Psy and Hwasa tease cover of Jermaine Jackson’s ‘When The Rain Begins To Fall’

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.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” opened with a stunning $14.4 million debut weekend in South Korea, far in excess of any film this year at the Korean box office. Its five-day opening score was $29.1 million.Data from the Korean Film Council’s Kobis tracking service shows the film garnered an 87% market share over the weekend, as it lifted nationwide box office to pre-COVID levels for the first time in more than two years.

It’s Friday again, readers. Jesse Whittock here (for the first time, be gentle), taking you through the week’s top headlines.

Jackson Wang has revealed that he gave up on a chance to compete at the 2012 London Olympics to pursue a career in the K-pop industry.The singer, who is also a member of K-pop boyband GOT7, recently appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show to speak about his upcoming album ‘Magic Man’. During the interview with Kelly Clarkson, he shared his time as a fencer for the Hong Kong Team prior to his move to Korea and what he gave up for music.“I was prepping for [the] London Olympics back then,” he recalled.

Psy has dropped a performance video for his new song ‘Now’, featuring MAMAMOO singer Hwasa.The new clip, filmed in portrait mode, features both singers performing the song’s choreography in an empty white studio, save for a pair of telephone booth sets. They’re accompanied by back-up dancers, who are all adorned in similarly retro-inspired outfits.“That was such a good day / The day that I loved you so much / Now it’s gone and all that sadness is left / I miss myself so much,” they harmonise on the song’s chorus.‘Now’ is a cut from Psy’s ninth studio album ‘Psy 9th’, which dropped last week.

social media channels.A Mountain of Entertainment. Launches 22nd June.

Paramount+ is to launch in the UK and South Korea next month and will be in India next year, Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish has revealed in the past hour.

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korean superstar PSY said his new album marks a “farewell to ‘Gangnam Style’" — the hit song that propelled him to superstardom exactly a decade ago.Indeed, the music video for the lead single — “That That” featuring Suga from BTS - shows PSY in the famous blue suit he wore in the “Gangnam Style” video.“So, a guy in a blue tuxedo comes out and gets a slap from Suga and goes on his way,” eluding to his old self walking away from the past, PSY told The Associated Press during an interview before the album's release. His latest album “PSY 9th," released Friday, has 12 songs, including one featuring Korean-Canadian rapper Tablo.PSY, whose real name is Park Jae-sang, swept the world with “Gangnam Style” in 2012. The song, with its addictive horse-riding dance and catchy melodies, made a global splash and currently has over 4.4 billion views on YouTube.In an interview, PSY discussed the long gap in recordings, whether he’s still pressured by the global success of “Gangnam Style,” and what he envisions for himself and the Korean pop industry.Remarks have been edited for clarity and brevity.———AP: “PSY 9th” took five years.

Apple TV+'s ambitious generations-spanning drama, adapted from the 2017 best-selling novel by Min Jin Lee, has been renewed for season 2, the streaming service announced Friday ahead of the season 1 finale.«Words cannot express my joy in being able to continue telling the extraordinary story of this indomitable family,” said creator, writer and executive producer Soo Hugh in a statement. “I'm grateful to the amazing team at Apple and Media Res studio for believing and supporting this show and to our passionate fans who have cheered us on.

The battle continues. Christina Hall is distraught after ex-husband Ant Anstead filed for full custody of their 2-year-old son, Hudson.

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.

Justin Bieber has dropped a music video for the new song ‘I Feel Funny’ – which doubles as a teaser for a different single featuring Don Toliver.The short track – and its accompanying music video – arrived on Wednesday (April 27). The video, directed by Lyrical Lemonade’s Cole Bennett on his phone, sees Bieber wearing an orange ski mask and playfully dancing around the set of a different music video.

GOT7 are set to return as a full group with new music next month, according to new media reports.South Korean media outlet JoyNews24 reported today (April 22) that the K-pop boyband will be making a “full group comeback” this May. The news site also claimed that the group are currently in the “final stages of preparation” for a “new album”, citing unnamed music industry officials.JoyNews24 also reports that, as a result of the group’s impending comeback, solo activities for all members will be “suspended for the time being” in order for them to focus on the group’s upcoming return to music.None of the GOT7 members have officially confirmed comeback plans, as of writing, however, member BamBam did hint at the possibility on Twitter.

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 has previewed a snippet of his new song ‘Happier’, featuring K-R&B singer-songwriter Crush.The animated teaser follows the life of a man from birth, who begins to lose sight of happiness as he grows older, panting as he desperately tries to keep up with the rat race as a snippet of the song plays.“I wanna be happier / I wanted to be someone’s love / I wanted to be proud,” the duo sing in the short clip. ‘Happier’ will be the eighth track of Psy’s upcoming comeback record, ‘Psy 9th’.‘Psy 9th’ is due out on April 29, and will mark the end of the singer’s five-year absence from music.

Dreamcatcher have delivered a stirring cover of the 2014 Girl’s Day hit single ‘Something’.The six-piece, with the exception of vocalist Yoohyeon, performed both a dance and vocal cover of ‘Something’, and stayed largely true to the original, which was first released in 2014 and went viral that same year. Dreamcatcher also wore outfits that paid tribute to the ones Girl’s Day wore during that era.“Something that only I didn’t know / I can feel it must be something / Your obvious lies / Stop here,” they belt in the chorus.

EXCLUSIVE: The BBC and Paramount+ have set cast for new drama, The Gold, which quietly began filming this month in London, we can reveal.