KCON LA: Experts Explain the Global Explosion of K-Pop and the Issues Ahead for Long-Term Dominance

A new 30-minute NFL comedy show will air every Wednesday on Prime Video, with actor, comedian, writer, and Saturday Night Live alum Taran Killam hosting.

Halim Dhanidina did something that lawyers and LGBTQ+ advocates in Long Beach had attempted for more than 50 years —  He helped put the nail in the coffin of the Police Department’s odious practice of targeting and discriminating against gay men in lewd conduct stings.

A global takeover is much easier when people can understand what you're talking about. Central Cee is the West London rapper with a viral hit in "Doja," a Song You Need when it dropped back in July, and naturally, his raps rely a lot on slang from his homeland of the United Kingdom.

Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (October 5-14) has announced its full line-up, including opening film Scent Of Wind, directed by Iran’s Hadi Mohaghegh, while Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Chiu-Wai will be honoured as Asian Filmmaker Of The Year.

Selome Hailu The process behind “Seduce & Scheme” was heavy on the scheming. “We snuck in the writers room and the studio when they were having the sessions for the soundtrack. We wasn’t even supposed to be in there!” says KaMillion, who plays Mia in the Issa Rae-created comedy series “Rap Sh!t” on HBO Max. The series follows Mia and Shawna (Aida Osman), friends from high school who reunite years down the line and form a rap duo that quickly skyrockets to notoriety — at least on the internet. To create the original songs that Shawna and Mia perform, as well as the soundtrack that pays major homage to the show’s Miami setting, Rae’s music company Raedio held “camps” where different rappers and songwriters came together to collaborate.

Michaela Zee editor “Ivy and Bean” director Elissa Down gushed over working with “Modern Family” star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, describing him as her “spirit animal,” at the film’s premiere in Los Angeles on Monday. “We were shooting [during] a heat wave in Canada. The set was hot, but [Jesse] wasn’t waiting in his trailer — he came straight in and he goes, ‘I’ve got a joke to pitch,'” Down told Variety on the red carpet at Harmony Gold. “He just loves improvisation and he was such a generous actor.” Based on the children’s book series by Annie Barrows, the upcoming film trilogy follows the adventures of unlikely best friends Ivy (Keslee Blalock) and Bean (Madison Skye Validum), from hunting down ghosts to enrolling in dance lessons. Ferguson plays ballet teacher Monsieur Joy in the third installment, “Ivy and Bean: Doomed to Dance.”

The Centers for Disease Control’s weekly variant proportions data update today offered the clearest indication yet that a new Omicron strain dubbed BA.4.6 may be able to outcompete now-dominant BA.5 in the United States.

The Berlin Film Festival has appointed Los Angeles-based, US industry expert Jacqueline Lyanga as a US delegate as it expands its international network and seeks to consolidate contacts with the US film industry and filmmakers.

Justin Long spoke fondly of his time working with Britney Spears on Tuesday while commemorating the 20th anniversary of , the film they co-starred in.«I remember her being so down-to-earth, like disarmingly down-to-earth,» he told ET's Cassie DiLaura at a press event for his upcoming film, . Long and Spears both appeared in the 2002 feature , which told the story of three teenage girls -- Lucy, Kit and Mimi -- who embark on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles. Spears appeared alongside Taryn Manning and Zoe Saldana as the three girls, and Long played an old friend with whom Spears' Lucy had a short fling. «I remember being struck by how normal and easygoing she seemed for all the hoopla surrounding her,» he continued, «and then a couple years later seeing what the paparazzi did to her, it was really sad that we live in that kind of culture that can do that to a human being. She was so nice to everyone.»Long's latest film, is the story of a young woman -- played by Georgina Campbell -- who discovers the rental home she booked is already occupied by a stranger (played by Long) and also potentially possessed by another mysterious being. The film comes from the same production team as and, and Long promises it will hold up against that hard-to-beat collection of scary movies. «I think it'll be a worthy entry in that canon,» he said. Long's girlfriend, Kate Bosworth, also briefly appears in the film.

Parasyte, helmed by Train to Busan and Hellbound director Yeon Sang-ho, is currently in the works at Netflix.Titled Parasyte: The Grey, the adaptation of the manga series is set in a world where humans wage war against unidentified parasitic life-forms. The series will be produced by Wow Point and Climax Studio, the production company behind Hellbound and 2021 military procedural D.P., according to The Hollywood Reporter.A separate report by Deadline adds that Jeon So-nee (When My Love Blooms) is set to star as Jeong Su-in, who begins to co-exist with a parasite that fails to completely take over her brain.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKorean pop-culture fest KCON LA wrapped up an in-person edition on Sunday with a second multi-act concert that largely filled Los Angeles’ Crypto.com arena.The mania for Korean culture seemed barely diminished by the COVID hiatus, during which time the genre’s digital natives gathered virtually and KCON morphed into KCON:TACT.The seamless flow between fandom’s online and offline iterations was a dominant feature of the convention, held in person for the first time since 2019. And organizers Monday confirmed that the three-day convention at the Los Angeles Convention Center attracted more than 90,000 real world visitors, plus a further 7.17 million worldwide via video streaming. “The Asian American community, they existed 12 years ago [when KCON started].

Bebe Rexha made a special appearance at K-pop festival KCON in Los Angeles over the weekend, performing her single ‘Break My Heart Myself’ with members of ITZY.On August 20, Rexha made her KCON debut when she joined ITZY members Yeji and Ryujin on stage for a special performance of her 2021 single ‘Break My Heart Myself’.“No, I don’t need your help / To make me sick, to make me ill / I don’t need anybody else / ‘Cause I can break my heart myself,” they sing together in the chorus.No way — @BebeRexha made a surprise appearance at #KCON2022LA together with Yeji and Ryujin from #ITZY to perform ‘Break My Heart Myself’ #kcon #KCONUSA #있지 pic.twitter.com/D9UwNJIjNO— NME (@NME) August 21, 2022itzy's yeji & ryujin x bebe rexha surprise special stage for break my heart myself at kcon! pic.twitter.com/ap1HvsmPxd—

Taeyeon – making her first showcase in the US as a solo artist – and hip-hop trio Epik High, along with K-pop groups Momoland, P1Harmony and T1419.According to the accompanying graphic, there are more acts on the line-up yet to be announced.Your Phase 2 lineup for #KAMPLOSANGELES is here & we still have MORE to be announced!Tickets for Fan Presale are now on sale! If you signed up, now is the time to secure the lowest price for #KAMPLA2022: https://t.co/Z4lodBti8i pic.twitter.com/PFczyh4Z0G— KAMP GLOBAL (@kampfestivals) August 19, 2022 KAMP LA acts unveiled last week include MONSTA X, Super Junior, iKON, EXO’s Kai, GOT7’s BamBam and more. KAMP GLOBAL has yet to announce which acts will be performing on which day of the festival.The KAMP Los Angeles festival will be taking place later this year at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California on October 15 and 16.

The boys of TO1 are ready to take over.

The world helped put Kep1er together. And now, the K-pop girl group is ready to meet the fans around the globe who helped to make it happen.

This summer many A-listers have descended onto Ibiza and it seems Robbie Williams is no different.The singer, 48, was his usual excited self as his wife Ayda Field showed him flaunting his dance moves on the Balearic Island in a pair of flamboyant shorts and flip flops on the white sand beach. Robbie has been on holiday on the island with wife Ayda, 43.The pair share four kids together - Teddy, nine, Charlie, seven, Coco, three, and Beau, two - and have been married for 12 years.That wasn’t the only moment Robbie busted his moves on the trip, as Ayda shared a sweet video of him and Beau dancing around.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorTen years ago, organizers of the first KCON fan gathering had plenty of faith in the appeal of K-pop and South Korean pop culture, but there was nervousness about how many people would show up to celebrate it in Southern California.In October 2012, executives at CJ ENM were pleasantly surprised when about 10,000 aficionados turned out for a daylong conference and evening concert at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Orange County. At the time, KCON was the biggest real-world expression of CJ ENM vice chair Miky Lee’s determination to promote Korean content and culture on the world stage.A decade later, the seeds Lee and her team planted with KCON and other events are delivering a bountiful harvest.

ENHYPEN singer Sunoo will be pausing his scheduled activities due to health concerns, and consequently will not be appearing at KCON LA this weekend.On August 17, the singer’s label, Belift Lab, issued a statement announcing Sunoo’s condition, stating that he had made a visit to the doctor that same day after experiencing bouts of dizziness, headaches and chills. “Following the advice by the medical staff, Sunoo will take a rest and focus on recovery for the time being,” shared Belift Lab, as translated by Soompi. The label shared that while Sunoo himself “strongly wishes” to do so, he will be unable to perform with the rest of ENHYPEN at KCON LA 2022 – which takes place in Los Angeles from August 19-21 – as a result.

JO1 have pulled out of this weekend’s KCON LA due to COVID-19.Five of the J-pop group’s 11 members have tested positive for the coronavirus, the group’s agency Lapone Entertainment revealed in a statement on its website on August 15. As a result JO1 will not appear at KCON LA, the K-pop festival and convention marking its 10th anniversary in Los Angeles this weekend.The first member of JO1 to test positive for COVID-19 was Sato Keigo, who reported symptoms last Friday.