FIFTY FIFTY’s Keena teases new music from the girl group

NewJeans, BTS’ Jungkook, H1-KEY and more.Today (January 26), the annual Korean awards ceremony unveiled its full list of nominees on its official website. The ceremony honours mainstream and underground musicians across a variety of genres, and distributes awards based on the recommendations of its panel.The 21st Korean Music Awards ceremony will take place on February 29 at 8pm KST, and will be streamed live on the PRIZM app.K-pop girl group NewJeans, rapper Beenzino and indie rock band Silica Gel received five nominations each, including Musician of the Year, Song of the Year and Album of the Year, as well as Best Song and Best Album nominations in their respective genre categories.NewJeans notably won both Best K-pop Song and Best K-pop Album at last year’s ceremony, as well as Rookie of the Year.

BreAnna Bell Felix Solis, Brooke Smith, Omar Maskati, Alana Hawley Purvis, Devika Bhise, James Purefoy, Do Hyun Shin, Young-Ah Kim, and Sanghee Lee have joined the cast of Netflix‘s “The Recruit” for Season 2, which is currently in production in Vancouver, Canada. The streamer also announced that filming will additionally take place in Seoul, South Korea. Solis (“Ozark”), who’s joined among the cast by his “The Rookie: Feds” castmate Bhise, plays Tom Wallace, a senior diplomat in the State Department tasked with bringing American hostages home, he will talk to anyone to get our people back – even the worst of America’s enemies.

Netflix has confirmed that several of its hit series will return with new seasons this year, including Squid Game, Bridgerton and Emily In Paris.Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk broke the news to Netflix shareholders in a letter yesterday (January 23), as revealed by a Variety report. In Hwang’s letter, he name-dropped several titles returning to the streaming in 2024, headlined by his smash hit Korean thriller.While he was unable to share an official release date for Squid Game’s second season, Hwang assured shareholders that it will arrive this year, alongside new seasons of Bridgerton, Emily In Paris, Formula 1: Drive To Survive, The Diplomat, Empress, Love Is Blind and more.Other titles mentioned include Tour de France: Unchained, Full Swing, and new shows like 3 Body Problem, Griselda, The Gentlemen, Eric, Avatar: The Last Airbender and Cien Años de Soledad.Season 3 of Bridgerton is locked in for a May 14 release, while Avatar: The Last Airbender arrives on February 22.Squid Game was renewed for a second season back in 2022, months after it was released the year prior to global appeal and critical acclaim.

SEVENTEEN have debuted a new original single called ‘The Meaning of Meeting’ live during a concert in Macao.SEVENTEEN recently concluded a two-night concert at Macao’s Olympic Sports Center Stadium on January 20 and 21, as part of their ongoing ‘Follow’ world tour. During the set, the K-pop boyband performed a new Chinese track titled ‘The Meaning of Meeting’ (or ‘相遇的意义’ in Mandarin).Shortly after the concerts, SEVENTEEN released a special video with the official studio version of the song, alongside footage of their performance at the Macao shows.

Squid Game is coming back this year.

The Academy has confirmed to Deadline that this is the first time two international foreign-language movies have been nominated for Best Picture in the same year and the first time that two foreign-language movies have received five Oscar nominations apiece in the same year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning,’ a Korean-made animated horror film, has been added to the European Film Market slate of sales agent Finecut. The picture is derived from a novel and webtoon that are among the most successful in Korean history, about four individuals bestowed with special powers rooted in religion, the supernatural, and legend. The book sold 10 million copies and recorded 238 million views online. The film’s narrative is an origin story and recounts the first adventure of the foursome – an excommunicated priest, a young woman with telekinesis, a man who lost his sister to a malevolent spirit, and a child prodigy skilled in arcane magic.

Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard and Sam Rockwell are promoting their new movie Argylle in South Korea.

Warning: The following post contains spoilers about tonight’s fifth season finale of FX’s Fargo, “Bisquik”

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has set a March 29, 2024, global launch for Homeless World Cup movie The Beautiful Game, which stars Oscar nominee Bill Nighy (Living) and BAFTA nominee Micheal Ward (Top Boy).

UK’s Jack Thorne-Backed TV Access Project Finds New Lead

Charles Melton has had a good year; although saying farewell to Riverdale hit him hard, he went head-to-head with Natasha Lyonne for an episode of Poker Face and earned a Golden Globe nomination for his role in Todd Haynes’ May December. Sandwiched between Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore, the U.S.-born actor with Korean roots handled himself impeccably, playing the husband of Gracie (Moore), an older woman once sent to prison for molesting him as a minor. Melton brings a diffident grace to the part, which is crucial to the film’s unfolding when actress Elizabeth Berry (Portman) turns up.

One night, writer-director Celine Song found herself in an East Village bar in New York. On one side of her sat her husband, on the other her childhood sweetheart from Korea. As she translated the words between the two, she realized she was translating between two versions of her own life: what she had chosen and what might have been; her Korean self and her American self.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” dominated the nominations for the 17th edition of the Asian Film Awards. Both picked up six nominations, including those in the best film category. The nominations were announced on Friday afternoon in Hong Kong, ahead of a ceremony on March 10, that will return to the city’s West Kowloon Cultural District and the Qiyu Centre.

Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, Evil Does Not Exist, and the period action pic 12.12: The Day, from Korea, lead the nominations at this year’s Asian Film Awards. 

BTS rapper Suga is the face of Valentino’s latest menswear campaign for its 2024 S/S collection, Valentino The Narratives.In a new campaign clip released by the Italian luxury fashion house, Suga shares a glimpse of his life as a star as he is ushered into a venue surrounded by fans and press while wearing a white Valentino suit.“The energy, individuality and story of stardom,” reads the accompanying caption. The campaign was directed by creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli and shot by photographer Theo Wenner.A post shared by Valentino (@maisonvalentino)Per Harper’s Bazaar Singapore, Valentino’s new The Narratives campaign features moments from the idol’s life, from the music studio to the streets of Seoul, as well as his public appearances among the press and fans.The musician was introduced as one of Valentino’s brand ambassadors called DI.VAs – standing for “Different Values” – almost a year ago.

Dr. Shaun Murphy is canceling his appointments and retiring from San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital.ABC said its veteran hospital drama “The Good Doctor,” starring Freddie Highmore, will end after its upcoming seventh season, which premieres Feb.

IVE have announced their upcoming new single ‘All Night’, a collaboration with American rapper Saweetie.Today (January 9), IVE dropped the first teaser for ‘All Night’, their upcoming collaboration with Saweetie. The song will be released next Thursday (January 18) at 7pm ET / Friday (January 19) at 9am KST, and is available for pre-save now via Apple Music, Spotify and iTunes.Notably, ‘All Night’ appears to sample or be a remake of Icona Pop‘s hit 2013 single of the same title, with IVE singing the chorus of the latter in their new snippet: “With the love this deep, we don’t need no sleep / And it feels like we could do this all night”.A post shared by IVE 아이브 (@ivestarship)IVE recently won big during the Korean awards season, bringing home an Album Bonsang at the 38th Golden Disc Awards, a Best Artist at the 2023 Asia Artist Awards and Album of the Year at the 2023 Melon Music Awards, among others.The girl group also previously announced the stops and dates for their 2024 ‘Show What I Have’ world tour, featuring legs in Japan, Southeast Asia, North America and Europe.In related news, Icona Pop released ‘Club Romantech’, their first album in 10 years, in September 2023.

NewJeans, ENHYPEN, aespa and more.The 31st Hanteo Music Awards, which will celebrate the best of K-pop in 2023, is set to take place on February 17 and February 18 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul.A total of 50 acts have been nominated for Artist of the Year, including the likes of girl groups NewJeans, (G)I-DLE and aespa, as well as boyband SEVENTEEN, SHINee and ENHYPEN. The criteria for this award will be based on a mix of the Hanteo Global score (50 per cent), global voting score (20 per cent) and judging score (30 per cent)Meanwhile, 10 boyband are up for Rookie of the Year (Male), including KOZ Entertainment’s BOYNEXTDOOR, SM Entertainment newcomers RIIZE and Boys Planet winners ZEROBASEONE.Six girl group have been nominated for Rookie of the Year (Female).

A whole selection of new TV shows and documentaries are dropping on Disney+ this January. From fascinating nature documentaries to action-packed fantasy, there's something for everyone to get stuck into as the longest-seeming month of the new year rolls out.