K-Pop
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TWICE‘s With YOU-th tops this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Feb. 23) on Billboard, choosing the K-pop group’s latest mini-album as their favorite new music release of the past week. Fans showed their support for the girl group in a big way: With YOU-th won this poll by a landslide, […]
Boy bands supporting boy bands! ENHYPEN shared a cover on Friday (Feb. 23) of One Direction’s 2012 breakout hit, “What Makes You Beautiful.” The band members trade verses with their signature sweet vocals before coming together to sing the anthemic hook. In August, 1D member Liam Payne celebrated a new milestone for the song. “Wow […]
Shinsadong Tiger, a chart-topping and award-winning K-pop producer and songwriter, has passed away, his entertainment label confirmed on Friday (Feb. 23). The cause of death is currently unknown. He was 40.
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Following local reports that Shinsadong Tiger (neé Lee Ho-yang, also known professionally as S.Tiger) was found collapsed in his Seoul workplace, his representative agency TR Entertainment confirmed the news that “Producer Shinsadong Tiger suddenly left our side on February 23, 2024.”
In the statement on social media, TR Entertainment requested refraining from “speculative reports for the bereaved families” and that funeral proceedings will be held quietly only by family, relatives and colleagues.
TR Entertainment also represents TRI.BE, Universal Music Korea’s first K-pop group crafted in collaboration with Shinsadong Tiger and signed with Republic Records in the U.S. On Tuesday (Feb. 20), TRI.BE released a new single “Diamond” and b-side track “Run,” both produced and co-written by the late producer. TR shared that TRI.BE is canceling and postponing its promotional schedule while promising to return for more television performances “since it is the last album that Shinsadong Tiger prepared and released with TRI.BE during his lifetime.”
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TRI.BE was Shinsadong Tiger’s latest act after previously crafting and producing girl group EXID, who unexpectedly exploded in popularity two years into its career with the S.Tiger-produced single “Up & Down” in 2014 after a fan-recorded live performance went viral. Shinsadong Tiger produced seven EXID songs that charted on Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales chart until the group went on hiatus in 2020.
Lee Ho-yang began his work as a songwriter in 2005 and came to helm some defining tracks of the genre throughout his nearly two decades of work with artists. With a sound that could blend electro-pop and Korea’s traditional trot genre to singles that embraced everything from orchestral production to Afrobeat, his works are tough to pinpoint musically but point to K-pop’s evolution.
Between 2011-2013, Lee produced four No. 1s on the (now-discontinued) K-Pop Hot 100 in T-ara’s “Roly-Poly” and “Lovey Dovey,” Trouble Maker’s “Now” and Ailee’s “U&I.” Meanwhile, his work like “Fiction” by boy band Beast won Song of the Year at the 2011 KBS Song Festival awards, while several of his creations with EXID, T-ara, HyunA and WJSN all were named in Billboard‘s 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s.
Shinsadong Tiger’s productions also had a knack for reaching wider audiences beyond Korean-music fans. In addition to EXID’s aforementioned breakout hit, HyunA’s “Bubble Pop!” from 2011 was an early YouTube smash and made the star the first K-pop soloist to break 100 million views on a music video. Later, “Bboom Bboom” by MOMOLAND helped break the rising girl group to the top of the charts in 2018, while its 626 million YouTube views make it one of the platform’s most-viewed K-pop videos ever.
Dalsooobin, a member of the girl group Dal Shabet whose singles like “B.B.B (Big Baby Baby)” and “Fri. Sat. Sun.” were produced by Shinsadong Tiger, shared her condolences and the former single’s album cover on her YouTube channel. Damjun, a member and songwriter-composer for his boy band LIONESSES, wrote “Thank you for your masterpieces” on Threads.
U.K. producer duo LDN Noise (who have helmed tracks with the likes of EXO, Chris Brown, NCT and NMIXX), Los Angeles-based Softserveboy (SEVENTEEN, Gwen Stefani, ENHYPEN, P1Harmony) and Damuer H. Leffridge (whose clients have included T-ara and B2K) all shared their condolences on Instagram. At the same time, L.A.-born Jae Chong (Uhm Junghwa, BoA, JYJ, Jolin Tsai, BIBI) called it “truly sad news” on the platform.
Being a member of a nine-person K-pop group is hard work. In addition to the endless hours of vocal and dancing prep, touring, 12-hour press days and the rigors of staying healthy on the road, there is also the mental toll of being in the global spotlight 24/7.
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“It was our recognition that at the end of the day, this is our job,” TWICE‘s Jihyo told the Today Show during an interview on Friday (Feb. 23) that also included two in-studio performances. “It’s what we do for a living. But I know that I cannot live the rest of my life only as Jihyo from TWICE, so I had to learn how to take care of myself mentally and physically … and when to stop when I need to. I think my health and my good energy is shown very frankly to our fans. Our fans see that. So taking care of myself is part of my job, too.”
That is why member Mina took a mental health break in 2019, with Jeongyeon doing the same in 2020 and 2021, unafraid that the pause might create the kind of negative reaction from fans that an earlier generation of idols worried about. “We talked a lot amongst ourselves and we also talked with our management. All of that helped us individually and as a group to cope with whatever is going on,” Chaeyoung said.
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“It meant the world to me when the girls addressed why they were taking a break,” Tara, a devoted Korean American fan who was in high school at the time told the morning show. “My parents didn’t take my depression seriously and told me to eat something delicious and get more sleep. I felt very isolated and alone. But seeing idols like Mina telling us that they need rest, too, made me feel like I was seen.”
The band also featuring members Nayeon, Momo, Sana, Dahyun and Tzuyu, released their 13th mini-album, YOU-th, on Friday, fronted by their third English-language single, “I Got You.”
TWICE will play a one-off show at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on March 16, which housed Super Bowl LVIII earlier this month. “It might seem like we started off really big, but we did a lot of small stage performances when we started out,” Momo said. “It was only last year that we did our first stadium concert. So all of this has been nerve-wracking for us.” Last year they became the first female K-pop group to headline NFL and MLB stadiums in the U.S. when they performed at SoFi Stadium in L.A. and MetLife Stadium in New York to sold-out crowds of 50,000 fans.
And because they know that not all their devoted fans, who are called Once, can get tickets to every show, the group tries to keep visiting new places. “With every tour, we really try to visit as many places as possible,” said Sana. “That’s why we went to Europe for the first time last year, and that’s why we are doing another concert in Las Vegas this year.” Mina noted that they will also be the first K-pop girl group to play Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, Japan on July 27-28.
“We always try to visit more countries with each tour,” Sana added. “If there are places that we haven’t visited yet but you want us to come there, please let us know. We will talk to the management and we’ll (try to) make it happen!”
In their ninth year in the group, the members who range in age from 24-28 also talked with pride about representing diverse backgrounds, with three South Korean members (Chaeyoung, Dahyun, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Nayeon), three Japanese performers (Mina, Momo, Sana) and one Taiwanese representative (Tzuyu).
“I’m so grateful for the diversity in our group,” Nayeon told Today. “If it wasn’t for TWICE, I don’t think I would’ve had the opportunity to observe other cultures so closely or have developed as much of an interest in them. Because of the exposure that we got to other cultures so early on, I think that enabled us to communicate with ONCE better when we meet global fans. The communication is deeper because of our understanding of other cultures.”
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Michelle Watt
With honorees from the across the globe, the 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards are a true international affair. Repping Seoul, South Korea, is NewJeans, a chart-topping K-pop girl group comprised of Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein.
Earning this year’s Group of the Year award, NewJeans spent 2023 lighting up the Billboard charts and proving that they were the correct choice for the honor. The quintet debuted back in 2022, and their Jersey club-inflected sound has helped them become one of the hottest new acts across radio and streaming around the world.
In 2023, the group scored five entries on the Billboard Hot 100, led by “Super Shy” at No. 48. Their other entries include “OMG” (No. 74), “ETA” (No. 81), “Ditto” (No. 82) and “Cool With You” (No. 93). Over on the Billboard Global 200, “Super Shy” (No. 2), “Ditto” (No. 8) and “OMG” (No. 10) all reached the top 10. “Super Shy,” one of the group’s biggest singles, also made appearances on Pop Airplay (No. 37), Streaming Songs (No. 32) and Digital Song Sales (No. 45). On World Digital Song Sales, NewJeans boasts six consecutive top five hits.
NewJeans’ success is not limited to the singles chart. In 2023, Get Up — the group’s sophomore EP — debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (chart dated Aug. 5, 2023), edging out the star-studded Barbie soundtrack by just 500 units. Get Up also hit No. 1 on Top Album Sales, Tastemaker Albums and World Albums (10 weeks).
Proving their dominance across both albums and singles, NewJeans’ fast rise up the Billboard charts made them a clear choice for the Group of the Year honor at the 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards.
After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groups, BBMAs, NFTs, SXSW, the magic of boy bands, American Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 chart, how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and why Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” was able to shoot to No. 1 on the Hot 100.
BTS member J-Hope is releasing a new album, Hope on the Street Vol. 1, BigHit Music announced to press and to ARMY on Sunday (Feb. 18). Hope on the Street Vol. 1 is described in the announcement as “a special album” containing six tracks. The new music collection is set to arrive alongside a six-part […]
The all-star cast of season 3 of The White Lotus has added some musical heft in the form of BLACKPINK‘s Lisa. According to Variety, the K-pop star will be credited on the show under her real name, Lalisa Manobal, when production is slated to begin this month in and around Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok, Thailand.
At press time a spokesperson for BLACKPINK did not return Billboard‘s request for confirmation on the casting and HBO has not officially confirmed the addition to the show’s ensemble or any production details; a spokesperson for HBO had also not returned a request for comment at press time.
As with the previous two seasons, the upcoming White Lotus series is expected to follow a new group of guests staying at a resort property, with another wide-ranging cast that will include: Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Tayme Thapthimthong, Christian Friedel, Julian Kostov, Morgana O’Reilly, Lek Patravadi, Shalini Peiris, Carrie Coon, Scott Glenn, Francesca Corney, Nicholas Duvernay, Arnas Fedaravičius, Natasha Rothwell, Walton Goggins, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Aimee Lou Wood, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola.
The White Lotus booking represents Lisa’s first official acting gig, following on the heels of bandmate Jennie — credited as Jennie Ruby Jane — stealing scenes in her acting debut on the critically panned HBO music drama from The Weeknd, The Idol, last summer.
Back in December, the members of BLACKPINK, Jennie, Jisoo and Rosé, split with YG Entertainment for all solo endeavors, while signing an extension of their contract with the management group for their group activities. In September, Lisa’s solo single “Money” broke a Guinness World Record after it hit 1 billion Spotify streams, making it the first K-pop solo track to hit that peak.
With a slate of new artists and a recently launched North American joint venture, SM Entertainment’s revenue reached 250 billion won ($189.5 million at the period’s average exchange rate) in the fourth quarter of 2023, down 3.4% year over year and 6.1% lower than the third quarter, the company announced Wednesday (Feb. 7). Operating profit dropped 51.7% to 10.9 billion won ($8.3 million) while the company posted a net loss of 19.7 billion won ($14.9 million) compared to a 1.9 billion won ($1.4 million) net profit in the prior-year period.
The company attributed a decline in revenue from its concert-related subsidiaries to smaller-sized concerts and a decline in its content-related subsidiaries to “slow business conditions.” SM Entertainment’s share price rose 0.2% to 73,000 won ($54.77) after the earnings release.
SM Entertainment sold 5.6 million albums in the fourth quarter, up 40% from the prior-year quarter; NCT 127’s album Fact Check sold 1.86 million units and aespa’s Drama EP sold 1.26 million units. As for concerts, NCT Wish performed 24 shows in nine cities in Japan ahead of its debut album’s release later this quarter. SHINee performed for 80,000 fans at four concerts in Japan. NCT 127 had six concerts in Seoul, Korea with a total attendance of 60,000.
For the full year, SM Entertainment released 64 albums that sold a record 20.1 million units, and its artists performed at 340 concerts around the world. RIIZE, the first boy band launched under the company’s new multi-production system — an organizational structure introduced in 2023 to break from the previous system that relied solely on founder and ousted chief producer Lee Soo-man — sold more than 1 million units of its debut album, Get a Guitar, which was released in September.
“The multi-production system, which is the core part of our SM 3.0 strategy, has been operating successfully since its introduction last year, and active musical activities are underway under the guidance of each production SM director,” CEO Jang Cheol Hyuk said during Wednesday’s earnings call. The system is meant to speed the introduction of new artists and material by providing other leaders with decision-making powers.
Looking ahead to 2024, SM Entertainment will launch four new artists: NCT Wish, virtual artist naevis, an unnamed girl group and a U.K.-based boy band. The company also plans to release global albums for major artists at least once a year and expand the scale of global concerts, Jang said.
In the first quarter, SM has EPs from NCT Dream, TEN, Taeyong and Wendy, while NCT 127 is performing 13 dates in Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Macau. The second quarter will see a new album from aespa and EPs from Red Velvet, RIIZE, SHINee, SUHO and WayV, as well as 15 concert dates for NCT Dream in Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. Other artists including MINHO, TVXQ!, Super Junior-L.S.S., SHINee, TAEmin and aespa each have a handful of shows in the first or second quarter.
SM Entertainment also expects to see results from its North American partnership with Kakao Entertainment. The two companies are “working to establish and expand local partnerships for artists,” said Jang. He pointed to the joint venture’s strategic agreement with Moon & Back, a U.K.-based entertainment and TV production company, that will cast a five-member boy group in the United Kingdom and perform songs sourced from KMR, SM Entertainment’s new music publishing subsidiary.
K-pop boy band ENHYPEN announced the dates for the encore leg of their Fate Plus world tour on Tuesday (Feb. 6). The run of shows are slated to kick off at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea on Feb. 23 with the first of three shows at that venue.
The outing will jump to the U.S. for five dates in the spring, beginning with an April 24 gig at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, before moving on to shows in Oakland (April 26), Tacoma, WA (April 28) and Chicago (May 1) before winding down with a May 3 show at the UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY.
Tickets for the mini-tour will go on sale here and here at 4 p.m. local time on Feb. 15. Tickets will be available in an ENGENE membership presale for fans who’ve registered in advance beginning today (Feb. 7) at 8 p.m ET through Friday (Feb. 9) at 9 p.m. ET.
According to a release announcing the second leg, the first run of shows played to more than 327,000 ENGENEs (the name of ENHYPEN’s fan group), during 21 shows in 13 cities, with the seven-man band making their U.S. stadium debut at L.A.’s Dignity Health Sports Park.
The band’s fifth mini-album, Orange Blood, dropped in November, debuting at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, kicking off a seven-week run on the tally.
Check out the tour dates for ENHYPEN’s 2024 tour below.
Feb. 23, 24, 25 – Seoul, Korea @ KSPO Dome
April 24 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
April 26 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
April 28 – Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
May 1 – Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
May 3 – Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena
Record Store Day is just two months away, and on Monday (Feb. 5), superstars ATEEZ were announced as RSD’s first-ever K-pop Artist of the Year, Billboard can exclusively reveal. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news To celebrate, Record Store Day will feature an exclusive vinyl release of […]