K-Town
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BLACKPINK will have some serious back-up when they take the stage at the BST Hyde Park concert series in London this summer. The official poster for the K-pop group’s headlining slot on July 2 in London revealed that they’ll share the stage with “Nonsense” singer Sabrina Carpenter, as well as South Korean indie rockers The Rose and up-and-coming English pop singers Caity Baser and Mae Stephens.
The poster for the event revealed on Thursday (March 23) promised “many more” support act to be announced.
The massive summer series has already announced a a special edition of P!nk’s Summer Carnival outing with Gwen Stefani (and more guests to be announced soon) on June 24 and 25, a June 30 show with Guns N’ Roses (and special guests to be announced), beloved British boy band Take That with The Script and Sugarbabes on July 1, Billy Joel and Daryl Hall on July 7 and Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band on July 6 and 8.
BLACKPINK’s members have been making plenty of news outside the group lately, with Jisoo teasing her upcoming solo album, ME, with a second teaser in which the singer poses in a black crop top and billowing skirt and gazes intently at the camera until the title of the album and its release date pop up in red text. Earlier this week, Rosé shared some footage of her and bandmate Jennie enjoying Harry Styles’ Love n Tour stop at Seoul’s KSPO Dome and singing along to Harry’s “As It Was” before grabbing some snaps with Styles backstage after the show.
Check out the poster for BLACKPINK’s BST Hyde Park show below.
Jimin‘s new solo song “Set Me Free, Pt. 2” has topped this week’s new music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (March 17) on Billboard, choosing the BTS member’s defiant hip-hop influenced track as their favorite new music release of the past week.
“Set Me Free, Pt. 2” brought in 89% of the vote, beating out new music from Melanie Martinez (“DEATH”); Taylor Swift (“If This Was a Movie,” “Safe and Sound” and “Eyes Open” (Taylor’s Version), “All of the Girls You Loved Before”); Kx5 (Kx5); Hozier (Eat Your Young EP); and others.
Jimin is the latest BTS member to go solo, and South Korean singer gave fans a taste of his forthcoming album, FACE, with the release of the set’s lead single “Set Me Free, Pt. 2.” Loaded with snapping hip-hop beats and Auto-Tuned vocals, the track is accompanied with an appropriately flashy music video.
FACE is scheduled for release on March 24. On the same day, Jimin will also share the music video for second single “Like Crazy,” which was co-written by his BTS bandmate RM.
Earlier this year, Jimin scored his first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100 by joining Taeyang for the BIGBANG member’s new single “Vibe.” Jimin has also released solo songs “Lie” and “Serendipity,” as well as “With You,” from the soundtrack to the TV drama Our Blues.
Trailing behind Jimin on the fan-voted poll was Martinez’s new song “DEATH,” with 4% of the vote. On the track, the singer says a farewell to her Crybaby persona, embracing a rebirth — and electronic, synth-driven sound — for her Portals album cycle, which promises to be one of her most ambitious yet.
See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.
Breaking out on your own from one of the most successful pop groups on the planet must surely come with untold trepidation and anxiety about whether your fanbase will follow you down a new path. But for BTS‘ Jimin, releasing his solo single “Set Me Free Pt. 2” amounts to a kind of liberation (or, as he puts it, a “new starting point”), as well as a chance to establish an identity apart from the global superstar septet.
“When this song was made, I felt really attached to it,” he told Consequence of Sound about his first solo project. “I went to the U.S. myself for the choir recording, and listening to it right next to them was truly amazing. I remember it as a really good memory.”
The song — which features majestic choir backing, a booming hip-hop beat and urgent Auto-Tuned vocals — is slated to appear on Jimin’s upcoming solo album, FACE, which is due out on March 24. And though it is tagged as a sequel, any ARMY member can tell you that there is, in fact, no original “Set Me Free” in Jimin’s discography. The singer explained to CoS that the title is a wink a song on bandmate Suga’s 2020 D-2 mixtape from alter ego Agust D.
“There isn’t a connection, and we weren’t trying to divide part one or part two,” he said. “But since it turns out my song talks about freedom and moving forward, and SUGA’s song talks about some of the stories that come before, I thought it would be good to come after that.”
Asked to break down the message of the track — which he described as having a light/dark, black/white energy — Jimin said he focused on the concepts of “determination, passion, and overcoming” and that the title is about him, well, setting himself free. “So I thought it was important that I be the one to set myself free — not someone else,” he said. “In the end, I’m the one who has to set myself free.”
As the latest member of the group to break out during the band’s yearslong pause to allow all seven to focus on their solo careers (as well as attend mandatory South Korean army service), Jimin said all his bandmates were nervous before dropping their albums and singles, but luckily, “their results were absolutely great.”
He’s nervous too, but mostly he just wants to make the other guys proud. “I don’t want to be an embarrassment to my members,” he said. “I want to be a proud member of BTS.” He doesn’t appear to have much to worry about, as “Set Me Free Pt. 2” was announced with a flashy, choreography-heavy video directed by Oui Kim.
As for what fans can expect from FACE, Jimin promised that the album talks about how he can look back on his past and, “how I overcame… If people understand the emotions I’m trying to express, I’ll consider the album a success.”
Watch “Set Me Free Pt. 2” below.
It’s a mutual admiration society in the behind-the-scenes video for “On The Street,” BTS member J-Hope‘s collaboration with his longtime idol J.Cole. “Being able to meet my muse, J. Cole is nerve-wracking,” Hope says in the video’s open, during which he’s getting final-touch make-up applied backstage before the shoot begins.
One way the K-pop superstar soothes his nerves is by writing Cole a letter, telling the MC, “working with you has been a meaningful moment,” while repeatedly stopping to comment on his poor handwriting and trying to put himself in ARMY’s shoes when his fans pen gushing odes to him.
“Look at this horrific handwriting,” he laments as he holds the note up to camera and says that it’s not only an honor to work with Cole, but actually the realization of a childhood dream. “You’re always an inspiration to me and always give me good energy,” he writes in the note. The BTS star then heads to the set, where he can’t hide his excitement upon finally meeting his hero.
Hope beams as Cole starts filming his bits, watching the performance in a monitor and marveling at how he went from watching the rapper as a child on TV to filming a video with him on a bridge in Manhattan. “Is this real life? Is this a dream or is this real life?” J-Hope asks as the two share a series of handshakes and Hope hands over a gift bag featuring the note and some other goodies.
The rest of the 13-minute chronicles the process of shooting the video on the streets of New York, including a freestyle dance scene in a subway station.
“On the Street” is particularly meaningful to J-Hope. While BTS has long shared their admiration for the North Carolina-raised rapper — revealing in 2013 their reinterpreted take on J. Cole’s “Born Sinner” with “Born Singer,” which was only officially released last year on Proof — J-Hope has always shared how Cole is one of his ultimate favorite singers.
“On the Street” is J-Hope’s first new solo song since hopping on “Rush Hour” with Korean R&B singer “Crush,” while Cole dropped a surprise song in mid-January, “Procrastination (Broke).”
Check out the “On the Street” behind-the-scenes video below.
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.”
TWICE has teased its new music video…twice. Ahead of the release of the girl group’s highly-anticipated track “Set Me Free” and its accompanying video, members Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu dropped two stunning back-to-back teaser visuals on Monday (March 6) and Tuesday (March 7).
The first teaser trailer shows the ladies wiping away false eyelashes, lipstick and blush before posing as a full group, dressed in all white and looking gorgeously fresh faced. In the second teaser, they perform mesmerizing choreography starting with a single-file line, each member getting her own moment as they peel away from the line one-by-one.
Both the song and video are slated to arrive Friday (March 10), along with TWICE’s twelfth mini album Ready to Be. In addition to “Set Me Free,” the fast-approaching EP will feature the K-pop sensation’s January-released single “Moonlight Sunrise” along with four other tracks, two of which were written by Dahyun.
To celebrate, the girls will appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Thursday night (March 9).
The new teaser videos come just a week after TWICE made history as the first K-pop group to be honored at Billboard‘s Women in Music event, at which they performed “Moonlight Sunrise” and were presented with the Breakthrough Award by self-professed TWICE stan Sabrina Carpenter. “Ever since we became TWICE, we believed in each other to always be together when taking a step toward our future,” said Chaeyoung on March 1 while accepting the award.
“This moment is especially meaningful because all nine of us are standing here together in front of our fans who made our dreams come true,” she added. “This title Breakthrough Artist proves that if you confidently push for your dream, people who support you will always be your team, you will break through.”
Watch TWICE’s teaser videos for the “Set Me Free” music video 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.
Bizarrap and Shakira’s collaboration “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Jan. 28.
The track, recorded almost entirely in Spanish, earns Bizarrap his first top 10 hit on the Hot 100 and Shakira her fifth, and first since her Beyoncé team-up “Beautiful Liar” in 2007. It also earns the distinction as just the 30th non-English-language song to reach the Hot 100’s top 10 – out of over 5,000 top 10s in the chart’s 64-year history.
Shakira also makes history as the first solo woman to score a Hot 100 top 10 recorded in Spanish. (The group Mocedades’ “Eres Tu [Touch the Wind]” became the first such top 10 with lead female vocals in 1974; see below.)
“Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” drew 20.2 million U.S. streams, 7.9 million radio airplay audience impressions and 9,000 downloads sold its first full tracking week (Jan. 13-19), according to Luminate. Shakira’s previous four top 10s are sung primarily in English: “Whenever, Wherever” (No. 6 peak in 2001), “Underneath Your Clothes” (No. 9, 2002), “Hips Don’t Lie,” featuring Wyclef Jean (No. 1 for two weeks, 2006), and “Beautiful Liar,” with Beyoncé (No. 3, 2007).
Looking at the other 29 non-English-language top 10s, Bad Bunny tallies the most, with seven (four of which are from his 2022 smash album Un Verano Sin Ti), followed by BTS (five) and PSY (two).
Nine of the 30 songs have reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, including Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” (featuring Justin Bieber), which spent a then-record-tying 16 weeks at No. 1 in 2017, and Los Del Rio’s “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” which ruled for 14 weeks in 1996. The most recent No. 1 is Coldplay and BTS’ “My Universe,” which contains both Korean and English lyrics, from 2021.
Spanish is the most common non-English language listed below (15 of 30 top 10s), followed by Korean (seven), German (three), French and Italian (two each) and Japanese (one).
Meanwhile, 18 of the 30 top 10s have reached the tier since 2012, following a 16-year break between “Macarena” and PSY’s “Gangnam Style.” The influx coincides with music’s increased globalization, as highlighted by hits from Bad Bunny and BTS, among others.
In chronological order of their peak dates, here are all 30 primarily or all non-English-language songs to reach the Hot 100’s top 10 (with thanks to Paul Haney at Joel Whitburn’s Record Research for research assistance). (The list does not include songs with relatively minimal portions in other languages, such as Enrique Iglesias’ “Bailamos” or Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin’s “I Like It.”)
Domenico Modugno, “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)”
Peak date: Aug. 18, 1958Peak position: No. 1 (five weeks)Language: Italian
Listen here.
Lolita, “Sailor (Your Home Is the Sea)”
Peak date: Dec. 19, 1960Peak position: No. 5Language: German
Listen here.
Emilio Pericoli, “Al Di La'”
Peak date: July 7, 1962Peak position: No. 6Language: Italian
Listen here.
Kyu Sakamoto, “Sukiyaki”
Peak date: June 15, 1963Peak position: No. 1 (three weeks)Language: Japanese
Listen here.
The Singing Nun (Soeur Sourire), “Dominique”
Peak date: Dec. 7, 1963Peak position: No. 1 (four weeks)Language: French
Listen here.
The Sandpipers, “Guantanamera”
Peak date: Sept. 17, 1966Peak position: No. 9Language: Spanish
Listen here.
Mocedades, “Eres Tu (Touch the Wind)”
Peak date: March 23, 1974Peak position: No. 9Language: Spanish
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Nena, “99 Luftballons”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: March 3, 1984Peak position: No. 2Language: German
Falco, “Rock Me Amadeus”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: March 29, 1986Peak position: No. 1 (three weeks)Language: German
Los Lobos, “La Bamba”
Peak date: Aug. 29, 1987Peak position: No. 1 (three weeks)Language: Spanish
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Enigma, “Sadeness (Part 1)”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: April 6, 1991Peak position: No. 5Language: Latin/French
Los Del Rio, “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: Aug. 3, 1996Peak position: No. 1 (14 weeks)Language: Spanish
PSY, “Gangnam Style”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: Oct. 6, 2012Peak position: No. 2Language: Korean
PSY, “Gentleman”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: May 4, 2013Peak position: No. 5Language: Korean
Listen here.
Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber, “Despacito”
Peak date: May 27, 2017Peak position: No. 1 (16 weeks)Language: Spanish
Listen here.
J Balvin & Willy William feat. Beyoncé, “Mi Gente”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: Oct. 21, 2017Peak position: No. 3Language: Spanish
BTS, “Fake Love”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: June 2, 2018Peak position: No. 10Language: Korean
Bad Bunny feat. Drake, “MIA”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: Oct. 27, 2018Peak position: No. 5Language: Spanish
BTS feat. Halsey, “Boy With Luv”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: April 27, 2019Peak position: No. 8Language: Korean
BTS, “On”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: March 7, 2020Peak position: No. 4Language: Korean
BTS, “Life Goes On”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: Dec. 5, 2020Peak position: No. 1 (one week)Language: Korean
Bad Bunny & Jhay Cortez, “Dakiti”
Peak date: Dec. 12, 2020Peak position: No. 5Language: Spanish
Jose Feliciano, “Feliz Navidad”
Peak date: Jan. 2, 2021Peak position: No. 6Language: Spanish
Listen here.
Bad Bunny, “Yonaguni”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: June 19, 2021Peak position: No. 10Language: Spanish
Coldplay x BTS, “My Universe”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: Oct. 9, 2021Peak position: No. 1 (one week)Language: Korean
Bad Bunny, “Moscow Mule”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: May 21, 2022Peak position: No. 4Language: Spanish
Bad Bunny, “Tití Me Preguntó”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: May 21, 2022Peak position: No. 5Language: Spanish
Bad Bunny, “Despues de La Playa”
Peak date: May 21, 2022Peak position: No. 6Language: Spanish
Listen here.
Bad Bunny & Chencho Corleone, “Me Porto Bonito”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: July 23, 2022Peak position: No. 6Language: Spanish
Bizarrap & Shakira, “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”
Image Credit: Courtesy Photo
Peak date: Jan. 28, 2023Peak position: No. 9Language: Spanish
TWICE is hitting the road again. As announced Tuesday (Feb. 21), the K-pop girl group will embark on its highly anticipated READY TO BE world tour this spring, the group’s fifth total world tour and its largest so far.
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The tour will see the ladies of TWICE — Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu — playing 17 shows across 14 cities, beginning April 15 with stops in South Korea, Australia and Japan. The group will then head overseas to North America, where it’ll make stops at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium and MetLife Stadium, concerts that will make them the first female K-pop girl group to play either venue. More North American dates are forthcoming, according to a release.
The tour news follows Billboard‘s announcement that TWICE will be honored at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards with the Breakthrough Artist Award on the first of March. The honor comes after TWICE’s “Moonlight Sunrise,” a single off the group’s March-slated EP Ready to Be, became their second ever entry on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 84. The track also earned TWICE a career high placement on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart, peaking at No. 3.
Tickets for shows in the U.S. will be available through a Ticketmaster Verified Fan sale, now open for registration. If any additional tickets remain after the Verified Fan sale concludes, a general onsale will be announced at a later date. Information for tickets to shows in Korea, Australia and Japan can be found on local event pages.
See the list of confirmed Ready to Be Tour dates below:
Saturday, April 15th – Korea / Seoul / KSPO Dome
Sunday, April 16th – Korea / Seoul / KSPO Dome
Wednesday, May 3rd – Australia / Sydney / Qudos Bank Arena
Saturday, May 6th – Australia / Melbourne / Rod Laver Arena
Saturday, May 13th – Osaka / Japan / Yanmar Stadium Nagai
Sunday, May 14th – Osaka / Japan / Yanmar Stadium Nagai
Saturday, May 20th – Tokyo / Japan / Ajinomoto Stadium
Sunday, May 21st – Tokyo / Japan / Ajinomoto Stadium
Saturday, June 10th – United States / Los Angeles / SoFi Stadium
Tuesday, June 13th – United States / Oakland / Oakland Arena
Friday, June 16th – United States / Seattle / Tacoma Dome
Wednesday, June 21st – United States / Dallas / Globe Life Field
Saturday, June 24th – United States / Houston / Toyota Center
Wednesday, June 28th – United States / Chicago / United Center
Sunday, July 2nd – Canada / Toronto / Scotiabank Arena
Thursday, July 6th – United States / New York / MetLife Stadium
Sunday, July 9th – United States / Atlanta / Truist Park
BTS‘ Jimin announced details about his upcoming first solo album, FACE, on Tuesday (Feb. 21). The news about the collection, due out on March 24, was accompanied by a 35-second video featuring ambient music and a series of water droplets spinning out ripples on the surface of water that eventually form the album’s title.
In a Weverse post featuring additional details, the solo effort is described as being about “Jimin facing himself head-on as he gets ready for his next step as a solo artist.” The pre-order date for the collection begins at 9 p.m. ET. on Wednesday (Feb. 22). At press time no tracklist or initial single had been announced.
Jimin’s first full-length solo album will follow on the heels of his hit single with fellow K-pop singer TAEYANG of BIG BANG, “Vibe,” which recently gave both stars their first visit to the Billboard Hot 100. To date, Jimin has released the solo songs “Lie” and “Serendipity,” as well as the song “With You’” from the soundtrack to the TvN drama Our Blues.
The announcement was the latest from the K-pop superstars in the midst of their hiatus, during which each member has embarked on their own solo ventures. So far, J-Hope has released the album/documentary Jack in the Box, Suga has announced the dates for his first solo tour, RM dropped his debut album, Indigo, Jin collaborated on “The Astronaut” single with Coldplay, Jung Kook teamed with Charlie Puth on the song “Left and Right” and V starred in the reality show In the Soop: Friendcation.
Check out the album prevew below.