GOT7 to reportedly return with new music as a full group in May

DIA have announced that they will be disbanding after dropping their final album in August.South Korean news outlet Edaily first reported on May 11 that the girl group are  in the midst of preparations for “one last final album in August before their contracts with their agency PocketDol Studio expires”, as translated by Soompi. The report had also claimed that the DIA members will be “walking their separate paths after wrapping up promotions as a full group.”PocketDol Studio later confirmed the report in a separate statement to Chosun, writing, as translated by Koreaboo: “DIA will release their last album in August and will end their exclusive contract in September.” More details are to arrive in the months leading up to the release.This confirmation also came shortly after a separate statement from a representative of the entertainment company, who clarified at the time that it was “difficult to say whether the August album will be the last album”, per YTN, as translated by Soompi.DIA’s August release will notably be their first release in over two years, with their last project being their sixth mini-album ‘Flower 4 Seasons’ which dropped in June 2020. That record was led by title track ‘Hug U’.The group – comprising Jueun, Eunchae, Chaeyeon, Yebin, Eunice and Huihyeon – had officially debuted under MBK Entertainment in 2015 with the single ‘Somehow’ from their debut album ‘Do It Amazing’, having put out one more studio album and six EPs since.

OH MY GIRL’s Jiho has left the K-pop girl group, as well as her long-time agency WM Entertainment.Today (May 9), WM entertainment announced in a statement to South Korean news outlets that Jiho would be departing from the girl group after the expiration of her contract with them. The agency also revealed that the remaining members of OH MY GIRL would be continuing as a six-member act.“The agency has renewed exclusive contracts with the six members of Oh My Girl, Hyojung, Mimi, YooA, Seunghee, Yoo Bin and Arin,” it said, as translated by Soompi.

HYBE girl group LE SSERAFIM have set a new first-week sales record with their debut mini-album ‘Fearless’.Today (May 9), Source Music announced that the six member group – comprising Kim Chae-won, Miyawaki Sakura, Huh Yun-jin, Kazuha, Kim Ga-ram and Hong Eun-chae – sold 307,450 copies of their debut record ‘Fearless’ in its first week.LE SSERAFIM are now sixth girl group to ever surpass 300,000 album sales within a week of release, a feat previously achieved by acts such as BLACKPINK, Red Velvet and IZ*ONE. According to the agency, this also makes ‘Fearless’ the highest-selling debut release of by a South Korean girl group of all time.‘Fearless’, which arrived last week, is led by the single of the same title.

TREASURE have revealed the release date for the music video and new remix of their viral TikTok hit ‘DARARI’.Today (May 9), the 12-member act dropped a teaser poster for the forthcoming ‘DARARI’ remix and its accompanying music video, both of which are due out on May 13 at midnight KST. The new poster features the members of TREASURE posing with musical instruments in a large band practice room.#TREASURE 'DARARI (REMIX)' EXCLUSIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO TEASER POSTER'DARARI (REMIX)' EXCLUSIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO✅2022.05.12 10AM (EST) / 2022.05.13 0AM (KST)#트레저 #다라리 #DARARI #REMIX #EXCLUSIVE_PERFORMANCE_VIDEO #TEASER_POSTER #20220512_10amEST #20220513_0amKST #YG pic.twitter.com/k5vb5HkIIj— YG FAMILY (@ygent_official) May 8, 2022YG Entertainment first announced in late March that the boyband would be releasing a music video for the viral hit.

GOT7 have confirmed that they will be releasing a brand-new EP later this month.Today (May 8), the group took to their newly establish social media pages – which were launched just two days ago – to announce their upcoming self-titled EP. The posts were accompanied by a teaser image, featuring the names of all seven members of the boyband, alongside the project’s release date.‘GOT7’, due out May 23, will be the group’s first EP since they departed from longtime agency JYP Entertainment in January last year.

GOT7 have confirmed they’ll be returning with new music, launching new social media pages and unveiling a refreshed logo.Today (May 6), the K-pop boyband established several new social media pages on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. Along with the new channels, the group also unveiled an animated teaser video featuring a brand-new logo, which features a 3D model of a seven-point star.GOT7 OFFICIAL CHANNEL LAUNCHYouTube▶️https://t.co/hWix228hrwInstagram▶️https://t.co/1iErPSDhtDTikTok ▶️https://t.co/fRWWWCbhfG#GOT7 #갓세븐 #MARK #JAYB #JACKSON #JINYOUNG #YOUNGJAE #BAMBAM #YUGYEOM #마크 #제이비 #잭슨 #진영 #영재 #뱀뱀 #유겸 #IGOT7 #아가새— GOT7 OFFICIAL (@GOT7) May 6, 2022GOT7 have also seemingly adopted a new tagline, “GOT7 is our name”, as captioned in most of their new posts following the rebrand.GOT7 IS OUR NAME #GOT7 #갓세븐 #MARK #JAYB #JACKSON #JINYOUNG #YOUNGJAE #BAMBAM #YUGYEOM #마크 #제이비 #잭슨 #진영 #영재 #뱀뱀 #유겸 #IGOT7 #아가새 pic.twitter.com/3R0Rhr85DL— GOT7 OFFICIAL (@GOT7) May 6, 2022In addition, a press release from Warner Music Korea confirms that GOT7 are set to release new music in the near future.

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

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefK-pop superstars BTS could be given exemption from compulsory military service in South Korea.“It’s time to create a system for incorporating popular culture-art figures as art personnel,” said Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwang Hee, at a press briefing on Wednesday, according to reports by the Yonhap news agency. Hwang said he aims to push a new law through parliament that would allow the stars of popular culture to serve their country outside the military.Under the present Military Service Act all able-bodied Korean men must enlist for roughly two years of military service before they reach age 30.

BIBI has revealed plans to drop her first-ever full-length album sometime this year.The South Korean singer-songwriter spoke about her plans to release her first studio album in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, which take place following her recent debut performance at Coachella as part of 88rising, alongside other Asian musicians such as Jackson Wang, CL, 2NE1 and more.“I’m making my full-length album, my first full-length album,” BIBI said when asked about what else fans can expect from her this year. Aside from a brand-new record, the musician also shared that “there will be stories, there will be webtoon[s] and there will be a lot of films” to be released in conjunction with the as-yet-untitled album.BIBI then shared her desire to collaborate with Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía as well as rapper Kendrick Lamar on her debut album, whom she described herself as a “big fan” of.Elsewhere in the interview, the ‘The Weekend’ singer also opened up about her experience performing at this year’s Coachella in California, United States, as part of 88rising’s ‘Head In The Clouds Forever’ set at the music festival.

PURPLE KISS have paid homage to K-pop veteran IU with their rendition of her 2019 single ‘Blueming’.On yesterday’s (April 26) episode of South Korean weekly music programme The Show, PURPLE KISS’ vocalists Na Goeun, Chaein and Swan, took the stage to perform their version of IU’s ‘Blueming’, which remained largely faithful to the original track.“Our rectangular chat screen is in bloom / With my thumbs I make roses bloom / I think I’m going to get intoxicated off this scent / This is our secret garden,” the trio croon in the chorus.Last month, PURPLE KISS made their comeback with their third mini-album, ‘memeM’ and its lead single of the same name. The septet are now on the second leg of their promotional cycle for the album, performing the track ‘Pretty Psycho’ on weekly music shows.‘memeM’ also marked the rookie girl group’s first official comeback in over six months, and follows the release of their sophomore mini-album ‘HIDE & SEEK’ and its lead single ‘Zombie’, which was co-written by rapper Yuki and CyA.PURPLE KISS first debuted in March 2021 with their first mini-album ‘Into Violet’, which featured the lead single ‘Ponzona’.

MLD Entertainment, the company behind K-pop girl group MOMOLAND, is gearing up to launch a brand-new group soon.Today (April 26), CEO Lee Hyung-jin spoke to South Korean news outlet Star News in new interview, where he revealed that the agency is preparing to debut a new girl group sometime in June. The upcoming act, named LAPILLUS, will include members who speak Spanish, English, Tagalog, Chinese and Japanese.Two members of the forthcoming group have since been revealed, and they are Japanese trainee Nonaka Shana, who recently appeared on Mnet’s reality TV competition show Girls Planet 999, along with Chantal Videla (known as Chanty), a Filipino-Argentinian model and actress.The duo have been active on MLD Entertainment’s YouTube ‘NADOL’ series, where they had introduced themselves as foreign trainees hoping to becoming K-pop idols in Korea.

Big Hit has responded to reports concerning the reported seizure of Jimin’s home. On Sunday, Korean news outlet Biz Hankook claimed that South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service took over the BTS member’s Seoul apartment on January 25.

Big Hit Music is clearing up reports.

Kang Daniel has been confirmed to be returning with new music next month.The former Wanna One singer’s upcoming May return was first revealed through his appearance on GRAMMY.COM’s Press Play At Home series, which was released earlier today (April 22).During his stint on the Press Play At Home series, Kang performed his most recent title track ‘Antidote’. It was revealed at the end of the video that he is expected to release new music next month, which will be his first in over a year.The news was later confirmed by his label KONNECT Entertainment in a brief statement to South Korean news outlet Joy News 24.

Psy has dropped a teaser for the music video of an upcoming track titled ‘Celeb’, starring former Miss A member Bae Suzy.The South Korean unveiled the eccentric visual at midnight KST today (April 21), where both Bae and Psy are seen performing snippets of the song’s choreography in the middle of a Psy-themed amusement park.“You so popular / Be my formula / May I call you a celeb?” Psy sings in English in the 20-second teaser. ‘Celeb’ is a cut from Psy’s upcoming ninth full-length album ‘Psy 9th’, which will be his first release after a five-year absence from music.

Psy and MAMAMOO member Hwasa are set to release a remake of Jermaine Jackson and Pia Zadora’s 1984 hit single ‘When The Rain Begins To Fall’Earlier today (April 20), Psy teased the upcoming cover in a series of posts and videos on social media.

KARD are gearing up to make their long-awaited comeback as a group soon.Earlier today (April 12), South Korean news outlet JTBC reported that the four-member act are preparing to release a new album prior to their July concerts in South America. This has since been confirmed by their agency, DSP Media.“KARD are working on their new album after their break during [J.Seph’s] military service,” stated the agency, as translated by Koreaboo, adding that the group would be making their comeback before heading to South America.

Psy, best known for this 2013 crossover hit ‘Gangnam Style’, will be returning with new music after a five-year absence.Earlier today (April 12), the 44-year-old musician took to Instagram to announce his long-awaited return after half a decade of no new releases. Psy shared that his ninth full-length album, titled ‘Psy 9th’, is due out on April 29 at 6pm KST, along with a clip from a previous concert.In the clip, which was filmed in 2013, Psy spoke about his global smash hit single ‘Gangnam Style’, which he says he took 10 years to write after his last hit, 2002’s ‘Champion’, “Perhaps the next time you meet a song like ‘Gangnam Style’ will be in 2022,” he says in the video.A post shared by PSY (@42psy42)Psy’s last release was May 2017’s ‘Psy 8th 4X2=8’, which featured dual lead singles ‘I Luv It’ and ‘New Face’.