HYBE Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

NewJeans member Haerin has released her charming cover of South Korean duo AKMU‘s latest single, ‘Love Lee’.Haerin’s perform of ‘Love Lee’ is part of NewJeans’ new ‘By Jeans’ series of YouTube covers, which launched earlier this month with Danielle’s version of ‘Rainy Days’ by BTS‘ V.Haerin prefaced her cover of ‘Love Lee’ by explaining why she chose the song. “When I first heard this song, I thought it was so refreshing and the lyrics were very bubbly too,” she said.

BTS vocalist V has performed his new single ‘Love Me Again’ live for the first time.Last week, the K-pop singer accompanied the release of his debut solo album ‘Layover’ with a special episode on Naver’s NPOP show. Naver has since uploaded V’s performances of his songs ‘Rainy Days’, ‘Love Me Again’ and ‘Slow Dancing’ on YouTube.The performance opens with V singing his pre-release single ‘Rainy Days’ from a music studio set, before transitioning to an art studio-inspired stage filled with drawings and paintings as he performs ‘Love Me Again’, flanked by four backup singers.Finally, V performs ‘Slow Dancing’ from a foggy stage, with dancers joining in for the song’s instrumental break.

BTS vocalist V has released his debut album ‘Layover’ and a music video for ‘Slow Dancing’.In the ‘Slow Dancing’ visual, the K-pop singer escapes to the ocean with a group of friends, swimming among jellyfish and dancing together on the beach. Later, he plays a video of a sailing ship on a projector, imagining them as pirates.“Maybe we could be / Slow dancing, until the morning / We could be romancing / The night away,” V sings on the chorus of the new single.BTS’ V also released his solo record ‘Layover’ at the same time, which contains pre-release singles ‘Rainy Days’ and ‘Love Me Again’, along with new tracks ‘Blue’, ‘For Us’ and a piano version of ‘Slow Dancing’.The new record’s music, creative direction and music video production were headed by Min Hee-jin, the CEO of Ador and creative director for girl group NewJeans.

Tomorrow X Together (TXT) and Brazilian singer Anitta have teased their new song ‘Back for More’.Yesterday (September 4), TXT released a teaser for their upcoming song ‘Back for More’, featuring Anitta. It features the musicians performing choreography to the song on a soundstage with a black backdrop.“Ya estoy a empezar / All I know if, if you walk away / Give me something (Give me something) / Baby, it’s okay,” they sing in the snippet of ‘Back for More’.‘Back for More’ will be released on September 15 at midnight ET/1pm KST, alongside a ‘Performance Ver.’ of the song.

Tomorrow X Together (TXT), ITZY and more will perform at KPOP LUX x SBS Super Concert London this September.KPOP LUX x SBS Super Concert London will take place on September 22 and 23 at the O2 Arena. It is the event’s second stop of the year, following a July 22 Madrid show that featured SHINee, ENHYPEN, STAYC, IVE and more.The September 22 date of the upcoming K-pop festival will feature performances from two girl groups (ITZY and an as-yet-unannounced second act) and four boybands (THE BOYZ, WEi, ZEROBASEONE and xikers).Meanwhile the September 23 show will also feature performance by ITZY and xikers.

RM of K-pop boyband BTS has addressed the controversy surrounding a post he made about Frank Ocean‘s 2012 song ‘Bad Religion’.Earlier this month, BTS’ RM received backlash after he shared Frank Ocean’s ‘Bad Religion’ on an Instagram Story post. According to Koreaboo, the K-pop idol was called out by some for sharing what they allege to be an “Islamophobic song”, due to a line which uses the Arabic expression “Allahu Akbar“.During a August 30 live stream on the fan community platform Weverse, RM spoke out about the backlash he has received. “I know what you’re talking about, you keep telling me that I insulted a religion, but I didn’t,” he said, as translated by Koreaboo.“There was no intention to insult a religion.

K-pop boyband Tomorrow X Together (TXT) have announced their third studio album, ‘The Name Chapter: Freefall’.On August 30 at midnight KST, the five-member act unveiled a new teaser clip for ‘The Name Chapter: Freefall’. The full-length album will be released on October 13 at 1pm KST/Midnight EST.The new visual features TXT’s logo for their last mini-album, ‘The Name Chapter: Temptation’ transforming into an edgy new blue and white logo for the upcoming era.At the time of publishing, the group have yet to share details like the project’s tracklist and format.

Immortal Songs is headed to New York, featuring NewJeans, ATEEZ and more.Today (August 30), concert organiser Studio PAV announced the upcoming Immortal Songs live concert in New York. The upcoming show will take place at the Metlife Stadium (which is actually in the nearby state of New Jersey) on October 26.The show will feature performances by K-pop groups NewJeans and ATEEZ, g.o.d member Kim Tae-woo and P Nation founder Psy.

HYBE and Geffen Records have revealed the contestants of its upcoming audition programme, The Debut: Dream Academy.At a press event in Los Angeles today (August 28 PT), HYBE chairman Bang Si-Hyuk and Interscope Geffen A&M Records CEO John Janick revealed the 20 idol hopefuls who will be competing for a place in an upcoming global girl group.The group of contestants hail from 12 different countries – including Korea, Brazil, the US, Sweden and more – and were picked from a global audition that started in November 2021.The 20 young women will participate in The Debut: Dream Academy, premiering September 1 at 8am PT on YouTube, which will run for 12 weeks and decide the upcoming girl group’s final line-up. In addition, the group’s development process will also be documented in an upcoming as-yet-untitled Netflix series, set to debut in 2024.“I have wanted to form an international group based on K-pop methodology for a while,” Bang Si-Hyuk said at the press event.

BTS singer V has released three of his previous solo tracks on streaming platforms for the first time.On August 28, Big Hit Music shared that the idol’s solo tracks ‘Scenery’, ‘Winter Bear’ and ‘Snow Flower’ were now available via streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Prior to this, the three songs had only been available on SoundCloud and YouTube.BTS’ V first released ‘Scenery, his first self-composed track in January 2019, followed by ‘Winter Bear’ later that year.

K-pop agency HYBE and Geffen Records will be hosting an audition programme to launch their new girl group.Back in November 2021, HYBE announced its plans to debut a new girl group that will “transcend national, cultural, and artistic boundaries” in collaboration with Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records, and held auditions across South Korea, the US, Japan, the UK and Australia in 2022.The agency has now shared that it will be hosting a new audition programme titled The Debut: Dream Academy, through which the upcoming girl group’s line-up will be decided. The show will be unveiling its contestants next Tuesday (August 29), and premiere on YouTube from September 1.HYBE has also released a clip of some of its artists, including Tomorrow X Together, fromis_9, LE SSERAFIM and ENHYPEN sharing video messages to the show’s contestants.“I’m sure they’re excited but nervous at the same time with a big challenge.

BTS vocalist V has voiced his love for the recent Barbie movie.During his cover shoot for W Korea’s September issue, the K-pop idol opened up about his upcoming solo debut record ‘Layover’, due out on September 8. The singer also discussed recent happenings in his daily life, sharing that the Barbie movie had left a strong impact on him.When asked if he had watched any movies recently, V answered that he had seen Barbie, adding: “Truly, out of all the films I’ve watched recently, it had the strongest impact on me.”The singer went on to share how his love for jazz music has influenced his upcoming record.

BTS‘ V and NewJeans have met up to dance to the girl group’s hit single ‘Hype Boy’.NewJeans recently shared a new clip of BTS member V joining them in the practice studio to dance to their 2022 hit single ‘Hype Boy’ across their social media accounts.The video opens with the BTS singer posing for the camera before it pans out to reveal the NewJeans members around him as they begin to dance to the song’s choreography.Notably, both acts’ labels are under the same parent company, HYBE. V also recently teamed up with NewJeans’ label ADOR’s CEO Min Hee-jin to work on the creative direction of his upcoming debut solo record ‘Layover’.In a recent interview with W Korea, the BTS singer explained why he had decided to work with Min for his album, revealing that he was inspired by her work on girl group f(x)’s 2013 album ‘Pink Tape’ during her time under SM Entertainment.“I wanted to show a different side of my music compared to my past works and collaborating seemed like the best way to achieve that,” V shared.

V of boyband BTS has revealed the K-pop girl group that inspired his upcoming solo album, ‘Layover’.BTS’ V will officially make his solo debut in September with his first studio album ‘Layover’, which will include the songs ‘Rainy Days’ and ‘Love Me Again’. The K-pop idol’s record will be led by Min Hee-jin, the CEO of NewJeans’ label ADOR.In a new interview with W Korea, V opened up about ‘Layover’, why he decided to work with Min Hee-jin and the K-pop girl group that was the impetus for the record.“f(x)’s ‘Pink Tape’ was a big inspiration,” V revealed.

Big Hit Music has released a statement refuting claims that Jungkook of BTS‘ single ‘Seven’ was plagiarised.Earlier today (August 22), South Korean news outlet Ten Asia published a report alleging that a portion of Jungkook’s ‘Seven’ – written by Andrew Watt, Cirkut, Jon Bellion, Latto and Theron Makiel Thomas – “borrows” its “scale sequence” from K-pop girl group Fin.K.L’s 2000 song ‘Time of Mask’.In its report, Ten Asia also claimed that ‘Time of Mask’ composer Yang Joon-young requested a producer at Big Hit Music for an evaluation of the two songs.Big Hit Music has since refuted the claims made in the Ten Asia report. In a statement to My Daily, as translated by Soompi, the label said: “The claims of copyright infringement regarding Jungkook’s ‘Seven’ are not true.”“‘Seven’ is a song that was made through the collaboration of five foreign composers, and it is a creation that is completely unrelated to the song on a domestic album from 24 years ago like some are claiming,” it added.Big Hit Music also called the claims “one-sided”, and alleged that they “do not meet any criteria such as substantial similarity and principles in determining plagiarism”.‘Seven’ is Jungkook’s first official solo single, released on July 14.

SEVENTEEN singer Seungkwan is set to rejoin the group for their upcoming release following a health-related hiatus.On August 16, Pledis Entertainment shared that Seungkwan will be returning from a hiatus by September. The K-pop singer had announced a break due to unspecified health issues last month.“Seungkwan is currently concentrating on his recovery.

RM has stated that boyband BTS will make their long-awaited return in 2025.Over the weekend on August 12, BTS’ RM hosted a livestream on the fan community platform Weverse where he opened up about the boyband’s plans for the future. Notably, BTS have been on an extended break since mid-2022 to “explore some solo projects”.During the livestream, RM spoke about how he recently spoke to Suga about the latter’s world tour and what he had learned from that experience.

LE SSERAFIM vocalist Huh Yunjin has released a new solo song titled ‘blessing in disguise’.On August 14, the K-pop singer unveiled a music video for her song ‘blessing in disguise’, now available on streaming platforms. The new track details Huh’s journey moving to South Korea and becoming an idol.

LE SSERAFIM have dropped the Japanese-language version of their recent title track ‘Unforgiven’, featuring Japanese singer Ado.The track was officially released at 6pm KST earlier today (August 8) on streaming platforms, as well as on YouTube. With Nile Rodgers being featured on the original song, its Japanese counterpart also credits Rodgers alongside Ado, who stays faithful to the original’s structure and lends her vocals to verses across the song.

K-pop boy group BOYNEXTDOOR have announced their first comeback with their debut mini-album ‘WHY..’, due out in September.The announcement was made via the boyband’s social media channels yesterday (August 7), and included the project’s title, format and release date of September 4 at 6pm KST.The announcement also included a black-and-white teaser image for the upcoming EP, depicting what appears to be an old-school carnival with a merry-go-round. Other details, such as the mini-album’s tracklist, have yet to be announced by the group’s company, KOZ Entertainment, but are expected in coming weeks.BOYNEXTDOOR1st EP [WHY..]2023.

BTS member V has officially announced his debut solo album, which is being titled ‘Layover’.Announced today (August 8), Big Hit Music took to social media to confirm the album, which is due for release in September. In the visualiser below, the album will be available from September 8 onwards.From V'Layover' Release23. 9.

BTS‘s Suga were the cause of a recent commotion on a Seoul subway train.Yesterday evening (August 6), South Korean police received several reports from passengers on the Seoul Subway Line 9 express train to Gimpo airport. This included over 20 reports of people allegedly getting hurt, a riot, as well as a strange smell on the train, leading to an investigation by police and firefighters, per Yonhap News.According to SBS News, panicked passengers rushed out of the train upon its arrival at Sinnonhyeon station, causing at least seven passengers to suffer “cuts and bruises” in the evacuation.

BTS rapper Suga has begun preparations for his military enlistment.Today (August 7), Big Hit Music released a statement announcing that the rapper had terminated his enlistment postponement and is currently beginning the enlistment process.Under South Korean law, all able-bodied male citizens are to serve for 18-21 months by the age of 28. The BTS members had previously been granted exemptions to defer their enlistments until they turned 30 after receiving an Order of Cultural Merit in 2018 by then-president Moon Jae-in.“We would like to inform our fans that Suga has initiated the military enlistment process by applying for the termination of his enlistment postponement,” Big Hit Entertainment said in its statement.

BTS’ RM recently performed an upcoming solo song at his bandmate Suga’s solo concert in Seoul.Between August 4 to August 6, Suga held three encore shows for his ‘Agust D’ tour at the KSPO Dome in Seoul. During his final show on Sunday (August 6), fellow BTS member RM joined him to perform their song ‘Strange’, as well as an unreleased solo track.‘Strange’ was originally released in 2020 as part of Suga’s mixtape ‘D-2’, and the recent concert marked the first time the pair performed it live.

NewJeans have earned their first chart-topping album on the Billboard 200 with their sophomore release ‘Get Up’, besting the all-star Barbie soundtrack.Billboard recently announced the ranked for the latest Billboard 200 chart, for the week of August 5, 2023. NewJeans entered the chart for the first time with ‘Get Up’, which also debuted at Number One on the list.

LE SSERAFIM have announced a brand-new remix of their hit song ‘Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s Wife’, this time featuring Demi Lovato.The rework of LE SSERAFIM’s popular song will feature brand-new vocals from Demi Lovato. “I see it written on your face, yeah / I know you want a little taste, yeah / You know I’ll put you in your place / You’re crawling on the floor, begging me for more,” she sings in the new teaser.Last week, LE SSERAFIM teamed up with Japanese-British singer Rina Sawayama on a new remix of the English version of ‘Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s Wife’.

NewJeans have shared a performance of their new single ‘Cool With You’, accompanied by a live band.In collaboration with K-pop YouTube series It’s Live, NewJeans have performed their ‘Get Up’ single ‘Cool With You’ with a live band. The members’ vocals remain true to the original, though its live instrumental is more upbeat.“You may be on my mind / Everyday baby, say you’re mine / You and me on my mind / Everywhere, baby, say you’re mine / It feels cool with you,” they sing, donning the dreamy outfits they wore in the songs music video.NewJeans have released two music videos for ‘Cool With You’ starring Squid Game actress Jung Ho-yeon and legendary Hong Kong star Tony Leung, which dropped a day prior to its official release last month.The other two singles from the record are pre-release track ‘Super Shy’ and ‘ETA’.

V (real name Kim Tae-hyung), a member of K-pop boyband BTS, has tapped NewJeans creative director Min Hee-jin for his upcoming solo album.Toda (August 2), V’s label Big Hit Music revealed to Sports Donga that the singer would be working with Min Hee-jin, the CEO of NewJean’s label ADOR, for his much-anticipated solo album. The ADOR head is set to lead the project, including elements such as the music, choreography and promotion style.Alongside the confirmation, Big Hit’s also released statements by both V and Min Hee-jin about their upcoming collaboration. “I received the offer late last year,” Min Hee-jin said, as translated by Koreaboo.

Tomorrow X Together (TXT) member Taehyun has dropped his cover of ‘Seven’ by labelmate Jungkook of BTS.Yesterday (July 31), TXT’s Taehyun released his cover of Jungkook’s ‘Seven’ on the community fan platform Weverse. For his version, the K-pop idol sang along to an instrumental version of the original.“A masterpiece, a godly song, a great song, congratulations on Number One,” Taehyun wrote in the post’s caption.

BTS’ V recently joined bandmate Jungkook on stage to perform the latter’s solo single ‘Seven’.During the July 30 episode of SBS’ music show Inkigayo, BTS’ Jungkook took first place with his new solo single ‘Seven’.