SHINee’s Onew to release solo music next month, SM confirms

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorApple is stepping up to the plate with its first live sports broadcasts Friday, set to debut “Friday Night Baseball” on Apple TV Plus — and, for a limited time, the MLB livestreams will be free for anyone in the U.S. and eight other countries.The games on Apple TV Plus — which will be about 50 per season — are available to anyone with internet access, for free for a limited time without the need for a subscription to the streaming service (regularly $4.99/month).

Tomorrow X Together (TXT) are reportedly getting ready to release new music later this year.Earlier today, South Korean media outlet Star News reported that the quintet are currently working on new music, which is said to be slated for release sometime in May. Big Hit Music, TXT’s management agency, later confirmed the news through a statement published in Newsen.“TXT are preparing to make a comeback in early May,” Big Hit Music said, as translated by Soompi.

Thania Garcia On Monday, The Seoul Metropolitan Government and South Korean internet company Kakao announced the construction of a new arena in the Seoul area dedicated to K-pop.The Seoul Arena — which is scheduled to be established in Chang-dong, Dobong-gu — will hold a ceremony in June after the approval of future implementation plans and is expected to be finished in October 2025.The arena promises to have over 18,000 seats with a capacity of 28,000 people for standing performances. The project also features a medium-sized performance venue with a capacity of 7,000, a movie theater, and other commercial facilities.Pulse News reports that Kakao will be in charge of operating and maintaining the Seoul Arena for 30 years after it opens, while the venue will be owned by the city government.

The Korea Herald, the new complex, called Seoul Arena, will be constructed in Seoul’s northern Dobong-gu and is expected to be completed in October 2025.The Seoul Arena will reportedly include a specialised music concert venue boasting state-of-the-art sound equipment, with a seating capacity of around 19,000 and a maximum capacity of 28,000 people for events with standing room.The complex will also feature an additional, mid-sized concert venue with a maximum capacity of 7,000 people, alongside other commercial facilities. According to Pulse News, Kakao will be in charge of operating and maintaining the Seoul Arena for 30 years after it opens, while the venue will be owned by the city government.While Kakao officials have described the project as South Korea’s “first and largest” arena dedicated to K-pop, entertainment giant CJ ENM also began construction on a similar project last October.CJ ENM’s CJ LiveCity Arena, slated to open in 2024, is reportedly designed to accommodate 20,000 indoor attendees, with the capacity to extend to another 40,000 outdoors, per Variety.

Hwang Dong-hyuk, the creator of the smash hit Netflix series Squid Game, is opening up about his next project!

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“Squid Game” director Hwang Dong-Hyuk said he’s developing “Killing Old People Club,” a new film inspired by a novel penned by Umberto Eco, the revered Italian intellectual and essayist. Speaking during a session at MipTV along with his producer Jun Young Jang at February Films, Dong-Hyuk revealed he has already penned a 25-page treatment about the project which will surely be “another controversial film,” he said. “It will be more violent than ‘Squid Game,'” teased Dong-Hyuk, adding that he might have to hide from old people after the film comes out.

There are already so many excellent K-Pop releases in 2022!

SEVENTEEN have announced the release date for their upcoming first English-language release.Earlier today (April 1), Pledis Entertainment announced in a press statement to South Korean news outlet Ten Asia that the group’s first English-language track is slated for release on April 15, 1pm KST. Further details on the song, such as its title and, are expected to be released in the coming days.“It marks the first time that SEVENTEEN releases an English song in the form of a digital single,” Pledis Entertainment said in their announcement, per Yonhap News Agency.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefJ-Hope, a member of K-pop sensation BTS, has become the sixth member of the group to test positive for COVID-19. His infection is not expected to disrupt the band’s travel plans.The star, real name Jung Ho-seok, reported a sore throat on Wednesday and took a PCR test which showed him to have caught the disease, his agency Big Hit Music, part of Hybe Entertainment, announced on its Weverse fan site. J-Hope has received two rounds of anti-virus vaccine and an additional booster shot.“J-Hope has isolated and treated himself at home, and has no symptoms other than a sore throat,” the Big Hit statement said.

Marta Balaga The conditions are set for an increase in scripted adaptations, argued Tim Westcott of research organization Omdia at Series Mania.According to the research opening the “With Local Content Going Global, What’s the Future of Scripted Formats?” session on Wednesday, the U.S. has been the biggest and “most enthusiastic” buyer of scripted remakes between 2010 and 2022, with South Korea, Turkey and France also following suit.

SEVENTEEN are set to release an English-language single in April, ahead of their full-length album in May.Today (March 24), the boyband’s agency Pledis Entertainment announced in a statement to South Korean media outlet OSEN that the K-pop group would unveil a pre-release single next month.Notably, the upcoming single will be their first English-language track performed by all 13 members of the boyband. Prior to this, sub-units and solo members of the group have released songs in English, including Vernon and Joshua on ‘2 Minus 1’ from group’s most recent mini-album ‘Attacca’ released in May, and Woozi with his solo mixtape ‘Ruby’.The as-yet-untitled song will come ahead of SEVENTEEN’s upcoming full-length album, which arrives in May.

MONSTA X are reportedly gearing up to release new music.Earlier today (March 23), South Korean outlet Sports Donga reported that the six-member boyband are currently preparing for an April comeback. MONSTA X’s label, Starship Entertainment, has since confirmed the news through a separate press statement.“Our agency’s artist MONSTA X is preparing for an album with the goal of making a comeback this upcoming April,” a representative from the management company said, as translated by Soompi.

Stray Kids have released an exciting music video for ‘Venom’, a cut from their latest mini-album ‘Oddinary’.The clip opens with the group walking up in a strange room, where they’re handcuffed to metal chairs. Changbin eventually gets free and antagonises his groupmates before unlocking a mysterious wall safe.

Pledis Entertainment has launched a new global audition programme titled ‘Wonder Teens’ for an upcoming group that will debut in 2023.The South Korean music label, which is home to groups such as SEVENTEEN and fromis_9, announced earlier today (March 18) it has officially launched a new global audition programme dubbed ‘Wonder Teens’. The auditions are open to all individuals born after 2003, regardless of gender or nationality.Taking place from March 18 through to April 17, successful applicants will be accepted as trainees under Pledis Entertainment, and will also be awarded a scholarship worth ₩3million (approximately £1,900).

SEVENTEEN are set to release new music in May, their label Pledis Entertainment has confirmed.South Korean news outlet Star News first claimed in a report earlier today (March 17) that the boy group would be releasing their fourth full-length album this May. The report has since been confirmed by Pledis Entertainment, in a new statement to Top Star News. “SEVENTEEN are preparing to make a comeback with a full-length studio album in May,” Pledis Entertainment wrote, as translated by Soompi. The forthcoming record will notably mark the 13-piece’s first domestic comeback of 2022, and will arrive seven months after their October 2021 mini-album ‘Attacca’ mini-album.The upcoming project will also be the group’s fourth full-length album, coming almost three years after their previous record ‘An Ode’, which dropped in September 2019.

Stray Kids have unveiled an energetic teaser for the music video of ‘Maniac’, the lead single off their upcoming mini-album ‘ODDINARY’.In the new visual, member Felix breaks through a layer of glass with a drill. The boyband explore various locations in a deserted ghost town, which seemingly sits on the edge of the world, by an open cliff face.“Maniac, going crazy, like I have a loose screw, maniac / Spinning, going crazy, maniac / Laugh like I have a loose screw, maniac,” they chant, stomping and shaking their heads in the accompanying choreography.‘Maniac’ is the lead single of the boyband’s upcoming mini-album ‘ODDINARY’, which arrives this Friday (March 18) at 1PM KST.

BTS member Jimin will reportedly be releasing a new solo song for tvN’s upcoming series Our Blues.Earlier today (March 15), a source from Yamyam Entertainment, the company in charge of the forthcoming Our Blues soundtrack, said that the K-pop star would be taking part in the project.“Jimin will be participating as an OST (Original Soundtrack) singer for tvN’s new Saturday-Sunday drama Our Blues,” the source said, as translated by Soompi. “Since world-class group BTS’ Jimin will be joining us, we will energise the drama with a masterpiece OST song that harmonises well with the flow of the story.”The as-yet-unnamed song will mark the idol’s first-ever original soundtrack contribution.

BTS – specifically BTS Permission To Dance On Stage – Seoul: Live Viewing grossed $6.84 million in North America on Saturday for a per screen average of $8,500+ across 803 theaters, ranking third at the weekend box office so far after The Batman and Uncharted.

BTS just broke yet another record.