gnu have been touring behind their eclectic, flamboyant 2023 album ‘The Greatest Unknown’.

NCT member Mark has teased his new single ‘200’ and an upcoming solo albumToday (May 10), NCT’s Mark released an acoustic performance clip of his upcoming single ‘200’, which will be released inn full on May 16 at 6pm KST. The song will be will be accompanied by the B-side ‘200 (Minhyung’s version)’, with Minhyung being the rapper’s Korean name.Additionally, SM Entertainment has announced that the Korean-Canadian idol is preparing to release his first solo album sometime in February 2025.

NCT Dream has come true, NCTzens.The popular K-Pop group just announced they’re playing venues all over the world on their ‘NCT DREAM WORLD TOUR <THE DREAM SHOW 3 : DREAM( )SCAPE>.’That includes seven huge North American arena concerts.Midway through their brief U.S. run, the Jaemin, Jisung, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Chenle and Mark Lee will drop into Belmont Park, NY’s UBS Arena on Saturday, Sept.

Olivia Rodrigo has announced the Asia and Australia leg of her 2024 ‘Guts’ world tour set to kick off later this year.The Asian leg of the tour will kick off on September 16 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok. From there, the ‘Love Is Embarrassing’ singer will be making stops in Seoul, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore.

Olivia Rodrigo will tour Asia and Australia for the first time in her career, the singer announced Wednesday. Rodrigo has added nine international dates to her massive “Guts” world tour for a total of 82 shows globally. The new dates kick off Sept.

tripleS is making their long-awaited debut!

Netflix has dropped a new trailer for its upcoming K-drama series Dare To Love Me, starring Kim Myung-soo and Lee Yoo-young. Read on for details about the plot, cast, premiere date and more.Based on the popular Korean webcomic series Hamburo Dahaejwo by Sunwoo, Dare To Love Me is a romantic comedy that centres around Kim Hong-do, a contract worker for an apparel company.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief New shows featuring top K-pop acts BTS and Seventeen will be uploaded to overseas Korean streaming platform KOCOWA+ following a deal between KOCOCWA’s parent company wA and Hybe Corporation. The deal covers 18 shows featuring Hybe and kicks off in May with the first six travel show “Nana Tour with Seventeen,” stage performance shows like “Seventeen ‘Ode To You’ in Seoul,” and reality show “In the Soop Seventeen,” which follows the band on an R&R trip in the countryside. (The Korean word ‘soop’ translates as ‘forest’ in English).

Stray Kids have released a teaser for their upcoming collaboration with Charlie Puth titled ‘Lose My Breath’.The moody new teaser for ‘Lose My Breath’, features pensive solo shots of the boyband as a narrator ponders the purity and and depth of the human soul. The song and music video will be released on May 10 at 1pm KST/12am ET.Stray Kids first announced the upcoming release back in April.

ENHYPEN will be dropping a brand-new special album next month titled ‘Memorabilia’ for their original webcomic Dark Moon.ENHYPEN announced the new album on April 29 at midnight KST via the official social media channels for Dark Moon, the original webcomic and novel based on the ENHYPEN members. Titled ‘Memorabilia’, the special album is due out on May 13 at 6pm KST.The announcement also included the first teaser image, which features a pile of VHS tapes with various labels, which comes together to spell “What we must never lose”.

RIIZE is keeping their fans fed!

Korean entertainment giant HYBE said it will report an executive of subsidiary label ADOR to police, a move coming days after launching an audit.

Netflix has issued a huge update on the second season of its hit rom-com drama XO, Kitty.

Bowen Yang and Lily Gladstone are teaming up for a new movie!

Zico and BLACKPINK member Jennie have released their new collaboration, titled ‘Spot!’.The music video for ‘Spot!’ features Zico and BLACKPINK’s Jennie performing the song on a variety of sets, from a photo studio to a recording booth. Later, the duo gather with friends on a roof-top for a late-night party.“As soon as I finished making the track, I knew it was executed to perfection without a doubt,” Zico said of ‘Spot!’ in a press release.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Lily Gladstone and Bowen Yang will star in Bleecker Street and Shivhans Pictures’ remake of Ang Lee’s 1993 romantic comedy “The Wedding Banquet” from director Andrew Ahn. Kelly Marie Tran, Oscar winner Yuh-jung Youn and Joan Chen are also attached to star. The reimagination of Lee’s Oscar-nominated film is based on a screenplay by Ahn and James Schamus.

Netflix has expanded the Season 2 cast for To All The Boys spinoff series XO, Kitty, as production gets underway in Seoul. (You can watch a start of production clip below). Audrey Huynh (ANZBBGRL, Wyrm) has joined as a new series regular, and Sasha Bhasin (Brave the Dark) and Joshua Lee (Gangnam Project) are set to recur in the half-hour dramedy inspired by the popular movie trilogy and Jenny Han’s bestselling book series.

NCT Dream‘s Renjun will be taking a hiatus amid health concerns, his label SM Entertainment has announced.In a statement, per Xsports News, SM Entertainment announced that NCT Dream singer Renjun would be taking a break from his scheduled activities for the foreseeable future, following medical advice he’d received from doctors.The K-pop agency said that the singer was told by doctors that he requires “plenty of rest and stability”, after having recently visited the hospital “due to a recent worsening of his physical health and symptoms of anxiety”, per Soompi.“We deemed our artist’s health our top priority and after careful discussion with Renjun, we decided that he would focus on his treatment and recovery,” SM Entertainment said, adding that the company would “make another announcement in the future when he is able to resume his activities”.As part of this newly announced hiatus, Renjun will also miss NCT Dream’s upcoming three-date May concert at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome, as part of their ‘The Dream Show 3: Dream( )scape’ world tour. It’s currently unclear if the singer will join the boyband on the tour’s other dates.In addition, SM Entertainment also added that it will take legal action against malicious commenters who post content involving hateful slander, sexual harassment, defamation and more for not only Renjun but for all SM artists.In other K-pop news, aespa has dropped the first trailer for their upcoming studio album ‘Armageddon’, slated for full release on May 27.

Zico and BLACKPINK member Jennie have teased their upcoming collaboration, titled ‘Spot!’.Today (April 18), Zico posted a video of him and BLACKPINK’s Jennie in a recording studio dancing along to a preview of their upcoming single on Instagram. The snippet features vocals from the girl group member singing: “Up and down, round and round, hit the spot, spot, spot, spot”.A post shared by 우지호/ZICO (@woozico0914)Soon after, Zico revealed that the new collaboration is titled ‘Spot!’ and will be out on April 26 at 6pm KST.

Laufey has today (April 16) released a new short film for her song ‘Goddess’, which has been directed by Past Lives director Celine Song – watch it below.The video stars Laufey alongside William G. Hardy (from Netflix’s Heartstopper), and was shot in Brooklyn, New York on 35mm film.Speaking about the video, Laufey said: “It was so special to work with Celine on the ‘Goddess’ short film.

Park Bo-ram died Thursday afternoon, the singer’s agency, Xanadu Entertainment, said.

EXCLUSIVE: Isabel J Kim’s debut novel Sublimation, which has been causing quite a stir in publishing and television circles, has landed at Universal International Studios.

Goodbye Earth.Today (April 9), the streamer revealed though its Netflix K-Content account on X (formerly Twitter) that Goodbye Earth will premiere April 26. The announcement was accompanied by 10 stills from the upcoming K-drama, which will star Ahn Eun-jin, Jeon Sung-woo and more.Notably, none of the stills feature actor Yoo Ah-in, who has been embroiled in controversy regarding his alleged drug use since early-2023.