K-Pop
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Simply stunning. Jisoo unveiled the title and cover art for her upcoming solo debut via social media on Wednesday (March 8).
Titled ME, the BLACKPINK member’s first single album follows the autobiographical pattern established by the titles of prior solo releases by Rosé (2021’s record-setting -R-) and Lisa (2021’s LALISA). The album poster, meanwhile, features a breathtaking close-up of Jisoo, her red lipstick, eye makeup and floral accessories standing out in stark contrast to the visual’s green background.
As the fourth and final member of the girl group to go solo — Jennie also released her single “Solo” back in 2018 — Jisoo’s single album is set for release on March 31 via YG Entertainment. There’s no word yet on the song titles expected to make the project’s tracklist.
In other BLACKPINK news, Jennie is currently recovering from a minor facial injury suffered while on a break in the girl group’s ongoing Born Pink World Tour. (In a message to BLINKs on Weverse, the idol revealed she sustained the scrape while exercising and will be wearing a bandage on her face for the time being.)
Last month, the global trek was extended with additional dates in both Mexico City and Australia. And while Rosé’s cover of Stephen Sanchez’s “Until I Found You” recently hit the top of Billboard‘s Hot Trending Songs chart, the quartet have found a new fan in Usher, who declared himself a BLINK after taking his two teenage sons to see the group perform in Atlanta.
Get a look at the first album poster for Jisoo’s ME below, shared by both BLACKPINK ane Jisoo herself.
RM‘s impending mandatory military service in the South Korean army has gotten the BTS singer/rapper, 28, thinking about his journey so far with the K-pop supergroup, as well as its future once all seven members have finished their 18-month stints.
“After 10 years as a member of BTS, I didn’t know who I was and I wanted to know,” he told Spanish news agency EFE in a recent interview. “I started out as a teenage rapper, then BTS came along and it was all very intense. Now that the group is inactive, I’ve gone back to thinking about the beginnings and the real reasons why I joined BTS.”
And while the group’s members are all currently pursuing solo projects as they are in the midst of, or preparing for, their military obligation, the septet’s leader says he’s trying to keep a positive attitude.
“When you are famous, staying on top is very difficult,” he said about the rigors of maintaining the group’s global success. “But I think BTS will make it. It will come together again when we finish our military service, and we will look for new synergies between us to enter a second phase. But, in any case, nothing lasts forever.”
And while the latter comment seemed touched by a tinge of harsh pop reality, RM said the pause in BTS action “can be beneficial” to him as an artists because “some great work is born in personally chaotic moments.”
The good news for ARMY is that not long after releasing his solo album Indigo in late 2022, he headed to Spain recently for the first time looking for inspiration for his second solo effort. Though BTS did not make it there after their 2020 world tour was canceled due to the global pandemic, RM said he was excited to visit the country’s famed museums and check out works by painters Goya, Velazquez and Picasso.
At present, Jin is the only member of BTS currently in the military, but RM said the break to focus on solo work has allowed him to reflect on his place in the group and the larger music world. “After 10 years as a member of BTS, I didn’t know who I was and I wanted to know,” he said. “I started out as a teenage rapper, then BTS came along and it was all very intense. Now that the group is inactive, I’ve gone back to thinking about the beginnings and the real reasons why I joined BTS.”
The interview also included the tantalizing prospect of a superstar collaboration with an artist that RM said all the members of BTS like and respect very much. Asked if he’d be up for getting in the studio with Spanish superstar Rosalía, RM said, “if she wants to, I do too.”
RM recently released the third video from Indigo, for the track “Closer,” which followed on the heels of visuals for “Still Life” and “Wildflower.”
While TWICE is gearing up for the release of their highly anticipated new EP Ready to Be this week, the K-pop girl group will first open their own dedicated world in Roblox.
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Billboard can exclusively share that on Tuesday (March 8), TWICE is introducing an immersive virtual world, TWICE Square, on Roblox as the first-ever persistent fan hub on the global gaming platform with millions of users worldwide. Built by metaverse-focused brand agency Karta, the initiative marks the first-of-its-kind for TWICE’s different label partners of JYP Entertainment, Imperial, Republic Records, and Universal Music Group.
Decorated in TWICE’s signature colors through the years, TWICE Square allows the group’s dedicated fanbase — known affectionately as ONCE — to connect with other fans virtually and even the group itself. Visitors to the space can leave notes on display for the TWICE members, take selfies to share on social media, and age-verified users can utilize a voice chat function.
Roblox
TWICE Square also launches with two mini-games: “SET ME FREE” is an escape room (named after the forthcoming lead single from Ready to Be), as well as a trivia challenge (where ONCEs will test their knowledge in a race against the clock with a twist).
Fans can also buy, collect and trade items, including plushies and 20 avatar clothing items based around the real-life looks and styles of members Nayeon, Jihyo, Momo, Jeongyeon, Sana, Dahyun, Mina, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. Emotes inspired by TWICE’s most popular dance moves are also available.
While music activations are familiar to Roblox, an ever-evolving and constantly updating fan community world like TWICE Square is a changeup from what typically has been one-time events or concerts that create new metaverse worlds that are rarely returned to again.
“We’re already seeing that many Roblox users are creating experiences dedicated to their favorite musicians,” says Karibi Dagogo-Jack, Head of Music Partnerships at Roblox. “TWICE is a natural fit given the group’s passionate fan base and their commitment to innovation…Roblox is excited to empower this behavior in our community and enable full expression, fan connections, and immersion in TWICE Square. I’m particularly keen to see how TWICE Square unveils new ways for fans to experience the group’s creativity, communicate with the group, and build friendships with other ONCE.”
Roblox
For Glenn Mendlinger, president of Imperial, building with Roblox was a straightforward way to connect to the fandom he’s seen support TWICE to three top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 and on the gaming platform itself.
“When it comes to community, Roblox has tremendous levels of fan engagement, and we knew that TWICE fans were already very active on Roblox — including a fan-made TWICE group with tens of thousands of members,” Mendlinger says. “The logical next step was to build out a first-of-its-kind experience connecting them and TWICE in an official custom-built world and environment. Leaning into the core tenant of connection and creativity on Roblox, it was all about meeting fans where they already are, then crafting the optimal experience.”
With the launch this week, Mendlinger says he and his teams will monitor fans’ reactions as Imperial hopes to create more “persistent spaces” in Roblox for their artists roster, which includes TWICE’s label mates like Stray Kids and ITZY.
“What marks a successful partnership here with TWICE and Roblox really comes down to fan reception and building a deeper community,” says Mendlinger. “At its core, we want to provide fans with a meaningful experience; a place where they can bond with other fans over their shared love for TWICE. Success is when the fans are happy, friendships are made, and we see fans continuously spending time and coming back to the experience.”
TWICE Square is said to be rolling out new features all year, along with visits from the girls themselves.
“TWICE plans to keep the experience updated with new content,” Roblox’s Dagogo-Jack adds. “The group will also be dropping into the experience. They’re hoping that their fans treat the space as a hangout and an information source for all things TWICE…we’re so enthusiastic about what TWICE has built — and plans to build — on Roblox.”
TWICE’s Ready to Be drops Friday, featuring the English single “Moonlight Sunrise,” which the group performed atBillboard’s 2023 Women in Music, and and the new single “Set Me Free” coming out in both English and Korean versions. Watch the latest music video teaser of “Set Me Free” below:
NCT Dream announced Tuesday (March 7) that they’re heading Stateside for their first headlining tour of the U.S.
The seven-date U.S. leg of The Dream Show2: In A DREAM Tour is slated to begin April 5 with a show at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., followed by stops in Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and Dallas. From there, the K-pop idols will head to the West Coast, where they’ll play the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., before finishing up the tour April 21 at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
NCTzens will be able to purchase tickets for all seven dates starting this Friday (March 10) at 4 p.m. local time via either Ticketmaster or AXS.
The group is currently in Jakarta, Indonesia, where they played three back-to-back shows at the Indonesia Convention Center as part of the tour’s Asia leg. Next they’re set to make stops in Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong before jetting to Europe to add London, Paris and Berlin to the itinerary.
In December, the NCT subgroup released their holiday single “Candy,” updating H.O.T.’s classic 1996 K-pop track for the 21st century. (The ’90s act is largely credited with establishing the boy-band blueprint as South Korea’s first “idol” group.)
Along with the single, NCT Dream dropped their special winter album of the same name featuring tracks like “Graduation,” “Tangerine Love (Forever)” and “Take My Breath.” The release served as the septet’s follow-up to their 2022 album Glitch Mode, which was repackaged and reissued last May as Beatbox.
Check out NCT Dream’s complete list of U.S. dates below.
Courtesy Photo
After 2022 marked career milestones for Cravity with their first English single, touring the U.S., and releasing their New Wave album, which saw them “take charge” with their musical direction, the K-pop boy band returns with a “Groovy” direction for 2023.
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The nonet released their new EP MASTER : PIECE on Monday (March 6), boasting six new tracks alongside the single “Groovy.” While New Wave saw Cravity embodying a cheery and breezy sound, the new single “Groovy” continues the bright, feel-good energy with additional sparkle and shimmer. Funky rhythmic guitars back some of the guys’ smoothest and coolest hooks to date before the chorus bursts into an explosion of synthesizers and brass as Cravity declare: “You make you feel so groovy!”
Just like how the production in “Groovy” balances the sleek verses and vibrant choruses, the accompanying music video shows both sides of Cravity as the guys go from suit-and-tie office workers to colorfully dressed pop stars onstage and at press conferences that the paparazzi are fighting to film. The different worlds continuously mix throughout the visual until the final chorus, when the boys dance in vibrant, chic, contemporary suits.
“Groovy” includes songwriting contributions from Cravity members Serim and Allen, who also co-wrote on the new MASTER : PIECE tracks “Fly,” “Get Lifted” and Baddie.” Meanwhile, Cravity’s vocal powerhouse Woobin also wrote on “Baddie” while co-producing the track “Light the Way.” As the youngest male artist under Starship Entertainment (which is home to K-pop acts including chart-toppers Monsta X and IVE), Cravity’s new EP even includes credits from one of their seniors as Exy, leader of Starship girl group WJSN, also contributed lyrics for the track “A to Z.”
Watch Cravity’s new “Groovy” video below and stream MASTER : PIECE here.
Before Jimin unveils his debut solo album FACE, the BTS member has made two long-awaited tracks available across streaming services.
At midnight on Monday (March 6), two of Jimin’s solo songs, “Promise” and “Christmas Love,” became available across all streaming services for the first time since their releases in 2018 and 2020, respectively. Before today, the tracks were only available on BTS’ SoundCloud or YouTube accounts.
The sparse and tender “Promise” was Jimin’s first official solo song revealed outside of BTS. Shared as a present to fans in 2018, the track was written and composed by Jimin alongside BTS leader RM and the group’s longtime producer and collaborator Slow Rabbit. Meanwhile, the festive and feel-good “Christmas Love” was shared as a holiday gift in 2020, and also saw Jimin, RM, and Slow Rabbit working together.
The two releases join Jimin’s steadily growing collection of solo songs on streaming, including “With You,” his duet with best friend and fellow K-pop star Ha Sung Woon, and “Vibe,” the Billboard Hot 100 hit collaboration with BIGBANG’s Taeyang.
The new songs come ahead of Jimin’s forthcoming solo album, FACE. Fans will get the first taste of Jimin’s FACE with the pre-release buzz single “Set Me Free Pt.2” and its accompanying music video on Mar. 17, before the Mar. 24 unveil of the complete six-track set alongside lead single “Like Crazy.”
Stream Jimin’s “Promise” and “Christmas Love” here.
There he is! Jin returned to social media over the weekend to document a visit from two of his BTS bandmates while serving his mandatory time in the South Korean military.
In the photo shared on Saturday (March 4), the K-pop idol is flanked by none other than J-Hope and Jimin as he flashes the camera a peace sign in his camouflage military fatigues. “어서와,” he captioned the snap, which translates to “Welcome” in English. While the comments were turned off on the post, J-Hope did manage to leave a number of red hearts and heart eyes emojis beneath the photo with his pals.
Jin began his military enlistment at the close of 2022 with a sweet send-off from all six of his bandmates. Since then, he’s completed basic training, and has kept ARMY updated on his time in service.
In January, he shared an uplifting video that was filmed before he left, promising he’d “be back soon,” as well as a first look at himself in uniform. (“I’m having a good time,” he captioned the slideshow, making clear he was posting with permission from the military.) Jin also surprised ARMY with a special pre-recorded video for Valentine’s Day, macarons included.
Meanwhile, J-Hope and Jimin have both kept busy with new music as the start of their own military service looms. The former enlisted J. Cole — long known as one of his favorite artists — for their new collaborative single “On the Street” in the wake of releasing his new documentary J-Hope IN THE BOX. The latter, on the other hand, scored his first hit on the Hot 100 thanks to “Vibe,” his electric team-up with TAEYANG, and is currently prepping the release of his debut solo album FACE.
See Jin’s reunion with J-Hope and Jimin below.
After teasing her long-awaited solo music project with a mysterious pastoral image over the weekend, BLACKPINK‘s Jisoo confirmed the release date for the collection on Monday (March 6). A three-part post from the singer featured the same image of a green, grass-filled expanse with the star’s name in small white letters, followed by another with a red piece of cloth crumpled in the foreground (and the words “Coming Soon” in red) and the March 31 release date for the project.
The third panel confirms the late March release date; at press time there was no additional information on the album title, track list, first single or any potential guest vocalists.
At the start of the year, reports surfaced that Jisoo’s much-anticipated solo debut was finally in the works, making her the fourth and final member of the group to branch out with her own music. Jennie‘s “SOLO” arrived in 2018, and both Rosé’s -R- and Lisa’s Lalisa dropped in 2021.
In late February, Korean entertainment label YG Entertainment confirmed that Jisoo was preparing to release solo music in 2023.
Jisoo touched on going solo during an interview in May 2022. “I’m not sure how much I want to go solo yet,” she told Rolling Stone at the time. “The music I listen to, the music I can do, and the music I want to do — what should I choose? I love songs with lots of instruments. I love different bands and rock music. What do people want from me? There’s a chaos of conflicting questions. So I’m still tilting my head in confusion. I’m not sure what will happen with my solo plans this year.”
BLACKPINK’s second full-length studio album, Born Pink, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in October 2022. The girl group previously debuted and peaked at No. 2 in October 2020 with its debut release, The Album.
YG Entertainment announced that the project will come in “red” and “black” versions in a special commemorative box featuring a photo book, lyric sheet, random Polaroid and random “selfie card,” with pre-order slated to begin today.
See Jisoo’s album announcement and images of the project’s packaging below.
BLACKPINK‘s Jennie took to social media on Friday (March 3) to share that she has suffered a minor injury to her face.
In a message to BLINKs on Weverse, the K-pop idol wrote, “It’s nothing, but I post[ed] it first in case you get surprised. I was taking care of my health during the break, eating well, and sleeping well, but I tripped a little while exercising and fell down, so I got a bit of a scar on my face.
“I wanted to get better soon so I don’t worry about BLINK, but it’s still healing, so I think I’m going to wear a bandage on my face for a while,” she continued. “Please understand if I sound silly. I need to show you a good performance, but I’m sorry for being like this, everyone. I’ll get better soon, so don’t worry and see you soon.”
In a reply, Jennie later added, “So… I don’t have time to take pictures these days, and I’ve been getting treatment every day” before apologizing again to the BLINKs, who naturally were more concerned about the star continuing to recuperate.
Indeed, according to her personal Instagram account, Jennie hasn’t posted a candid photo herself since Feb. 14 — instead posting behind the scenes content from her current Calvin Klein campaign in the intervening weeks for her nearly 75 million followers.
BLACKPINK, meanwhile, is currently wrapping up a month-long break in their Born Pink World Tour, which resumes Saturday (March 4) at Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After finishing out the Asian leg of the tour with back-to-back shows at Japan’s Tokyo Dome in early April, Jennie and her bandmates will head back to the U.S. to serve as headliners for the 2023 iteration of Coachella.
Read Jennie’s full statement about her injury on Weverse here.
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Countdown to the TWICE tour! After rocking the 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday (March 1), Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu will be hitting stages all over the globe for the Ready to Be world tour.
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The K-pop group’s largest tour to date launches with back-to-back shows in Seoul, South Korea, next month. The North American leg kicks off at Sofi Stadium (where the Women Music Awards was held) in June. The tour will also make stops in Chicago, Houston, New York and Atlanta.
If you’re a member of the ONCE fanbase, you’re going to need a light stick. While there’s plenty of time before the tour makes its way to North America (get tickets here), K-pop merch has been known to fly off the shelves, so it’s better to start shopping early.
For fans who didn’t get to buy an official Candybong Z light stick, we found an alternative at Amazon.
Amazon
Twice Light Stick
$79.00
The glowing stick pictured above includes a hand strap and photocards, but the batteries are sold separately. (Buy AAA batteries here.) There’s debate over whether or not the product is an “official” CB stick as listed, and while the stick appears to be from a third-party seller, the majority of customer reviews appear to be satisfied with the product.
For a cheaper option, try this $38 light stick at Amazon. You can also find a range of TWICE light sticks on eBay and accessories at Etsy, such as this $18 light stick stand and cute little light stick cover ($17.67).
Etsy
Light Stick Stand
$18
This handmade stand has wracked up dozens of positive reviews. According to the product description, the stand was “thoughtfully designed to hold the CBZ with the wrist strap attached.” It has a “guide path so that the strap hangs out the back” and a separate hole for the battery pack.
Where to Buy TWICE Merch Online
When it comes to official TWICE merch, fans can hit up the Twice Shop and JYP Shop, although most of the popular items — such as posters, custom light bands, glass sets and postcards — are sold out.
Luckily, ONCE can find tons of TWICE merch at Amazon and Etsy, from hoodies, sweatshirts and T-shirts to jewelry, books, photocards, keychains and more.
And if you haven’t purchased your copy, now’s the time to scoop up Billboard’s TWICE collector’s zine featuring exclusive photos of the group that you won’t find anywhere else.