K-Pop
Fan Chant: K-Pop Highlights of 2022 and Holiday Cheer
Welcome to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. Each week, I’ll be rolling out interviews, lists, and all kinds of content to keep you in the loop on the latest and greatest from our friends in Seoul and beyond. Also, make sure to subscribe to my companion newsletter! December always seems to be a time to reflect on the year, and as our Annual Report continues to roll out, I’ve found myself thinking about the joys and surprises that came with being a K-pop fan in the year 2022. Fan Chant launched in August, and it’s been so fun to have a designated place to round up the week’s news and announcements, and I’m so excited to continue expanding the interviews and behind the scenes content here in 2023. (On the note of our Annual Report, be sure to check out my l...
Red Velvet & Aespa Spread Holiday Cheer in ‘Beautiful Christmas’ Video: Watch
SM Entertainment label mates Red Velvet and aespa knew exactly what their fans wanted for Christmas — a song collaboration. The K-pop groups delivered on Wednesday (Dec. 14), releasing a glimmering new track titled “Beautiful Christmas” to celebrate the most wonderful time of year. The festive visual for the song kicks off with the viewer being given an all-access ticket to the 2022 Winter SMTOWN: SMCU Palace, a holiday party where girl groups that exist in the SM Entertainment Culture Universe convene for some Christmas fun. Red Velvet and aespa, naturally, are the stars and first appear in the “Beautiful Christmas” video decorating an all-white Christmas tree with ornaments, exchanging gifts, and relaxing near the fireplace decked out with candles. As the song nears its upbeat chorus, th...
Stanning BTS: RM’s Indigo Album Review
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Radio Public | Pocket Casts | RSS After a bit of a delay, it’s finally here: RM’s Indigo has arrived, and Stanning BTS is here with a full review! Advertisement Related Video The BTS leader’s new solo album has hosts Kayla and Bethany completely obsessed. “Still Life,” “Change Pt.2,” “Lonely,” and “Wildflower”! There are bops, there are intimate songs, and his lyricism truly touches hearts. RM said that Indigo is an archive of his final years in his 20s and a diary from 2019 to 2022. And he delivered. There are so many times that we wonder what is going on in RM’s mind and now we have a whole album. Our sage, our artist, has really made something special and we have a super-sized ...
RM’s ‘Indigo’: Every Song Ranked
When RM officially introduced himself to the music industry through BTS‘ debut in 2013, the then-18-year-old Kim Namjoon was known through the stage name Rap Monster after being praised by hip-hop veterans for his spitting abilities, but he later shared a love-hate relationship with the moniker. In 2017, the star made the formal move to professionally go by RM after realizing it didn’t fully represent who he was or his love for all music. Instead, “RM” now opened his name up to represent a range of meanings, one of them thought to be the “Real Me.” Even if rap is where RM started, his first proper solo album, Indigo, shows that it’s only one facet of the musician. With assistance from longtime musical legends in different genres, plus rising up-and-comers, the LP is a collection of songs t...
K-Pop Promoter Behind BTS, BLACKPINK Tours Partners With AEG Presents
AEG Presents, a global leader in concert promotion and artist development, on Thursday (Dec. 8) announced an official strategic partnership with K-pop touring and marketing company Powerhouse. The two live music companies, which have worked together on many successful K-pop artists over the past 13 years, will collaborate on all aspects of the live K-pop business including touring, production, marketing and media across every level. “In the course of last two decades, K-pop has grown to be one of the most popular genres in the global music industry.,” says C.S. Hah, Powerhouse chief executive and president. “The K-pop market has proven its depth and width to be more matured than ever, and I hope our launch of this formal partnership with AEG Presents can help K-pop grow to reach new horizo...
Fan Chant: Breaking Down Omega X’s Legal Battle
Welcome to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. Each week, I’ll be rolling out interviews, lists, and all kinds of content to keep you in the loop on the latest and greatest from our friends in Seoul and beyond. Also, make sure to subscribe to my companion newsletter! This week’s column contains mentions of abuse. On Wednesday, December 7th, K-pop group Omega X attended their first hearing in the battle to terminate their exclusive contracts with agency Spire Entertainment. All eleven members, whose ages range from 21 to 27 years old, were present at the Seoul Eastern District Court. For those who might not be familiar with Omega X, a group stemming from a smaller label, the conversation around the case to terminate their exclusive contract as a team has rig...
How hello82 Brought K-Pop Fan E-Commerce to the Top of the Charts & On Tour With ATEEZ
To millions of K-pop fans, hello82 has been a destination to watch their favorite idols take on viral challenges, play celebrity babysitter to kids, attempt karaoke in foreign languages and star in other ready-to-share videos. But in the past year, the company behind the multi-language YouTube channels has expanded its e-commerce offerings to better meet its’ viewers’ wants. The results have led to success for the four-year-old company on the Billboard charts and, as of last week, completing their first “tour.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news When ATEEZ‘s first U.S. shows since 2019 kicked off in January for The Fellowship: Beginning of the End tour, the band was selling out arenas but had yet to break into the Top 40 of ...
BTS’ Management Begs Fans Not to Visit Jin While He’s in the Military
You may think it’s common knowledge that everyday civilians aren’t welcome on military bases, but BigHit, BTS’ management company, isn’t so sure. As Jin begins his mandatory service in the South Korean military this month, BigHit issued a statement asking fans to “please refrain” from visiting him at his new job. Jin will begin his military training on December 13th, and BigHit informed fans that the company will “not be holding any kind of official event on the day of his recruitment.” Instead, the entrance ceremony will be open to “military personnel and their families only.” “In order to prevent any issues that might occur from crowding, we ask fans to please refrain from visiting the site,” BigHit said. “Instead, we ask you to keep your heartwarming words of support and farewell i...
BamBam Joins Sunmi & Pink Sweat$ as Headliners at the Philippines’ Wavy Baby Music Festival: Exclusive
BamBam is heading to the Philippines to lead a lineup of international acts for the forthcoming Wavy Baby Music Festival next month. Billboard can exclusively reveal that the Thai-born singer-rapper joins fellow K-pop star Sunmi, as well as R&B singer Pink Sweat$, as the final headliner for Careless Music’s Wavy Baby Music Festival taking place at the North Reclamation Area of Mandaue City of the Philippines’ province of Cebu. BamBam joining as a headliner makes the musician trio somewhat of a family affair as BamBam and Sunmi are both signed under Korean management label Abyss Company, while Sweat$ produced and co-wrote Bam’s latest single “Slo Mo.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Careless Music’s Wavy Baby Festival is the brainchi...
Celebrate Jin of BTS’s Birthday with These 10 Songs
Happy birthday to the irreplaceable Kim Seokjin from BTS! Known around the globe as Worldwide Handsome, Jin is the eldest member of BTS — today (December 4th) is his 30th birthday, and we’re ready to mark the occasion in style. To celebrate the vocalist, we’ve rounded up ten of our favorite tracks that show off not only Jin’s wonderful voice but also his thoughtful lyrical perspective, kind heart, and constant love for ARMY, BTS’s loyal fanbase. Check out 10 tracks that highlight Jin below, and scroll to the end for a playlist of the songs available on Spotify. “Moon” Advertisement Related Video Jin’s bright track off BTS’s 2020 Map of the Soul: 7 album is one of his most beloved solo songs, and for good reason. Not only is the upbeat ballad perfectly suited to Jin’s wide-ranging vocals, t...
Song of the Week: RM and Anderson .Paak Can’t Be Locked Down in “Still Life”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, RM and Anderson .Paak team up for a joyful cut from the BTS leader’s debut album. In June of this year, BTS released “Yet to Come,” a personal, old-school hip-hop track, and their first Korean-language single since 2020’s “Life Goes On.” To celebrate the release of their massive anthology album, PROOF, the band shared three of the songs live from the Las Vegas desert, with Anderson .Paak joining on drums for the performance of “Yet to Come.” While the members of BTS clearly love the song, and the backup si...
Song of the Week: RM and Anderson .Paak Can’t Be Locked Down in “Still Life”
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, RM and Anderson .Paak team up for a joyful cut from the BTS leader’s debut album. In June of this year, BTS released “Yet to Come,” a personal, old-school hip-hop track, and their first Korean-language single since 2020’s “Life Goes On.” To celebrate the release of their massive anthology album, PROOF, the band shared three of the songs live from the Las Vegas desert, with Anderson .Paak joining on drums for the performance of “Yet to Come.” While the members of BTS clearly love the song, and the backup si...
