genre kpop
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BTS‘ j-hope previewed his upcoming solo single on Friday, giving ARMY a nine-second taste of the thumping tune. With a buzzy, glitched-out beat and woozy bass line, the first taste of the tune lacked audible vocals, though there did appear to be some chopped-up voices buried in the mix. A first taste on X featured […]
LE SSERAFIM‘s HOT tops this week’s new music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (March 14) on Billboard, choosing the South Korean pop group’s fresh EP as their favorite new music release of the past week.
This week’s poll was brimming with competition, but the latest from LE SSERAFIM had supporters swooping in with 86% of the vote. Voters this week chose HOT over new music releases from an impressive pool of music talent — with artists in the mix including Chappell Roan, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco, Playboi Carti, Haim, Sleep Token, Lil Nas X, Lizzo, Peso Pluma and Charley Crockett.
HOT is LE SSERAFIM’s fifth mini album, the follow-up to last year’s CRAZY, which reached No. 7 on the Billboard 200, their highest spot on the all-genre albums chart to date.
The girl group’s HOT set — featuring five songs: title track “Hot,” plus “Born Fire,” “Come Over,” “Ash” and “So Cynical (Badum)” — dropped on March 14, along with an official music video for “Hot” (seen above). Fans first got a teaser about the project from singers Kim Chaewon, Sakura, Huh Yunjin, Kazuha and Hong Eunchae in February.
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In April, they’ll head out on the Easy Crazy Hot Tour in support of their recent EPs, with concert dates currently scheduled in South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, the Phillippines, Thailand and Singapore.
Among the new music trailing behind HOT on the poll this week are Chappell Roan’s new single, “The Giver,” with 4% of the vote; Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco’s latest track, “Sunset Blvd,” with 2% of the vote, and Playboi Carti’s Music album, also with 2% of the vote.
See the final results of this week’s poll below.
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J-Hope opened his Hope on the Stage show at Barclays Center with a series of questions: What if he had no hope, no dream, no passion, no vision?
Anyone familiar with the role the bright, driven dancer plays in BTS knows exactly why those ideas are so anathema to him, but on his first solo full-length album, 2022’s darkly introspective Jack In The Box, he interrogates that persona: “I asked myself dozens of times / Am I really like that? / Hopeful, optimistic, always with a smile on my face.”
If the opening set introduced any doubts, though, the rest of the show refuted them. As J-Hope toured through his early mixtape and SoundCloud drops, Billboard Hot 100-charting BTS hits and new solo singles, he was completely in his element (“a fish that met water,” as he brags on the raucous, rock-rap “MORE”), easily proving he has all the aforementioned qualities in spades. “I’m at my happiest when I’m on the stage,” he shared at one point, though he needn’t have spelled it out in words: “You guys can tell, right?”
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Thursday night (Mar. 13) may have been J-Hope’s first solo concert in the U.S. (his historic 2022 Lollipalooza set made him the first Korean artist to headline a major U.S. festival), but he addressed the momentous occasion with modesty — and just a bit of fan service. “You’re here on this meaningful day,” he told the audience, smiling. “And you’re the center of attention.”
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Still, all eyes were rightfully on J-Hope as he checked off another big first as a soloist. Here are seven highlights from his New York show.
J and the Box(es)
There’s no confusing one BTS solo concert for another. Sonically and visually, the seven members have established their own artistic identities — all while still actively participating in the biggest boyband on the planet. J-Hope’s stagecraft is completely unique from that of SUGA’s 2023 Agust D tour, yet the two are comparable in their level of detail: whereas SUGA stripped the stage down so far that he was performing on the floor by the end, J-Hope elevated himself on boxes that reconfigured themselves for nearly every song.
So integral were the lifted boxes to the show that, during the encore, J-Hope emerged from backstage with a miniature glass replica of one in hand. “It’s very special, so I’ll put it down,” he said, laughing.
Taking It to the Streets
Even accomplished dancers need backup, and J-Hope’s troupe helped him pay homage to his roots as part of a collaborative dance crew on the streets of Gwangju. The lo-fi, old-school hip-hop of Hope On The Street, Vol. 1’s “lock / unlock,” “i don’t know,” and “i wonder…” are accompanied by popping, tutting and more. Every single person on the stage got an individual shout out — by name — from the dancers to the live band. Now that’s how you give flowers.
An Artful Single Debut
J-Hope’s recent release, “Sweet Dreams (feat. Miguel),” was a departure for the rapper, given that it was far more explicitly romantic than most of his solo discography. Then he debuted a brand new single, “MONA LISA,” at Thursday’s show, which is even more of a switch up: “Love the way you take the stress and Louis off of me,” he sings on the sultry song. Add in that choreo? An artwork ready for the Louvre.
A History Lesson, Bangtan-Style
Just as SUGA added a few certified BTS classics (ahem, “땡 (Ddaeng)”) to the setlist for his tour, J-Hope took ARMYs on a short but impactful trip down memory lane. After starting the section with “1 VERSE” — his first ever solo — and selections from his mixtape, Hope World, adrenaline spiked for his solo run of “Airplane Pt. 2,” “MIC Drop,” and “Silver Spoon.” It came to a close with “Dis-ease” and “Outro : Ego,” which, until now, never got its proper day in the sun because of COVID-19 tour cancellations.
OT7 4-Ever
The past few years have flown by, so it’s easy to forget BTS haven’t played a show in the U.S. since 2022. Still, fans aren’t out of practice. As the fiery intro of crowd pleaser “MIC Drop” blared, ARMYs screamed the full OT7 fanchant — aka, all seven names — while J-Hope waved his arm like a conductor with his baton. The countdown to the first post-enlistment BTS tour begins now.
Hobilingo
J-Hope prepped English words for throughout the show, but to allow himself some spontaneity toward the end of the night, he asked if he could talk freely in his native language. One condition, though: he wanted that permission in Korean, asking the audience to yell, “한국말 해줘!” (“Please speak in Korean!”) Elsewhere, J-Hope coached the crowd in a call-and-response of “병” and “아니야” (“disease” and “no”), before joking, “You guys speak Korean!”
Spanish was also no problem for the seemingly multilingual crowd, who took on Becky G’s “Chicken Noodle Soup” verse with ease: “Ninguna de estas mujeres tiene el flow que tiene Becky / Latino americano, soy de aquiii.”
A New Hope
We could all use a little hope right now, and count on J-Hope to provide. While he doesn’t shy away from complexity in his solo work, as the Pandora’s box allegory on JITB suggests, light always follows the dark. Thus, his encore was top to bottom optimism. “= (Equal Sign)” brought the social commentary — a BTS trademark — while “Future” laid out a bright road ahead; “NEURON,” a nod to the name of his former dance crew, told the story of a passion so deeply rooted it could never be extinguished.
It takes us back to the beginning: So, what if J-Hope didn’t have hope, dreams, passion, vision? Hopefully, we’ll never know the answer.
BTS‘ Jin is trapped on a bonkers island in the first trailer for the upcoming Netflix variety show series Kian’s Bizarre B&B. The unscripted Korean series that will debut on April 8 stars beloved webtoon artist and entertainer Kian, who stars in the show alongside the K-pop superstar and SNL Korea comedian Ji Ye-eun, who […]
Stray Kids has broken yet another record! The group’s latest album, HOP, is officially RIAA-certified gold, giving them most gold certifications of any K-pop artist in history.
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HOP, released in December 2024, also marked Stray Kids’ sixth No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart. The band then became the first act to debut at No. 1 with its first six chart entries in the nearly 69-year history of the chart. They previously debuted atop the chart with ODDINARY and MAXIDENT (both in 2022), ROCK-STAR and 5-STAR (both in 2023) and ATE (earlier in 2024).
The eight-member group — featuring members Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and IN — will continue their touring success this year, with the next leg of their World Tour, marking their first full run of stadium dates around the world. The Live Nation-promoted, JYP Entertainment-produced tour will kick off in Chile at the Estadio Bicentenario La Florida on March 27, before moving on to stops in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil, as well as Lima, Peru and Mexico City before shifting to North America.
That run will launch on May 24 in Seattle, WA at T-Mobile Park before hitting stadiums in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Arlington, TX, Atlanta, Orlando, New York, Washington D.C. and Chicago, and winding down in Toronto at Rogers Stadium on June 29. The tour will then hop over to Europe for gigs in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Madrid and a final show slated for July 26 at Stade de France in Paris. The U.S. run will feature the eight-man group making their debuts at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium and Citi Field in New York.
K-pop singer and songwriter Wheesung (born Choi Whee-sung), was found dead in his home in Seoul, South Korea on Monday night (March 10). According to The Hollywood Reporter, no cause of death has been determined yet and foul play is not suspected, with Seoul police saying a “substantial” amount of time appeared to have passed before the singer’s body was discovered.
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“The artist Wheesung has left us. He was found in cardiac arrest at his residence and was later pronounced dead,” his agency, Tajoy Entertainment, said in a statement. The singer’s mother reportedly discovered his body and called emergency services.
Wheesung rose to prominence in the early 2000s with his soulful vocals and smooth R&B style in a career cut short by a drug-use scandal.
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Born on Feb. 5, 1982, Wheesung made his performance debut in 1999 with the K-pop boy band A4. After a short stint in the group, Wheesung broke solo in 2000 and released his debut single, the emotional R&B ballad “Can’t We?” in 2002, followed by his R&B/soul-inspired debut solo album, Like a Movie.
After winning best new artist at the 2002 Golden Disc Awards, he dropped his sophomore effort, It’s Real, in 2003, expanding his sound to include hip-hop and pop vibes. Several more albums followed in 2004 (For the Moment), 2005 (Love… Love… ? Love… !) and 2007 (Eternal Essence of Music); his most recent release was the 2018 EP In Space.
Wheesung bounced between a number of different management companies in the ensuing years and a decade into his solo run reverted to his early career stage name, Realslow. His career went into a downswing in 2013 when he was accused of using the surgical anesthetic propofol — the drug that contributed to Michael Jackson’s death — for several years for what he said was treatment for a herniated disk and hair loss.
Within days in March and April in 2020, Wheesung was found passed out in public bathrooms near syringes and vials containing etomidate, another sleep-inducing drug similar to propofol, according to BBC News. Following those incidents, his agency at the time, Real Slow Company, issued a statement in which it said, “He has been going through an incredibly difficult period due to the sudden passing of his father and close friends. He has been suffering from depression and panic disorder and has been receiving psychiatric treatment,” according to the Korea Herald.
In 2021, Wheesung got a two-year suspended sentence for abusing propofol.
The singer, who was also a well-respected producer and songwriter, also worked with a number of other K-pop artists, including the girl groups Twice, T-ara and Orange Caramel, as well as Younha, G. NA and Ailee. He was scheduled to co-headline a show with singer KCM dubbed “The Story,” in Daegu, South Korea at EXCO Auditorium on Saturday (March 15); that show has been cancelled.
You know how you know you’re a huge pop star? When the mere mention of your name, or a brief, dance-y cameo during the host’s monologue drive the studio audience into uncontrollable shrieking. BTS‘ j-hope knows this feeling.
The singer got ARMY in formation early on Monday night (March 10) during his appearance on The Tonight Show when he snuck out during Jimmy Fallon’s monologue for a bit making fun of the host’s lame dance moves. “I wish I could dance even a 10th as good as he can,” Fallon lamented of his skills compared to his guest, as Roots drummer Questlove assured Jimmy that he indeed had smooth moves. Busting into some seriously cringe dad choreo, Jimmy gyrated to massive screams as a smiling Hobi slipped on stage to show him how it’s done, leaving Fallon thinking that he’d killed it. “You love my dancing!” Fallon blushed.
The singer came back for a sit-down chat, beginning with his favorite things to do when he visits the U.S. Fallon noted that the K-pop superstar recently made his first visit to In-N-Out Burger and he asked how it went. Switching from Korean to English, j-hope said he ordered a cheeseburger, animal-style, a vanilla milkshake and fries. “It was good…. very salty and cheesy and sweety… but not healthy,” he smiled.
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After Fallon shared a recent Instagram post in which Hobi busted out his best Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us” shuffle dance, the singer confirmed that he’s never met K-Dot, but is definitely down for a collab. “I’m ready for work with you, Kendrick,” he said to screeches from the studio audience as he did a command performance of the signature dance from Lamar’s Drake-destroying single.
In addition to talking about his early days in the underground dance crew Neuron — which was inspired by the first time he heard the clothes-to-the-back kid rap duo Kriss Kross — j-hope said that, like Fallon’s pal Justin Timberlake, when he’s in the studio he can’t help dancing to his own songs and dreaming about what it will be like to perform them live.
“Whenever I listen to music, something come up in my mind,” he said. “And I think of how I want to express that on stage.”
The singer also came back to close the show with a performance of his new solo single, “Sweet Dreams,” with Miguel. Standing on a platform on a fog-shrouded set, Hobi harmonized with the soul singer on the song’s love-filled chorus in his first-ever solo spot on the show, before busting out his melodic rap on the verse while rocking the stage in baggy jeans and fuzzy bunny slippers.
Watch j-hope on The Tonight Show below.
When we say j-hope is comfortable on the stage, we mean from his head all the way down to his fuzzy feet. On Monday night’s (March 10) episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the BTS star will make his solo debut performance on the late-night show, joined by R&B singer Miguel for their […]
Billboard Women In Music for 2025 keeps on getting juicer. Doechii is named as the Woman of the Year, and so many more have been added to the powerhouse night. Keep watching to find out who! Watch the live event on March 29th at 10PM ET/7PM PT on the Billboard Women in Music 2025 channel […]
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” rules the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for a record-extending 17th week. The collaboration first led the list in November.
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga and Mars’ “Die With a Smile” posts an 11th week atop the Billboard Global 200 chart, dating to its first frame at No. 1 last September.
The Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.
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Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.
“APT.” holds atop Global Excl. U.S. with 84.2 million streams (down 5% week-over-week) and 7,000 sold (down 9%) outside the U.S. Feb. 28-March 6.
“Die With a Smile” is steady at No. 2 after 10 weeks atop Global Excl. U.S. beginning last September; Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” keeps at its No. 3 best; Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” ascends 5-4, after three weeks on top in August; and Lamar and SZA’s “Luther” dips to No. 5 from its No. 4 high.
“Die With a Smile” continues atop the Global 200 with 112.4 million streams (down 6%) and 8,000 (down 3%) worldwide. The song ties for the fifth-longest No. 1 run since the chart began, matching The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay.” The only hits to lead longer: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (19 weeks), Harry Styles’ “As It Was” (15), Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (13) and ROSÉ and Mars’ “APT.” (12, beginning in October).
The Global 200’s top five is static, with “APT.” at No. 2; “Luther” at its No. 3 high; “Not Like Us” at No. 4, following four weeks at No. 1 beginning last May; and “Birds of a Feather” at No. 5, after three weeks at No. 1 last August.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated March 15, 2025) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, March 11. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.