Pop
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Just days after announcing her debut solo album, Jennie has released the music video for her new song “Zen.”
On Friday (Jan. 24), the 29-year-old BLACKPINK star surprised fans with the visually stunning video, directed by Cho Gi-Seok. The three-and-a-half-minute clip follows Jennie as she journeys through cosmic landscapes, showcasing a range of looks that are both elegant and futuristic.
“Nobody gon’ move my soul, gon’ move my aura, my matter/ Nobody gon’ move my life, gon’ touch my goal, my matter/ Nobody gon’, all this power make them scattеr/ No, nobody gon’ touch my soul, gon’ match my flow, like damn,” Jennie sings on the track.
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Earlier this week, Jennie announced that her first solo album, Ruby, will be released on March 7. The project features an impressive roster of collaborators, including Childish Gambino, Dua Lipa, Doechii, Dominic Fike, FKJ and Kali Uchis.
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Ruby will contain 15 tracks, including her October 2024 single “Mantra,” which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart and No. 3 on the Billboard Global 200.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Jennie reflected on the deeply personal journey of creating Ruby.
“It’s not nice to be someone who’s always like, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t say anything,’ ” she said of the project she began in early 2024. “I want to say I’m almost there.” Acknowledging the challenges she faced along the way, she added, “I’m just going to say, ‘I don’t do well with time.’”
But “Zen” wasn’t the only surprise Jennie dropped on Friday. She also announced that she’ll be embarking on a three-city tour to celebrate the release of Ruby. The Ruby Experience will visit Los Angeles (March 6), New York City (March 10) and Seoul (March 15).
“Intense and intimate as I like it,” Jennie captioned the announcement on Instagram.
Check out Jennie’s music video for “Zen” below on YouTube.
Heidi Montag is thanking fans for all their support in recent weeks with a surprise musical gift. The Hills alum took to social media on Friday (Jan. 24) to announce that she released Superficial 2, the following-up to her 2010 album, Superficial. “SURPRISE! As a special thank you for all the love and support, and […]
North West is saying konnichiwa to the next step in her music career, guesting on FKA Twigs’ new album, Eusexua, almost a year after she made her musical debut on dad Ye’s Vultures 1. The 11-year-old daughter of the artist formerly known as Kanye West and Kim Kardashian raps in Japanese on “Childlike Things” — […]
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Bruno Mars gets sexy with Sexyy, Travis Scott delivers his stadium-sized new single and Central Cee proves that patience pays off. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Sexyy Red & Bruno Mars, “Fat Juicy & Wet”
Bruno Mars has scored a pair of recent smashes, “Die With a Smile” and “APT.,” by finding a midpoint between his pop sensibility and that of his respective collaborators, Lady Gaga and ROSÉ; with the audacious “Fat Juicy & Wet,” however, Mars fully enters the world of Sexyy Red, dropping a gleefully explicit anthem built around the rising pop star’s sexual innuendos and a club-pulverizing beat.
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Travis Scott, “4×4”
For his first solo track since 2023, Travis Scott builds on his maximalist aesthetic with “4×4,” which pairs orchestral heft with a pitch-shifted flow. Scott debuted “4×4,” which will help support California fire relief funds through CD single sales, at the College Football Playoff National Championship Game earlier this week, and the studio track earns its stadium debut.
Central Cee, Can’t Rush Greatness
The title Can’t Rush Greatness nods to how long UK rapper Central Cee has been waiting for this crossover moment: after years of building hype, collecting collaborations and scoring increasingly bigger hits (culminating in “Band4Band,” last year’s team-up with Lil Baby), he now has a guest-packed, generally riveting debut full-length to call his own.
FKA Twigs, Eusexua
A decade’s worth of FKA Twigs albums have been leading to Eusexua, the culmination of her experimental amalgamation of pop, R&B, electronic and club music that finds Twigs carving out accessible pathways for new listeners while remaining as daring as ever for longtime fans. The opening run of the title track, “Girl Feels Good” and “Perfect Stranger” is perhaps the most entrancing 10-minute stretch of music we’ve gotten so far in 2025.
Tate McRae, “Sports Car”
Tate McRae has grown increasingly confident in her dance-pop formula since “Greedy” became the biggest hit of her career a little over a year ago, and while “Sports Car” crackles like her recent single releases, the whispered chorus elevates her latest, drawing the listener in before shoving them back out to dance.
Teddy Swims, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2)
“Lose Control” is a hard commercial bar to reach — the single did top Billboard’s year-end Hot 100, after all — so on his latest release, Teddy Swims wisely tries not to re-create his breakthrough smash, and instead flesh out some husky sing-alongs like “Guilty” and “Funeral,” as well as corral some new famous friends like Coco Jones, GloRilla and Giveon.
Kane Brown, The High Road
As Kane Brown keeps cranking out crossover country hits — “Miles on It” with Marshmello was another top 20 smash last year — he concurrently continues telling stories that reach a wide listenership, and on new album The High Road, that includes heart-wrenched fare like the Jelly Roll duet “Haunted” as well as a pair of new collaborations with his wife, Katelyn Brown.
Editor’s Pick: Djo, “Basic Being Basic”
“End of Beginning” became a well-deserved viral breakthrough for actor Joe Keery’s musical project Djo last year, and in 2025, things sound like they’re about to get stranger: “Basic Being Basic” is a lovably off-kilter new single, a callback to ‘80s synth-pop with a hook that highlights Keery’s upper register and lyrics that should launch a million TikTok lip synchs.
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” becomes the first No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart by an act prominent in K-pop (Korean pop), as it jumps three spots to the top of the latest, Feb. 1-dated survey.
A week earlier, the song surpassed BTS’ “Dynamite,” which peaked at No. 5 on the radio ranking in December 2020, as the highest charting such Pop Airplay hit. “Dynamite” remains the only top five hit on the tally by a K-pop group.
“APT.,” on The Black Label/Atlantic Records, marks the first Pop Airplay chart entry for ROSÉ as a soloist; star K-pop quartet BLACKPINK has charted two tracks (reaching a No. 21 best) with her as a member.
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Mars, meanwhile, earns his 11th Pop Airplay No. 1 — one-upping Justin Bieber for the most among male soloists since the chart began in October 1992. Overall, Taylor Swift boasts a record 13 leaders, followed by Maroon 5, Mars, Katy Perry and Rihanna with 11 each, and Bieber and Ariana Grande with 10 each.
The Pop Airplay chart ranks songs by weekly plays on over 150 mainstream top 40 radio stations monitored by Mediabase, with data provided to Billboard by Luminate.
A select five hits by acts prominent in K-pop have climbed to the Pop Airplay top 10, beginning with PSY’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012. That viral smash and “APT.” are the only such songs billed to solo artists. Here’s a recap:
No. 1 (one week to date), “APT.,” ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, Feb. 1, 2025
No. 5, “Dynamite,” BTS, Dec. 19, 2020
No. 7, “Cupid,” Fifty Fifty, Aug. 5, 2023
No. 7, “Butter,” BTS, Aug. 7, 2021
No. 10, “Gangnam Style,” PSY, Oct. 27, 2012
Pop Airplay chart reporter KMVQ (99.7 Now) San Francisco leads all panelists with more than 1,500 plays to date for “APT.,” dating to the single’s Oct. 18 release. WHTZ (Z100) New York, KIIS (102.7 KIIS-FM) Los Angeles and SiriusXM’s Hits 1 and TikTok Radio have also given the song notable exposure.
“APT.” – from ROSÉ’s album rosie, her first apart from BLACKPINK – has ruled the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts for 11 and 12 weeks, respectively. On the Billboard Hot 100, the song holds at its No. 5 high, with ROSÉ having become the first female K-pop artist to have reached the chart’s top five.
All charts dated Feb. 1 will update Tuesday, Jan. 28, on Billboard.com.
J-Hope thrilled a crowd of 35,000 at Paris’ Le Gala des Piéces Jaunes at La Défense Arena charity gala on Thursday with a three-song set of his solo and group hits. The BTS singer performed at the show led by French First Lady Brigette Macron, who, according to a statement, specially requested he open the event.
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Dressed in billowing black cullotes, a pattered jacket and black leather gloves, the K-pop superstar took the stage after the audience chanted his name as he worked through a set of his solo songs “On the Street” — from 2024’s Hope on the Street Vol. 1 mini-LP — and “More” from his debut solo album, Jack in the Box, as well as the BTS classic “MIC Drop.” The latter two were re-arranged into orchestral pieces, “adding a layer of grandeur and intensity,” according to the statement.
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It noted that the high-point was an energetic run through “MIC Drop,” which reportedly caused the crowd’s energy to skyrocket “as they chanted the track’s official cheer in unison.”
“It’s been such a long time since I performed in Europe, and I’m so happy to have been invited to such a meaningful event,” J-Hope said in the statement. “I’ve once again realized how incredible it is to bring hope and comfort to people through music and dance. I’m beyond grateful to ARMY for their unwavering support, and I’d love to return to perform again whenever I get the chance.”
The show organized by the Opération Pièces Jaunes foundation — which is led by the First Lady, who also chairs the charity – was a fundraiser for hospitalized children and teenagers; the entire show, which also featured sets by Katy Perry, J Balvin, Burna Boy and John Legend, will be broadcast on France’s national channel, France 2, on Tuesday (Jan. 28).
It appeared that the performers were gifted with an oversized croissants, with Perry posting a series of photos and videos in which she cradled and crunched into the comically large pastry.
As BTS fans await the group’s expected return this year after all its members complete their mandatory South Korean military service, J-Hope recently teased “new music on the way” and announced the dates for his upcoming first-ever solo tour, Hope on the Stage, which will kick off in his native Seoul on Feb. 28.
For half a century, it has been one of the most coveted, sought-after gigs in music. Performing two music numbers on Saturday Night Live is a rite of passage, a gig that has drawn legends (Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, John Prine, Paul Simon), rebels who took the opportunity to make some noise (Elvis Costello, Rage Against the Machine, Sinead O’Connor) and just about every pop star known to man (Eminem, Destiny’s Child/Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Kelly Clarkson).
It’s all covered in obsessive detail in the upcoming anniversary doc, Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music, one of a barrage of specials and look-backs celebrating the pioneering sketch show’s storied history. The first trailer for the doc co-directed by Roots drummer Questlove teases behind-the-scenes footage and stories, interviews with famous performers and a dive into some of the show’s headline-making musical moments.
It opens with a montage of guest hosts uttering the iconic “ladies and gentlemen” intro, including Steve Carrell, George Clooney, Madonna, Quentin Tarantino, Sydney Sweeney, Travis Kelce, Ariana Grande, Timothée Chalamet and Chris Rock, among many others.
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Over glimpses of performances by the Grateful Dead, Wonder, James Brown, Lauryn Hill and Bruce Springsteen, Rage guitarist Tom Morello says that SNL has served as a “time capsule through the decades for America.” Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl adds, “for me it was the most iconic American show of all time” alongside adorably awkward footage of his younger self with his Nirvana bandmates making nice with host NBA legend Charles Barkley.
Dua Lipa talks about the pressure of not knowing what will happen on the show that notoriously switches things up until the moment cameras click on, with Cyrus hinting at the precarious nature of live TV, calling it “the tightrope walk… they wanna see you dangle, they don’t wanna see you fall.” Jagger chronicles running from a sketch to the stage to perform, “covered in sweat” amid sprints to quick-change between commericals.
Cast members from throughout the years also talk about the landmark early TV slots of hip-hop legends The Funky 4 Plus One More, Run-DMC and Tupac Shakur, as well as moments when acts such as Rage and Costello “went rogue” with envelope-pushing performances. It also promises to unpack one of the most controversial sets in SNL history: O’Connor’s infamous 1992 shocker when she did a cover of Bob Marley’s “War” before holding up a picture of the Pope and tearing it to pieces as she said “fight the real enemy.”
Along the way, there are stops at the legendary studio-trashing tornado unleashed by John Belushi favorites hardcore punk madmen Fear, as well as Ashley Simpson’s 2004 lip synch fiasco.
Among the other talking heads in the film are: Justin Timberlake, Paul Shaffer, Jimmy Fallon, Eddie Murphy, Olivia Rodrigo, Jack White, Kacy Musgraves, Conan O’Brien, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Andy Samberg, Chris Stapleton, Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, Bad Bunny and many former and current cast members.
The three-hour doc co-directed by Oz Rodriguez and Questlove will air on NBC on Jan. 27 and stream on Peacock the next day.
Watch the 50 Years of SNL Music trailer below.
The gripping story of 1960s/early 70s musical supernova Sylvester Stewart, better known as Sly Stone, will unfold in the upcoming musical doc Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius). The first, heady trailer for the eagerly anticipated film directed by Roots drummer Questlove dropped on Thursday night (Jan. 23) and it promises to unpack the unbelievable highs, and shocking lows of the once-in-a-generation talent behind Sly and the Family Stone.
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The first look at the film that will begin streaming on Hulu on Feb. 13 hints at the too-much-too-soon supernova ride taken by Stone and his then-pioneering multi-racial band, who burst onto the scene in 1968 with their first hit, “Dance to the Music,” before becoming household names thanks to 1969 No. 1 hit “Everyday People.” The group that preached unity and brotherhood went on to score a number of other indelible Billboard Hot 100 top 10s, including “Hot Fun in the Summertime,” “Dance to the Music,” and No. 1 smashes “Family Affair” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again).”
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The two-minute trailer opens with Quest asking OutKast’s André 3000 if he believes in the concept of musical genius over footage of Stone in his musical heyday, owning the stage with his hyperkinetic moves, peacocking costumes, oversized shades and voluminous afro. A larger-than-life figure whose message of peace and unity was custom-built for the late 1960s age of Aquarius, Stone broke all the rules and inspired generations of Black (and white) musicians to come, as attested to by the film’s A-list line-up of talking heads.
Proof of that legacy comes with D’Angelo, Chaka Khan, George Clinton, Terry Lewis and Living Colour’s Vernon Reid attesting to the Family Stone’s massive popularity at the time over footage of the group rocking the stage.
“Sly created this unique space,” says Q-Tip, with P-Funk icon Clinton noting that at that time a group with a “mixed” line-up of men and women, white and Black, was a new thing. “They sounded like nothing else sounds,” says producer Jimmy Jam of the group’s uplifting, life-affirming mix of soul, pop, R&B, funk and gospel on records such as “I Want to Take You Higher” and “If Want Me to Stay” at a time when the country was riven by division over the Vietnam War.
The film mixes in archival footage of the enigmatic singer and new interviews with Nile Rodgers, P-Funk singer Ruth Copeland and music industry icon Clive Davis, as well as Family Stone members Larry Graham Jr., Jerry Martini and Greg Errico. In addition to introducing a new generation to Stone’s music, it also seeks to understand the pressure put on Black geniuses by society’s expectations, and how that spotlight can sometimes lead, as in Stone’s case, to destructive results. Or as Stone says, “at the time… it was almost too much all at once.”
The preview makes it clear that Quest will delve into the “anxiety, the pressure, the drug use,” the latter a nod to Stone’s long struggle with mental health issues and substance use, which led to cancelled concerts, arrests and the bitter dissolution of the band whose public calling card was unity.
“If you’ve been on this heightened, explosive life… your body has taken in so much energy and you’ve given out so much energy and you stop… where’s that energy go?,” wonders André 3000 about the rocket ride to the top and nearly as rapid descent into chaos experienced by Stone.
A description of the film that premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on Thursday night promises that it, “examines the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone, the groundbreaking band led by the charismatic and enigmatic Sly Stone… [capturing] the band’s rise, reign and subsequent fadeout while shedding light on the unseen burden that comes with success for Black artists in America.”
It is the follow-up to Quest’s Oscar-winning 2021 Summer of Soul doc about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival (aka “Black Woodstock”).
Watch the Sly Lives! trailer below.
As documented from BTS‘ industry-shifting trilogy albums to the multidimensional universes created by the likes of ATEEZ and aespa, storytelling has become a crucial point to help power K-pop acts to top the charts and connect closely with their ever-growing global fanbases. With 20 years in the industry, Jaden Jeong remains so committed to his musical lores that he refuses to abandon them — even years after its original group has effectively dissolved.
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The founder and CEO of Korean-pop label and creative house Modhaus, Jeong’s work touched generations of K-pop fans with various involvement in superstar acts ranging from Lee Hyori and Wonder Girls to INFINITE, NCT, and OnlyOneOf, but most famously found his name associated alongside his work with girl group LOONA. Jeong acted as creative director for the 12-member outfit since its start in 2016, overseeing music and a larger narrative where the outfit introduced each girl through her own solo album. Despite drawing in fans like Grimes, Kim Petras and multiple queens from the RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise, he parted ways with LOONA’s label BlockBerry Creative in 2019 over a vague difference in creative direction. His exit not only marked a shift in LOONA’s sound (from forward-thinking synth and hyper-pop confections) but also abandoned the larger musical lore the 12 were developing (which included officially teased songs, a ballad project, international expansion, and more).
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But on Jan. 17, 2025, LOONA members HeeJin, HaSeul, Kim Lip, JinSoul, and Choerry — who recently reformed as ARTMS under Modhaus — dropped their “X1” teaser trailer featuring what fans thought sounded awfully similar to a sound previously teased from LOONA in 2019, the presumably lost track titled “BURN.”
Speaking openly about the behind-the-scenes dealings from the past as well as his future creative directions for the first time with Billboard, Jeong says that he and ARTMS will continue LOONA’s legacy through future music releases and touring beginning with the upcoming digital release of ARTMS’ “BURN.”
All 12 of LOONA’s members have successfully returned to the K-pop scene either as soloists (like members Chuu and Yves) or in a new group (as HyunJin, YeoJin, ViVi, Go Won and HyeJu did for two years as Loossemble), Jeong says he watches over all of their creative moves and is cognizant to be sensitive about the amount work that everyone has put into the group.
While shooting new content for ARTMS’ upcoming music as well as a new album for Modhaus’ experimental 24-member girl group tripleS, Jeong says he’s under the weather but still speaks a fiery passion about his past, current and future work that speaks to detail-oriented-yet-grandiose creative vision.
Why are you and ARTMS releasing “BURN” now when LOONA could not? How did you come to this decision?
I am well aware that many fans were looking forward to “BURN,” and for me as well, as it was the very last project I worked on right before leaving BlockBerry Creative. So, when Modhaus signed ARTMS, we wanted to release this song, it was just that we knew the timing would be important. We didn’t release “BURN” as the first song because if we released “BURN” with the reveal of ARTMS, it could have made it look like LOONA Version 2 and weakened ARTMS’ identity. So, we wanted to start ARTMS’ own story and work to where the story can lead up to its release.
Before we look forward to ARTMS, I’d like to reflect on how we got here. I remember learning your name for being closely associated with LOONA, but you left for somewhat vague reasons. The LOONA members left the label as well. Is there more you can share today?
So, this overall situation is quite tricky to express with words…I feel like my departure, or the reason for it, can sound like a criticism against someone, some organization, or a situation; that’s why I’ve avoided answering. But after all this time, if I were to give a little more insight into this…as you know, the members have left after going through a legal proceeding. You can say my whole situation is similar to what the members went through.
That gives some insight because you’ve explained your system with tripleS and the necessary amount of albums to sell for a unit to release more. It paints a picture of the financial realities facing K-pop acts. LOONA had 12 members, so I’ve heard theories wondering if it was difficult to financially justify the large-scale project you envisioned.
Answering about the financial side might sound like I’m criticizing one party over another, so I will only answer from my own side of things…so, like any other team, you start off the group through investments. Then you go through steps where you’re able to recoup [the investments] and make a profit. In the case of LOONA, I actually marketed it as a very expensive project, a group that would require a lot of money to be invested. However, in actuality, there was very compact spending and budgeting. In mentioning that, you can say, for example, that three billion Korean won [about $2.1 million] is a lot of money, while some can say that is a tight budget — it can change according to perspective. But when I’ve worked on groups, it’s not as if I was only working as the producer, but I had to calculate budget and expenses. There were many members for LOONA and we marketed it as an expensive project despite the consolidated spending, so we believe there could have been some illusions or misconceptions. However, especially considering the 12 members, there was a good turnaround, even financially.
So, what was “BURN” going to be with LOONA and what will it be ARTMS?
For the sake of comparison, tripleS is a group where fans’ decisions and interactions are very involved in creating the journey and next project. However, we planned out LOONA from the start. We had [the singles] “Hi High” and “Butterfly,” which are actually very different in concept and style, but I believe the fans could see how those two songs ultimately emerge and connect. The track after “Butterfly” was meant to be none other than “BURN,” so that’s why the “Butterfly” activities ended with a teaser trailer for “BURN;” this was all planned out.
I never told this to anyone in the world, but after “BURN,” we planned to work on [singles titled] “RUN” and then “ONE.” The three are a trilogy, just like how “Hi High” and “Butterfly” connect. “BURN” is about burning oneself, burning one’s identity away…you know, during puberty, you leave behind and “shed” your younger self? It’s like leaving that part of you behind as you grow in your identity. So, the trilogy is about “BURN” and burning oneself, “RUN” where the 12 members run their individual paths, and “ONE” is when the 12 members come together as “one.” For ARTMS, the story I have is that they came out with “Birth” and “Virtual Angel.” Angels can be interpreted in many different ways — for us, the wingbeat, or the act of flapping the wings, can be viewed as a butterfly. Now, “BURN” is meant to burn these very wings so it’s the perfect follow-up. Or that’s how we view it. [Laughs]
Where does ARTMS go from here?
I don’t want to spoil everything, but snippet videos for “BURN” were filmed in Europe and will be released soon. ARTMS is working on a lot of music that will be intertwined with “BURN.” I don’t want to outright share the spoiler, but you can think of it as something after the burn, something from the ashes, almost like a new self and identity. You’ll just have to see how it goes.
But I also have “RUN” and “ONE” in store, but can’t share everything so you’ll just have to look forward.
Sounds like a phoenix is rising soon. But this is all so fascinating; where do you pull your inspiration from?
I don’t think there is anything special, I am like anyone else: the books from my youth, Hollywood movies these days, advertisements, I get inspiration from many different things. It’s not like I have a special talent related to this. However, I do like new things quite a lot. I gain this sense of enjoyment in showcasing something that has yet to be achieved or never before seen.
Back to the music, ARTMS visited the U.S. last year as part of their Moonshot World Tour. Do you have future concert plans?
ARTMS’ next tour will consist of mostly of all LOONA songs. Fans may be confused as to why there are so many LOONA songs, and why ARTMS is performing it, but as someone who really participated in producing these songs, LOONA has a huge catalog of very good songs and we wanted to keep that legacy going. I wanted to have two concepts within ARTMS, where they can tour with ARTMS but also with LOONA’s music.
ARTMS consists of five of LOONA’s original 12. Is there a way you see the remaining members connecting into this future story?
This might be a sensitive topic because I’m planning new things with ARTMS, but I still have a pretty good relationship with all the members including the soloists. And they’re all doing well in their own personal activities. Yves and Chuu are doing well as soloists, Loossemble may be going through a rocky time now and we’re still maintaining that good relationship, but it’s hard to bring all that together as everyone is doing well in their respective areas.
That being said, we’re getting “BURN,” but you teased other LOONA projects during your time — LOONA the Ballad or La Maison LOONA, music aimed at the Japanese market. Do you keep them in mind for future projects?
Like I mentioned, I do a lot of planning — maybe two to three years in advance. I do have lots of songs in store and some are previously recorded. From the fans’ perspective, it makes me really sad that so many of these songs have not been released to this day. The same goes for me as I was participating in these projects and also put a lot of effort into them — the fact that they haven’t been released yet is still saddening to me as well. I do want to showcase those songs with ARTMS but as mentioned, I don’t want to share straight them from the beginning as we’re still developing the identity of ARTMS. Also, with the unsure situation with Loossemble, we didn’t want to jump into it out of respect, but in the future I do want to integrate those songs into ARTMS’ catalog.
Your career spans 20 years at this point. Is there any moment or release you look at with pride? You collaborated on INFINITE’s INFINITIZE album, which is a high point in K-pop, in my opinion.
I really put everything into that album. The memories of those days live with me so vividly — there is a car in the music video for [lead single] “The Chaser,” where it flipped around a full 360 degrees and that memory is still fresh in my mind.
But one of the things that I liked about INFINITE is that they didn’t use [American] pop as a reference. Even now, you can say it’s a trend for many K-pop groups to mix American pop and hip-hop styles into their music. However, for INFINITE, maybe it was our youthful spirit, but I wanted to make them the standard and identity for K-pop — as in, making Korean K-pop with Korean attributes and without U.S. references. Although doing music 100 percent without U.S. reference would be difficult, admittedly. But we really had such bravado and determination.
Your work has spanned from creative direction, A&R, concept planning and, now, a CEO of your own company with Modhaus. Is there a particular role or aspect you enjoy most?
As many know, I was a freelancer when producing LOONA. Same for the other artists I’ve worked with, I was always contracted with them. I came to realize there is a certain limit to working with, as well as the funds of, other companies. Obviously, I do a lot of step-by-step planning and it was sad that it had to come to an ending. But through all the experiences I’ve gained, I thought I had to create my own company to really get that creative process going, but also support other creatives in their fields to express more of themselves freely in their work. I thought timing for that was right.
Looking ahead, what would you like to share about the future of Modhaus, tripleS, or beyond?
Firstly, when it comes to tripleS, last year we released their full, 24-member album [ASSEMBLE24] and tripleS did their activities as 24 members. Since tripleS has many members, I want to do more activities and more various, different contents with tripleS. All the members have their own brand of charm and characteristics, so there is much more content in store that we want to show to the world.
Regarding Modhaus, I truly want to make it the entertainment company that proposes and showcases new content, concepts and visions. What this means is that — well, there are many entertainment companies and several hundred or dozens of new [K-pop] teams each year. I am sorry to say this, but they are all pretty similar. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but for tripleS, people can say “Modhaus debuted a 24-member group.” Whether the people like it or dislike it, whatever their reaction is, it is a new concept in Korea or around the world. So, we want to try and pursue a different vision and try different content — the very content that people will say, “I never saw that before” or “I’ve never seen that in K-pop.” We want to pursue and showcase that and succeed with that mindset.
ROSÉ totally shredded at the skatepark recently — but not on a skateboard. Instead, the BLACKPINK star delivered gnarly vocals while performing a live version of her song “3am,” setting up shop with her band at Channel Street Skatepark in Los Angeles. A video of the performance posted Thursday (Jan. 23) opens with an overhead […]