K-Town
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BLACKPINK is set to be one of the final three acts for The Late Late Show With James Corden‘s popular “Carpool Karaoke” segment ahead of the end of the show’s run, CBS announced on Friday (April 7).
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The piece will air in one of the late-night show’s final 12 episodes, which will conclude April 27. The other two musical guests rounding out the trio of “Carpool Karaoke” farewells have not yet been announced, but other confirmed segments include a “Take a Break” segment featuring the Kardashian family and a “Crosswalk the Musical” performance.
The K-pop girl group has previously appeared on Corden’s show over the course of its eight years on CBS. In 2019, Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé performed their 2019 single “Kill This Love” and partook in a game of “Flinch,” all four of them good sports as the late-night host shot exploding fruit at their faces.
Also booked to make appearances on The Late Late Show‘s remaining episodes are Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Tom Cruise, Josh Gad, Jennifer Garner, Brett Goldstein, Kate Hudson, Mila Kunis, Seth Meyers, Billy Porter and Sharon Stone. Plus, Allison Janney will celebrate having the most guest appearances on the program, with 15 prior visits.
Corden first announced his plans to leave the show last year, admitting in a monologue that it was the “hardest decision” he’d ever had to make.
“When I started this journey, it was always going to be just that. It was going to be a journey, an adventure,” he said at the time. “I never saw it as my final destination, you know? And I never want this show to overstay its welcome in any way. I always want to love making it. And I really think in a year from now that will be a good time to move on and see what else might be out there.”
The Late Late Show With James Corden airs weeknights at 12:37 a.m. ET/PT on CBS.
BTS‘ Suga hits the road in the 30-second teaser for an upcoming solo documentary slated to air on Disney+ and Weverse. The K-pop superstar is front and center in the clip for SUGA: Road to D-Day, which opens with a quick-cut montage of snapshots of cities around the globe (Seoul, Tokyo, Pyeongchang, Chuncheon, Las Vegas, Malibu and San Francisco) before cutting to footage of Suga on a plane and traveling the world.
“This is my first time walking down this road. I’m really excited right now,” he says while taking a late-night walk while wearing a face mask in the video in which he jets around the globe on his own — including taking a sunset drive through the desert — as he embarks on a one-man adventure in the midst of the boy band’s pause to focus on solo projects.
“Whenever a concert ends and I go in [and say] ‘Ah, I’m tired.’ No like, it’s my first time doing this in my life! Even in Korea I’ve never done this before,” he says in the translation of his inner monologue in the video preview.
At press time no air date has been announced for the special.
Suga’s bandmate, J-Hope, released his solo documentary, j-hope IN THE BOX, on Disney+ earlier this year. Last month, Suga announced the dates for his first-ever solo world tour, which is slated to kick off on April 26 at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York. The rapper/dancer will play a series of multi-night gigs in Rosemont, IL, Los Angeles and Oakland in early and mid May before jumping to Jakarta on May 26, then Japan in early June, followed by Bangkok, Singapore and two hometown shows in Seoul, South Korea on June 24-25.
Check out the teaser for SUGA: Road to D-Day below.
Jimin has a wild night out in a club in the sweaty, joyous video for the BTS member’s solo single “Like Crazy.” The Oui Kim-directed visual opens with a snippet of whispery dialogue from the 2011 romantic drama of the same name that starred Jennifer Lawrence, Felicity Jones and the late Anton Yelchin, in which JLaw murmurs, “I think we could last forever.”
The scene then cuts to Jimin standing in a green swirl of light in a packed nightclub as a Yelchin frets, “I’m afraid that everything will disappear.” Lawrence assures him, “Just trust me,” as the camera zooms into Jimin’s face and we see looking forlorn in a kitchen singing, “She’s saying, baby, come and follow me/ There’s not a bad thing here tonight.”
An unseen hand then grabs him and drags him to the crowded dance floor, where he walks in slow motion through the partying masses, taking shots, doling out high-fives and crowd-surfing his way through the night before inexplicably landing in a spooky hallway where the walls are bleeding a viscous black ooze.
“Give me a good ride/ I’m falling, falling falling/ Oh, it’s gon’ be a good night, Forever you and I,” Jimin sings on the dreamy chorus. The rest of the clip see-saws between Jimin dancing like everyone is looking to an exhausted rest stop in a freaky, Transformer-like rest room and parting shots of the singer revisiting the evening’s craziness before ending up at the kitchen table again, his right hand covered in the mysterious goo.
“Like Crazy” appears on Jimin’s just-released debut solo album, FACE, a six-track project that was preceded by the pre-release single “Set Me Free, Pt. 2.” With production by Pdogg, Ghstloop, Supreme Boi, BLVSH and Evan, the project also features songwriting credits on three tracks from bandmate RM.
Watch the “Like Crazy” video below.
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.