Ex-NU’EST member Baekho is currently working on debut solo album

Stray Kids have unveiled snippets of their forthcoming ‘Maxident’ mini-album through a mashup clip.On September 19, the eight-member boyband shared a mashup video comprising tracks from their upcoming seventh mini-album ‘Maxident’. The record, due out on October 7 at 1pm KST, will be accompanied by the release of the music video for its lead single ‘Case 143’.The new clip previews all eight tracks on ‘Maxident’ including its lead single and unit tracks ‘3RACHA’, ‘Taste’ and ‘Can’t Stop’.

BLACKPINK’s latest album.In a recent story by Variety, several songwriters whose work featured on BLACKPINK’s sophomore studio album ‘Born Pink’ discussed the stories behind their contributions to the record.Among them are singer-songwriter and longtime collaborator Bekuh Boom — known for co-writing the act’s debut singles ‘Boombayah’ and ‘Whistle’ — who penned the track ‘Typa Girl’ from the new record.“It’s a song to empower women,” said Boom of the B-side, adding: “When I hear it, I feel like the shit — and I want other women to hear it and feel that way too.” The songwriter went on to reveal that she had written the demo for ‘Typa Girl’ in 2021, and that she had originally “thought Lisa might use it for her next solo single.”“But I’m super happy that it’s […] on the album,” she said. “It’s a blessing to always get asked back.

EXCLUSIVE: The prevalence of Korean projects heading to the U.S. continues.

IZ*ONE member Lee Chae-yeon has been confirmed to debut solo next month.South Korean news publication News1 reported earlier today (September 15) that the K-pop idol is slated to make her anticipated solo debut with her first album sometime in October.Lee’s agency, WM Entertainment, confirmed the news in a brief statement to TV Report shortly after. “Lee Chae-yeon is preparing for her solo album with the aim of an October release,” the label wrote, as translated by Soompi. Specifics about Lee’s new music, including a tracklist, exact release date and the record’s format, will be unveiled by the entertainment company at a later stage.Lee’s forthcoming solo debut will mark her first official music since IZ*ONE parted ways in April 2021.

MONSTA X singer Kihyun is confirmed to be releasing new music next month.South Korean news outlet Sports Dongah reported on September 14 that the K-pop idol will be making a comeback with his second solo album in October. A source from Starship Entertainment responded to the report shortly after it was published, writing in a separate statement to TopStarNews, as translated by Soompi: “It’s true that Kihyun is preparing for his second solo album with the aim of a release at the end of October after having recently wrapped up the MONSTA X concert.

Gregg Goldstein Most independent producer/financiers would be glad to have one hot title up for sale in Toronto. Limelight arrives this week with three: the Jane Fonda/Lily Tomlin-led comedy-drama “Moving On,” plus a pair of distinctive coming-of-age dramas, “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” and “Wildflower.”   Now Limelight is developing the script for a comedy tentatively titled “Coachella,” written by Andy Siara (“Palm Springs”) and Joey Siara. The feature centers on teens who tell their parents they’re going on a church trip, but sneak off to the famed desert music festival instead. The Siara brothers are loosely drawing on their experiences playing the fest with their indie rock band, The Henry Clay People. (Andy, creator of Peacock’s “The Resort” and writer of an upcoming Apple Studios sci-fi comedy starring Andy Samberg, is repped by UTA, LBI Entertainment and Morris Yorn. Joey is repped by UTA and 3 Arts Entertainment.)

Extraordinary Attorney Woo has shared that it has received multiple offers for remakes from various countries, including the US and Japan.South Korean news outlet Yonhap News Agency reported on September 6 that Astory, the production company behind the hit Netflix series Extraordinary Attorney Woo, had received proposals for remakes of the series from multiple countries, such as the US, Japan, Turkey and Germany. The offers were made during the 2022 Broadcast Worldwide convention, a broadcasting content market held in Seoul last week.Per Yonhap News Agency, Astory is currently in the midst of sorting out the details of local adaptations of the 16-episode series, sharing that it established a requirement of maintaining these individual adaptations to retain the show’s core themes. These include main character Woo Young-woo’s “warm heart towards the underprivileged and the significance of the whale”.“I think the favourable and hopeful message in [Extraordinary Attorney Woo] will resonate with people all around the world,” Astory CEO Lee Sang-baek said.

Netflix Korean series Squid Game are set to attend this year’s Emmy Awards in Los Angeles this weekend.South Korean news outlet Yonhap News Agency reported on September 7 that actors Lee Jung-jae (who starred as Seong Gi-hun), Park Hae-soo (Cho Sang-woo) and O Yeong-su (Oh Il-nam, Player 1) will be departing from Seoul to head to Los Angeles for the awards ceremony on September 8, 9 and 10 respectively.Meanwhile, actress Jung Ho-yeon (Kang Sae-byeok) will be flying to Los Angeles directly from an unspecified country where she’s currently residing for work, per her management.The nine-episode hit Netflix series was nominated for awards across six categories at the 74th Emmy Awards, set to be held at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles: Best Drama Series, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (for Lee Jung-jae), Best Supporting Actor (for O Yeong-su and Park Hae-soo) as well as Best Supporting Actress (for Jung Ho-yeon).Notably, the 77-year-old O’s attendance at the upcoming Emmys will mark his first time attending an awards ceremony overseas in his 58-year career. The South Korean actor previously bagged the award for Best TV Supporting Actor for his role in Squid Game at the Golden Globes in January, however did not attend the ceremony in person.Speaking to Yonhap News Agency on the nomination, O said: “I feel it meaningful that we have won nominations for the prestigious global awards.

A surprise for BTS fans on Disney+ Day. At 12 AM Thursday, Disney+ began streaming the concert film BTS Permission To Dance On Stage – LA worldwide as part of Disney+ Day.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Make no mistake: CJ ENM is on the move. The South Korean conglomerate that has done as much as any company to build out the nation’s entertainment ecosystem is actively looking to expand its “production capability and competency.” That’s the word from Kang Ho-sung, CEO of the cluster of film, TV and music companies that now share the CJ ENM banner. Kang gave a rare, extensive interview to Variety on Aug. 21 in downtown Los Angeles on the sidelines of CJ ENM’s KCON LA pop culture convention, which brought in close to 100,000 fans from across the U.S.

Red Velvet dancer and vocalist Seulgi will be releasing her first official solo music next month, SM Entertainment has confirmed.On September 6, SM Entertainment confirmed to several South Korean news outlets that Seulgi will soon be making her official debut as a soloist, over eight years after debuting in girl group Red Velvet.“Seulgi is currently working on her solo album, with the goal of releasing it in October. Please show lots of interest [in the release],” said the K-pop agency, per Sports Kyunghang.

NU’EST member Baekho has unveiled his latest single ‘Savior’ as his contribution to the official soundtrack to K-drama Good Job. The new song dropped on September 1 along with an accompanying video, which features snippets from the mystery-romance series interspersed with footage of Baekho recording the track in the studio.“Everyday you’ll grow brighter / In the dark of night / Get me out of here, yeah / Oh, I want to be in front of you,” he belts in the chorus.Good Job, which began airing on August 24 via South Korean streaming platform ENA, stars Bossam: Steal The Fate co-stars Yuri of Girls’ Generation and Jung Il-woo as the show’s leads. The series follows Eun Seon-woo (Jung), a chaebol who leads a secret double life as a detective by night.

TREASURE have announced plans to return with a new mini-album next month.On September 1 at midnight KST, South Korean music label YG Entertainment took to the boyband’s social media to upload a teaser poster, announcing the group’s comeback in October, as well as concerts in Seoul in November.TREASURE are set to release ‘The Second Step: Chapter Two’, their sophomore mini-album, on October 4. More details regarding the album’s tracklist and lead single are expected to be unveiled in the weeks leading up to its release.In support of this upcoming record, TREASURE also simultaneously announced a two-night residency in Seoul for the ‘2022 TREASURE Concert In Seoul’, to be held on November 12 and 13.

Korean actor Song Kang-ho, who starred in Parasite and won best actor at this year’s Cannes film festival for his role in Broker, is set to make his debut in a Korean series with Uncle Sam Shik for Seoul-based production company Slingshot Studio.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief More than 600 buyers from companies in 30 countries are expected to be in Seoul, South Korea from Wednesday for the in-person return of the Broadcast WorldWide convention, better known as BCWW. Although BCWW bills itself as Asia’s largest broadcasting content market, given the strength of the Korean wave, much of the focus will be on Korean content and the business of working with Korean companies. Registered buyers and potential partners include Amazon Prime, Warner Bros. Discovery, NBCUniversal, PCCW the Hong Kong-based owner of Viu, and China’s iQiyi, all of which have already become purveyors of K-programming. “For the past 22 years, BCWW has served as a foundation for K-content to garner the global attention it is getting today,” said Cho Hyun-rae, president of the government-backed Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA). He added that he expects KOCCA and BCWW to “provide continuous support for K-content.”

P Nation was reportedly raided last week by the country’s labour ministry amid investigations into the death of a construction worker who was dismantling a Psy ‘Summer Swag’ concert set.South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labour released a statement on August 25 sharing that its Gangwon Province branch office had raided the southern Seoul headquarters of P Nation, the label and agency founded by ‘Gangnam Style’ singer Psy, along with its subcontractors that day, per a report by The Korea Times. The raid was conducted as part of the ministry’s investigation into the death of a construction worker who was hired to work on Psy’s ‘Summer Swag’ concert in Gangneung, Gangwon Province on July 30. The unnamed worker, a Mongolian man in his twenties, fell from a height while dismantling the concert’s set the day after the event.