K-pop Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

K-pop singers Sorn and Hongseok of PENTAGON have released the music video for their new collaboration single ‘crazy stupid lovers’Released on May 16, the new visual features the two singers as childhood friends-turned-lovers. The clip begins with Sorn learning that Hongseok has been granted a visa to visit the US for an extended time.

TWICE singer Nayeon has unveiled a huge line-up of collaborations for her upcoming mini-album.On May 17 at Midnight KST, the K-pop idol dropped a “Collab Artist Reveal” video on YouTube. The clip features Nayeon logging into a virtual meeting, with each producer and artist revealing themselves as they join the call.Per the album’s official tracklist released on X, KISS OF LIFE rapper and vocalist Julie will appear on the song ‘Magic’, while singer-songwriter Sam Kim and AKMU’s Lee Chan-hyuk will feature on ‘Heaven’ and ‘HalliGalli’ respectively.

Tiffany Young of Girls’ Generation has commented on the performances of junior K-pop groups on music shows.During a recent episode of MBC talk show Radio Star, the K-pop veteran opened up about some of the differences between the acts of her generation and current groups. The singer shared that new acts seem “half-hearted” while rehearsing on music shows.“Back in the day, we would give it our all on stage, striving to catch the camera’s attention regardless of our position.

K-pop boyband SEVENTEEN’s performance unit have released a music video for their new song ‘Spell’.Back in April, SEVENTEEN dropped their first compilation album ‘17 Is Right Here’ led by the single ‘Maestro’. In addition to the new single, the record includes brand-new tracks by the group’s performance, hip-hop and vocal units.

K-pop girl group 2NE1 have celebrated their 15th anniversary together.On May 17 at midnight KST, former 2NE1 members CL, Sandara Park, Park Bom and Minzy took to Instagram to share a series of photos from a recent shoot to commemorate their 15th anniversary. The quartet shared their love and gratitude for their fans (called Blackjack) while leader CL penned messages in Korean and English.“Today on May 17 as we celebrate our 15th birthday, we wanted to thank all of those who have loved, supported, laughed and cried with us all this time, so we’re standing in front of the camera together for the first time in a long while,” she wrote in Korean.CL then added in English: “2NE1 has always been my house that made me feel the freedom to love, to play, to express, to create, to shine, to mix, to connect and share with people.

Kep1er may be extending their activities with seven of its members.On May 16, StarNews reported that members Yujin, Xiaoting, Chaehyun, Dayeon, Hikaru, Huening Bahiyyih and Youngeun have successfully extended their contracts with WAKEONE, and that the group will be re-organised as a seven-member act.In response to reports, remaining members Mashiro and Yeseo’s agency 143 Entertainment shared that it is still in the middle of discussions regarding their contracts for Kep1er. “We are still reviewing this matter carefully, and no decision has been made,” it said per EDaily.Later, WAKEONE shared a similar statement, adding that it is discussing an extension of Kep1er’s activities with all of its members and their respective agencies.Kep1er was formed in 2021 through the idol competition series Girls Planet 999, and made their debut with the mini-album ‘First Impact’ in January 2022.

K-pop agency BPM (Big Planet Made) Entertainment has unveiled members of its new girl group BADVILLAIN.On May 16, at midnight KST, the label released a series of individual trailer films introducing four members of its seven members. They include Chloe Young, HU’E (previously known as Kim In-hye), INA and Kelly.

Forbes has released its annual 30 Under 30 list for 2024 in Asia, which features the likes of Voice Of Baceprot, IVE and more.Released today (May 16), the annual Forbes 30 Under 30 list shines a light on individuals aged below 30 who have made a significant impact in their respective fields, including entertainment and sports, science and activism, entrepreneurship and more.This year’s entertainment and sports portion of the list is headlined by Indonesian metallers and stars of NME’s The Cover, Voice Of Baceprot. Trailing behind them are K-pop outfit IVE, Japanese pop-rock group Atarashii Gakko!, Filipino rapper Ez Mil, Indian rapper Arpan Kumar Chandel (aka King), Japanese singer Aina The End and Indonesia’s Mahalini Raharja.The list also includes Chinese-New Zealand actress Jess Hong, Thai singer-actor Vachirawit Chivaaree, also known as Bright, and Indian singer-songwriter Pavithra Chari.This year’s North American 30 Under 30 list featured the likes of Boygenius, Ethel Cain, Dominic Fike, Gracie Abrams, Latto, Reneé Rapp, Ice Spice, Peso Pluma, Trippie Redd, Kali Uchis and more.This year’s European 30 Under 30 list features PinkPantheress, Nia Archives, Cat Burns, FLO, Holly Humberstone and more.Last year’s Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 list included K-pop girl groups NewJeans and Le Sserafim, Cambodian rapper VannDa, Singaporean singer Shye, South Korean singer LØREN, Indian singer-rapper Ambika Nayak – known professionally as Kayan – and Hong Kong singer Michael “MC” Cheung Tin-fu.The entertainment and sports category of the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list was judged by ONE Championship co-founder and Group President Hua Fung Teh and Caldecott Music Group CEO and founder Kuok Meng Ru.

K-pop girl group IVE have unveiled the visual for their single ‘Accendio’.On May 16 at midnight KST, the six-member act released a music video for ‘Accendio’, the second of two title tracks from their new mini-album ‘IVE Switch’.In the clip, the IVE members investigate a strange heart-shaped wand they find at a vacation house. Soon, the girls receive a mysterious message urging them to protect it until midnight to gain special powers.

M Countdown.On May 16, TV music channel Mnet announced that a small fire broke out on set earlier that day after “a spark flew into the set located at the corner of the stage” while girl group aespa were recording a performance.According to the channel per MBC, the fire was quickly detected and extinguished, and all artists and audience members were safely evacuated with no reported injuries.“The recording of aespa’s comeback stage was completed today and will be broadcast with no issues. No additional recording was carried out after the fire,” it said, adding that it is treating all M Countdown sets with flame retardant and examining its maintenance to prevent future issues.Shortly after, aespa’s label SM Entertainment released its own statement addressing the incident and sharing that member Winter will not be present during the show’s live broadcast due to her “poor condition”.

HYBE has become the first entertainment company added to South Korea’s conglomerate watchlist.According to reports by South Korean media, HYBE is one of seven business groups that have been added to the watchlist of the East Asian country’s antitrust regulator, the Fair Trade Commission, per The Korea Times. The list currently includes 88 conglomerates in total, with HYBE being the only entertainment company.“The increase in the number of companies on this year’s watchlist came as entertainment, leisure and tourism industries, among others, have grown markedly thanks to the rising popularity of Korean culture and recovering consumer sentiment after the COVID-19 pandemic,” the regulator said.According to The Chosun Daily, conglomerates with assets of 5trillion won or more are classified as “large corporations” and are required to publicly disclose details about interaffiliate transactions, their ownership structure and more.

Zico has revealed that BLACKPINK‘s Jennie has “so many” unreleased solo songs, following their recent collaboration ‘Spot!’.Zico and BLACKPINK’s Jennie recently released their joint single ‘Spot!’. The song was the former’s first release since his 2022 mini-album ‘Grown Ass Kid’.

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.

BLACKPINK have launched their first digital collectible collection, inspired by their hit 2022 song ‘Pink Venom’.According to a report by South Korean news outlet The Korea Herald, BLACKPINK’s new digital collectible collection will be released from May 22 to 26 through VeVe, a New Zealand-based company that specialises in licensed digital collectibles.VeVe has since released a video featuring the members of BLACKPINK introducing the new digital collectibles, which are inspired by the girl group’s 2022 single ‘Pink Venom’ from the album ‘Born Pink’.Get ready VeVe fam & Blinks!

Kep1er have announced ‘Kep1going On’, which looks likely to be their final album before reportedly disbanding in July.At midnight KST today (May 13), Kep1er’s label WAKEONE announced the girl group’s new album, including its release date, format and title. Called ‘Kep1going On’, the record will be the girl group’s first studio album, set for release on June 3 at 6pm KST.Alongside the announcement, Kep1er also released an animated teaser for the album, which depicts an animated logo motion of the album’s title.

fromis_9 are currently gearing up to release new music, their label Pledis Entertainment has confirmed.Pledis Entertainment announced that fromis_9 are working on new music in a statement to South Korean news outlet Newsen earlier today (May 13), where the label also outlines a number of the girl group’s upcoming performances and activities.“Love calls from festivals are flooding in for fromis_9,” Pledis Entertainment said. They are set to appear at the Dongyang Mirae University Festival (May 17) and the Spring Breeze on Campus at the Kyunghee University Peace Hall (May 18), followed by the ‘KBS Korea On Stage’ event at the Gyeongbokgung Palace (May 21).Beyond that, the K-pop agency also revealed that the girl group are currently “preparing for a comeback” and that it is “are proceeding without a hitch”.

NewJeans have allegedly spoken out about the treatment of the K-pop girl group in a newly released letter. However, HYBE claims that the letter was actually written by ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin.The letter, allegedly written by the parents of girl group NewJeans’ members, was released today (May 13) by South Korean news outlet eDaily.

TWICE singer Nayeon has announced the upcoming release of her second solo mini-album, ‘NA’, due out in June.TWICE’s Nayeon revealed today (May 13) that she’s gearing up to make her solo comeback though a post on the girl group’s X (formerly Twitter) account. Titled ‘NA’, the singer’s second mini-album, will be released on June 14 at 1pm KST or 12am ETAn accompanying timetable for the project’s release revealed that the singer will release the tracklist and trailer for ‘NA’ on May 16 and 18, respectively.

(G)I-DLE have announced the cities and dates for their upcoming 2024 ‘i-DOL’ world tour, featuring concerts in Asia, the US and Australia.Today (May 13), (G)I-DLE revealed details for their newly announced 2024 ‘i-DOL’ world tour, which will feature 19 concerts across Asia, the US and Australia from August to November this year.The K-pop girl group will kick off their tour with a two-date concert in Seoul, South Korea on August 3 and 4. In the same month, the quintet will also hold performances in Hong Kong, China and Tokyo, Japan.In September 2024, (G)I-DLE will bring their 2024 ‘i-DOL’ world tour to the US.

ADOR, home to popular girl group NewJeans, is set to hold a shareholder meeting later this month to vote on whether or not to dismiss Min Hee-jin as CEO.The decision to hold a shareholder meeting was announced today (May 10) by legal representatives of ADOR. According to The Korea Times, the move was made “under the attendance of all board members”, which included Min hee-jin, with the meeting set to be held on May 31.The announcement comes just days after the ADOR CEO filed an injunction to prevent HYBE from exercising its rights at the upcoming shareholder meeting, per Korea JoongAng Daily.

K-pop boyband EVNNE have announced their upcoming 2024 ‘Ride With EVNNE’ North America tour, with concerts inEVNNE and event organisers SHOWKASE have announced the dates and details for the boyband’s first North American tour, titled ‘Ride With EVNNE’, which will be held across August this year. later this year.K-pop boyband will kick things off at the Le National venue in Montreal, Quebec on August 7.

SEVENTEEN‘s hip-hop unit have unveiled the music video for their new song ‘LALALI’.In April, the K-pop boyband dropped their first compilation album ‘17 Is Right Here’ and its title track ‘Maestro’. The group’s hip-hop unit – formed by members S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu and Vernon – have now released a music video for album cute ‘LALALI’.The visual opens with a cleaner entering a bedroom where the group slept, only to find that they have burst through the wall and left.

K-pop girl group ARTMS have dropped a new video for ‘Air’, a song from their upcoming album, ‘Dall’.Today (May 10), the five-member act – formed by LOONA’s HeeJin, HaSeul, Kim Lip, JinSoul and Choerry – released their new single ‘Air’ on streaming platforms along with a music video. The song is part of their upcoming debut album ‘Dall’, which drops on May 31.The new video features the ARTMS members gathering in a cosy house, hanging out and singing to the track together.

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.

SEVENTEEN member Mingyu has opened up about his time as a K-pop trainee and why he wouldn’t want to relive that period of his life.SEVENTEEN’s Mingyu and his bandmate Joshua recently made an appearance on South Korean singer Jung Jae-hyung’s YouTube show channel, where they reflected on their nearly decade-long career and their time as trainees before debuting in the boyband.The K-pop idol revealed that he “[doesn’t] ever want to go back to that time of my life”, explaining that “all the bad memories of my life are from that time”, per SBS Star. He added: “It was so hard. I couldn’t sleep, you know.

ASTRO singer Cha Eun-woo has opened up about the passing of his bandmate Moonbin.ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo recently made an appearance on the South Korean talk show You Quiz on the Block, where he opened up about the death of bandmate Moonbin, who passed in April 2023.“Last year was a very difficult year for me,” the singer-actor told hosts Yu Jae-seok and Cho Sae-ho, per SBS Star, revealing that he wrote ‘Entity’ because he “desperately wanted to express what was truly on my mind”.“I wrote the lyrics after days and nights of shooting, recording, trying to channel Moonbin’s perspective,” he added. “People tend to forget too easily.

Zombieverse, including Girls’ Generation‘s Taeyeon, singer Kwon Eun-bi and more.Today (May 9), Netflix revealed the first round of cast members for season two of its popular reality TV show, Zombieverse. Among them are several K-pop idols, including Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon, former IZ*ONE member Kwon Eun-bi and Yook Sung-jae of boyband BtoB.Joining them on the Netflix series are music producer Code Kunst, rapper Defconn, comedian Je Se-ho, South Korean civil servant Kim Seon-tae and American celebrity chef Andre Rush.

ENHYPEN, titled Fanmade: ENHYPEN.Fanmade: ENHYPEN will be a production between Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Good-People, and will focus on the K-pop group’s fans by “putting them at the heart of the concert creation process”, per The Hollywood Reporter.More specifically, the upcoming film will follow “five female fans as they co-create new material alongside the band, ignite the fanbase to collaborate, and revel in the joy of putting their passion out into the world”.In addition, Fanmade: ENHYPEN will also “utilise unprecedented and intimate access alongside the band members as they travel across the US” for their latest world tour, culminating at their recent Samsung Galaxy Fanmade concert experience in Dallas, Texas on May 7.Fanmade: ENHYPEN will be directed by Caroline Suh, who also helmed 2020’s Blackpink: Light Up the Sky. The feature documentary is also set to feature an original song called ‘Home’.Speaking about the upcoming feature documentary, Suh said that “in the fun process of collaborating on this film we have all become big fans of the band”.

NCT Dream have announced their upcoming 2024 ‘The Dream Show 3: Dream( )scape’ world tour, with concerts in Asia, Europe, the US and more.NCT Dream’s 2024 ‘The Dream Show 3: Dream( )scape’ world tour currently features 17 shows across Asia, with concerts in nine different cities. The Latin America, US and Europe legs of the tour will be revealed on May 8.‘The Dream Show 3: Dream( )scape’ kick offed with a three-date concert on May 2 in Seoul, South Korea.