K-Pop
RM Brings the Many Shades of His New Album Indigo to NPR’s Tiny Desk: Watch
Coinciding with the release of his new solo album Indigo, BTS leader RM stopped by the NPR Tiny Desk to perform the first live cuts from the LP. Watch the stripped down performance below. Beginning with a track off, mono., his 2018 solo mixtape, RM moved through the acoustic, melancholy “seoul” before sharing live takes on two songs from Indigo. He introduced “Yun (with Erykah Badu)” by sharing background on his favorite painter, Yun Hyong-keun, before launching into the smooth, R&B intro to the album. After musing about pieces from Monet and Van Gogh, he launched into “Still Life,” which features a characteristically joyful performance from Anderson .Paak on the studio album. “Shoutout to Anderson!” RM yelled midway through the bouncy live rendition. Indigo follows RM’s...
Watch BTS‘ RM Recreate NPR ’Tiny Desk’ Studio For Intimate 3-Song Set
Dedicated ARMY veterans will likely be dissecting the set of RM’s NPR Tiny Desk concert for the rest of the month. To celebrate the release of his solo album, Indigo, the BTS rapper born Kim Nam-joon recreated an amazingly detailed replica of the Washington, D.C.-based Tiny Desk office set in South Korea, complete with shelves packed with tasty Easter eggs. But the focus, of course, was on the vocals, which the 29-year-old star delivered on with ease, beginning with the jazzy opening track of his three-song set, “seoul.” The chilled-out bilingual song from RM’s 2018 mono mixtape set a mellow mood for the 18-minute mini-show, complete with warm keyboards and restrained beats from drummer JK Kim. After the opening track, RM said it was about his second home town in South Korea, before introd...
With Indigo, RM Makes Fleeting Moments Feel Permanent
The album cover of RM’s Indigo includes artwork by Korean artist Yun Hyong-keun, a painter known for meditative, contemplative pieces characterized by splashes of umber and ultramarine. While the contemporary paintings are relatively minimalist, they’re technically complex, and all the more layered considering the artist was a bold, persistent figure who survived one of the most turbulent and traumatic periods in South Korea’s history. The streaming press preview of Indigo included extensive notes on the record; it’s there that Yun Hyong-keun is noted as RM’s favorite painter. RM, who was born Kim Namjoon, is the leader of BTS, the biggest pop group on the planet. He’s also a vocal supporter and passionate collector of contemporary art, particularly interested in elevating work by South Ko...
RM Releases Debut Solo Album ‘Indigo’: Stream It Now
RM finally unveiled his long-awaited debut solo album Indigo on Friday (Dec. 2) via Big Hit Music. For his first full-length effort sans his BTS bandmates, the rapper enlisted a diverse slate of guests assists from the likes of Erykah Badu (opener “Yun”), Anderson .Paak (“Still Life”), Epik High leader Tablo (“All Day”), Paul Blanco and Mahalia (the Honne-produced “Closer”) and more. “Indigo recounts the stories and experiences RM has gone through, like a diary,” a press release revealed ahead of the album, promising to “present a different charm” to the South Korean rapper. Earlier, on Nov. 22, RM teased the album’s themes in a preview video that read, “Record of RM: Indigo. From the colors of nature, human, etc. Documentation of my youth in the moment of independent phase. Sun-...
Stanning BTS MiniMoni: Run BTS Dance Practice
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Radio Public | Pocket Casts | RSS This week on another Stanning BTS MiniMoni, Kayla and Bethany cover the best dance practice — EVER: The “Run” BTS dance practice for the performance in Busan! Advertisement Related Video Obviously, every dance practice is iconic. But, there were so many details that we missed in the performance in Busan, so it is so great just to see this intimate stripped-down and impeccably filmed performance. Also, there was never enough promotion of “Run,” so it feels right to have this single get its due! Join Stanning BTS to hear hosts Kayla and Bethany dive into it all. Please remember to like, review, and subscribe to the show. You can also follow the Cons...
RM to Perform Solo NPR Tiny Desk Concert: Here’s When It Airs
Friday is going to be a big day for BTS ARMY. RM‘s debut solo album, Indigo, is dropping at midnight, but that’s not all: The BTS rapper also has an NPR Tiny Desk concert in support of the album coming out just hours after its release. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news NPR announced the news via Twitter on Thursday (Dec. 1), sharing all the details that ARMY needs to tune in. “RM at the Tiny Desk Tomorrow. 12/2 7 p.m. KST | 5 a.m. ET #RM #Indigo #RMatNPRTinyDesk #tinydesk @bts_bighit,” NPR captioned a photo of the famous desk space, with shelves featuring ARMY purple letters that read “BTS NPR RM.” In addition to the album’s release, the video for Indigo’s lead single “Wild Flower” — which features South Korean rock singer youjeen — is al...
Fan Chant: P1Harmony Won’t “Back Down” Any Time Soon: Interview
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! Something lovely about K-pop is how many avenues their are to discovering new groups. I vocally adore my Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify and credit it for introducing me to so many wonderful tracks and acting as a bridge to new artists and bands; for many people, TikTok has been known to push a casual listener into stan territory. It wouldn’t be a total surprise to hear the latter route was responsible for leading some new fans to P1Harmony, an exciting, often experimental group out of FNC ...
J-Hope Lights Up 2022 MAMA Awards With ‘Jack in the Box’ Performance Medley: Watch
It’s Hobi’s world, and we’re all just living in. BTS rapper J-Hope shined at the 2022 MAMA Awards on Wednesday (Nov. 30), first with a show-stopping walk on the red carpet, and later on stage with his performance of songs “MORE,” “Arson” and “Future” from his debut solo album Jack in the Box. Before going on stage, J-Hope turned out an all-black look on the red carpet, looking sleek in a suit jacket with satin lapels, a casually unbuttoned black dress shirt, trousers and shoes. Though his look was more than enough to send ARMY into a panic, even the red-carpet commentators couldn’t contain themselves, saying “wow” several times before chatting with him. For the rapper’s performance, he stuck with the Jack in the Box theme, first with several ornate boxes piled high on stage. J-Hope appeare...
Chuu Removed From LOONA Amid Back-and-Forth Reports Between K-Pop Group & Label
Chuu is no longer a member of the K-pop girl group LOONA, and the events surrounding the exit have raised eyebrows in Korea’s media and music industry. BlockBerryCreative, the K-pop girl group’s label, announced through LOONA’s online “fan cafe” on Friday that Chuu had been expelled and withdrawn from the 12-member outfit. The fan cafe post is only available to subscribers of the Korean site, but local media widely shared the news and statement. In the report, the agency cited an investigation that found Chuu using “violent language” and “misuse of power toward staff” (as shared by translations from Soompi). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news BlockBerryCreative and Chuu’s relationship has been a source of concern a...
Kris Wu Sentenced to 13 Years in Chinese Prison for Sex Crimes
HONG KONG — Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu was sentenced to 13 years in prison for rape and other sexual offenses, a Chinese court said on its official Weibo account on Friday (Nov. 25). The Chaoyang District People’s Court in Beijing said that from November to December 2020, Wu, also known as Wu Yifan, raped three women at his home when they were under the effect of alcohol. Wu was sentenced to 11.5 years for rape and 22 months for “assembling a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities” in July 2018, according to the Weibo post. Wu, who is a Canadian citizen, will serve a 13-year term in China before being deported. “Justice was delayed, but now it’s here,” Du Meizhu, the Chinese influencer who blew the whistle on Wu, wrote on Weibo after the announcement. Born in Chi...
RM of BTS Announces New Solo Album Indigo
BTS leader RM has announced a new solo album called Indigo, which is set for release on December 2nd. Indigo “recounts the stories and experiences RM has gone through, like a diary,” a press release notes. “The album will present a different charm of RM with various featured artists.” Spanning 10 tracks, Indigo includes collaboration with Anderson .Paak and Erykah Badu. As part of BTS’ “second chapter,” a time for the group to explore solo activities alongside their work as a septet, RM is following bandmates j-hope, Jin, and Jungkook as the next member to release music on his own. Recently, j-hope unveiled his solo album Jack in the Box, Jin teamed up with Coldplay on “The Astronaut,” and Jungkook debuted “Dreamers” during the 2022 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony. Advertisement Related Vi...
After ‘Embracing the Darkness’ & Confronting K-Pop Concerns, VERIVERY See Breakout Hit ‘Tap Tap’ as ‘A Fresh Start’
While making your debut into the K-pop industry is a battle in and of itself, carving your place in it is another conversation entirely that VERIVERY found required a series of experimenting and ultimately confronting harsh realities about themselves and their futures. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news After VERIVERY hit the K-pop scene in early 2018 with their feel-good, throwback-pop single “Ring Ring Ring,” the K-pop boy band dipped into singles that spanned into hard-hitting EDM, smooth-groove R&B, experimental electronica and more. The septet always had international expansion top of mind with a DIY mindset being hands-on with music they felt was relatable beyond core K-pop fans and creatively directing and editing some of their ...
