K-Pop
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Emma Myers made her late-night talk show debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday (Jan. 4). And before talking about anything else, she couldn’t help but rave over how much she loves SEVENTEEN.
“Emma, I wanted to ask you about this because I read this online, that you’re a big fan of a band,” said host Jimmy Fallon. “And when you’re talking to people, you like to introduce this band to people if they don’t know of this.”
The rising star quickly clarified that she only introduce people if asked, but when Fallon gave her the green light, she enthusiastically jumped in. “What is the name of the band?” Fallon asked, to which Myers replied, “SEVENTEEN.”
After sharing that she’s been part of CARAT for the past five years, since she was just 15 years old, the Wednesday actor went on to explain the dynamics of the K-pop boy band. “Yeah, that’s them,” she confirmed when Fallon brought out a picture of the idols, adding, “Only thirteen [members]…Thirteen in SEVENTEEN, yeah it’s a whole thing.”
“OK, I’ll explain the numbers,” Myers continued. “There’s thirteen of them, so that’s thirteen, right? And there are three different groups. You have hip-hop, performance and vocal. And then there’s one team. So thirteen plus three plus one is SEVENTEEN.”
As for which song Myers would recommend as an entry point for new fans discovering the band, she chose “To you” off their 2021 mini-album Attacca. “It’s really fun, it’s upbeat, it’s got a great story behind it, so…yeah, everybody listen to it!”
Watch Myers dish on SEVENTEEN and her role on Netflix’s Wednesday above.
For the BTS ARMY members who didn’t get a chance to watch J-Hope‘s performance on New Year’s Rockin’ Eve — or just want to see it again — you’re in luck. BTS’ YouTube page shared a video of the rapper’s performance — which took place leading up to midnight on New Year’s Eve — on Wednesday (Jan. 4) for fans to enjoy.
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J-Hope appeared on stage live from New York City’s Time Square to perform a trio of hit songs from his solo discography, as well as BTS’. The rapper eased into the performance with “= (Equal Sign),” which served as a touching and hopeful wish for the year ahead. “Hate’ll paralyze your mind/ Gotta see the other side/ It costs ya nothin’ to be kind/ Not so different you and I,” he sang, later joined by a series of backup dancers for a transition into the next song.
Next up was a high-energy showcase of “Chicken Noodle Soup,” his 2019 collaboration with Becky G. Though the Spanish singer was absent for the performance, Hope entertained the crowd with the help of backup dancers and enthusiastic delivery of the lyrics, as well as the track’s signature dance moves.
Shortly after, things became festive. J-Hope and the dancers launched into choreography for a holiday-themed remix of BTS’ “Butter” with hints of jingle bells. The other BTS members were not present, but their backing vocals filled up the space before closing out the track with its signature “Hotter? Sweeter! Cooler? Butter!” and a “Happy New Year” wish for the audience.
Watch J-Hope’s performance for New Year’s Rockin’ Eve in the video above.
Hit you with that ddu-du ddu-du du! BLACKPINK has reached yet another milestone as the music video for their smash single “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” blasted past two billion views on YouTube.
The bombastic visual is the girl group’s first to accomplish the viewership feat, followed closely by the music videos for “Kill This Love” (1.7 billion), “Boombayah” (1.5 billion) and “How You Like That (1.1 billion.) Meanwhile, Jennie, Rosé, Lisa and Jisoo’s videos for their latest singles — Born Pink’s “Pink Venom” and “Shut Down” — have garnered hundreds of millions of views in just the few short months since they premiered on the platform.
Originally released in June 2018 in tandem with the K-pop quartet’s debut EP Square Up, “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” expertly combines bubblegum pop and a trap beat, and the idols’ finger gun-waving choreography on the fierce chorus instantly turned the accompanying video into a viral sensation. It ultimately became the the group’s very first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 55 and also earning them their fourth No. 1 atop the World Digital Song Sales chart.
BLACKPINK’s latest high-water mark comes just months after the release of their sophomore studio album, Born Pink, the kickoff of their a long-awaited world tour, making their U.S. awards show debut by performing “Pink Venom” at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, taking home the worldwide fans’ choice award at the 2022 MAMA Awards and earning the honor of becoming TIME‘s 2022 Entertainer of the Year.
Throughout the tail end of 2022, BLACKPINK also looked back on their successful year with their “Born Pink Memories” YouTube series.
Rewatch BLACKPINK’s “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” video above.
Two K-pop legends are teaming up for a new single due out next week. The Black Label announced that Big Bang‘s Taeyang will release his collab with BTS‘ Jimin, “Vibe,” on Jan. 13. The news was revealed in a tweet from Taeyang on Tuesday (Jan. 3), which featured a snap of the two on what appeared to be the video set for the song, in which they are seen posing in a cavernous room lit by a ring of yellow light.
“Vibe” marks Taeyang’s first new solo music since his third solo album, 2017’s White Night. But more importantly, the song will be Jimin’s first official solo release since BTS announced that they were going on hiatus to allow the septet’s singers to focus on their solo ventures. Jimin will be the final member of BTS to release a solo project since the band announced that they were taking a break last year.
At press time no additional information was available on the single, which comes on the heels of solo projects from RM, whose official solo debut album, Indigo, dropped last month and Jung Kook, who has already racked up more than 100 million Spotify streams for his single “Dreamers,” which also appeared on the official soundtrack to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Jimin, 27, has previously released the solo singles “Lie,” “Filter,” “Promise,” “With You,” his festive “Christmas Love” and more. Last year, the singer dropped some moody shots from his behind-the-scenes “photo-folio” Me, Myself, and Jimin ‘ID: Chaos‘, featuring 8 images of him portraying his different musical personas.
Check out the “Vibe” tease below.
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New year, new TWICE! Just three days into 2023, the K-pop group is already gearing up to release its first single of the year in the upcoming weeks.
On Tuesday (Jan. 3), the girl group — which consists of members Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu — tweeted to share the release details and title for a brand new song recorded in English. “TWICE Pre-Release English Single ‘MOONLIGHT SUNRISE,’” the idols revealed. “Worldwide Release on 2023.01.20 FRI 2PM KST/0AM (12 a.m.) EST.”
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“Moonlight Sunrise” will be the first single to arrive from TWICE’s forthcoming 12th mini album, Our Youth. The K-pop stars shared the news in an announcement on Dec. 20, stating that the single release and mini album — which is slated to arrive some time in March — are “first, 1/4 of 2023.” No further details regarding the album’s release or additional contents were provided at the time.
“Moonlight Sunrise” will serve as the follow-up to TWICE’s first-ever English single, “The Feels.” Released in October of 2021, the track gave the girl group its debut on the Billboard Hot 100; the song landed at No. 83 and spending a week on the chart. Elsewhere, the track peaked at Nos. 10 and 12 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and Billboard Global 200 charts, respectively. “The Feels” additionally earned chart placements on the Billboard K-Pop 100, Digital Song Sales and more.
See TWICE’s tweet for “Moonlight Sunrise” and the formal announcement for Our Youth below.
There’s been no shortage of excellent K-pop albums in 2022 and Billboard wants to know which full-length has helped define your year.
Though BTS remained on hiatus as the seven members prepare to start their mandatory service in the South Korean military, both RM and J-Hope delivered solo albums to keep ARMY happy. J-Hope’s Jack in the Box came first with its vintage hip-hop sound, colorful cover art by KAWS and concept inspired by Pandora’s Box.
Five months later, RM dropped Indigo, complete with a star-studded guest roster that included Erykah Badu (“Yun”), Anderson .Paak (“Still Life”), Tablo (“All Day”) and more.
BLACKPINK also came raring back with their full-length sophomore effort Born Pink while TOMORROW X TOGETHER dropped Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child and SEVENTEEN repackaged their fourth album, 2022’s Face the Sun, as Sector 17 with new tracks like “Cheers (SVT Leaders)” and “_World.”
As far as solo albums go, Lee Chanhyuk dreamed up Error, a concept album telling the story of someone who’s fallen into a coma and Heize enlisted the likes of Monsta X’s I.M, (G)I-DLE’s Minnie and Giriboy for Undo, her first album in more than three years.
HIGHLIGHT reintroduced themselves with Daydream — their first full-length since changing their name from Beast back in 2017. Lim Young Woong delivered on his potential after winning the 2020 Korean singing competition Mr. Trot with his genre-hopping debut Im Hero. And NewJeans established themselves as one of the genre’s most exciting new girl groups with their self-titled debut.
Vote for your favorite K-pop album of the year below!
While 2022 was undoubtedly the year BTS shocked the world with their announcements of moving onto a “Chapter Two” and planning their individual military enlistments, there’s still a massive amount of records, achievements and moments that demonstrate why BTS are superstars without precedent in the global music industry.
While the K-pop superstars have been breaking chart and attendance records for years, 2022 saw new triumphs from the septet. From never-before-achieved feats with the Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry to breaking box-office and concert-gross records (not to mention hanging out in the Oval Office), 2022 was literally one for the history books.
Even as the group announced plans to look forward to a new chapter in their career and embark on solo releases, BTS continued to achieve greatness as a septet and as individuals. RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, V and Jung Kook all had major moments to celebrate. From four members making their debuts on the Hot 100 to internationally recognized festival and collaboration moments, the guys were thriving on a global scale.
While 2023 will certainly look different in terms of how BTS operates—and dominates—within the music industry, there’s no denying that this past year was huge for the guys. We already know that solo music, collaborations, documentaries, TV specials, commemorative stamps and more are on the way for next year. But before we look forward to all that, let’s reminiscence and celebrate the band’s 22 most significant achievements from 2022 below.
Happy almost new year, ARMY! With just days left to go before 2023’s arrival, BTS‘ V shared the photoshoot sketch video for his concept photo folio, “Me Myself and V, ‘Veautiful Days,’” on Friday (Dec. 30) and revealed the visual’s inspirations.
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The photo folio concept film arrived on Dec. 7, and showcased V donning some of the classy hallmarks of yesteryear in a vintage themed video. His interests in the cinematic short included him gazing through telescopes, riding a bicycle through the countryside and spending time with and riding majestic horses.
“One of my favorite concepts is classic so I wanted to express that,” the singer shared in the new behind-the-scenes video. “I just wanted to do a shoot in this kind of concept so I had everything set up to match the theme.”
V shared that he felt completely safe with the horses while shooting the concept film. The BTS member detailed his experiences with horses and revealed he “learned horseback riding four years ago.” In between scenes of filming with the horses, V added, “I remember enough of [horseback riding] — I learned up until the canter. Was it New Zealand? I rode horses there and it’s the first time since then. My thighs are going to be so sore.”
V’s forthcoming book of photos will be released in the U.S. in the coming months. Global fans were able to purchase the book on Dec. 23, but stateside fans will need to wait for the set — which includes a series of photocards, posters, stickers and the photobook itself — to arrive on Feb. 20.
Watch V go behind the scenes of his photo folio in the video above.
The K-pop industry is heavily focused on one single per release. Whether it’s an EP, LP, deluxe version, greatest hits or anything in between, K-pop artists tend to define releases by one central song. But thanks to how listeners now curate their own playlists and soundtrack stellar social-media moments with music, the single is not necessarily the only song on a release to get attention.
In addition to K-pop having more worldwide eyes than ever, today’s listening habits demand more material from artists and more quality material on par with the singles already getting expensive investments and heavy promotional pushes.
Luckily, these 25 artists below not only delivered on their title tracks and singles but created bodies of work that deserve further exploration beyond the glossy music videos. From TVXQ!‘s Max Changmin, BTS‘ J-Hope, and Red Velvet‘s Seulgi letting listeners into new parts of their minds with their solo efforts, to AKMU’s Lee Chahyuk adopting a whole new character with his concept album Error, plus RM creating a musical museum to honor his twenties on Indigo, there was a lot to dig into this year. Meanwhile, unexpected viral sensations came from B-sides by (G)I-DLE, TREASURE and ENHYPEN, proving that these artists packed their records with songs and messages to connect even further with fans.
From satisfyingly short EPs to the more in-depth full-length albums, each of these releases stood out thanks to the artists reaching for something beyond a quick hit single. Read on for Billboard‘s staff picks for the best K-pop albums of the year.