K-Pop Journalist. Online Editor.
Hyolyn has announced a comeback with her second mini-album, ‘Say My Name’. On August 7, the singer excited fans by dropping a first teaser image of her upcoming musical offering, which is slated for release on August 19. At time of writing, no further details …
Wonho, formerly of Monsta X, officially launched his solo career with English track ‘Losing You’. The singer-songwriter opened up a new chapter with the piano-driven ballad after parting ways with the K-Pop group amid a series of allegations that emerged online last year involving unpaid …
Lee Hi signed with label AOMG after leaving YG Entertainment, home to high-profile acts like BlackPink and BigBang, last December.
Founded in 2013, the hip-hop label run by rapper Jay Park officially announced its newest member on its social media.
“We are proud to announce that the incredibly talented artist, Lee Hi has been officially signed with AOMG. Please look forward to her next chapter with AOMG,” the Korean-based label tweeted.
Other artists signed under AOMG include Simon Dominic, LOCO, Gray, and Punchnello.
The next day, the South Korean songstress released new soulful R&B single ‘Holo’, her first musical offering since May 2019’s EP ‘24℃’.
Accompanied by a heart-warming, reflective music video featuring someone who seems to be a mirror of her younger self, the song covers the theme of loneliness and consolation with an important message of loving yourself.
The singer has been a singer for eight years now since becoming a runner-up for music survival show ‘K-Pop Star’ in 2011, leading her to join YG Entertainment as a soloist. This year, she was featured on EXO’s Chanyeol and Raiden’s single ‘Yours’ along with Changmo.
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K-Pop singer Somi made her musical comeback with ebullient single ‘What You Waiting For’ on July 22. The R&B genre dance-pop track is about a girl falling in love and is produced by Teddy Park, who is the founder of her label, and co-written by …
Kang Daniel excited fans with the release of a teaser clip — revealing colours transforming from cyan to magenta — announcing his comeback with second mini-album titled ‘Magenta’ last week. The K-Pop soloist confirmed the official release of the forthcoming second installment of his colour-themed …
K-Pop queens Hwasa and Sunmi wrapped up the month of June with powerful comebacks.
Last Monday, the former member of now-defunct girl group Wonder Girls dropped a K-Pop summer anthem ‘pporappippam’, 10 months after her hit ‘Lalalay’.
Written and co-composed by Sunmi herself with the help of long-time producer FRANTS, the new bright and refreshing track, which loosely translates to ‘purple night’ in Korean, is unlike her past songs such as ‘Gashina’, ‘Noir and ‘Siren’ that revolve around ending relationships or cynicism of love.
With this new retro-style, city pop single, the singer-songstress compares the heart-pounding feelings of being in love to the mystical, romantic purple hue briefly displayed when the sun sets.
Another leading solo female artist in K-Pop made a solid return is none other than Mamamoo’s Hwasa, marking another incredible release with seven-track EP ‘Maria’ and namesake title track— named after her baptismal name.
Opting for a somewhat darker concept, Hwasa, whose real name is Ahn Hye-jin, covers the struggles around fame and identity in the introspective lead. Rather, she encourages herself to stand up and remain unapologetically herself.
Seen referencing 2000 Italian romantic drama ‘Malèna’, the music video itself is mischievous and seductive, showing two sides of Ahn: Hwasa and Maria.
She participated in the lead’s composition and lyrics and was involved in the creative process of her debut EP, showcasing her versatility as a musician. Hwasa also recruited prolific artist and producer Zico to produce song ‘Kidding’. Rapper DPR Live is also a featured artist in track ‘I’m Bad Too’.
Other K-Pop artists like Zico, AB6IX, UP10TION’s Lee JinHyuk and WOODZ have also joined last week’s roster of comeback line ups.
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Zico is set to heat up this summer with new music. Last week, his agency KOZ Entertainment made the surprising announcement, revealing that the chart-topping hip-hop hitmaker’s upcoming EP ‘Random Box’ is slated for July 1 release. This comes just six months after conquering the …
Taemin is all set to make a summer comeback next month. On June 5, SM Entertainment reportedly confirmed this to various media outlets that were reporting on his pending return to the music scene, disclosing that the youngest member of SHINee will release a new …
Prominent Korean and K-Pop artists have shown their support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and joined in solidarity following the unlawful death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis.
Day6’s Jae, Jay Park, GOT7’s Mark and Yugyeom, Crush, Heize are among a number of artists that donated to BLM and shared their support for the black community. BTS and label Big Hit Entertainment have also donated $1 million (Dh3.7 million) to BLM, Variety reports.
“Many artists and people around the world get so much inspiration by black culture and music including me. We have a duty to respect every race,” R’n’B artist Crush wrote on his Instagram.
Rapper and songstress CL has also taken to her Instagram to call for solidarity and talked about how black artists have inspired her work, the K-Pop industry and former band 2NE1.
“Artists, directors, writers, dancers, designers, producers, stylists in the K-Pop industry are all inspired by black culture whether they acknowledge it or not. I would like to encourage all the K-Pop fans to give back and show their love and support for all that we have received from Black artists,” the former 2NE1 member wrote.
“I want to explain to all the K-Pop fans, fellow Asians, and non-Americans who feel like they have little or no connection to what’s happening that we are all connected at the end of the day. And don’t we, Asians living abroad, also face enough racism to the point where we are numb and sick of it? We must stand up together as one helping them fight for justice.”
Joining global celebrities, CLC’s Sorn, Samuel, Eric Nam, BTOB’s Peniel, Hoya, AleXa, Dean, Minzy, Tiger JK, NCT 127′s Johnny, BoA, Momoland’s Ahin, JooE and Nancy, Red Velvet’s Yeri have also supported the movement with messages on their personal social media accounts.
K-Pop rock band 2Z took a knee to demand justice for Floyd with captions that read: “No racism. No violence. We want peace”.
Others have also shared links to foundations and fund-raising platforms while other musicians like BTOB’s Eunkwang, BoA and Psy posted black squares for #BlackOutTuesday, an initiative by the music industry in the ongoing fight against injustice.
Much like music companies and other businesses, Jay Park and Cha Cha Malone’s hip-hop label H1GHR Music postponed the release of music and have also donated $21,000 to the BLM organisation.
K-Pop bands BTS, Monsta X and Ateez have issued statements online, condemning racial disparity and voiced their support of the black community days after protests sparked across the US and in other countries.
“We stand in solidarity with those who have given their lives for the right to be heard,” Ateez tweeted on June 4.
Considered one of the most active and organised communities online, K-Pop fans have also worked together to refrain from using K-Pop-related hashtags in order to support the BLM movement.
They reportedly flooded not only the Dallas Police Department’s iWatch Dallas app with K-Pop fancams but also social media with #WhiteLivesMatter accompanied by images, fancam footage and memes of their favourite artists to drown out racist, white-supremacist messages.
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Baekhyun made a sweet solo return with second mini-album ‘Delight’ and the title track ‘Candy’ last Monday. “Got me feeling like pop rocks, strawberry, bubblegum,” the Exo vocalist sings as he compares himself to different candy flavours in the trendy R’n’B track before professing, “All …