K-Town
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V is giving fans a first look at “FRI(END)S.” The BTS member unveiled a preview of the official music video for his new solo single, plus a set of concept photos for the song, on Saturday (March 9). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The 35-second teaser […]
After nearly 20 years, two all-female groups are in the top 10 at the same time on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as the latest releases from TWICE and LE SSERAFIM debut at Nos. 1 and 8, respectively, on the chart dated March 9. TWICE achieves its first No. 1 with the chart-topping debut of With YOU-th, while LE SSERAFIM lands its second top 10 effort with the arrival of Easy.
The last time that at least two all-female groups were in the top 10 concurrently was on the Aug. 5, 2006-dated chart, when The Chicks were at No. 9 with Taking the Long Way, while The Pussycat Dolls were No. 10 with PCD.
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Notably, as both TWICE and LE SSERAFIM are South Korean ensembles, this week marks the first time at least two all-female Korean pop (K-pop) groups are in the top 10 together.
With YOU-th is the third No. 1 on the Billboard 200 by an all-female group in less than three years. NewJeans was the last all-female group on top with 2nd EP ‘Get Up’ (Aug. 5, 2023, chart) and they were preceded by BLACKPINK with Born Pink (Oct. 1, 2022). All three acts are Korean pop groups, their respective albums were their first No. 1s, and all debuted atop the tally. Before BLACKPINK, the last all-female group to lead the chart was American act Danity Kane, with its second album, Welcome to the Dollhouse, which bowed at No. 1 on the April 5, 2008, chart.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new March 9-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 5. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Taylor Swift linked up with one of her most famous fans at her Sunday (March 3) concert in Singapore — BLACKPINK‘s Lisa, the second member of the girl group to make it out to see the Eras Tour. The 26-year-old K-pop star shared photos from Singapore National Stadium on Instagram, showing off her many friendship […]
TOMORROW X TOGETHER is looking to the future. The K-pop quintet announced Sunday (March 3) that its sixth mini album, minisode 3: TOMORROW, is coming up fast on the horizon, marking the band’s first release of 2024. Bandmates Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai broke the news to fans on the second day of their […]
As BTS member J-Hope rounds the corner on the final eight months of his mandatory 18-month South Korean military service, the K-pop superstar is giving Army a soundtrack to his final stint in uniform. The singer announced the details of a new mini-album on Tuesday morning (Feb. 27), Hope on the Street Vol. 1, which […]
They may be K-pop stars, but that doesn’t mean the boys of TOMORROW X TOGETHER can’t bust out a country move. In a video posted to the band’s TikTok, members Taehyun and HueningKai put their own spin on a viral dance trend set to Beyoncé‘s newest hit “Texas Hold ‘Em.” The clip finds the “Sugar […]
TWICE‘s With YOU-th tops this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Feb. 23) on Billboard, choosing the K-pop group’s latest mini-album as their favorite new music release of the past week. Fans showed their support for the girl group in a big way: With YOU-th won this poll by a landslide, […]
Being a member of a nine-person K-pop group is hard work. In addition to the endless hours of vocal and dancing prep, touring, 12-hour press days and the rigors of staying healthy on the road, there is also the mental toll of being in the global spotlight 24/7.
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“It was our recognition that at the end of the day, this is our job,” TWICE‘s Jihyo told the Today Show during an interview on Friday (Feb. 23) that also included two in-studio performances. “It’s what we do for a living. But I know that I cannot live the rest of my life only as Jihyo from TWICE, so I had to learn how to take care of myself mentally and physically … and when to stop when I need to. I think my health and my good energy is shown very frankly to our fans. Our fans see that. So taking care of myself is part of my job, too.”
That is why member Mina took a mental health break in 2019, with Jeongyeon doing the same in 2020 and 2021, unafraid that the pause might create the kind of negative reaction from fans that an earlier generation of idols worried about. “We talked a lot amongst ourselves and we also talked with our management. All of that helped us individually and as a group to cope with whatever is going on,” Chaeyoung said.
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“It meant the world to me when the girls addressed why they were taking a break,” Tara, a devoted Korean American fan who was in high school at the time told the morning show. “My parents didn’t take my depression seriously and told me to eat something delicious and get more sleep. I felt very isolated and alone. But seeing idols like Mina telling us that they need rest, too, made me feel like I was seen.”
The band also featuring members Nayeon, Momo, Sana, Dahyun and Tzuyu, released their 13th mini-album, YOU-th, on Friday, fronted by their third English-language single, “I Got You.”
TWICE will play a one-off show at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on March 16, which housed Super Bowl LVIII earlier this month. “It might seem like we started off really big, but we did a lot of small stage performances when we started out,” Momo said. “It was only last year that we did our first stadium concert. So all of this has been nerve-wracking for us.” Last year they became the first female K-pop group to headline NFL and MLB stadiums in the U.S. when they performed at SoFi Stadium in L.A. and MetLife Stadium in New York to sold-out crowds of 50,000 fans.
And because they know that not all their devoted fans, who are called Once, can get tickets to every show, the group tries to keep visiting new places. “With every tour, we really try to visit as many places as possible,” said Sana. “That’s why we went to Europe for the first time last year, and that’s why we are doing another concert in Las Vegas this year.” Mina noted that they will also be the first K-pop girl group to play Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, Japan on July 27-28.
“We always try to visit more countries with each tour,” Sana added. “If there are places that we haven’t visited yet but you want us to come there, please let us know. We will talk to the management and we’ll (try to) make it happen!”
In their ninth year in the group, the members who range in age from 24-28 also talked with pride about representing diverse backgrounds, with three South Korean members (Chaeyoung, Dahyun, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Nayeon), three Japanese performers (Mina, Momo, Sana) and one Taiwanese representative (Tzuyu).
“I’m so grateful for the diversity in our group,” Nayeon told Today. “If it wasn’t for TWICE, I don’t think I would’ve had the opportunity to observe other cultures so closely or have developed as much of an interest in them. Because of the exposure that we got to other cultures so early on, I think that enabled us to communicate with ONCE better when we meet global fans. The communication is deeper because of our understanding of other cultures.”
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BTS member J-Hope is releasing a new album, Hope on the Street Vol. 1, BigHit Music announced to press and to ARMY on Sunday (Feb. 18). Hope on the Street Vol. 1 is described in the announcement as “a special album” containing six tracks. The new music collection is set to arrive alongside a six-part […]
K-pop boy band ENHYPEN announced the dates for the encore leg of their Fate Plus world tour on Tuesday (Feb. 6). The run of shows are slated to kick off at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea on Feb. 23 with the first of three shows at that venue.
The outing will jump to the U.S. for five dates in the spring, beginning with an April 24 gig at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, before moving on to shows in Oakland (April 26), Tacoma, WA (April 28) and Chicago (May 1) before winding down with a May 3 show at the UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY.
Tickets for the mini-tour will go on sale here and here at 4 p.m. local time on Feb. 15. Tickets will be available in an ENGENE membership presale for fans who’ve registered in advance beginning today (Feb. 7) at 8 p.m ET through Friday (Feb. 9) at 9 p.m. ET.
According to a release announcing the second leg, the first run of shows played to more than 327,000 ENGENEs (the name of ENHYPEN’s fan group), during 21 shows in 13 cities, with the seven-man band making their U.S. stadium debut at L.A.’s Dignity Health Sports Park.
The band’s fifth mini-album, Orange Blood, dropped in November, debuting at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, kicking off a seven-week run on the tally.
Check out the tour dates for ENHYPEN’s 2024 tour below.
Feb. 23, 24, 25 – Seoul, Korea @ KSPO Dome
April 24 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
April 26 – Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
April 28 – Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
May 1 – Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
May 3 – Belmont Park, NY @ UBS Arena