HYBE Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Epik High have teased their new single, ‘Screen Time’, a collaboration with Hoshi of K-pop boyband SEVENTEEN.Epik High dropped a brand-new teaser for ‘Screen Time’ yesterday, revealing that SEVENTEEN’s Hoshi will feature on the upcoming single. It’ll be the first collaboration between the K-hip-hop trio and the K-pop idol.‘Screen Time’ will be released on November 1 at 6pm KST.

BTS, (G)I-DLE and LE SSERAFIM, have denied any rumours of links to a recent spate of drug-related investigations in the Korean entertainment industry.In the past week, popular South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun and Big Bang member G-Dragon were booked on suspicion of drug use. The two cases are said to be unrelated to one another.Soon after the news broke, rumours that other high-profile K-pop stars were also being investigated for drug use started circulating online, according to SBS Star.Among them were LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Chaewon, (G)I-DLE’s Jeon Soyeon and K-pop boyband BTS.

Soobin of K-pop boyband Tomorrow X Together (TXT) has opened up about the group’s dynamics in a new interview.Speaking to Weverse Magazine, TXT’s Soobin touched on how the boyband had gone through what he described as “a rough patch” at some point in 2022.While the singer did not delve into the details of the rough patch or what might have caused it, he revealed that they overcame it by the end of that year. “I felt our companionship was particularly strong while we practiced for the year-end awards shows,” he said.“We were having a lot of honest conversations about our innermost feelings.

SHINee’s Taemin has been teased as the next guest on Suchwita, a YouTube talk show hosted by BTS‘ Suga.A preview for the upcoming 20th episode of Suga’s YouTube series was uploaded to the BANGTANTV YouTube channel yesterday (October 24), teasing the upcoming episode’s guest in a brief one-minute clip.The preview starts with Suga introducing the guest as someone who is “much more of a senior artist than I am”. Taemin – whose face is obscured by close-up shots or censors, but still recognisable – tells Suga that it’s nice to sit down for a chat with Suga, who is similarly born in the year 1993.“There weren’t many singers who were born in 1993,” Suga notes in the teaser, before Taemin adds that he has always “had this yearning for a friend born in 1993”.Taemin also tells Suga that he has heard a lot about him through BTS bandmate Jimin, who has been known to be a close personal friend of Taemin’s.

SEVENTEEN member Mingyu has spoken out about concerns surrounding the group’s line distribution in their recently released single ‘God of Music’.SEVENTEEN released ‘God of Music’ and an accompanying music video on October 23. The song is the title track to the K-pop boyband’s 11th mini-album ‘Seventeenth Album’, which dropped on the same day.Shortly after the single and album’s official release, the SEVENTEEN rapper took to fan community platform Weverse to host a live broadcast, where he spoke out the release and interacted with viewers.However, after reading some comments he was receiving, Mingyu took it upon himself to address concerns over what fans have perceived as an unfair line distribution observed in ‘God of Music’, particularly with Mingyu.“It’s my first time seeing this question from CARATs (SEVENTEEN’s fanbase): ‘Aren’t you upset that you don’t have many parts in the ‘God of Music’ music video?'” he he said, as translated by Koreaboo. “No, never, never.

The Kid Laroi has tricked BTS‘ Jungkook into trying Vegemite, a classic Australian food spread.In a new video on Twitter, The Kid Laroi introduces Vegemite to Jungkook as part of a ‘Let’s Cook’ segment, where the Australian singer shows the BTS member “something that I used to eat for breakfast”.“It’s just like toasted bread, butter [and] Vegemite, which is basically this Australian ‘chocolate’ spread,” The Kid Laroi falsely tells Jungkook, before letting the BTS singer smell the spread.“It’s fully chocolate,” the Aussie singer says, before taking a big scoop of Vegemite for a piece of toast for Jungkook, which is met by a giant side eye from the BTS singer. “Now, I want you to take one big bite for me.”“It’s salty,” Jungkook says after tasting the Vegemite, with Laroi then finally admitting: “It’s not chocolate.

SEVENTEEN leader S.Coups will be absent from promotional activities for the group’s upcoming album, ‘Seventeenth Heaven’, in order to focus on post-surgery recovery.The announcement was made by Pledis Entertainment yesterday (October 19), who wrote in an official statement to fan community platform Weverse that it would be “difficult for S.Coups to participate in most of his official activities, including SEVENTEEN’s promotional activities for their 11th mini-album ‘Seventeeth Heaven'”.“S.Coups sustained a tear in his left anterior cruciate ligament and underwent anterior cruciate ligament and anterolateral ligament reconstruction surgery. He is currently receiving post-surgery care and is focusing on his recovery,” the company explained in the post.It added that although two months has passed since the surgery, the idol is still in a state of recovery.

Jimin of K-pop boyband BTS has opened up about how the superstar group managed to overcome language barriers with their music.In a new interview with GQ Korea, BTS’ Jimin spoke about how the boyband were able to transcend languages with their music. Notably, BTS have topped the Billboard Hot 100 with songs in both English and Korean.“To get to where we are now, our team has faced considerable struggles,” Jimin said, “occasionally losing our way and experiencing conflict, but always supporting each other.”“The joy, sorrow, pain, delight, and love we’ve felt along the way – we’ve been candid about it all.

Blizzard Entertainment has announced an upcoming Overwatch 2 event in collaboration with K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM.Today (October 19 KST), the Overwatch 2 developer announced the upcoming crossover event with LE SSERAFIM. It’ll kick off with the release of the girl group’s upcoming English-language single, ‘Perfect Night’, on October 26 at 9pm PDT.The collaboration will also feature a new game mode, inspired by LE SSERAFIM, as well as exclusive in-game items and Legendary hero skins.

Yeonjun of boyband Tomorrow X Together (TXT) has opened up about the realities of the current K-pop landscape.TXT member Yeonjun recently made an appearance on the online talk show Bam House, hosted by GOT7‘s BamBam. During his appearance on the programme, the K-pop idol opened up about the difficulties he and his group face as a boyband as compared to girl groups.During their conversation, BamBam spoke about how “it took quite a while for the K-pop generation to switch from the second generation to the third”, while pointing out that this wasn’t the case for newer generations of K-pop groups.“It definitely wasn’t like that from the third generation to the fourth.

BTS have announced the release date and availability for their February 2023 concert film, BTS: Yet to Come.Today (October 17), the group announced through its official Twitter account that BTS: Yet to Come will be available to stream on November 9 via Prime Video globally, as well as Coupang Play in South Korea.BTS: Yet to Come was originally released in February 2023 in movie theatres worldwide.

K-pop boyband ENHYPEN will be making a comeback this November with the mini-album ‘Orange Blood’.Today (October 16), ENHYPEN’s label Belift Lab announced on fan community platform Weverse that the boyband would be dropping their fifth mini-album ‘Orange Blood’ on November 17 at 2pm KST.ENHYPEN also released a logo trailer for the upcoming release, which largely features clips of solar eclipses and the sun turning orange as it sets. The phrase “you and I are connected through blood” also briefly flashes on screen.‘Orange Blood’ will be the second instalment of the boy band’s ‘Blood’ series, which they kicked off in May with their fourth mini-album ‘Dark Blood’ and its lead single ‘Bite Me’.In a four-star review of the release, NME’s Tássia Assis praised it as ENHYPEN’s “most cohesive work so far”, adding that it “leaves enough open threads for the upcoming chapters to develop”.The boy band are currently on the US leg of their ongoing ‘Fate’ tour, which marks the second world tour of their career.

LE SSERAFIM leader Kim Chaewon will not be participating in the girl group’s activities for the foreseeable future.Today (October 16), Source Music announced that LE SSERAFIM’s Kim Chaewon would be stepping back from the girl group’s activities due to her health. The news comes a week and a half after the singer, as well as her bandmates Huh Yunjin and Kazuha, were diagnosed with Type A Influenza.“Kim Chaewon has been in the process of recovering from Type A Influenza.

HYBE founder Bang Si-hyuk has revealed that BTS will release an album marking the 10-year anniversary of their 2015 series ‘The Most Beautiful Moment In Life’.The album series – which is often called ‘HYYH’ in reference to its Korean name, ‘화양연화’ – was released in two parts, with the first arriving on April 29, 2015 and the second on November 30. A repackaged record, ‘The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever’, was released on May 2, 2016.During an appearance on Bloomberg Screentime, Bang shared news of the upcoming anniversary album.

BTS’ Jimin will release a solo documentary film, Jimin’s Production Diary, later this month, HYBE has announced.The singer will be the third member of the band to release his own documentary, following J-hope’s J-hope In The Box and Suga’s Road To D-Day. Notably, however, Jimin’s film will only be released on Weverse, whereas his bandmates’ films were also available on Disney+.Jimin’s Production Diary will capture the making of Jimin’s debut solo album ‘FACE’, which was released in March.

League of Legends World Championship anthem featuring NewJeans.According to a press release, ‘Gods’ marks the first time a K-pop act has sung the League of Legends World Championship anthem. The song also marks the 10th anniversary of anthems for the annual esports tournament.“The 2023 Worlds music video follows the story of Korean pro player Kim ‘Deft’ Hyuk-kyu, from his discovery of League of Legends in high school, to his run at Worlds 2022 alongside his team that overcame all odds to become World Champions,” the press release reads.‘Gods’ performed by NewJeans, and was written by Riot Games’ principal composer Sebastien Najand along with Mako’s Alex Seaver.

BTS member Jungkook has spoken about having haters and why he feels grateful towards him in his own way.Over the weekend, BTS’ Jungkook held the first of three listening parties for his new single, ‘3D’ featuring Jack Harlow, on the platform Stationhead.During the livestream, as archived on YouTube by fans, listeners could send in questions and comments to the K-pop idol through a live chat feature. One such commenter said they were “looking into [supporting] other idol groups”, which was noticed by Jungkook.The singer then responded to the comment saying that the commenter was “free to do so”, but that he is “grateful for those who support me”, as translated by Koreaboo. He added that he is aware that “there are plenty of people who don’t like me” but that he “[doesn’t] really care too much about them”.Later, the singer spoke about how he is actually “grateful for even the malicious comments” in his own way.

K-pop singer and former NU’EST member Baekho has dropped a sultry cover of Brown Eyed Girls’ ‘Abracadabra’.The singer has released a cover of the 2009 Brown Eyed Girls hit through his official YouTube channel. Baekho’s rendition of the song swaps its electronic sound for a guitar-led R&B instrumental, with the singer also slowing down parts of ‘Abracadabra’.“Bring, bring, I want to hold you in my arms / I will do anything and even more / Bling bling, you are my fantasy / I’ll put everything / In stake to have you,” he sings in the chorus.The new cover comes two weeks after the singer dropped his remake of singer Park Jin-young’s 1995 hit ‘Elevator’, for which he has also released a performance video.Prior to this, Baekho’s last music release was his debut mini-album ‘Absolute Zero’ in October 2022, which was led by the single ‘No Rules’.

LE SSERAFIM member Huh Yunjin has shown for love for Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter Laufey.Over the weekend, LE SSERAFIM’s Huh Yunjin said on fan community platform Weverse that she would “love to” cover a song by Laufey. Her message was in response to a fan who said they “would die if you’d cover a Laufey song”.Yunjin’s interaction on Weverse soon made its rounds among fans on Twitter, before being picked up by Laufey herself today (September 26).

K-pop boyband SEVENTEEN have taken down a teaser clip for their upcoming mini-album after receiving backlash from Chinese fans.Over the past few days, the 13-member group have released a series of teaser clips featuring famous landmarks in different cities around the world to promote their upcoming mini-album ‘Seventeenth Heaven’, which arrives in October.These included shots of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Times Square in New York, Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo and the Great Wall of China in Beijing, with smiling chamomile flowers – also featured in the record’s album art – floating around them.SEVENTEEN (세븐틴) 11th Mini Album 'SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN'

BTS singer Jungkook will be dropping a new single featuring American rapper Jack Harlow titled ‘3D’ later this week.On September 23, the K-pop singer performed as a headliner at the 2023 Global Citizen Festival in New York, where he screened a mysterious teaser video.According to Big Hit Music, Jungkook’s ‘3D’ will be a “pop R&B track with clever expressions of feelings toward an unattainable person from the perspectives of first, second and third dimensions.” The agency also teased a “more mature side of Jungkook” in the upcoming release.Shortly after his performance Big Hit Music announced that Jungkook’s second solo single ‘3D’ featuring Jack Harlow will be released on September 29 at 1pm KST.The BTS singer has since released two ‘Hero’ films teasing the upcoming single, which feature him posing in a simple spaceship-inspired set.The K-pop agency later took to its official social media accounts to share the first set of concept photos accompanying the upcoming single.#정국 #JungKook 3D Concept Photo – 2D#JungKook_3D pic.twitter.com/EwihqihfL1— BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) September 24, 2023 ‘3D’ comes two months after the release of the BTS singer’s debut solo single ‘Seven’ featuring rapper Latto, which arrived in July. Its accompanying visual also starred South Korean actress Han So-hee, best known for leading Netflix’s My Name.In a four-star review of the track, NME’s Rhian Daly called it “a summer-ready bop that also adds new facets to the singer’s artistry”.Shortly after the release of ‘Seven’ Jungkook shared on bandmate Suga’s talk show that he plans to drop a “small mini-album” by November 2023 after releasing his second single.

NewJeans’ Hyein has unveiled a cover of BTS member V’s recent solo single ‘Slow Dancing’.Hyein has become the third member of NewJeans contribute to the girl group’s recently launched ‘By Jeans’ series of covers on YouTube. For her turn, the K-pop idol decided to share her rendition of ‘Slow Dancing’ by BTS’ V.“Today, I have the honour of covering V’s song ‘Slow Dancing’.

Suga, a member of K-pop boyband BTS, has enlisted in the military today (September 22).Ahead of his enlistment today, Suga took to fan community platform Weverse to share a message to his fans. “I was able to come this far thanks to you. And the time has come.

Big Hit Music trainees have opened up about the members of BTS and whether the septet have changed since their debut.In a new interview with Korea Now, the English-language YouTube channel of South Korean news outlet Yonhap News Agency, former Big Hit Music trainees Kim Ji-hoon and Hwang Ji-hwan opened up about their experiences at the K-pop agency and training alongside the now-BTS members.Kim spoke about how he sometimes watches clips of BTS on YouTube, nothing that the septet are “the same as they used to be” when they were all trainees together. He added that, even then, he thought BTS leader RM “had leadership qualities”.

SEVENTEEN have announced their 11th mini-album, titled ‘Seventeenth Heaven’.Today (September 20), SEVENTEEN dropped a teaser video for their upcoming mini-album, ‘Seventeenth Heaven’. The project, which is their second mini-album of 2023 after April’s ‘FML’, will be released on October 23 at 6pm KST.Meanwhile, information about the mini-album’s design and inclusions have been revealed on SEVENTEEN’s Weverse page.

DK of K-pop boyband SEVENTEEN has been named Bally’s newest global brand ambassador.Bally and DK announced the new ambassadorship on Instagram through a collaboration post, featuring images of the K-pop idol modelling pieces from the Swiss luxury fashion house.In a statement to South Korean news site FashionN, Bally CEO Nicolas Girotto said: “We are excited to welcome DK, the versatile artist from the iconic group SEVENTEEN as our new global ambassador. His trendy style and warm personality match Bally’s values perfectly.”A post shared by Bally (@bally)At the same time, Equire Korea also released a new video featuring DK from the same photoshoot.

BTS singer Jungkook has opened up about how he misses working with the boyband.In a recent interview with 103.5 KISS FM, Jungkook discussed his solo debut earlier this year with ‘Seven’ and missing his BTS bandmates. During the interview, Jungkook shared that he wanted to perform with the group again soon.“Of course, each member has his own trait, so I could say what I miss about each of them. But more than that, as I worked on my solo project, I got to really miss all the moments we shared together rather than feeling empty,” he said.“For example, staying in the waiting room even though each of us were doing our own thing.

BTS singer V has released a visual for his song ‘For Us’, a cut from his debut solo album ‘Layover’.On September 16, the K-pop singer unveiled the music video for ‘For Us’, the final track from his debut album ‘Layover’ to get a visual treatment.The new visual largely comprises outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage from the record’s previous music videos. “You went from my home to / It was nice to know you / And it breaks my heart / That we gave it our best shot,” BTS’ V sings in the chorus.Ahead of the ‘Layover’’s release, V dropped music videos for the pre-release tracks ‘Rainy Days’ and ‘Love Me Again’.

V of K-pop boyband BTS has become the first K-pop artist to appear on ‘Tiny Desk Korea’, the first “international TV format version” of NPR’s iconic ‘Tiny Desk’ series.BTS’ V kicked off his three-song set with a mellow performance of ‘Love Me Again’, accompanied up by a full band and three back-up singers. Following that, the singer introduced his band members, who all played a short solo.“Hello, this is V From BTS.

BTS‘ Jungkook and Tomorrow X Together (TXT) recently gathered to celebrate their wins at the 2023 MTV VMAs.Over the weekend, K-pop boyband Tomorrow X Together took home the trophy for Push Performance of the Year for ‘Sugar Rush Ride’. The group also premiered their as-yet-unreleased single ‘Back for More’, featuring Anitta.Meanwhile, BTS’ Jungkook won Song of the Summer for his hit single ‘Seven’, featuring Latto.

NewJeans member Haerin has released her charming cover of South Korean duo AKMU‘s latest single, ‘Love Lee’.Haerin’s perform of ‘Love Lee’ is part of NewJeans’ new ‘By Jeans’ series of YouTube covers, which launched earlier this month with Danielle’s version of ‘Rainy Days’ by BTS‘ V.Haerin prefaced her cover of ‘Love Lee’ by explaining why she chose the song. “When I first heard this song, I thought it was so refreshing and the lyrics were very bubbly too,” she said.

BTS vocalist V has performed his new single ‘Love Me Again’ live for the first time.Last week, the K-pop singer accompanied the release of his debut solo album ‘Layover’ with a special episode on Naver’s NPOP show. Naver has since uploaded V’s performances of his songs ‘Rainy Days’, ‘Love Me Again’ and ‘Slow Dancing’ on YouTube.The performance opens with V singing his pre-release single ‘Rainy Days’ from a music studio set, before transitioning to an art studio-inspired stage filled with drawings and paintings as he performs ‘Love Me Again’, flanked by four backup singers.Finally, V performs ‘Slow Dancing’ from a foggy stage, with dancers joining in for the song’s instrumental break.

BTS vocalist V has released his debut album ‘Layover’ and a music video for ‘Slow Dancing’.In the ‘Slow Dancing’ visual, the K-pop singer escapes to the ocean with a group of friends, swimming among jellyfish and dancing together on the beach. Later, he plays a video of a sailing ship on a projector, imagining them as pirates.“Maybe we could be / Slow dancing, until the morning / We could be romancing / The night away,” V sings on the chorus of the new single.BTS’ V also released his solo record ‘Layover’ at the same time, which contains pre-release singles ‘Rainy Days’ and ‘Love Me Again’, along with new tracks ‘Blue’, ‘For Us’ and a piano version of ‘Slow Dancing’.The new record’s music, creative direction and music video production were headed by Min Hee-jin, the CEO of Ador and creative director for girl group NewJeans.

Tomorrow X Together (TXT) and Brazilian singer Anitta have teased their new song ‘Back for More’.Yesterday (September 4), TXT released a teaser for their upcoming song ‘Back for More’, featuring Anitta. It features the musicians performing choreography to the song on a soundstage with a black backdrop.“Ya estoy a empezar / All I know if, if you walk away / Give me something (Give me something) / Baby, it’s okay,” they sing in the snippet of ‘Back for More’.‘Back for More’ will be released on September 15 at midnight ET/1pm KST, alongside a ‘Performance Ver.’ of the song.

Tomorrow X Together (TXT), ITZY and more will perform at KPOP LUX x SBS Super Concert London this September.KPOP LUX x SBS Super Concert London will take place on September 22 and 23 at the O2 Arena. It is the event’s second stop of the year, following a July 22 Madrid show that featured SHINee, ENHYPEN, STAYC, IVE and more.The September 22 date of the upcoming K-pop festival will feature performances from two girl groups (ITZY and an as-yet-unannounced second act) and four boybands (THE BOYZ, WEi, ZEROBASEONE and xikers).Meanwhile the September 23 show will also feature performance by ITZY and xikers.

RM of K-pop boyband BTS has addressed the controversy surrounding a post he made about Frank Ocean‘s 2012 song ‘Bad Religion’.Earlier this month, BTS’ RM received backlash after he shared Frank Ocean’s ‘Bad Religion’ on an Instagram Story post. According to Koreaboo, the K-pop idol was called out by some for sharing what they allege to be an “Islamophobic song”, due to a line which uses the Arabic expression “Allahu Akbar“.During a August 30 live stream on the fan community platform Weverse, RM spoke out about the backlash he has received. “I know what you’re talking about, you keep telling me that I insulted a religion, but I didn’t,” he said, as translated by Koreaboo.“There was no intention to insult a religion.