Manchester United are among several clubs eyeing Napoli defender Kim Min-jae amid news of the centre-back's £39million release clause, according to reports.
21.03.2023 - 08:23 / nme.com
9MUSES are reportedly planning to reunite and release new music this year.According to a report by South Korean news outlet JTBC, which cited music industry insiders, 9MUSES are aiming to make a comeback this summer.The report claims that a four-member sub-unit called 9MUSES A – comprising Kyung Li, Hyemi, Sojin, and Keumjo – will release a song in May first. Following that, the full group will make their comeback sometime in July or August, though the line-up for the full group comeback has yet to be confirmed.Notably, 9MUSES went through a number of line-up changes over their 9 years as an active K-pop group from 2010 to 2019, with only 14 different members during their original run.
Of the members, only Hyemi stayed on throughout all nine years.During their original run, 9MUSES released a total of six mini-albums, two single albums and one studio album. The group were known for popular songs such as 2015’s ‘Drama’ and 2011’s ‘Figaro’.Back in 2021, seven former members of 9MUSES – namely Moon Hyuna, Euaerin, Kyung Li, Hyemi, Minha, Sojin and Keumjo – briefly reunited on SBS’ popular web show MMTG to perform their 2013 hit ‘Dolls’.If the JTBC is true, 9MUSES would be the latest K-pop girl group to reunite in the past year.
Manchester United are among several clubs eyeing Napoli defender Kim Min-jae amid news of the centre-back's £39million release clause, according to reports.
Suga, a member of K-pop boyband BTS, as made the full version of both his ‘Agust D’ mixtape available on streaming services for the first time.The K-pop idol’s debut mixtape ‘Agust D’, which was released in 2016, is now available in full on major streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. Prior to this, the songs ‘Intro : DT sugA’ and ‘Agust D’ had been unavailable to stream due to an sample clearance issue with James Brown’s ‘It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World’.In addition, Suga’s second mixtape ‘D-2’ has also been released on South Korean steaming platforms sich as Melon and FLO for the first time.
Mijoo of girl group Lovelyz is set to make her solo debut.On April 3, Mijoo’s agency Antenna announced to South Korean media in a press release that the 28-year-old singer will be releasing solo music next month.“Mijoo is making the final touches to her solo debut in May,” said the agency, per KoreaJoongAngDaily. “We ask for your love and support for the new side of Mijoo that will show through her as a solo singer.”The announcement comes almost a year after Antenna first confirmed that Mijoo would make her solo debut.
Mubi is adding over 50 features from the Sony Pictures’ library to its U.S. streaming service. The mix of studio and arthouse fare includes Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, The Last Picture Show by Peter Bogdanovich and films from Wes Anderson, Pedro Almodovar and Guillermo Del Toro.
Big Bang member Taeyang will be releasing new music next month, The Black Label has confirmed.On March 28, several South Korean news outlets reported that the K-pop idol would be releasing a new solo album in April, citing industry insiders.His agency The Black Label has since confirmed the reports, saying that the singer will release a solo record next month, per EDaily. However, it also noted that “nothing [regarding the release] has been decided in detail yet.”The upcoming release will be Taeyang’s first since January this year, when he released the collaborative single ‘Vibe’ with BTS’ Jimin.
K-pop girl group BLACKPINK and Lady Gaga have been invited to perform for US president Joe Biden and South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol at an upcoming state dinner.According to a report by South Korean news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily, the pop stars have been invited to perform at an upcoming US state dinner between US president Biden and South Korean president Yoon.Yoon is set to make a state visit to the US on April 26, which will feature a joint cultural event at a state dinner with the US president. The dinner will reportedly begin with an opening ceremony, at which BLACKPINK and Lady Gaga have been invited to perform at.YG Entertainment has since confirmed that the girl group have received an invitation.
HYBE Labels subsidiary ADOR, home to K-pop girl group NewJeans, have opened online auditions for a potential new boyband.Today (March 28), ADOR unveiled several posters and videos on social media and YouTube announcing its ‘The Real Hype Boys’ audition. The label will be accepting online auditions on ador.world from now until 1pm KST on April 14.An unnamed male trainee as well as the members of NewJeans feature in the promotional video for the auditions, which details the online application period and host countries where in-person auditions will take place.Per ADOR’s guidelines, the auditions are open to boys born between 2004-2012.
Just weeks after bandmate j-hope made UK Official Chart history, BTS star Jimin scores the group's biggest solo success to date.
according to the trade body IFPI.In addition, sales of physical formats rose by 4%, generating $4.6bn (£3.7bn) in revenues. Almost half of that figure (49.8%) came from Asia, where buying CDs and vinyl as souvenirs is a staple of the “idol” culture of Japan and South Korea.Performance royalties also rose by 8.6% to $2.5bn (£2.04bn), surpassing pre-pandemic levels.However, record labels are pushing for prices to rise to increase the industry’s income from streaming services.
TWICE have announced six new shows in North America and Australia for their upcoming ‘Ready To Be’ world tour.Today (March 23), the popular K-pop girl group announced on Twitter that they are adding two new shows to the Australian legs of their ‘Ready To Be’ tour. They include a second Sydney show on May 2, as well as a follow-up Melbourne concert on May 7.As for the North American leg of TWICE’s upcoming world tour, it will see the addition of four new stops – three in the US and one in Canada.
Harry Styles is a global phenomenon. While not everyone may understand it, there's no denying the impact the former One Direction star has on his fans.
the critically acclaimed 2019 film Parasite, is set to make his directorial debut.Han has been confirmed as the director of South Korean streaming platform TVING’s upcoming K-drama series Running Mate (literal title), which is expected to premiere sometime in 2024, as reported by Sports Chosun.Aside from his work on Parasite, Han was also previously an assistant director for Netflix’s Ojka, the second season of Sense8, as well as the 2016 South Korean disaster film Pandora.The forthcoming series will follow high school student Se-hoon, who decides to run for student council elections in order to reinvent himself, but ends up becoming the focus of the election cycle.Meanwhile, Running Mate will reportedly star Seasons of Blossom‘s Yoon Hyun-soo in the lead role of Se-hoon. The series will also feature Tracer actor Lee Jung-sic, Mr.
LE SSERAFIM is having a moment with their faithful fans!
K-pop collective Balming Tiger have shared their thoughts on the current K-pop industry.Last week, Balming Tiger performed at SXSW’s Tiger Den event, where they spoke to Rolling Stone about what K-pop is in their view and their hopes for the future of Korean music.“In our opinion, [K-pop] is not a genre because, in K-pop, there’s R&B, hip-hop and everything. So, you can’t really specify what genre it is.
Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Coachella is almost here. The three-day music festival, which will celebrate its 24th anniversary this year, will return to its home at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, Calif., on the weekends of April 14-16 and April 21-23. Although tickets immediately sold out for Weekend 1 when they first went on sale in January, there are still several ways to snag passes elsewhere online. In fact, tickets actually appear to be selling for significantly less money on resale sites compared to Coachella’s website (which currently has a waitlist for Weekend 1 and limited number of remaining tickets for Weekend 2). Vivid Seats is selling thee-day GA passes for $500, compared to $549 on Coachella’s website.
aespa are set to release new music this spring, their label SM Entertainment has confirmed.Earlier today (March 16), South Korean news outlet StarNews reported that the girl group would be releasing new music this May. The news outlet also noted that aespa were initially scheduled to release an album in February, but it was delayed due to management disputes within SM Entertainment.Since that report, SM Entertainment has confirmed that aespa’s comeback date of May.
Kai has confirmed that boyband EXO are currently working on new music.In a recent interview with GQ Magazine UK, the South Korean musician opened up about a comeback for his K-pop boyband EXO. Notably, following Baekhyun‘s discharge from the military on February 5 this year, it will be the first time since 2019 that none of the members are serving their mandatory military service.“All the members are gathering after a really long time, so we are really looking forward to the fact that we can put out another album too,” Kai told the magazine, which added that the K-pop idol also confirmed that preparation work on new music has started.Kai said that the boyband are “not worried about what the results of this comeback would bring”.
RM, also a member of the boyband BTS, has opened up about K-pop’s pursuit of perfection and how its viewed in the West.On a recent trip to Spain, RM took the time to speak with Spanish newspaper El País, where he was asked about whether the pursuit of youth, perfection and overachievement in K-pop is characteristic of Korean culture as a whole.“In the West, people just don’t get it,” RM replied. “Korea is a country that has been invaded, razed to the ground, torn in two.
Jeff Benjamin The past year has seen the K-pop industry expanding into everything from ETFs to Broadway, and today, March 15, marks its leap into the comic and graphic novel world: Top group NCT 127 has teamed up with Z2 Comics alongside Universal Music Group and its Korean label SM Entertainment for “NCT 127: Limitless,” an original graphic novel from the act to mark the first officially licensed K-pop print comic. With its title taken from the group’s 2017 single of the same, “Limitless” is both a hardcover and deluxe hardcover manhwa (a general term from South Korea for comic books and graphic novels with a distinct, detailed artistic style) to share a multiverse-hopping, reality-blurring tale of NCT 127 rehearsing for a sold-out stadium show in New York City.
So many K-Pop superstars also happen to be social media sensations – and the top accounts have millions and millions of followers!