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The ENHYPEN boys have stepped up to the plate. The Seattle Mariners welcomed the band’s Heeseung, Jay and Ni-ki on Monday (April 29) to throw the ceremonial first pitch at T-Mobile Park. The trio also hung out during the team’s batting practice, taking in the sights, playing catch and meet former Mariners player, Ichiro Suzuki. In […]
Hours before SEVENTEEN dropped their new greatest hits album, 17 Is Right Here, on April 29, the K-pop sensations seized the moment by holding two electrifying concerts at the Seoul World Cup Stadium to preview the record and celebrate nearly a decade of hits together.Against the backdrop of the stadium, SEVENTEEN leader S.Coups noted the sentimental moment, telling the crowd, “Standing here, I feel like I’ve been running towards this very moment up until now,” a testament to the journey they’ve undertaken alongside their devoted fanbase known as CARATs. Seungkwan added, “Our goal today is to present all CARATs here with the best day they ever had.”
With a five-piece live band noticeably elevating the SEVENTEEN musical experience to new heights from opening tracks “Super” and “Don Quixote,” the SVT crew delved into a slightly adjusted setlist for the closing shows of their ‘FOLLOW’ AGAIN tour that previously hit Osaka and Kanagawa in Japan, as well as Incheon, South Korea. Offering fans a glimpse into their upcoming album, the live premiere of four new songs — including their maximalstic, break-beat single “MAESTRO” — made the tour finale all the more montemous. Mingyu reflected that they “were both nervous and excited to showcase the first performance of ‘MAESTRO’ here,” with Hoshi noting, “We wanted to show our ‘best’ selves for the CARATs. We really put our best efforts into this performance.”
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As the concert drew to a close and each of the 13 members shared parting words with the crowd, Woozi encapsulated a collective sentiment, saying: “The ‘Best [Of]’ album will be released the day after tomorrow. It’s an album dear to me, embodying SEVENTEEN’s beliefs. Today’s show was also like that in some sense. Performing today, I was strongly reminded of all the memories tied to each and every song. Today may have been an ordinary day for some, but for everyone here and us, it was a day of 10 years, making it so much more valuable. This moment is so special to us, so we always try to capture and remember everyone with our eyes as much as possible.”
Read on for more from SEVENTEEN’s Seoul shows, and see exclusive photos of S.Coups, Woozi, Hoshi, Seungkwan, Mingyu, Jeonghan, The8, Joshua, DK, Wonwoo, Jun, Vernon and Dino below:
“MAESTRO”
Image Credit: PLEDIS Entertainment
SEVENTEEN’s latest single, “MAESTRO,” was revealed at the ‘FOLLOW’ AGAIN to Seoul concert, where thousands in attendance saw all aspects of its intense breakbeat production and orchestra-inspired performance.
The8 commented how the track “has one of the fastest beats-rhythms with a house dance break. I hope it feels fresh and new.”
“Cheers to Youth”
Image Credit: PLEDIS Entertainment
Alongside the premiere of “MAESTRO,” each of SEVENTEEN’s three teams premiered the new tracks they recorded for 17 Is Right Here. The Vocal Unit (consisting of Woozi, Jeonghan, Joshua, DK and Seungkwan) shared their harmonious and euphoric vocals with “Cheers to Youth.”
“‘Cheers to youth’ is a song that I really like and we wanted to perform,” Woozi shared. “I pictured how the CARATs would react and it was exactly right.” Later in the concert, Hoshi explained the inspiration for the song.
“During the tour, I mistakenly said something and it was brought up when we all got together to talk afterward,” the leader of the Dance Unit shared. “[The members said] it was wrong to make such a comment, and I said, ‘Sorry, it’s my first time living today [this day.]’ Woozi heard this and took inspiration for this specific song.”
“Spell”
Image Credit: PLEDIS Entertainment
The Performance Unit of SEVENTEEN (Hoshi, Jun, The8 and Dino) shared their new Afrobeat-inspired song “Spell” alongside a slinky performance that allowed the foursome to showcase their incredible physicality.
“The time really flew today,” Dino later remarked. “I had so much fun — I feel that what’s really important during a concert is what sort of feelings and emotions we feel and share. Today was filled with joy and excitement, and it’s all thanks to you. We thank you sincerely.”
“LALALI”
Image Credit: PLEDIS Entertainment
The final new song revealed at ‘FOLLOW’ AGAIN to Seoul was the Hip-Hop Unit’s “LALALI.” Decked out in Adidas gear, S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu and Vernon shook Seoul World Cup Stadium with the bombastic rap track that’s quickly becoming a SEVENTEEN fan favorite with its anthemic shout-outs and cheeky lyrics.
Closing Message
Image Credit: PLEDIS Entertainment
“We began the show by promising you the best day, and I hope we kept that promise,” Seungkwan told the crowd at the closing of ‘FOLLOW’ AGAIN to Seoul.
“It’s still hard to believe that I’m standing here with this joyous view in front of me … I’m grateful to be part of this nine-year-old band with all the members. Another thing I wanted to mention was this: I believe it’s up to us SEVENTEEN as an artist to make it easier for supportive, caring fans to show their love and support for us without any discomfort or inconvenience. We’ll continue to do our best. Thank you and we love you so much.”
K-pop group SEVENTEEN dropped their anticipated greatest hits album, 17 Is Right Here, on Monday morning (April 29), along with the futuristic video for the lead single, “Maestro.” The two-CD, 33-track compilation pulls together the Korean versions of eight previously released Japanese singles, 20 singles from the 13-man band’s Korean releases, as well as four new tracks and a digital-only instrumental version of the boy band’s 2015 debut single, “Adore U.”
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Fresh single “MAESTRO” will be followed by the hip-hop team’s “LALALI,” the performance team’s “Spell” and the vocal team’s “Cheers to youth.” The edgy “MAESTRO” visual, directed by Han Sungsoo, drops group members Woozi, S. Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu, Vernon, Jeonghan, Jun, DK, Joshua, Hoshi, Dino, The8 and Seungkwan into a sleek future scape filled with dancing robots and mechanical dogs in which they bust out high-energy choreo with their machine companions and conduct a gothic symphony orchestra through the hip-hop-influenced track’s dance attack.
“Aligning with the group’s core message around solidarity, this captivating dance R&B track illustrates how together, we can orchestrate our own universe like a ‘maestro,’” read a statement announcing the clip. To further the message, it aded that the video is set in a dystopian future where “anything, including music and art, can be easily created with technology.”
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According to the band’s label, 17 Is Right Here got more than three million pre-orders as of April 19. During a press conference announcing the album on Monday, SEVENTEEN also announced plans for a world tour int he fall, with the full roster — including U.S. dates — to be announced later.
Listen to the album and watch the “MAESTRO” video below:
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NewJeans get down to some classic pop group hijinks in the new video for their effervescent single “Bubble Gum.” The K-pop girl group comprised of members MINJI, HANNI, DANIELLE, HAERIN and HYEIN put together a perfectly manicured fun weekend hang in the clip directed by Youngeum Lee that dropped on Friday (April 26).
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In the latest preview from the quintet’s upcoming double single album How Sweet — a two-track offering due out on May 24 featuring “Bubble Gum” and the title song — fans get to see the women relaxing for the camera while engaging in the time-honored tradition of making a band seem more like a high school clique of besties than a K-pop juggernaut.
The action begins in a van, naturally, where the women blow bubble gum bubbles and weave friendship bracelets as the summery, hang-loose track builds. The rest is a montage of the five playing marbles in their apartment, where they make balloon animals and play with soap bubbles, eventually making their way to the beach for some more bubble blowing, wave frolicking and, yes, even more bubble action via bubble guns.
It’s a lot of bubbles, to be honest.
The trip ends with them packing back into the van, grooving along to the song’s laid-back beat and then running through the night with flashlights while, of course, blowing bubbles.
The two-song follow-up to NewJeans’ Jan. 2023 single album, OMG, will be followed by another single album on June 21, Supernatural, which will mark the band’s official debut in Japan; that one will feature the title track along with “Right Now” and two instrumental tracks.
To celebrate their Japanese debut, the group will host a two-day fanmeet concert, on June 26-27.
Watch the “Bubble Gum” video below.
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“I had my own vision for what I wanted to hear in K-pop,” says Paul Thompson, an Italian American who 11 years ago moved to South Korea from California to teach English, but has since become better known as chart-topping K-pop producer MCMZ and founder of MCMZ Inc., an entertainment group based in Seoul. “I knew no other company was 100% going to let me do the vision I had. It was time for me to try to evolve K-pop.”
Enter VVS, Thompson’s newly formed group eyeing October for its official debut, and with four albums already mapped out. Embodying his love for The Neptunes, Timbaland co-producer Danja and singer-songwriter-producer Ryan Leslie, Thompson created a streamlined sound for the new act, which is named after the diamond category of the same name. “I would say we’re mashing up Ariana [Grande’s] ‘POV’ and Nicki Minaj,” says Thompson, who calls the members of VVS “the right five to push K-pop forward.”
With one Japanese and four Korean members, VVS comprises Brittney (20, the group’s leader and English speaker), Ilee (19, a rapper inspired by Blackpink’s Jennie), Rana (18, the main dancer who is musically influenced by Lauryn Hill), Jiu (15, the main vocalist who looks up to K-pop powerhouse Taeyeon) and Liwon (15, a vocalist who admires fellow teen singer Kiana).
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For now, the quintet has daily rehearsals, vocal and rap lessons, and group workouts. As their debut looms closer, the members will move into a shared living space and add media training and language lessons as part of K-pop’s famous trainee system. But unlike other trainees, the members of VVS will have had what Brittney and the girls call “culture classes” to dig into the roots of R&B and hip-hop.
“From the cultural beginnings to today where female rappers are able to perform onstage with such confidence, the fact that we are able to learn about the history of the OGs is really meaningful,” Ilee says through a translator. “We learned about female rappers at the start of the hip-hop industry, like Lil’ Kim, who influences me because she’s very confident.”
Brittney
Scott Joonhyuk Jung
Ilee
Scott Joonhyuk Jung
Meanwhile, Brittney — who nearly abandoned her K-pop dreams after time training in two different agencies before joining MCMZ — pulls inspiration from an act closer to home. “BTS came from a small company,” she says. “We come from a small company, too, so I think there’s a lot that we can learn from them. They’re very hard workers, they put all their effort into their job, and when they perform onstage, they’re 100%. I think their teamwork is amazing, so I tell my girls about them, too.”
After initially moving to South Korea to teach English, Thompson spent the following decade becoming the chart-topping K-pop producer MCMZ for arena-filling acts like EXO, NCT and Kang Daniel. Similar to NewJeans mastermind Min Hee Jin and other K-pop creatives who have moved from the liner notes to the C-suite, Thompson transformed his producer moniker into a corporate entity, founding MCMZ Inc. in early 2019 and incorporating as a Korean entity in January 2020 with an all-Korean staff and crop of songwriters that includes K-pop idol Yuju and lyricists in Los Angeles and Nashville.
Thompson’s own body of work — alongside key hires of management, casting and artist development veterans in Korea — quickly earned his new label the trust of the industry. Blackpink’s agency, YG Entertainment, has already invested in the company through a deal with its distribution division, YG Plus, to assist in merchandising and marketing, as well as global distribution.
And despite operating as an Italian American in a predominantly Asian industry, Thompson says, “All the parents know what I’ve done, all the trainees know, and a lot of them audition because of the music. They realize, ‘OK, the company is still Korean, all the contracts are done in Korean, it just happens that the CEO is not.’ ”
Jiu
Scott Joonhyuk Jung
Despite its American influences, MCMZ Inc. plans to target the international K-pop fandom as well as the scene’s core markets like Korea, Japan and English-speaking territories. “It’s going to be harder for us to get across because all the big companies have way more money than us to put toward marketing,” Thompson says. “The best way we can market ourselves is to go through other channels where we don’t have to put a huge budget behind that.”
That’s exactly why he has made yet another unconventional move: welcoming Anderson Cooper to film a CNN documentary about MCMZ Inc. to air at a later date. Thompson believes embracing such an unfiltered approach during a time of creative experimentation points to the type of ambition needed to break through industry hierarchies.
“They’re already going to be questioning if we’re authentically Korean,” Thompson says. “A lot of the Korean companies’ first target demographic is going to be Korea. For us, it’s still Korea, but we know we have a barrier there to entry anyway, so let’s see how we can market ourselves more accurately [beyond that].”
Liwon
Scott Joonhyuk Jung
Rana
Scott Joonhyuk Jung
This story will appear in the April 27, 2024, issue of Billboard.
“I had my own vision for what I wanted to hear in K-pop,” says Paul Thompson, an Italian American who 11 years ago moved to South Korea from California to teach English, but has since become better known as chart-topping K-pop producer MCMZ and founder of MCMZ Inc., an entertainment group based in Seoul. “I […]
Just days after launching an audit into subsidiary label ADOR and asking its CEO, Min Hee-jin, to exit, the Korean entertainment giant says it will report the executive to police.
The announcement came ahead of Min holding an emotional press conference in Seoul, where she refuted allegations of usurping ADOR girl group NewJeans‘ management, shared conversations she had with the group’s members and addressed other rumors as the Billboard 200–topping girl group prepares to launch its new single, “Bubble Gum.”
On Thursday (April 25) local time in Korea, HYBE shared the following statement with the media as an update to its audit regarding ADOR, CEO Min and other executives at the label:
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On April 25 KST, HYBE announced that the company will report CEO Min Hee-Jin of its subsidiary label ADOR to police for a breach of trust and other related allegations today.
HYBE secured substantial evidence to prove that Min deliberately led the plan to take over management control of the subsidiary, through the audit process. The evidence included detailed discussions that Min has ordered the ADOR management to find ways to pressure HYBE into ultimately selling ADOR’s shares. One of the audited parties submitted information assets to seize the management of ADOR and to attempt to contact external investors. The auditee also admitted to creating the documents to attack HYBE.
In the meantime, HYBE will continue to provide attentive mental and emotional care to the company’s artist NewJeans and best support for their upcoming comeback. The company will meet legal representatives of the respective members as soon as possible to discuss the plan to protect the act.
As previously reported, Min earned an 18% stake in ADOR in late 2023, when HYBE moved from full ownership of the label to 80%, with the additiona 2% owned by other company executives.
Following Min Hee-jin and ADOR going on the offensive with interviews and multiple statements to various Korean media alleging that HYBE has been exploiting ADOR and allowing NewJeans’ concept to be plagiarized, the K-pop industry veteran held a press conference with her lawyers that lasted more than two hours on Friday.
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According to the Korea JoongAng Daily‘s minute-by-minute report, Min arrived for the 3 p.m. press conference casually dressed in a baseball cap and simple T-shirt to be greeted by a slew of photographers — so many that at one point, the executive said she wouldn’t be able to speak if the camera flashes continued. Throughout the two-hour event, Min proclaimed her innocence, shared her disagreements with HYBE’s leadership, rebutted their conclusion that she wanted to seize NewJeans’ management and tried to shift focus back to her original internal complaint regarding plagiarism. Under Min’s leadership, ADOR previously claimed that HYBE’s newest act, the five-member girl group ILLIT formed under another subsidiary, BELIFT LAB, is copying NewJeans.
While weaving through stories with her lawyers alongside her, an at-times sobbing Min also addressed rumors regarding current and past HYBE artists including BTS, GFRIEND, LE SSERAFIM and more.
During the first half hour of the presentation, Min shared text message chats she claims she had with HYBE founder/chairman Bang Si-hyuk and HYBE CEO Park Ji-won. These alleged texts, according to Min, show Bang’s interest in buying Source Music, where Min previously worked, to launch a girl group. She also revealed that she recruited NewJeans’ eldest member, Minji, from Source’s trainee pool for ADOR. Min further claimed that HYBE’s debuting LE SSERAFIM under the Source label led to NewJeans being cast aside and created internal issues.
In a 2022 Billboard interview shortly after NewJeans’ debut, Min described her move away from Source Music by noting that “there would have been a number of different challenges involved” at the time and that she instead focused on creating “an independent label,” which became ADOR. “ADOR is a label that started with guaranteed autonomy, so it has no ties with HYBE’s management,” Min said. “They actually didn’t have any knowledge about anything we were going to release up until the first music video was released.” In the same interview, a question regarding Minji’s time as a trainee under Source Music was never addressed by press time.
After the first hour of the press conference, Min added claims that her contract terms with HYBE were unfair, though her lawyer said the details of the contract are confidential. Min also alleged that HYBE spun her contacting a law firm as external consulting, creating the current situation. Min pointed to multiple misunderstandings, including those that arose from jokes between her executive team, and added that HYBE still owes her money.
Through tears, Min revealed more text messages claiming that a NewJeans member’s mother called her to encourage her to speak out. During the Q&A with the press in attendance, Min contended that NewJeans members Hanni and Haerin have specifically reached out to her in support.
Separately, two NewJeans members have made public appearances amid the K-pop power struggle. Minji attended a Chanel pop-up store opening on Tuesday (April 23) in Seoul, while Danielle attended different fashion events on the Tuesday and Wednesday, though neither has made public statements on the matter.
Throughout the press conference, Min also touched on BTS (refuting an online rumor that she claimed the Billboard chart-toppers had copied her ideas), GFRIEND (saying she had nothing to do with the group’s abrupt 2021 disbandment soon after her formal start at HYBE) and took several shots at the teams behind ILLIT by sharing how the members are innocent but “it’s the adults that have sinned…copied all the formulas that we had with NewJeans,” from the concept to fashion collaborations, as reported by the Korea JoongAng Daily.
Just as HYBE did in its statement, Min ended her press conference by re-focusing attention on NewJeans. Despite the clash, the K-pop group’s upcoming music video for “Bubble Gum” is still set to premiere on Friday (April 26) via the HYBE Labels YouTube channel.
Here’s some dynamite news for ARMY: BTS‘ RM has announced that his second solo album is on the way!
Right Place, Wrong Person is set to arrive on May 24, and will feature 11 tracks “infused with alternative music and rich sounds,” according to the press release. The K-pop superstar also helped write the “frank, honest lyrics” for each song.
According to the announcement on Weverse, Right Place, Wrong Person captures feelings that most people are familiar with, including “the feeling of being an outsider who doesn’t fit in.”
“Right Place, Wrong Person embodies facets of RM as a solo artist, distinct from albums released under BTS,” label Big Hit said in a statement, noting that the LP “delves into RM’s authentic essence.”
RM’s first solo set, Indigo, arrived in December 2022, and peaked at No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200. The album featured multiple artists, including Anderson .Paak, Erykah Badu and others. Lead single “Wild Flower,” which featured youjeen, debuted and peaked at No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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Big Hit also teased that ahead of the release of the BTS rapper’s second solo LP, RM “will unveil a diverse array of content, offering a further glimpse into the new album.”
The members of BTS have been completing their mandatory military services in South Korea. RM began his enlistment in December, as did V, Jimin and Jung Kook. Jin was the first member of the septet to perform his required service, with J-Hope and SUGA following. South Korea requires all of its able-bodied men to enlist by age 28 for 18 to 21 months of service.
See Big Hit’s announcement of RM’s upcoming solo album below:
While HYBE has successfully expanded into an entertainment powerhouse built around its multi-label structure, the Korean corporation says it has investigated one of its crown jewel agencies, ADOR, the home of chart-topping girl group NewJeans.
Since its launch in late 2021, ADOR (an acronym for the phrase All Doors One Room) has been led by Min Hee-jin, a veteran creative in the K-pop industry who famously helped develop the scene’s penchant for artistic concepts and craft era-defining K-pop acts like Girls’ Generation, SHINee, f(x), EXO and Red Velvet during her tenure at SM Entertainment. After Min’s exit from SM, she joined then–Big Hit Entertainment in 2019 as chief brand officer and helmed the company’s rebrand into HYBE. During the 2021 rebrand reveal, HYBE announced Min as CEO of a new label, ADOR, with plans to debut the girl group that would become NewJeans.
Earlier this month, a report by Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service revealed that Min controlled an 18% stake in ADOR since late last year. HYBE previously had complete control of the label but now boasts 80%, with an additional two percent owned by other company executives. HYBE reportedly invested 16.1 billion won (about $11.7 million) to establish ADOR.
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Less than two years into NewJeans’ history-making debut, HYBE is asking Min to step down from ADOR after an audit of her, the label and its executives.
HYBE confirmed to Billboard that on April 22, the company “invoked the right to audit CEO Min Hee-Jin and top executives of its subsidiary label ADOR.” HYBE said it “called them to summon a shareholder meeting and sent an official letter to ask CEO Min to step down.” HYBE added that it could not provide further information on reason or reasons for the audit or why it is asking Min to step down.
Since news of the audit went public, ADOR and Min Hee-jin have gone on the offensive in the Korean media.
In a series of statements, ADOR claims HYBE’s newest act, the five-member girl group ILLIT under another subsidiary, BELIFT LAB, is copying NewJeans. With HYBE founder and current chairman Bang Si-hyuk involved in ILLIT’s debut album Super Real Me (No. 6 on the World Albums chart after three weeks), ADOR claims both BELIFT LAB and HYBE are complicit in the alleged infringement. ADOR says they raised the copycat issue internally a month ago but did not receive answers, claiming now that HYBE’s attempt to remove her as CEO is a result of bringing up the alleged problem. Min gave an additional interview to Korean outlet Sports Ilgan to fire back at rumors she was trying to break ADOR away from HYBE or seek outside investors to go independent with her 18% stake.
Min Hee-jin has not responded to Billboard‘s request for comment.
Min and ADOR quickly spun NewJeans into a slew of record-setting achievements including a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with 2023’s Get Up just a year after the debut, five Hot 100 hits to their name, a well-received live debut in the U.S. at Lollapalooza last year, plus honors like Top Global K-Pop Artist at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards and the first K-pop act honored as Group of the Year for Billboard‘s Women in Music. In 2023, Min earned a spot on Billboard‘s International Power Players and Women in Music executive lists and also collaborated with V of BTS on the overall production of his debut solo album, Layover, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in September.
The K-pop power clash comes as NewJeans prepares for several releases including new singles “Bubble Gum” and “How Sweet,” with the former’s music video scheduled to drop April 26 on the HYBE LABELS YouTube channel. NewJeans is also preparing their first-ever Japanese singles “Supernatural” and “Right Now,” as well as a new album planned for the second half of 2024.
Elsewhere in the HYBE universe, ILLIT’s “Magnetic” is currently at No. 91 on the Hot 100, making it the first debut single from a K-pop act to enter the ranking. New music from HYBE artists like Zico (under HYBE LABELS’ KOZ Entertainment) and SEVENTEEN (PLEDIS Entertainment) are also coming this month. Historically, internal company issues can affect K-pop music or content releases, but no updates have been shared as of press time.
It’s take two for BTS and UNICEF. The K-pop superstars and United Nations Children Fund announced the #OnMyMind initiative on Monday (April 22), the second chapter of their Love Myself campaign. The new initiative aims to improve and support the mental health youth around the world. To help kick off #OnMyMind, BTS, label Big Hit […]
