When it comes to K-pop career, WEi is no stranger to spotlight, even though it debuted as a group just last month. Consisting of Jang Dae-hyeon, Kim Dong-han, Kim Yo-han, Yoo Yong-ha, Kim Jun-seo and Kang Seok-hwa, the six-piece group debuted under Oui Entertainment on Oct. 5 with its debut EP “Identity: First Sight,” featuring lead single “Twilight.” The group just made its first step, but the footprints of the bandmates are everywhere in the K-pop industry. Both Daehy

K-pop Nov. 11, 2020

GFriend released its new full-length album, “Walpurgis Night,” Monday. “Right after releasing our previous ‘Song of the Sirens’ album, we’ve been constantly working on the new album right until the comeback. We really did our best to make it happen as soon as possible,” said band leader Sowon during an online press showcase for the new album in Seoul on Monday. The fully packed collection is fronted by upbeat disco track “Mago,” which abou

K-pop Nov. 9, 2020

After making its long-awaited debut in August, Treasure has dropped three albums in less than 100 days as if to prove its presence as a rising rookie of the year. YG Entertainment‘s 12-piece boy band released its third EP “The First Step”: CHAPTER THREE” on Friday evening, shortly after rolling out its second installment of the “The First Step” series in September. The new album is fronted by the lead single “MMM,” a groovy and aggressive hyb

K-pop Nov. 6, 2020

A BTS pop-up showcase in Seoul quenched local fans’ thirst during the pandemic era, offering them a unique experience related to the global pop music juggernaut. Taking over a three-story building at trendy Garosugil in Gangnam, southern Seoul, the offline showcase dubbed “BTS pop-up: Map of the Soul” opened its door to fans on Oct. 23. It follows BTS’ first pop-up store that opened last year in Seoul. Due to the prolonged COVID-19 outbreak, some major alterations were

K-pop Nov. 5, 2020

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, this year turned out to be quite prolific for Weki Meki.  Having released three EPs from February to October, most recently highlighted by its power-driven single “Cool,” the eight girls of the rising K-pop girl group took time to look back on their four-year career, talk growth as musicians and share each of their life lessons for this year. “It was definitely a busy year, but we were glad to have shown new sides of us in terms of perf

K-pop Nov. 3, 2020

Twice is facing the duality of good and evil in its brand new single “I Can’t Stop Me.” The nine-piece band dropped its second full-length Korean album “Eyes Wide Open” on Monday evening, which features the disco-tinged pop lead track “I Can’t Stop Me.” Ahead of the release, the bandmates shared details of the new song and excitement over releasing their first full-length album in three years. “Comparing ourselves to three years ago, we re

K-pop Oct. 26, 2020

In the last few years, K-pop has become more than just a music genre. Its influence has not only been proven on the Billboard charts and on US TV shows, but has also spilled over into the realm of diplomacy. Recently, global sensation BTS faced an uproar after the group received an award from the Korea Society, which celebrates South Korea-US ties. In an acceptance speech, leader RM mentioned the “pain of history” in a reference to the 1950-1953 Korean War. His seemingly innocuou

K-pop Oct. 20, 2020

Seventeen released its new album, “Semicolon,” Monday, with a message of encouragement for young people to take some time off in their busy lives. “Just like the album’s title symbolizes a pause in a sentence, we wanted to convey a message that it’s OK to take a break from the everyday struggles and that it’s going to be a preparation for a journey called life,” said Vernon during an online press conference in Seoul on Monday. Marking the group&rsquo

K-pop Oct. 20, 2020

After basking in the limelight of “King of Mask Singer” in 2017, Sohyang has kept a low-profile, staying away from the small screen. Over the course of her public absence, she’s battled severe pneumonia, which recurred eight times and nearly took away her voice, and made her certain, at one point, that her singing career would be over. But ironically, it was also those times of despair that helped get her head above water and led her to music variety show “Begin Again.&rd

Performance Oct. 5, 2020

Enhypen, a new boy group from Mnet’s survival show “I-Land,” is slated to make its highly anticipated debut in November. It’s only been a few weeks since the multinational seven-piece band put up its first official profile, but this sensational rookie act has already attracted the spotlight. Initially, the high-profile show -- jointly organized by South Korean entertainment giant CJ ENM and Big Hit Entertainment, home to BTS and TXT -- had a rough start due to

K-pop Oct. 5, 2020

K-pop supergroup SuperM returned with its long-awaited first full-length album “Super One – The 1st Album” with a hopeful message to endure stressful times as one. “We wanted to show the significance of our existence. While we’ve gathered from distinct teams, we’d like to show you the unity, synergy, our message and hope through the album,” said Kai in the group’s online media conference Friday morning, a few hours before the album release. The

K-pop Sept. 25, 2020

Twitter Korea on Tuesday released a new report, “#KpopTwitter 2020 World Map,” which looks back on K-pop’s rapid growth on the platform over the past decade. According to the report, K-pop-related content and conversations on Twitter increased monumentally from 2010 to 2020, spanning first-generation acts like Super Junior, Big Bang and Girls’ Generation as well as the latest acts like BTS, EXO, Blackpink, GOT7 and NCT 127.  The upward curve showed the most rapid

K-pop Sept. 22, 2020

With the gigantic success of “Dynamite” under their belt, BTS took to KBS News 9, one of the most-watched news shows in Korea, on Thursday evening. Throughout the 20-minute interview, the seven bandmates shared their thoughts on the recent No. 1 debut on Billboard Hot 100, looked back on their seven-year career and talked about their Grammy ambitions. “We are still overwhelmed with the Billboard Hot 100 success, and feel wistful for not being able to share this joy with our

K-pop Sept. 11, 2020

The moment it was announed that BTS’ stellar smash “Dynamite” reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100, during the wee hours in Korea, the bandmates were wide awake, pinching themselves to make sure that they weren’t dreaming. Tuesday marked a big day for both BTS and their fans worldwide, as the seven-piece group became the first Korean act to top the chart with its recently released single. It was the culmination of seven years of hard work and continual growth in the

K-pop Sept. 2, 2020

One of the most high-profile music collaborations of this year, Blackpink has teamed up with US pop star Selena Gomez for the group’s long-awaited new single “Ice Cream.” The sugary song was dropped on Friday at 1 p.m. along with a pastel-tinged music video featuring Gomez herself. “When we first heard the song, we had a feeling of sweetness filling up our mouth. We thought ‘Ice Cream’ would offer some chilling time for those suffering from this late summer

K-pop Aug. 28, 2020