Kep1er to release their final album as a group, in talks for contract extensions

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok could be banned in the U.S. as soon as January 2025. Here’s what the new law means for users of the popular short-form video app.

ZEROBASEONE have dropped the music video for their new single, ‘Sweat’, a cut off their upcoming mini-album, ‘You Had Me At Hello’.In the music video for ‘Sweat’, the members of ZEROBASEONE perform the song and its energetic choreography on a stage that’s right in the middle of a water park. Footage of the members by the pool, enjoying the summer heat are also featured in the clip.“Oh baby I’ll make you sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat / You toward me, burn it up / With your touch, turn it up / Oh baby I wanna sway, sway, sway, sway, sway / Me toward you, dive into you / Following me, like this everyday,” they belt on the chorus.‘Sweat’ will appear on their upcoming mini-album ‘You Had Me At Hello’, which is set to drop in full on May 13 at 6pm KST.

The Roundup: Punishment, the fourth film in the blockbuster Korean franchise, has set a new all-time opening day presales record in its home market. Releasing there today, the crime actioner that stars and is executive produced by Ma Dong-seok (aka Don Lee), had amassed over 834,000 ticket reservations as of Wednesday morning local time, accounting for 95.5% of all sales, according to local reports. 

KARD rapper BM has announced the upcoming release of his first solo mini-album, titled ‘Element’.BM made the announcement today (April 24) through KARD’s social media pages, revealing the upcoming mini-album’s title and release date. In the post, the K-pop idol also dropped the first visual teaser for the record, which features the K-pop idol standing in the middle of an old-school movie theatre.Per Star News, ‘Element’ is bring described as s project that “began with BM’s fundamental curiosity about the reason why various emotions arise between men and women, such as love, separation and jealousy”.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Epic war-time survival tale “The Guns of Muschu” has already assembled a weighty cast ahead of a production start in the first quarter of 2025. The film is an adaptation of the non-fiction book “The Guns of Muschu,” written by Don Dennis, with an adapted screenplay by Tom Broadhurst and Jack Brislee (“Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan”). The narrative brings to life a pivotal chapter of Australian war history with gritty authenticity, recounting the high body count Operation Copper, a mission during WWII when Australian and New Zealand troops were sent into the jungles of Papua New Guinea. The objective of the mission was to investigate the Japanese defenses on Muschu Island, capture a Japanese officer for interrogation and discover the location of two naval guns on the island that were protecting a harbor.

Ricky Martin’s older children have become his inseparable companions on adventures worldwide. The 15-year-old twins, Matteo and Valentino, have traveled with their father to various corners of the planet during his Symphonic tour. After a series of successful dates and a special appearance at Madonna’s concert, the Puerto Rican singer, accompanied by his two children, has traveled to Japan.

EXCLUSIVE: Ryuhei Kitamura (The Midnight Meat Train) is set to direct roller coaster thriller Thrill Ride, which Film Bridge International is launching for sales ahead of next month’s Cannes market.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Amazon’s free-of charge, ad-supported streaming platform that is only available in India, miniTV, is expanding its reach within the country. It is adding 200 shows for regional audiences and speakers of Tamil and Telugu. The new line-up of dubbed titles includes marquee and fan-favourite Hindi originals including “Hunter- Tootega Nahi Todega,” “Physics Wallah,” action-packed patriotic series “Rakshak- India’s Braves,” and young romance series “Highway Love.” Hollywood titles dubbed into Tamil and Telugu will include library titles “Twilight,” “Now You See Me,” the “Hunger Games” series, the “Step Up” franchise films and “Red.” miniTV will also upload Korean, Turkish and Mandarin shows dubbed in Tamil and Telugu languages.

Warning: spoilers aheadThe latest episode of Shōgun is receiving high praise from critics, with one calling it “the best TV episode of the year”.The Japanese series has so far been hailed as “the new ‘Game of Thrones'” thanks to its “cunning” plot twists, but has also been praised for its “elegant” production. It’s expected to run for ten episodes, with its latest episode ‘Crimson Sky’ having just aired.In this episode, viewers watched Lady Mariko, Lord Yabushige and John Blackthorne attempt to escape as hostages in a truly nail-biting episode filled with twists and turns, including Mariko’s shock death.Esquire was impressed with the “brilliance” of the episode, calling it “the best TV episode of the year so far.”“Of all the insane deaths I’ve seen on Shōgun so far—Nagakado slipping and shattering his head on a rock, Yabushige boiling a prisoner alive, and even Hiromatsu stabbing himself in the gut—I never thought Mariko would die, let alone by dynamite! Somebody call me an ambulance—I’ll need some major recovery before I see you all next week.”Meanwhile, Vulture agreed episode 9 was the “best of the series so far”, adding: “Rather than be taken alive, [Mariko] stands against the door and makes a last protest against Ishido.

The Gospel Of The Beast, directed by the Philippines’ Sheron Dayoc, picked up the Golden Star Award for Best Southeast Asian Film at the first edition of the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF) in Vietnam. 

Crunchyroll has acquired North American and select EMEA and Latin America theatrical rights to the highly anticipated feature anime spinoff Blue Lock The Movie – Episode Nagi. Crunchyroll and Sony have set a North American release for June 28, 2024 with the international dates still to be confirmed. The buzzy title is currently dated for April 19 in Japan.

Goodbye Earth.Today (April 9), the streamer revealed though its Netflix K-Content account on X (formerly Twitter) that Goodbye Earth will premiere April 26. The announcement was accompanied by 10 stills from the upcoming K-drama, which will star Ahn Eun-jin, Jeon Sung-woo and more.Notably, none of the stills feature actor Yoo Ah-in, who has been embroiled in controversy regarding his alleged drug use since early-2023.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Women’s pro hoops are coming back to Amazon‘s Prime Video for at least two more years. Prime Video and the WNBA on Friday announced a rights renewal deal under which Prime Video will continue to be the exclusive U.S. streaming partner for a package of 21 games each season, including the Championship Game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.

EXO‘s Lay will be releasing a new album sometime this month, which will be released alongside a Korean-language version.The Chinese idol’s label, n.cH Entertainment, made the announcement earlier today (April 5), per Korea JoongAng Daily. According to the company’s statement, Lay is set to drop the album sometime in mid-April, although a specific date has yet to be specified.It also announced that a Korean version of the album will be released concurrently, and that he will be promoting the album on Korean music broadcast shows.

Diego Ramos Bechara editor SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of “Tokyo Vice,” now streaming on Max. Season 2 of “Tokyo Vice,” the neo-noir crime drama set in Tokyo, Japan, and loosely based on a memoir written by journalist Jake Adelstein, has come to a close in an explosive finale that both sent off (or rather, killed off) the series’ main, two-season running antagonist — and laid the foundation for what could potentially come from the Max thriller if a third season were to be greenlit.

KISS OF LIFE have dropped their brand-new single ‘Midas Touch’, alongside a dazzling music video.In the official music video for ‘Midas Touch’, the four members of KISS OF LIFE embody age-old characters from Greek mythology and give them a charming, modern twist as their touch turns their love interests into stone. It is one of two song’s on KISS OF LIFE’s new single album of the same name, alongside the B-side track ‘Nothing’.“When I touch ya, kiss ya, you’re gon realise / Baby don’t you think too much / Boy, if I touch ya, kiss ya, watch out / The gaze that changed in an instant / You see, I got the Midas Touch,” they sing on the ’90s-tinged song’s chorus.‘Midas Touch’ marks KISS OF LIFE’s first comeback this year, having last released music in November 2023 with their second mini-album ‘Born To Be XX’, led by lead single ‘Bad News’.

SEVENTEEN have announced their first-ever compilation album, titled ’17 Is Right Here’, due out later this month.The K-pop boyband first announce ’17 Is Right Here’ at the end of their ‘Follow Again’ encore concerts in Incheon this past weekend (March 30 and 31) to fans in attendance. Teaser for the upcoming album was shared by their label Pledis Entertainment shortly after.The teaser was designed and animated by artist Max Dalton, and included re-creations and illustrations of SEVENTEEN’s past albums as a callback to their discography.

Solo Leveling has arrived – check it out below.The new season was announced on Saturday (March 30) and it will be officially titled Solo Leveling Season 2: Arise from the Shadow.Based on the Korean web novel by Chugong, the series takes place in a realm of gifted hunters and monsters. In this world, weak hunter Sung Jinwoo is given extraordinary strength through a mysterious programme, which kickstarts a journey across the various dungeons to discover the true source of his power.The anime adaptation debuted in January this year, after having first been announced at Anime Expo 2022.

Disney+ tentpole Uncle Samsik will debut on May 15 on the platform globally, and on Hulu. The streamer also announced that Korean crime thriller Nine Puzzles will premiere exclusively on the platform in 2025.

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has finally been released in Japan, and the film has been met with mixed reviews. The biopic profiles Robert J. Oppenheimer, played by Cillian Murphy, the real-life American physicist who played a pivotal role in the creation of the atomic bomb in World War II.