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South Korean companies SM Entertainment and Kakao Entertainment have launched what they are calling a “local integrated corporation” in North American as part of previously hinted-at efforts to accelerate their joint stateside operations and build upon the successes of their K-pop artists in the world’s largest music market. The companies said on Tuesday (Aug. 1) […]
More than half of the debuts on this week’s July 22-dated Billboard global charts come from Taylor Swift, as she lands 22 new entries from Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). But despite her record-tying haul, she doesn’t score the highest new entry on either list.
This week’s Hot Shot Debut comes courtesy of NewJeans, starting at No. 2 on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. rankings with “Super Shy.” For good measure, the South Korean group adds a second arrival, the eponymous “New Jeans,” at Nos. 32 and 19, respectively.
“Super Shy” starts with 63 million streams and 6,000 downloads sold worldwide in the week ending July 13, according to Luminate. Not only is it NewJeans’ highest-charting single yet, its first frame yields the biggest one-week streaming total of the group’s career, surpassing the 46.5 million clicks for “Ditto” in the week ending Jan. 5.
NewJeans’ new peak is another in a year of building success. The five-person group – Danielle, Haerin, Hanni, Hyein, and Minji – earned its first global chart hit when “Attention” debuted on the Aug. 13, 2022-dated Global Excl. U.S. listing at No. 174. “Hype Boy” debuted one week later, and “Cookie” the week after that, signaling the arrival of K-Pop’s new contenders.
At the turn of the year, “Ditto” and “OMG” hit the top 10 of both lists, with the former reaching as high as No. 4 on Global Excl. U.S.
Just before the one-year anniversary of NewJeans’ global chart debut, “Super Shy” extends the group’s peak, blocked from the top spot by Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” on the Global 200 and by Myke Towers’ “LaLa” on the Global Excl. U.S. tally.
NewJeans’ international strength continues to spread. The group’s roster of hits has performed well on Billboard’s Hits of the World charts, crowning lists across Asia, including multiple No. 1s in Singapore, Taiwan and its native South Korea. “Super Shy” debuts atop those rankings and marks the group’s first chart-topper in Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Further, “Super Shy” is breaking ground in English-language markets as the first NewJeans track on Australia Songs, debuting at No. 22. In the U.S., it instantly becomes the group’s highest-charting entry on the Billboard Hot 100, arriving at No. 66.
Travis Scott, The Weeknd and Bad Bunny have cracked open the Utopia briefcase just a tad Friday (July 21) to release their new single, “KPOP.” “KPOP” comes just a week before Scott’s Utopia livestream event at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on July 28 to launch his first studio album in five years. The […]
Just a few months after launching Lights, his debut solo EP, MONSTA X’s JOOHONEY has announced that he will enlist in the military on June 24, in a statement shared with Billboard on Thursday (July 13). “I thought a lot about when would be a good time to share this news with you,” JOOHONEY wrote […]
TWICE was “ready to be” on a television screen near you with their performances for TODAY‘s Summer Concert Series on Wednesday (July 5).
The K-Pop girl group graced the show’s concert stage with multiple performances of hits from across its catalog, including selections from recently released project, Ready to Be. Ahead of hitting the stage, TODAY Show co-host Craig Melvin hailed them as “the history-making queens of K-Pop.”
Each of the group’s members — Momo, Minatozaki Sana, Nayeon, Tzuyu, Jihyo, Chaeyoung, Jeongyeon, Mina and Dahyun — got an opportunity to introduce themselves to TODAY viewers before lighting up the stage with a series of electric performances “Alcohol-Free,” “Set Me Free” and more, complete with bubbles, a live band and outfits straight out of their music videos.
TWICE is the first all-woman K-Pop group to sell out a stadium in North America. The global phenoms are set to headline New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium as a part of their Ready to Be World Tour, which boasts nearly 40 dates across Asia, North America, Europe and Australia. The group’s TODAY performance included a rendition of Ready to Be lead single “Set Me Free,” which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, their highest peak on the ranking. The girl group also performed “Moonlight Sunrise,” their second English-language single and second song to enter the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 84).
Ready to Be, the group’s twelfth EP, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with over 153,000 album-equivalent units. Of that figure, 145,500 units came from pure album sales, good enough for the group’s biggest consumption week in the U.S., as well as their highest-charting title in the U.S. to date.
TWICE has earned four consecutive top ten titles on the Billboard 200 dating back to 2021’s Taste of Love. “The Feels,” their first original English-language single, is their highest-charting Hot 100 hit (No. 83).
Check out some clips of TWICE’s TODAY performances below.
Multiplatinum-selling Grammy-nominated K-pop phenomenon BTS is celebrating its tenth anniversary, and to commemorate the milestone, the Bangtan Boys on Tuesday (June 13) gifted fans a live performance music video for their latest single “Take Two,” which they released last week (June 9) in celebration of their anniversary. Decked out in a fashionable collection of pastel […]
Three HYBE employees could be prosecuted for insider trading in South Korea for allegedly using non-public information about K-pop group BTS’ planned hiatus before the news was given to investors, according to multiple reports out of South Korea. South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the equivalent of the Securities Exchange Commission in the U.S., […]
This story is part of Billboard‘s K-Pop Issue.
Los Angeles-born and -raised choreographer Kyle Hanagami has worked with pop stars like Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez and Dove Cameron. But in more recent years, his résumé has started reading like a who’s who of K-pop’s biggest names: TWICE, aespa, Red Velvet, Girls Generation, NCT and NCT Dream, TOMORROW X TOGETHER and, most notably, BLACKPINK. All have enlisted Hanagami to help craft the fierce moves that power their music videos and stage performances, define their brands and now are oft-imitated on TikTok. He has also worked with members of BLACKPINK on their solo efforts — including with Jisoo on the video for her single “Flower,” which has over 118 million YouTube views. Currently choreographing the forthcoming Mean Girls musical movie, Hanagami spoke from its East Coast set about what it took to become K-pop’s most in-demand dance-maker.
Were you a K-pop fan before becoming enmeshed in this world?
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I actually used to listen to K-pop in high school — I had a friend who was really, really into it. But I never in a million years imagined I’d be working in it, especially because I didn’t start dancing or choreographing until after high school. It’s a total fluke.
How did you start working with K-pop acts?
I’d been posting videos on YouTube back when I had maybe 500,000 subscribers [He now has over 4.5 million], and one of the entertainment companies reached out to me. Then more artists and entertainment companies started reaching out. When I first started working in K-pop, there weren’t very many American choreographers. It has been a process figuring out that style and what it looks like and kind of creating it. I think that’s why so many artists I’ve worked with have gone on to become so successful — they have amazing teams who work with them, but it really has been about me developing styles for these people from scratch.
In the United States, it has been a minute since choreo-driven girl groups and boy bands were popular. Does that make working with K-pop acts especially fun?
I used to choreograph for a Latin boy band, CNCO, that was hugely into dance breaks. And then I did *NSYNC’s surprise appearance at Ariana Grande’s Coachella performance, and that was again [a lot of] dance breaks. I’ve always loved that style. It has been cool to figure out how to adapt it to these amazing artists who come out of Korea.
Why is dance so important to the identity of K-pop groups and their members?
It’s about really identifying what makes their music different and bringing it to life. I remember the first time I heard BLACKPINK, when I heard “Boombayah” [for which Hanagami choreographed the video]. I remember thinking, “Oh, this is different. I’ve never heard a K-pop group come out like this, especially as their first single. This group needs to look different than everyone else.” I had the opportunity to choreograph and give visuals that hadn’t been done for K-pop before, and I loved making that a signature of BLACKPINK.
How would you describe that signature?
They’re so innovative as a K-pop group, and I was able with the choreography to really lean into their individuality. They should dance the way they sing — and each of their voices are so unique. I really have to bring that out when I give them solo moments in choreography, but at the same time, it has to work together as a whole. I think what has helped make them successful is all four girls are relatable in their own ways, but they feel like a supergroup when they come together.
Are there certain things you would do with an American act that you wouldn’t with a K-pop act?
Obviously, I make sure there is that element of cultural sensitivity. There are definitely American artists who’ll go way overtly sexy in a way a Korean artist might not be comfortable with, and it’s something I keep in mind. I want to make sure if a 9-year-old is watching [a video] at home and they want to follow along, their parents feel comfortable.
But in general, the artists that come out of Korea train so hard to be where they are, [they’re] becoming these superstars before they even hit the stage, whereas in America, it’s often about finding existing talent versus talent development. Any time I get a new [K-pop] artist, it’s starting with what they have — if someone is a great vocalist, or a great rapper, or a great dancer or very charming — and knowing how and when to make them shine. Using the choreography to show what they do best.
This story originally appeared in the April 22, 2023, issue of Billboard.
This story is part of Billboard‘s K-pop Issue.
As one of the few non-English-speaking students at an American international academy in Singapore, the artist born Lee Seung-joo rarely talked to his peers, and he would often skip lunch to avoid eating alone in the cafeteria. Even his stage name is an anagram for “loner,” and his Instagram handle is “lorenisalone” — but as he laughs over Zoom through coughs of smoke while puffing on an orange vape in his Seoul studio at 1 a.m. local time, he says that listeners shouldn’t take those gestures seriously. “Some people DM me like, ‘You’re not alone.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, it’s just my Instagram ID.’ ”
Still, LØREN says being dragged to the academy “kicking and screaming” by his parents — and having to learn English — planted the seed for becoming a global star. “I think being miserable at school is not a necessity,” he explains, “but I feel like if I had been very happy, I wouldn’t have been so eager to make something of myself.”
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Instead of playing basketball and beer pong with his more popular peers, LØREN spent his time learning to play instruments in the band room and listening to Green Day and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Too shy to form a band of his own, after graduation in 2013, he forged a more insular musical path: making beats as an EDM producer. He soon connected with other musicians by DJ’ing on the Seoul nightclub circuit and found mentors within The Black Label, an associate company of YG Entertainment, founded by producer Teddy Park. With his help, LØREN leveraged a career as an in-demand producer-songwriter, scoring major credits with K-pop sensation BLACKPINK on tracks like “Lovesick Girls” and “Pretty Savage.”
Saint Laurent sweater, pants and shoes.
Ssam Kim
But his attention kept drifting back to rock music. “It kind of got tiring for me,” he says of his start in EDM. “Not that I don’t like [that music], but I grew up so heavily on rock, there was dissonance between what I created and what I really liked. I had an epiphany: Being a frontman of a band doing rock music has been my dream all my life.”
In 2021, he launched his solo career with a pair of singles: the bilingual, early-2000s-inspired rock tracks “NEED (ooo-eee)” and “Empty Trash,” followed by the more pop-facing “All My Friends Are Turning Blue.” LØREN self-released the three songs on his independent label, Fire Exit Records, in partnership with The Black Label.
Now, at 28 years old, the artist is committing to his vision. He signed a record deal with 88Rising earlier this year (still in partnership with The Black Label), saying he knew he needed to be on its roster, which is full of Asian artists with global reach like Joji, NIKI, Rich Brian and more. “I like how their artists, you can just tell they’re doing their own thing without being pressured to create something they don’t f–k with,” he says.
But none occupy the punk-rock lane like LØREN. As he points out, the genre isn’t as popular in South Korea as it is in the United States — and, in a previous interview, went as far as to call rock “dead” in his home country. He now admits that might have been a slight overstatement, though he’s eager to lean on 88Rising’s expertise in finding a larger audience to connect with.
After discovering LØREN’s string of singles, 88Rising executive vp John Yang knew the multi-instrumentalist would fill a sonic gap on the label’s lineup. He says he wasn’t even aware of LØREN’s work with BLACKPINK until after the deal was done. “When we sign artists, we always vibe out with them. What really matters is the person, their personality,” says Yang. “We’re not in this business just to become big or make money out of it. We’re here because we love music, and we want other people to enjoy music, too. LØREN’s character, his storytelling and his passion really got us into him.”
Saint Laurent top, pants and shoes.
Ssam Kim
LØREN’s first 88Rising release, the raucous five-track EP Put Up a Fight, was finished by the time he signed his contract. After polishing touches and strategy talks, the project arrived March 24 — and he’s already looking ahead. He has “five or six” tracks completed for his upcoming full-length and is in the throes of practicing something entirely new: playing with other people, for other people.
One of 88Rising’s first orders of business for LØREN was to book a series of U.S. shows, including sets at Coachella and Head in the Clouds, a two-day label-curated festival in New York. He has been hard at work translating his songs for the stage with a band of close friends, which he reveals can be difficult at times, given he records every guitar and drum line on his songs without writing anything down. “Sometimes [my guitarist] asks me, ‘How did you come up with this sound? What pedal did you use?’ I’m just like, ‘I don’t know, dude,’ ” he says with a grin.
But even as everything around him — from his team to his band to his fan base — grows, the inward focus that shaped LØREN early on keeps him grounded. He holds out his hands, nails chipped with black polish, seemingly visualizing the vastness of his future: “I’m a musician at the end of the day,” he continues. “I just want to put out as much music as I can in my lifetime, literally until I die.”
Ssam Kim
This story originally appeared in the April 22, 2023 issue of Billboard.
This story is part of Billboard‘s K-Pop Issue.
When J.Y. Park and Monte Lipman announced their forthcoming competition series A2K — standing for America to Korea — in July 2022, the respective founders of JYP Entertainment and Republic Records vowed to jointly produce “the first American artist made out of the K-pop system.” It was something of a full-circle moment for Park, who has eyed South Korean-to-American crossover success since JYP’s Wonder Girls became the first K-pop act to enter the Billboard Hot 100 in 2009. American artists are now clamoring for Park and other top Korean labels to notice them — and help them achieve their big break — in what has become a global race to launch a first-of-its-kind K-pop act.
While K-pop is short for “Korean pop,” genre fusion has always been one of its pillars and a big part of what has helped it reach new audiences — as has cultivating groups with members from countries outside of South Korea. Today, it’s common for trainees to come not only from China, Japan and Thailand but also countries like Australia, New Zealand, Canada and, now, the United States.
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“The whole strategy often started with having a member able to speak the language for the targeted market,” says John Yang, a U.S.-based entertainment executive who has spent 15 years in the Korean music business. “The K-pop industry realized the power of having members of that nation propelling more of the engagement among the fans and a much quicker local expansion.”
Now, with the genre’s growing popularity in major markets, K-pop stars are defined not by nationality, but by industry standards: years of rigorous training, contracts signed under a Korean agency, visual hallmarks (glossy videos, coordinated choreography) and release strategies involving multiple album drops each year.
“K-pop means ‘Korean popular music,’ ” Yang says. “I see this less as where it’s made, but more of who made it and how it’s produced. I may compare this with the restaurant business: It’s not the location defining it as ‘American,’ ‘Italian’ or ‘Korean,’ and also not about the ethnicity or race of its CEO, managers or even customers that defines cuisine, but more of cuisine consisting of the ingredients, recipes and techniques developed across that respective country.”
Despite the growing number of countries represented in K-pop, nearly all the artists are from Asia or of Asian descent. But the expanding definition of who can be a K-pop star is now seeing Korea’s industry leaders incorporating America’s diverse young talent into their system, regardless of race or ethnicity.
Initially, HYBE was the front-runner in this global gamble. A month before Big Hit Entertainment rebranded as HYBE in March 2021, chairman and then-CEO Bang Si-hyuk, alongside Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge, revealed a strategic partnership that included assembling a “global” K-pop boy group in the United States under a new joint-venture label between Big Hit and Geffen Records. The plans to air worldwide auditions in 2022 with a “major U.S. media partner” changed a bit: HYBE and Geffen subsequently announced five American cities holding auditions for a “global girl group” in March and April 2022 before expanding the auditions to Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom and South Korea for December 2022-January 2023.
In that time, A2K launched its own American Idol-style auditions, bringing Park to Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Dallas and Los Angeles to select contestants to attend an L.A. “boot camp” reminiscent of The X Factor’s, with semifinalists then flying to JYP Entertainment’s Seoul headquarters for what A2K described as “intensive training” with music, dance and business executives. Winners will be part of a supergroup under JYP and Republic Records for all music releases — just like TWICE, Stray Kids and ITZY, which have earned seven top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, including two No. 1s by Stray Kids, since the companies partnered in 2020. TWICE, Stray Kids and JYP’s Japan-based girl group NiziU were all created on similar competition shows and officially debuted three to six months after their respective finales.
While JYP and HYBE worked directly with label partners, SM Entertainment connected directly with MGM Worldwide Television Group for its global venture. SM announced a partnership in May 2021 with MGM and its then-chairman, Mark Burnett, for a competition series forming NCT-Hollywood, a U.S. offshoot of SM’s boy band collective NCT, which has splinter groups across Korea, China and Japan. At the time, an insider told Billboard the show had been in development even before the pandemic — but Burnett’s late-2022 exit from MGM, Lee Soo-man’s controversial ousting from SM earlier this year and an announcement from SM’s new CEOs that the NCT system would halt expansion after a Tokyo-based team launches in 2023 raise questions about the project. (SM declined to comment for this story, as did Republic Records and Geffen Records — a reluctance likely born out of the high degree of competition and similar timelines to launch that they’re operating on.)
While no major U.S. label has made an earnest attempt, American and British “K-pop” groups have been launched before. Dubbed “the world’s most controversial ‘Korean’ band” by the BBC, EXP EDITION began in 2014 as Columbia University student Bora Kim’s master’s thesis that explored the meaning of K-pop music. Kim held auditions to form a band of six non-Korean men who would undergo a truncated version of the years of rigorous training K-pop hopefuls commit to in Seoul with voice coaching, dance rehearsals, language lessons and media training. Supporters donated $30,000 through Kickstarter and, with the help of a private investor, Kim and four of the six EXP EDITION members moved to Korea.
EXP EDITION booked prime K-entertainment TV slots like Mnet’s M Countdown and KBS2’s Immortal Songs, but experts criticized its inability to achieve captivating, onstage perfection — and the group’s 2018 debut EP, First Edition, was its sole release.
KAACHI, created by Frontrow Records and branded as the first London-based K-pop group, faced similar criticism. Unlike EXP EDITION, KAACHI did have one Korean member. Its 2021 music video “Get Up” was sponsored by a Seoul theme park, and the group performed publicly alongside top K-pop stars at the time. Still, the group disbanded in less than two years.
But crucially, today’s ventures to create global K-pop groups have the backing of some of the most powerful companies — Korean and American — in the music business. Whether or not the artists these initiatives yield break through on the Billboard charts, Yang sees future group launches as the ultimate indicator of a healthy, locally grown K-pop presence in America — much in the same way SM, JYP, HYBE and their counterparts have done for decades now in Asia.
“The most obvious indicators of the success of these projects would be Billboard charting, which will only result with the support of their fans without doubt,” he says. “However, the longevity of these partnerships and the birthing of more groups consistently will be the significant historical marker.”
This story originally appeared in the April 22, 2023, issue of Billboard.