K-Pop Journalist. Online Editor.
Super Junior shared behind-the-scenes footage of their Dubai visit last April ahead of the season two premiere of the group’s variety show Super TV. As part of TV in Super TV, a spin-off of Super TV 2, Super Junior gave access to fans wondering what went down while …
Following their debut showcase with the Moombahton Trap single Latata in May, Cube Entertainment’s newest girl group (G)I-DLE has already garnered a fan following online and an increasing interest in their music, leading them to also enter international music charts. The six-piece multinational group’s album entered Billboard’s …
BTS may have taken over the American music market, but they are also making their mark in the Middle East. The record-breaking boy group have reached over 25 million plays on Anghami, making them the only Korean pop act to do so on MENA’s largest music streaming service.
While they continuously top the Billboard charts and break records in their hometown, the K-pop superstars’ new album has also dominated the local iTunes chart.
The septet’s latest full-length album Love Yourself: Tear is currently placed at No. 1 on the UAE iTunes Top Album chart. Their Korean hit track Fake Love not only claimed the top spot on the iTunes’ Top Songs chart, but is also being played on local radio stations.
Apparently BTS has a loyal and devoted fan base in the Middle East, and the group’s agency Big Hit Entertainment has take notice of their growing appeal in the region.
Dates and venues have been announced for BTS’s Love Yourself world tour. Fans across the MENA region are hoping that BTS will add Dubai onto their tour schedule this year.
Client: Gulf News tabloid!
May has been a busy month in the K-pop music scene. Groups such as SHINee came back with a new album to commemorate their 10th anniversary, BTS released their highly anticipated album Love Yourself: Tear, (G)I-DLE officially debuted as a six-member girl group, and many more. …
AOA has finally made their long-awaited comeback as a six-member group with their fifth mini-album Bingle Bangle on May 28. Soon after AOA released their six-track mini album, it entered the iTunes K-pop Albums charts in 13 countries, placing at No.3. Additionally, the member’s new summer, upbeat …
Exo’s multitalented members Kai and Sehun made show-stopping appearances at the fashion industry’s most glamorous runway shows.
Dressed in head-to-toe Gucci, Kai fashionably arrived and stole the spotlight at Gucci’s Cruise 2019 Fashion Show in Arles, France. The K-pop star had fans snapping pictures with him and tweeting, resulting in #GUCCI_KAI to trend worldwide.
The youngest member of EXO, Sehun, who is currently starring in Netflix’s first Korean variety show Busted!, also suited up in Louis Vuitton to attended Vuitton’s Resort 2019 Show held on the French Riviera. His chic ensemble stood out and garnered attention, which resulted in him trending on Twitter worldwide with #SEHUNxLV. He was also selected as the best-dressed man for the second year running by Vogue.
Exo will also reunite as group on stage and are set to perform at the 2018 Busan One Asia Festival in October.
Client: Gulf News tabloid!
Shinee is back! The four members — Onew, Minho, Taemin and Key — have returned to the K-pop scene with a new single Good Evening from The Story of Light EP. 1, the first of three EP’s last week. Key did hint at an album in the works …
South Korean boy group BTS may seem like most other K-pop groups with multi-coloured hair, flawless complexion, colour-coordinated fashion and charismatic visuals. However, underneath the perfectly-packaged group of seven is a rising act breaking the mold in the highly manufactured K-pop industry, turning them into …
K-pop boy band Snuper — which means ‘more than super’ — debuted in November 2015 and have since released several single and mini albums, with hit songs The Star of Stars and Platonic Love.
Snuper landed in Abu Dhabi at the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) on Sunday, and performed free mini concerts in Ajman (April 9) and Sharjah (April 10). Their final gig will be in Al Ain on April 12.
They are also set to perform their last mini concert in Al Ain on Thursday, April 12th at the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) — Al Ain Women’s Campus. Their trip is part of the Travelling Korean Culture 2018, an event hosted by Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the UAE.
The six members — Sang Ho, Sang Il, Su Hyun, Tae Woong, Se Bin and Woo Sung — spoke to Gulf News tabloid! about performing across the Emirates, their thoughts on the K-Pop concert in North Korea, plans for an upcoming album and much more.
Welcome to the Emirates, how does it feel to be performing here for the first time?
Tae Woong: We are so happy to come to the UAE where we always wished to visit. We are so excited to meet our fans in the UAE and cannot wait to spend a great time with them.
Is there any particular place you want to see or visit?
Su Hyun: Want to watch the fountain show under the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Se Bin: Would like to have a foodie tour around the Emirates!
Sang Ho: I wish we could have some time to walk around the streets in the UAE.
Woo Sung: Heard there was a tennis court on top of a tall tower — Burj Al Arab, want to see that too.
You’ve released several mini and single albums, is there a particular Snuper song that holds a special meaning to any of you?
Sang Il: We think Shall We Dance and The Star of Stars are the most meaningful songs to all of us. We debuted with Shall We Dance, so it’s enormously precious to us, and we believe The Star of Stars presented SNUPER the best, and suited the best.
What’s something you would say makes Snuper different from other K-pop groups?
Woo Sung: There are many artists in the industry, but I don’t think we are trying to be different from them. All of artists including us are just on different boats sailing the same ocean. Within that ocean, we are only putting efforts to show as much talent as we could.
Se Bin: We always try hard with cheerful attitudes, and I believe our songs have distinctive colours.
Tae Woong: We will dedicate ourselves and keep working on to be a great group with our own unique colours.
Who from the members has changed the most since your debut? How so?
Woo Sung: All the members became more mature and manly, especially our leader Tae Woong.
How did you feel as K-Pop artists watching South Korean musicians performing in Pyongyang for the first in a decade?
Sang Ho: We were touched to see our senior artists performing on such a meaningful stage where the Korean peninsula harmonised. We wish we could be on such stage in the future, and we will work for it consistently.
Do you look up to any artists as your role models and is there anyone in specific you’d like to collaborate with?
Se Bin & Sang Ho: SHINee
Se Bin & Su Hyun: EXO
Sang Il: Highlight
Tae Woong & Woo Sung: Big Bang. We would like to have a chance to collaborate with Suran or Acoustic Collabo
What kind of group would you hope to be five years from now?
Su Hyun: We wish to be a long-running group, performing on bigger stages and in the bigger world with all our members as best friends.
What’s next for Snuper?
Se Bin: Our new mini album that will be released in this month in Korea! We are preparing a lot for it and hope we could visit the UAE again with the new songs. Please look forward to it!
Is there anything else you’d like to add or tell your Arab Swing [their official fan club] members?
Tae Woong: We can keep going on thanks to all of you fans encouraging us even from far. We are looking forward to seeing you soon. We’ll always show you the better Snuper, love you all.
The Snuper Al Ain concert is free to attend. Performance is scheduled to start at 3.30pm.
Client: Gulf News tabloid!
No one does K-pop concerts like SM Entertainment. From the bright visual stage effects, signature K-pop dance routines, dazzling outfits to a star-studded line-up, the SMTown Live World Tour VI in Dubai was an unforgettable night for K-pop fans. Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumi from Exo’s subunit, Exo-CBX, …