Big Bang’s T.O.P wants to change the K-pop system and “make real artists”

Chris Willman Music WriterThe South Korean group Stray Kids never impacted the Billboard 200 album chart in any position before, but the K-pop crew passed go and came in with a bang, landing at No. 1 with “Oddinary.”The vast majority of interest in the band came in the form of full albums sold, not streaming, which allowed “Oddinary” to stake a claim for the biggest week of 2022 so far in the sales department. The overall total in album-equivalent units was 110,000, which is not a record for the year… but the fact that 103,000 of those units came via pure album sales did set a benchmark that hasn’t been reached by anyone else in ’22.Interestingly, Billboard reports that more than 100,000 of those 103,000 album sales were in CD form, with no vinyl edition available and not that much action on the digital download front — the seven different collectible packages proving an irresistible physical lure for fans, as is often the case with other K-pop groups like BTS.

OH MY GIRL have unveiled their stunning new music video for ‘Real Love’, the lead single off their sophomore studio album of the same name.In the new visual, the members of OH MY GIRL take flight in pink airplanes, travelling to fantasy-like locations, from an idyllic European-themed town, to a futuristic neon-lit city, to a vibrant, lakeside paradise. “Borrowing this music, borrowing this mood / Now, this air  / It’s like meeting on an island after a seven-hour flight,” they sing on the cheerful, laidback chorus.The ‘Real Love’ mini-album includes a total of 10 tracks, one of which is an instrumental version of the title track.

Ed Meza @edmezavarSpanish distributors, who have enjoyed a strong track record selling remake rights to local pics, have received a major boost this year with the Malaga Festival Industry Zone’s (MAFIZ) inaugural Remake Day event on Thursday.Leading film sales companies, among them Cinema Republic, Latido Films, Filmax and Feel Content, presented showcases of films considered particularly adaptable to foreign markets. Not surprisingly, comedies and genre pics made up most of the selections.David Castellanos’ Cinema Republic offered one strong example with Borja Cobeaga’s  hit 2009 romantic comedy “Pagafantas,” which has over the years sold to Germany, Italy and Mexico.Cinema Republic also touted Icíar Bollaín’s “Rosa’s Wedding” (“La Boda de Rosa”), about a woman in her mid-40s who decides to finally take charge of her life and fulfill her dream of starting a business.

Stray Kids have released an exciting music video for ‘Venom’, a cut from their latest mini-album ‘Oddinary’.The clip opens with the group walking up in a strange room, where they’re handcuffed to metal chairs. Changbin eventually gets free and antagonises his groupmates before unlocking a mysterious wall safe.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefProfits at Tencent Music Entertainment, China’s largest online music group, dropped in a year of regulatory turmoil and market evolution.Revenues at the company managed a 7% year on year increase, reaching RMB31.2 billion ($4.90 billion) from RMB29.15 billion in the same period of 2020, the company said in a filing on Tuesday. Net profit attributable to equity holders in 2021 was RMB3.03 billion ($475 million), down 28% compared to net profit of RMB4.16 billion in 2020.The company also reported figures for the three months from October to December, showing revenues of RMB7.61 billion ($1.19 billion), a decrease of 8.7% year-on-year.

when the Oscar nominations were announced this year. Spanish cinema, long lagging behind other European rivals like Italy and France, has finally begun to catch up. Carla Simón’s win in Berlin for ‘Alcarràs’ is proof of that. According to Variety, Cruz is currently in the mix to be the president of the Cannes festival jury, a distinction already granted in 2017 to Pedro Almodóvar, by far the most appreciated Iberian director abroad.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefRoland Emmerich’s space action film “Moonfall” landed in South Korea at the top of the box office chart. But the country’s continuing COVID problems mean that “Moonfall” and all other titles operated at a desperately low orbit.As the biggest new release of the week Moonfall pushed aside Korean-made “In Our Prime,” the previous weekend’s winner.

Big Bang have reportedly wrapped up filming for a music video that will accompany their long-awaited comeback project.Earlier today (March 16), the boyband’s label YG Entertainment confirmed in a statement to South Korean media outlet SPOTV News that all four remaining members of the group recently wrapped up a shoot for a music video for an upcoming new song.“Big Bang’s G-Dragon, Taeyang, T.O.P and Daesung recently completed filming the music video for their new song,” YG Entertainment told SPOTV News, as translated by Soompi. “Big Bang’s comeback preparations are progressing smoothly.

Paramount+ has unveiled the first five shows from its UK unscripted slate, including feature docs on paranormal hauntings in the UK and U.S., rise of big tech and the lost MH370 flight.

NEW YORK -- In its second weekend of release, Warner Bros.' “The Batman” easily remained the No. 1 movie in North American theaters with $66 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, while a live BTS concert broadcast was one-day-only blockbuster.Matt Reeves' Caped Crusader reboot starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz held well in its second week, dropping a modest 51% — a good rate for a comic book movie — from its $134 million debut and bringing its domestic total to $238.5 million.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorScoring tickets to the first BTS concert in three years may be next-to-impossible, but plenty of fans of the global K-pop group were able to catch the Seoul-set show at their local cinema.In a rare, one-night-only event, HYBE and Trafalgar Releasing brought the concert to movie theaters across the country to blockbuster results. At the global box office, the limited engagement of “BTS Permission to Dance on Stage: Seoul” raked in $32.6 million from 3,711 cinemas in 75 worldwide theatrical markets.

BTS – specifically BTS Permission To Dance On Stage – Seoul: Live Viewing grossed $6.84 million in North America on Saturday for a per screen average of $8,500+ across 803 theaters, ranking third at the weekend box office so far after The Batman and Uncharted.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIn a move that befits the streaming era, Japan’s Tokyo Broadcasting System Television is looking to make itself more of an international force. It will invest in more international shows and strike new coproduction partnerships.The company unveiled its new strategy on Friday at the South By South West (SXSW) festival in the U.S.It followed ten months on from the launch of TBS’s Vision 2030 program which sought to increase content spending, launch a new division and expand into related areas such as licensing.

EXO member Suho is set to release new solo music next month, his label SM Entertainment has confirmed.South Korean media outlet News1 reported yesterday (March 10) that the K-pop would be releasing his second solo album next month. The report has since been confirmed by his label SM Entertainment, in a new statement to MyDaily.“Suho is preparing a solo album with the aim of making a comeback in April,” SM Entertainment said, as translated by Soompi.

heartthrob boy band BTS were gifted a creative loophole to show their love for the pop sensations, despite harsh COVID restrictions at Thursday’s Seoul, South Korea, performance.“Cheering loudly, yelling, chanting and standing up during ‘BTS Permission To Dance On Stage — Seoul’ is strictly prohibited according to government guidelines,” the band’s management released in a statement ahead of showtime, according to the Mirror.The outlet also noted the homecoming show — their first for the South Korean capital in over two years — had only 15,000 seated fans of an originally anticipated 70,000 allowed in the Seoul Olympic Stadium.However, those lucky enough to nab a spot inside were still able to share their love for the “Boy With Luv” singers — with good old-fashioned clapping.

Big Bang’s T.O.P has spoken up about the aftermath of his marijuana case publicly for the first time.In 2017, the rapper was charged with marijuana use by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. He was later found guilty and received a 10-month jail sentence, with a two-year probation. At the time of the controversy, he was serving his mandatory military service as a conscripted police officer.In a recent interview with Prestige Hong Kong, T.O.P described the incident as the “worst moment” of his life and how it took a toll on his mental health.

There are already so many excellent K-Pop releases in 2022!

Miky Lee, the enigmatic vice chair of South Korea entertainment conglomerate CJ ENM, grew up believing in the simple dictum from her grandfather that would prove to be the guiding principle of her life and work: “No culture, no country.”An heiress to the Samsung fortune, Lee has spent decades enhancing her family’s long legacy as business titans and innovators who were instrumental in building Korea’s postwar economic infrastructure. Her grandfather, who also launched a newspaper and radio and TV stations, believed that Korea would never become a strong nation without forums for nurturing and celebrating the nation’s distinctive traits, traditions and history.Lee has taken the family mission global in recent years, working tirelessly as an investor and a dealmaker to advance the interests of both her companies and her cultural homeland.