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Stray Kids staged a takeover of Good Morning America on Wednesday morning (May 15), dropping into the show’s New York studios to take a few questions from fans before busting out a performance of their new single. The first order of business for the eight-member K-pop band was confirming that they are headed out on […]
K-pop girl group aespa prove they are stronger — and fiercer — than the rest in the stunning visual for their “Supernova” single. The first track from the four-woman act’s upcoming debut full-length studio album, Armageddon (due out May 27) is a high-energy bop on which members KARINA, WINTER, GISELLE and NINGNING sing about being […]
Lee Sung Jin was seriously worried that he might get deported for causing an injury to a national treasure while shooting the video for BTS singer RM‘s new solo single, “Come Back to Me.” The writer-director and Beef creator spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about assembling what he called the “Korean Avengers” to shoot the mini movie for the first single from RM’s upcoming second solo album, Right Place, Wrong Person (May 24).
The director said he was pleasantly surprised by how game RM was to rehearse, take notes and put in long hours to get the visual’s tone just right, especially after the potentially disastrous incident that unfolded during the shooting of the very first scene.
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“He [RM] bent down and his head hit the camera and it was a giant gash on his eye and immediately I thought, ‘Oh great, I’m going to be deported immediately because I’ve just scratched this national treasure,’” Lee said he worried. “To his credit, he went to the hospital, got stitched up, came back and he was ready to go. He was so versatile and open to direction and I think he was also pushing me. He would come and check the monitor and be like, ‘Oh, I think we can get that one a little bit better.’”
Lee said RM bounced back and was on set again that same day for the video that shot over three days in Paju, South Korea, which is near the border with North Korea. The shoot marked the first time Lee had been back in South Korea since elementary school, recalling that his Korean came back to him pretty quickly as he got “so comfortable” with the “amazing” crew he’d assembled.
Lee was so excited he pulled together an all-star team to film the clip, including art director/production designer Ryu Seong-hie (Oldboy), cinematographer Kim Woo-hyung (Assasination) and actress Kim Minha (Pachinko), Emmy-nominated Beef star Joseph Lee and Kang Gilwoo (The Glory).
“I think everyone really came together for the idea and it really felt like we were assembling the Korean Avengers,” Lee told THR about the clip that originally had some elaborate dance numbers. “I am so thankful to them for taking the time. I know music videos are always a little bit tough and a little bit of a grind, and the fact that they showed up and gave such incredible performances, I’m really thankful.”
And, not for nothing, the team were rewarded with some tasty treats “They were just working so hard on this thing and I’m not going to lie, the food in between takes — in America, we got some good crafty over here, but the Korean crafty just hits on another level because I couldn’t wait to go on break and get some of that [Korean food],” the director said. “I was just like, ‘Dang, got to bring this over to America.’ Just every aspect of it felt really comfortable. I’m really excited to shoot something again in Korea. I’m eager to go back.”
Lee took the gig after being pleasantly surprised by the “sneakily catchy” vibe of the song that floats on a bed of acoustic guitars, whistling and the singer’s hushed vocals. “I heard it once and then all day long I was humming it to myself. I’m like, ‘Man, that is an earworm. It just gets in there,’” Lee said. “I was really surprised because it [had] such a different aesthetic and tone and a different side of RM that I hadn’t seen before,” he noted of the BTS member best known for his skills as a rapper. “It was so refreshing and unexpected and I got so excited at the idea of coming up with a music video for a song like that.”
Once the song got stuck in his head, Lee ditched his more traditional original dance-heavy treatment after realizing “they want to really go for it” on the clip by telling a layered tale, which made sense since RM, 29, was a big an of the onion-like storytelling in Beef. “I think he was really interested in trying something new, [and] we just kind of putting aside the dance aspect, almost even putting aside the music and tapping into what the themes of the song actually are and what kind of story that we can tell that feels true and relatable, but also kind of mysterious and open to interpretation at the same time,” Lee said of the visual in which RM plays several characters, including himself as a baby man in order to tell the “strange story about a man that is trapped in the past, present and future and seems to not be able to leave his own home.”
Watch the “Come Back to Me” video below.
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BTS‘ RM is a big baby in the trippy video for his single “Come Back to Me.” The cinematic clip directed, produced and written by Beef creator Lee Sung Jin that dropped on Friday morning (May 10) features a scene where the singer plays an adult-sized infant, one of several roles he takes on in the twisty, nearly seven-minute mini-movie.
“Come back to me/ Like you used to/ Now, I could see/ What a life is about/ I told you I’m fine tonight/ Staying good/ Spring always been here/ I will sleep in her eyes,” the 29-year-old K-pop star sleepily croons over acoustic guitar and whistling. Elsewhere in the visual, RM is a devoted dad and a man at odds with his girlfriend.
The single from RM’s upcoming 11-track second solo album, Right Place, Wrong Person (May 24) was first performed last August during a surprise appearance at BTS bandmate Suga’s Seoul concert on his SUGA | Agust D Tour ‘D-DAY’ The Final outing. “Through ‘Come Back To Me,’ RM explores the central theme of the new album, ‘right and wrong,’ delving into the paradoxical desire to venture into new territories while longing to remain content in the present,” reads a statement announcing the video that co-stars actress Kim Minha (Pachinko).
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RM wrote the lyrics for the song, which also features guest musicians OHHYUK from South Korean band HYUKOH — who composed and arranged the track — as well as guitar and bass from Kuo of Taiwanese band Sunset Rollercoaster and contributions from singer/songwriter JNKYRD and San yawn of Balming Tiger.
“The music video captures the uncanny yet familiar sensation of feeling like a stranger in different surroundings, echoing the theme of the upcoming album,” adds the statement of the clip that ends with a surprise twist.
RM’s first solo LP, Indigo, was released in Dec. 2022, and peaked at No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and featured guests including Anderson .Paak, Erykah Badu and others. The members of BTS are all in the midst of completing their mandatory military services in South Korea, which RM enlisted in in December alongside band mates V, Jimin and Jung Kook.
Watch the “Come Back to Me” video below.
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NCT DREAM rolled out the dates for their upcoming 2024 world tour on Wednesday (May 8), with dates in Latin American, the U.S and Europe as part of their 2024 NCT DREAM World Tour .
After kicking the outing off last weekend with three sold-out shows at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome, the new dates will bring the seven-member K-pop group to Latin American for four shows, followed by seven gigs in the U.S. and five stops in Europe. Currently on tour in Asia — with arena and stadium concerts scheduled in Indonesia, China, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines through August 11 –the new dates will kick off on August 31 at Movistar Arena in Bogota, Colombia.
The U.S. shows will launch on Sept. 12 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, and include stops in Oakland, Fort Worth and Washington, D.C. before winding down at the United Center in Chicago on Sept. 26.
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According to a release, the tour is the group’s biggest global run to date, with tickets for the U.S. gigs going on sale with a Weverse fan club presale beginning on May 16, followed by a general onsale kicking off on May 17 at 3 p.m. local time here. Tickets for the Latin America swing will also start with a Weverse fan club presale beginning on May 13 (check local listings for more information), while the European Weverse presale will launch on May 15, followed by a general onsale beginning on May 17 at 10 a.m. local time (check local listings).
NCT — comprised of members JAEMIN, JISUNG, JENO, RENJUN, HAECHAN, MARK and CHENLE — recently released the video for “Smoothie,” the lead single from their just-released DREAM( )SCAPE EP.
Check out the full list of dates for the 2024 NCT DREAM WORLD TOUR below:
May 18 – Jakarta, Indonesia @ GBK Stadium
June 15 – Hong Kong, China @ AsiaWorld-Arena
June 16 – Hong Kong, China @ AsiaWorld-Arena
June 22 – Bangkok, Thailand @ Rajamangala National Stadium
June 23 – Bangkok, Thailand @ Rajamangala National Stadium
Sat Jun 29 – Kallang, Singapore – Singapore Indoor Stadium
June 30 – Kallang, Singapore @ Singapore Indoor Stadium
August 10 – Manila, Philippines @ SM Mall of Asia Arena
August 11 – Manila, Philippines @ SM Mall of Asia Arena
August 31 – Bogota, Colombia @ Movistar Arena
Sept. 2 – São Paulo, Brazil @ Espaço Unimed
Sept. 5 – Santiago, Chile @ Movistar Arena
Sept. 9 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Palacio de los Deportes
Sept. 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Intuit Dome
Sept. 14 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
Sept. 17 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
Sept. 19 – Duluth, GA @ Gas South Arena
Sept. 21 – Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena
Sept. 24 – Washington, D.C. @ Capital One Arena
Sept. 26 – Chicago, IL @ United Center
Oct. 30 – Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Rotterdam Ahoy*
Nov. 3 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Royal Arena*
Nov. 6 – Berlin, Germany @ Uber Arena*
Nov. 9 – Paris, France @ Adidas Arena*
Nov. 12 – London, UK @ OVO Arena Wembley*
*Non Live Nation date
BLACKPINK‘s Lisa brought some pink venom to the Miami International Autodrome on Sunday when the K-pop star served as the Formula 1 Grand Prix flag-bearer and met the Oracle Red Bull Racing team. On Tuesday (May 7), Lisa posted photos from the event on Instagram, writing that she felt “Honored to wave the flag at […]
RM‘s second solo album Right Place, Wrong Person is still a few weeks away, but the BTS star is giving fans a visual sneak peek at the project ahead of time. The K-pop star shared a batch of concept photos Thursday (May 2) teasing the aesthetics of his upcoming 11-track LP, which drops May 24. […]
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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J-Hope‘s Hope on the Street Vol. 1 tops this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (March 29) on Billboard, choosing the BTS member’s solo mini-album as their favorite new music release of the past week. Fans showed major support for J-Hope’s latest project, which won the poll by a landslide, bringing […]
NewJeans will double-up this summer with a pair of single album releases as the follow-up to their Jan. 2023 single album OMG. The single albums (which are akin to EPs), will drop on May 24 and June 21, with the first, How Sweet, slated to feature the title track, as well as “Bubble Gum” and […]
