HYBE Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

BTS members RM and V have penned letters to fans ahead of their military enlistment today.The two BTS members will be enlisting today (December 11) for their mandatory military service, as required of South Korean men. This makes them the fourth and fifth members of the band to enlist. On the eve of his enlistment, BTS’ leader RM took to Instagram stories to share a heartfelt letter to fans.“Hello to everyone I love.

K-pop label ADOR has announced new measures it will take to prevent malicious comments towards the members of NewJeans.On December 5, the agency released a notice via the group’s ‘Phoning’ app, through which they hold livestreams and share messages to fans.

SEVENTEEN member Dino recently covered Crush’s 2022 hit single ‘Rush Hour’ featuring BTS’ J-hope.In the latest episode of music talk show Lee Mujin Service, SEVENTEEN’s Dino performed his new solo single ‘Wait’ along with a series of covers. These include Crush and J-Hope’s ‘Rush Hour’ and singer-songwriter Baek Yerin’s ‘See You Again’.“So let me hear y’all scream, hibihibi hop, just like that / Again, clap clap clap, and then hit that / Gather round and all like (Oh) traffic jam / Get up, get up,” Dino sings on the upbeat ‘Rush Hour’ chorus.

NewJeans member Hanni has unveiled her cover of Sarah Kang’s song ‘once in a moon’.The Vietnamese-Australian K-pop singer is the fifth and final member of NewJeans to contribute to the girl group’s ‘By Jeans’ cover series on YouTube. While her bandmates had recorded vocals for the series, Hanni also played guitar in her clip to accompany her performance of New York-based singer Sarah Kang’s 2022 song ‘once in a moon’.“I thought long and hard about [what song to sing] because winter is already here, and I like to listen to songs according to the seasons.

EDAM Entertainment has confirmed that BTS member V will star in a new music video by singer-songwriter IU.Today (December 5), South Korean news outlet Star News reported that BTS member V would star as the male lead in an upcoming music video by singer-songwriter IU.IU’s agency, EDAM Entertainment, later responded to the report in a statement to The Kyunghyang Shinmun. The agency confirmed that “IU [has] completed filming her music video with BTS’ V”, as translated by Soompi.EDAM Entertainment also announced that the singer is currently working on her new album “with the aim to be released in the first half [of 2024]”.

BTS singer Jimin will enlist in the military together with bandmate Jungkook, Big Hit Music has announced.Today (December 5), Big Hit Music released a statement on the fan platform Weverse, where it announced more information about the upcoming enlistments of BTS members RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook. The agency had confirmed in late-November that the four K-pop idols had started their “military enlistment process”.In its statement, Big Hit Music revealed that Jimin is “scheduled to enlist together” with bandmate Jungkook, who previously revealed in a handwritten letter that he’ll be entering the military sometime this month.

BTS’ Jungkook and Usher have shared a video of them dhancing along to the latter’s hit 2004 single, ‘Yeah!’.Over the weekend, BTS’ Jungkook uploaded a TikTok video of himself dancing with Usher to the American singer’s iconic 2004 single ‘Yeah! (feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris)’.

K-pop idol siblings Hueningkai of TXT and Kep1er’s Huening Bahiyyih have opened up about working in the same industry and motivating one another.Earlier this month, the two singers had their first-ever photoshoot and interview together for GQ Korea. During their interview, the siblings spoke about how their bond has changed since becoming K-pop idols, and how they inspire each other.Hueningkai shared that their bond became stronger after he left home to become a K-pop trainee.

Jungkook has teamed up with Usher on a new remix of his latest single ‘Standing Next to You’.‘Standing Next to You’ was originally released last month as the third single from Jungkook’s debut solo album, ‘Golden’. The new remix features a new verse by Usher, as well as additional vocals from the American singer in the song’s chorus.“Stop, can you feel that? / It’s like heaven and earth moves whenever we touch / No, for real, I know you feel that / The universe approves when you and I dance / So elegant, and heaven sent these vibes, yeah / It’s way, way too early to leave, we going,” sings Usher on the second verse.Meanwhile, Jungkook’s label Big Hit Music has described the remix as “add[ing] a velvety touch to the energetic vibe of the original version, showcasing the synergy between the two artists in full force”.Jungkook released ‘Golden’ in November.

NewJeans, BTS‘ Jungkook and more.Apple Music unveiled the 2023 edition of its annual ranking of the most streamed songs on the serviceyesterday (November 28), per Variety, with several K-pop tracks making it into the Top 100. The most streamed K-pop song in 2023 was ‘Ditto’ by NewJeans, which came in at Number 19 on the overall list.Two other NewJeans songs also made it to Apple Music’s ranking: with their January single ‘OMG’ at Number 37, and 2022’s ‘Hype Boy’ at Number 64.

Jeon Somi, ENHYPEN and many more.The first day of the 2023 MAMA Awards took place on November 28 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It featured K-pop acts such as Jeon Somi, ENHYPEN, Kep1er and more take to the stage with a line-up of special stages and collaborations and more.

Jungkook of K-pop boyband BTS has enlisted Justin Timberlake for a new remix of his hit single, ‘3D’.‘3D’, originally featuring Jack Harlow, was first released in September as the second single off BTS’ Jungkook’s debut studio album, ‘Golden’. The singer also previously linked up with A.

Jungkook of K-pop boyband BTS has confirmed that he’ll enlist for mandatory military service in December 2023.Jungkook broke the news in a letter to fans, which he posted on the fan community platform Weverse yesterday (November 22). The news comes shortly after Big Hit Music confirmed that the singer, alongside three of his fellow BTS members – RM, Jimin and V – have started their military enlistment process.“I am beginning a new journey in December and will be temporarily leaving your side to fulfill my military duty,” Jungkook wrote, per Korea JoongAng Daily.

BTS members RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook have started their “military enlistment process”, Big Hit Music has announced.In a statement published on fan community platform today (November 22), BTS’ label Big Hit Music announced that members RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook have officially begun the process of enlisting for mandatory military service in South Korea.“We would like to inform our fans that RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook [of BTS] have initiated the military enlistment process,” Big Hit Music announced. “The artists are preparing to fulfil their military service duties.

BTS and Disney+ have announced BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star, a brand-new docu-series featuring the K-pop boyband.BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star will “take audiences on an in-depth journey across the band’s 10-year career, highlighting their highs and lows” over eight episodes through the docu-series format, according to a Disney+ press release.The series is said to feature “never-before-seen interviews, performances and behind-the-scenes moments” with the K-pop boyband, as well as appearances from HYBE founder Bang Si-Hyuk and Myeongseok Kang, the co-author of Beyond The Story: 10-Year Record of BTS. “The upcoming docuseries also shines a spotlight on highly personal moments from their past, including how they felt about meeting each other for the first time; their initial contract renewal process; the difficulties of isolating during COVID,” reads the press release.BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star will premiere December 20 on Disney+ with its first two episodes, with two new episodes released every Wednesday thereafter.The upcoming docu-series will also be the latest collaboration between Disney+ and BTS. The streaming service previously premiered J-hope in the Box, SUGA: Road to D-Day, the concert film BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage – LA and more.In other BTS news, Jungkook has opened up about the boyband’s early days and why he still “can’t watch the footage” from their debut, saying they were “not that cool”.

ADOR, the label behind K-pop girl group NewJeans, has announced its new global auditions.On November 20, the HYBE Labels subsidiary shared a new poster announcing its auditions, which are open to applicants of all genders and nationalities between the ages of 2004 to 2011.The official audition site can be viewed here in English, Korean and Japanese. Per instructions on the website, applicants are required to submit a waist-up and full body shot, as well as a one-minute or longer video.Unlike its previous auditions, which allowed applicants to submit in categories of singing, rapping and dancing, or in a “free category” that includes acting, modelling and vlogging.

EXO’s Baekhyun, and NewJeans recently performed at this year’s League of Legends World Championship.Heartsteel – formed by EXO’s Baekhyun, Taiwanese-American rapper ØZI, Nigerian singer Tobi Lou and American musician Cal Scruby – and K-pop girl group NewJeans opened the annual League of Legends World Championship at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul yesterday (November 19)Heartsteel, in their first-ever live performance, took the stage first to perform their debut single ‘Paranoia’. “Every time you pop off / They hopin’ that you fall hard / They prayin’ for the death of a rockstar / Everybody hatin’ ever since you got more / They prayin’ for the death of a rockstar,” they sang, joined by their virtual counterparts on stage.NewJeans followed with a fiery performance of their song ‘Gods’, which is the official anthem for this year’s championships.

NewJeans have made their first Billboard Music Awards appearance with a special medley performance of their hit songs ‘Super Shy’ and ‘OMG’.The K-pop girl group kicked things off with an energetic performance of ‘Super Shy’, dressed in schoolgirl outfits, reminiscent of Britney Spears‘ iconic ‘…Baby One More Time’ music video.Following a quick consume change, NewJeans returned to the stage with a funky remix of their viral hit single ‘OMG’. Watch the K-pop girl group’s 2023 Billboard Music Awards performance below:In an interview with Women’s Wear Daily prior to the performance, NewJeans member Hanni said that the quintet had “practiced a lot and made sure we were all on the same page regarding the type of energy and the performance we wanted to portray”.Speaking of their schoolgirl stage outfits, Hyein said that they “highlight each member’s individuality”.

K-pop group ENHYPEN have made a comeback with their new single ‘Sweet Venom’.On November 17, the seven-member act unveiled the music video for ‘Sweet Venom’, the title track of their new mini-album ‘Orange Blood’. The new visual follows ENHYPEN on a night out in a party district when time stops for everybody else.

The Kid LAROI has opened up about his love for BTS and their music in a new interview, saying he “[wished he] had gotten into them a little sooner”.The Australian rapper recently came on the Zach Sang Show to speak about his recent collaboration with BTS member Jungkook. Last month, LAROI had Jungkook feature on his track ‘Too Much’ alongside British rapper Central Cee, and spoke about how they ended up joining forces and his relationship with the group.LAROI shared that he had started getting into BTS before he collaborated with Jungkook, who was originally not a part of the project.

BTS member Jungkook recently hold a surprise concert in the heart of Times Square in New York City.Yesterday (November 9), Jungkook took to the stage at TSX Entertainment, located in the heart of New York City’s Times Square, for a surprise mini-concert featuring songs from his debut studio album, ‘Golden’.The BTS singer performed his hit singles ‘Standing Next to You’, ‘3D’ and ‘Seven’, as well as album cuts ‘Yes or No’ and ‘Please Don’t Change’. According to Rolling Stone, fans had been given a 30-minute notice prior to the concert’s start.“This place is amazing.

NewJeans singer Minji was apparently “not desperate” to debut as a K-pop idol, according to the casting agent who discovered her.South Korean casting director Darren Won recently recalled the story of how he found and casted NewJeans’ Minji in a new interview withThe Korea Times. “I invested a lot of time and effort to cast Minji, who was not so desperate about becoming a K-pop star at first,” he said, recalling first seeing her outside “a music academy in the city of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, when she was 13”.“Back then, I was urgently looking for some idol trainees and the academy’s director told me she had two students to recommend,” he added. One of the students was Minji, however Won noted that she had not “set her sights” on making a debut at the time, despite having aspirations of becoming a singer.“Yet, I clearly saw the potential in her as soon as I met her, so I kept persuading her and ended up bringing her to Source Music, a K-pop label that I worked for at the time,” Won added.

Pledis Entertainment, home to K-pop group SEVENTEEN, has announced the upcoming debut of a brand-new boyband in early-January 2024.South Korean media outlet JTBC reported on November 7 that Pledis Entertainment is planning to debut their first boyband in nine years in early January 2024. The report claimed that the group will consist of five to six members, including some who are not native Korean.Shortly after speculations surfaced, the company confirmed the news in an official statement to SPOTV News.

Tomorrow X Together and more.‘Tiny Desk Korea’, a joint venture between NPR and LG U+, is the first international version of the iconic NPR series. It first launched in August 2023, after originally being announced in July this year.New performance episodes of ‘Tiny Desk Korea’ are usually released every Friday, with interview episodes coming out on the following Monday.‘Tiny Desk Korea’ has since announced its line-up of November guests, with alt-rock band Jaurim set to appear on the November 10 episode.

Coldplay recently performed a cover of ‘The Astronaut’ by Jin of K-pop boyband BTS during their Tokyo concert on November 6.The new acoustic cover is the first time Coldplay have performed the song without Jin on their ongoing ‘Music of the Spheres’ world tour, which kicked off in March 2022.“We’re going to play a song that we gave to Jin. We’ve never played this before on our own, maybe we’ll never play this again,” teased Coldplay frontman Chris Martin.“This is Jin’s song.

Jungkook of K-pop boyband BTS has revealed that microwaves are still one of his biggest fears.The K-pop idol recently made a guest appearance on the late-night NBC talk show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he touched on the success of his debut solo album, ‘Golden’.“Frankly speaking, I was confident, but this is beyond my imagination,” Jungkook said. “And I am very grateful to [BTS’ fanbase] ARMY.

ENHYPEN have released a music video for their new song, ‘Keep Swimmin’ Through’, which will appear in the upcoming Baby Shark movie.ENHYPEN star in the new music video as a boyband of animated beluga whales. The clip features the K-pop group perform alongside their cartoon counterparts, as well as scenes from the upcoming film, Baby Shark’s Big Movie!.The K-pop boyband are also set to perform ‘Keep Swimmin’ Through’ live during the 97th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 23, as part of Nickelodeon and Pinkfong’s Baby Shark float.Aside from ENHYPEN, Baby Shark’s Big Movie! will also feature the voices of Cardi B, her husband Offset and their daughter Kulture, all three of whom will be reprising their roles from the TV show.

Jungkook of K-pop boyband BTS has released a music video for his new single, ‘Standing Next to You’.The new music video for ‘Standing Next to You’ features a loose storyline about the Jungkook chasing after a mysterious femme fatale, but largely features the K-pop idol showcasing his dance skills through elaborate choreography.“Standing next to you / Standing in the fire next to you / You know it’s deeper than the train / it’s deeper than the pain / When it’s deep like DNA / Something they can’t take away,” he sings on the chorus of the song.‘Standing Next to You’ is the third single from Jungkook’s debut solo album, ‘Golden’, which was released alongside his new music video. The record also includes the hit singles ‘3D’ featuring Jack Harlow and ‘Seven’ featuring Latto.‘Golden’ also includes a number of high-profile collaborations, such as with DJ Snake on ‘Please Don’t Change’ and Major Lazer on ‘Closer to You’.

HYBE founder and chairman Bang Si-hyuk has revealed that his company was “on the verge of closing down” before BTS.Bang Si-hyuk recently made a guest appearance on the tvN talk show You Quiz on the Block, alongside fellow record executive J.Y. Park, the founder of JYP Entertainment.During his appearance on the programme, the HYBE chairman opened up about how the company (then known as Big Hit Entertainment) was “pretty much drowning in debt” before the boyband’s debut, saying that they had owed about ₩10billion (US$7.4millon) at the time.“We were seriously on the verge of closing down the business.

LE SSERAFIM singer Yunjin recently performed an acoustic cover of SZA‘s hit single ‘Kill Bill’ on talk show The Seasons. The K-pop girl group made a guest appearance on the October 27 episode of South Korean talk show The Seasons, currently hosted by sibling duo AKMU.

Jungkook, a member of K-pop boyband BTS, has broken the record for the fastest song to reach 1billion streams on Spotify.Today (October 31), Spotify announced on Twitter that Jungkook’s debut solo single, ‘Seven’ featuring Latto, became the fastest song to reach 1billion streams on the streaming platform on Monday (October 30).On October 30, Jung Kook's "Seven (feat. Latto)" became the fastest song to reach 1 Billion streams in Spotify history.

BTS member Suga has revealed that he thought the boyband’s 2015 album ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life’ would be their last.Suga recently released the latest episode of this online talk show, Suchwita, which featured guest appearances from SHINee‘s Taemin and BTS bandmate Jimin.During the episode, Suga asked Taemin to name what he believes to be Jimin’s most memorable performance. “For me, it’s ‘I Need U’,” said the SHINee singer.

Soobin of K-pop boyband Tomorrow X Together (TXT) has opened up about why he became a K-pop idol.Soobin revealed the fact in a new YouTube video uploaded onto TXT’s official channel, where the quintet spoke about their journeys as K-pop idols and their hopes for the future.“To be completely honest, I first started dreaming of becoming a singer just because I wanted to meet KARA,” Soobin said in the video. Unfortunately for the singer, TXT debuted in 2019, three years after KARA disbanded in 2016.However, the iconic K-pop girl group would later reunite in 2022 and release the album ‘Move Again’.

Jungkook of K-pop boyband BTS has released a new David Guetta remix of his hit single ‘Seven’.The new David Guetta remix of ‘Seven’ uses the explicit version of the song and retains the verse by guest artist, Latto. For the rework, the French DJ transforms the UK garage song into a dancefloor-ready banger.This is the second high-profile remix of ‘Seven’, following a progressive house remix by Swedish DJ Alesso that was released in August.

V of K-pop boyband BTS has assured fans that he is “all good” after a recent stalking incident.Earlier today (October 27), South Korean news outlet KBS reported that a woman in her twenties had been arrested for allegedly violating the East Asian country’s anti-stalking act.According to the publication, the woman had reportedly waited for BTS’ V outside of the apartment building where he lives on October 26, before subsequently following the K-pop idol into the residence’s parking lot as he drove in.KBS also alleges that the woman later entered the same elevator V was taking, before attempting to speak with the singer and handing him a marriage certificate with her name on it.The woman was arrested on the morning of October 27, after police tracked her down using the information on the marriage certificate. The alleged perpetrator is also said to have a history of stalking V in the past.Big Hit Music, which represents BTS and V, has released a statement about the incident to TV Report.

Luminate, a provider of music and entertainment data, the Top 100 K-pop artists globally have racked up a total of 90.4billion streams across audio and video services so far this year.The figure is a 42.2 per cent increase as compared to the same period in 2022, with Japan having the high number of on-demand streams at 9.7billion, up from 8.6billion from the year prior.The US came in second with 9.2billion, a marked increase from 6.6billion in 2022. Rounding out the Top Five in terms of most on-demand streams are Indonesia (7.4billion), South Korea (7.3billion) and India (6.2billion).In its report, Luminate also broke down the regional composition of streams for a number of top K-pop groups.