Psy Announces First New Album In Five Years And Teases Next ‘Gangnam Style’ For 2022

Psy has credited BTS with having achieved the “unfulfilled dreams” of his 2012 hit single ‘Gangnam Style’.The K-pop icon became the highest-charting Korean pop act on the Billboard Hot 100 with the track peaking at Number Two. Since then, only BTS have gone on to best his record, hitting Number One six times since 2020.Speaking at a press conference for his new album ‘PSY 9th’ – which includes the single ‘That That’, featuring and produced by BTS’ Suga – Psy reflected on the success of ‘Gangnam Style’ almost a decade ago.

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.

Wilson Chapman editorAsian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month arrives on Sunday, and Ella Jay Basco is celebrating with “Bubble Tea,” the latest single from her upcoming album.Best known for her role as Cassandra Cain in the 2020 superhero film “Birds of Prey,” Basco got her start as a child actor in show’s like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Veep.” But after “Birds of Prey,” she began exploring music, releasing an EP “Middle School” when she was just 13. Half-Korean and half-Filipino, Basco often draws upon her heritage and culture when constructing her songs.

HYBE, the label behind BTS, is set to launch ‘Now: Work Out With BTS’, a 5-day exercise programme featuring the K-pop boyband.Today (April 29), HYBE Edu announced on Twitter that it will be launching a new exercise programme titled ‘Now: Work Out With BTS’, where the boyband are expected to share their personal work-out regimes with fans and viewers.“BTS is always serious about working out. Let’s get energised just like them and start working out!” read the tweet.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe South Korean streaming market is consolidating around five major players as it also emerges as a hub for premium local content.New research by consultancy firm Media Partners Asia and its AMPD Research platform show that the country boasted 14.1 million premium video streaming subscriptions at the end of 2021 and that usage of premium platforms accounted for a growing share of total viewing time.SVOD leaders Netflix, Wavve, TVing, Coupang Play and Disney+ captured an aggregate 85% share of SVOD subscriptions in Korea and 83% of SVOD streaming minutes.“Within Korea, nearly 70% of premium video consumption is driven by Korean dramas, movies and variety shows, while U.S. series and movies capture 14%,” said Vivek Couto, MPA’s executive director.

A new Japanese Korean restaurant serving everything from katsu curry to gyoza dumplings is set to open in Arndale’s new food quarter, Halle Place.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCity Parks Foundation has announced the 2022 season of Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage, New York City’s outdoor performing arts festival, bringing nearly 90 free and benefit shows to Central Park and 12 neighborhood parks across the five boroughs.Citywide parks and venues hosting SummerStage this season include Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem, Von King Park and The Coney Island Amphitheater in Brooklyn, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, Crotona Park in the Bronx, Corporal Thompson Park in Staten Island, as well as the newly refurbished SummerStage flagship venue at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. All performances will be free and open to the public, except for benefit concerts, and select shows will also be live-streamed on SummerStageAnywhere.org.

MONSTA X have returned with a stunning music video for ‘Love’, the title track of their newly-released mini-album ‘Shape Of Love’.In the new visual, the boyband showcase their duality on a fashion runway-inspired set, showing off their vibrant streetwear outfits. They later dress up in extravagant, glittery tuxedos, taking the stage to perform to the groovy new track.“You’re my love, it started at the first sight / Cuz you’re my, cuz you’re my love for me, baby / Finding love, I can’t hide anything from you / Cuz you’re my, cuz you’re my love for me, baby,” they sing on the chorus.‘Shape Of Love’ arrives half a year after MONSTA X released their tenth Korean mini-album ‘No Limit’ and their sophomore English album ‘The Dreaming’.

Psy and Jessi are set to release a brand-new song together titled ‘Ganji’Yesterday (April 24), Psy revealed through social media that the sixth track off his forthcoming album will be called ‘Ganji’ and feature Korean-American rapper and singer Jessi. The duo went on to spoke about the song and how it came about in a couple of brand-new interview clips.In one of the clips, they shared that Psy approached Jessi while she was preparing for her recent single ‘Zoom’, and that she had initially turned him down.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKorean TV powerhouse JTBC is upping its game and changing its name in order to stay at the forefront of the worldwide Korean content explosion.While the parent broadcast group will keep the JTBC monicker, its 15-strong cluster of production companies have been renamed Studio LuluLaLa, or SLL, instead of the prosaic JTBC Studios. The word ‘Lululala’ is used in Korea to express joy and adventure.

Wilson Chapman editorSPOILER ALERT:Do not read if you haven’t watched Episode 7 of “Pachinko,” now streaming on Apple TV+Every episode of “Pachinko” tells two different stories. The Apple TV+ epic examines the history of Zainichi, ethnic Korean inhabitants of Japan, through the lens of Sunja, a fish merchant born in Korea during Japanese colonial rule of the country who is forced to immigrate to Japan after becoming pregnant out of wedlock.

Deadly secrets come to light in the trailer for “Now and Then”, released by Apple TV+ on Tuesday.

“I see them burning raw, Crystal Night is coming” from the song’s chorus as what they allege to be a reference to the historical event. On the other hand, others have compared EPEX’s styling in the music video to those worn by Nazi Party officials.epex’s latest tt references a horrible event in german history where jewish people were terrorised and murdered. please don’t support this song.

Naman Ramachandran The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the highest governing body of international soccer, has launched digital platform FIFA Plus with plans to stream 40,000 live games per year. The games will be from 100 FIFA member associations and will include 11,000 women’s matches. Live coverage will range from Europe’s topflight leagues to previously unserved competitions from around the world in men’s, women’s and youth football.

WJSN’s Bona has opened up about her love for Twenty Five Twenty One co-star Kim Tae-ri and what it was like to work together.In a recent interview with Newsen, the 26-year-old K-pop idol and actress voiced her deep admiration for Twenty Five Twenty One co-star Kim Tae-ri, and shared more about how the pair grew close on set.“There was a lot I learned through unnie (Korean honorific meaning ‘older sister’),” Bona said of Kim, referring to their meeting as “fate”, as translated by Soompi. “She always asked me, ‘Is there anything uncomfortable? Should I do this for you?’ so thanks to her, I was able to follow comfortably in her steps.”Bona went on to share that both actresses, who trained vigorously for their roles professional fencers in the series, played showed their competitive sides on set.

SEVENTEEN are set to collaborate with Apple to kick off the tech company’s new K-pop ‘Today At Apple’ sessions.Today (April 7), The K-pop boyband appeared at the new Apple store in Myeongdong, Seoul – which is set to open this Saturday (April 9) – where the tech giant announced that the outlet would serve as a “stage for established and new Korean artists, who will lead unique Today At Apple sessions celebrating contemporary Korean culture”, per a press statement.The first session of the brand-new K-pop ‘Today At Apple’ creative initiative will kick off as a collaboration with SEVENTEEN. Called the ‘Music Lab: SEVENTEEN Remix’, the sessions will feature the members of the boyband teaching visitors to the Apple Store how to use the tech company’s music creation software GarageBand, per Korea JoongAng Daily.The first session ‘Music Lab: SEVENTEEN Remix’ will take place on April 15 at the Apple store in Myeongdong.

Following the hit Netflix series “Squid Game,” Korean director/creator Hwang Dong-Hyuk has certainly been placed in the spotlight. The director has seemingly already made a deal with the streaming giant to return for a second season as CEO Ted Sandros indicated the series was moving forward during an earnings interview in January.

Additional casting for the upcoming Broadway premiere of KPOP, the new musical about the global K-pop phenomenon, was announced by producers today, with Julia Abueva, Will Brill, Major Curda, Joomin Hwang, Jinwoo Jung, Jiho Kang, Amy Keum, James Kho, Bo Hyung Kim, Eddy Lee, Jully Lee, Min Young Lee, Timothy H. Lee, Abraham Lim, Kate Mina Lin, Aubie Merrylees, Patrick Park, Kevin Woo, and John Yi joining the previously announced star Luna in the production.