Rookie girl group PURPLE KISS share their joyful rendition of IU’s ‘Blueming’

SEVENTEEN have announced the North American leg of their forthcoming ‘Be The Sun’ world tour.Today (May 17), the 13-member boyband took to Twitter to reveal their upcoming world tour. Titled ‘Be The Sun’, the tour is set to kick off in Seoul this June, before heading to North America, where SEVENTEEN will play in 12 different cities across the US and Canada.From August to September, SEVENTEEN will perform in US cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston.

Girls’ Generation are confirmed to make a comeback this year, returning as a full group for the first time in five years.The news of Girls’ Generation’s upcoming return was first reported by South Korean news publication StarNews, with additional reports from Soompi, AllKPop KpopHerald to corroborate the news.Per reports, all eight remaining members of the K-pop act group will make a comeback with a new album in August to celebrate their 15th anniversary. In addition, Girls’ Generation are also scheduled to make appearances on TV shows and reality programmes to promote the upcoming release.Okay, so this is indeed happening for real.

To Jade, Leigh-Anne and Perrie, Before I congratulate you on 10 incredible years in pop music and bid Little Mix farewell (for now) as you finish your last tour, I want to tell you a little bit about me. I have loved girl groups since I can remember. As a 1990s baby, the Spice Girls ruled my childhood.

DIA have announced that they will be disbanding after dropping their final album in August.South Korean news outlet Edaily first reported on May 11 that the girl group are  in the midst of preparations for “one last final album in August before their contracts with their agency PocketDol Studio expires”, as translated by Soompi. The report had also claimed that the DIA members will be “walking their separate paths after wrapping up promotions as a full group.”PocketDol Studio later confirmed the report in a separate statement to Chosun, writing, as translated by Koreaboo: “DIA will release their last album in August and will end their exclusive contract in September.” More details are to arrive in the months leading up to the release.This confirmation also came shortly after a separate statement from a representative of the entertainment company, who clarified at the time that it was “difficult to say whether the August album will be the last album”, per YTN, as translated by Soompi.DIA’s August release will notably be their first release in over two years, with their last project being their sixth mini-album ‘Flower 4 Seasons’ which dropped in June 2020. That record was led by title track ‘Hug U’.The group – comprising Jueun, Eunchae, Chaeyeon, Yebin, Eunice and Huihyeon – had officially debuted under MBK Entertainment in 2015 with the single ‘Somehow’ from their debut album ‘Do It Amazing’, having put out one more studio album and six EPs since.

Sony Music Publishing has signed a global deal with songwriter Ashley Gorley, in partnership with Domain Capital Group. The agreement encompasses Gorley’s complete catalog of songs, as well as future compositions.Gorley has written 59 Country No.

A nine-year-old Ukrainian refugee was so traumatised by war that she didn't speak for more than a month. Milana Pankevych was stunned into silence for almost five weeks after Russia invaded her homeland.

OH MY GIRL’s Jiho has left the K-pop girl group, as well as her long-time agency WM Entertainment.Today (May 9), WM entertainment announced in a statement to South Korean news outlets that Jiho would be departing from the girl group after the expiration of her contract with them. The agency also revealed that the remaining members of OH MY GIRL would be continuing as a six-member act.“The agency has renewed exclusive contracts with the six members of Oh My Girl, Hyojung, Mimi, YooA, Seunghee, Yoo Bin and Arin,” it said, as translated by Soompi.

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.

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

K.J. Yossman Frank Grillo will fight a group of “terrifying, deadly creatures” in upcoming feature “The Dagon.”Brad Anderson (“The Machinist”) is set to direct the thriller, working from an original screenplay by Peter Mattei (“Outsiders”).In “The Dagon,” Grillo (“Kingdom”) will play Jack, a father who lives an isolated rural life alongside his family.

Frank Grillo (Kingdom) has signed on to star in the thriller The Dagon, from director Brad Anderson (The Machinist), which will soon head to Cannes. Independent Entertainment’s Head of International Sales Sarah Lebutsch will handle international at the Marché du Film, co-representing North American rights with CAA’s Nick Ogiony.

K.J. Yossman “Magic Mike” star Alex Pettyfer and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’s” Maria Bakalova are set to star in “Branded.”Tom Hopper (“Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City”) and Frank Grillo (“Kingdom”) will also appear in the film.Kieron Hawkes (“Power”) is set to direct the feature, which is based on New Yorker article “The Brand” by longform journalist David Grann, whose book “Killers of the Flower Moon” has been adapted in the upcoming Martin Scorsese film of the same name.

Alex Pettyfer, Maria Bakalova, Tom Hopper and Frank Grillo are set to star in Branded, based on the New Yorker article “The Brand” by New York Times bestselling author David Grann.

SPOILER ALERT – Do not continue reading if you don’t want to know who was unmasked on The Masked Singer tonight!

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Red Hot Chili Peppers paid tribute to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins at Jazz Fest in New Orleans on Sunday while frontman Dave Grohl, Hawkins’ widow Alison, and other members of the Foo Fighters looked on from the wings, according to reports in nola.com and on social media.Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, a close friend of Hawkins, had “Taylor” spelled out on his bass drum, emblazoned with a hawk silhouette, similar to one on Hawkins’ arm.Foo Fighters were originally scheduled to headline Jazz Fest but canceled all tour dates in the wake of Hawkins’ death on March 25. Grohl’s presence in town sparked unfounded rumors that he might perform.

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.

LE SSERAFIM have shared new snippets of tracks from their upcoming debut release ‘Fearless’.On April 27, HYBE uploaded a “highlight medley” of the forthcoming girl group’s debut mini-album ‘Fearless’. The record, which is led by the single of the same name, is set to arrive on May 2 at 6pm KST.“So you don’t get hurt, get hurt / You should get away / Get a get a get away / I’m fearless, huh,” LE SSERAFIM sing in the 15-second snippet of their debut single.Other songs on the record include its intro track ‘The World Is My Oyster’, which was previously used to soundtrack the sextet’s debut trailer clip, as well as B-sides ‘Blue Flame’, ‘The Great Mermaid’ and ‘Sour Grapes’.

MLD Entertainment, the company behind K-pop girl group MOMOLAND, is gearing up to launch a brand-new group soon.Today (April 26), CEO Lee Hyung-jin spoke to South Korean news outlet Star News in new interview, where he revealed that the agency is preparing to debut a new girl group sometime in June. The upcoming act, named LAPILLUS, will include members who speak Spanish, English, Tagalog, Chinese and Japanese.Two members of the forthcoming group have since been revealed, and they are Japanese trainee Nonaka Shana, who recently appeared on Mnet’s reality TV competition show Girls Planet 999, along with Chantal Videla (known as Chanty), a Filipino-Argentinian model and actress.The duo have been active on MLD Entertainment’s YouTube ‘NADOL’ series, where they had introduced themselves as foreign trainees hoping to becoming K-pop idols in Korea.