K-Pop
What’s Your Favorite BLACKPINK Music Video? Vote!
BLACKPINK is the revolution! The K-pop girl group reached yet another historic milestone on Tuesday (June 28) by becoming the first act in the history of YouTube to reach 75 million followers. The latest high-water mark achieved by Rosé, Jennie, Jisoo and Lisa comes less than a year after they dethroned Justin Bieber as the most-followed musical artist on the streaming platform, and the girls have gained nearly 10 million more followers since then. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news BLACKPINK’s latest YouTube record has us here at Billboard all up in our feels over the quartet’s impressive videography. So while we take a trip through their always-fierce visuals, we want to know which BLACKPINK music video you love the absolute most. Back i...
How to Get Tickets to ITZY’s “CHECKMATE” World Tour
Ahead of their new mini-album, CHECKMATE, set to arrive on July 15th, ITZY have mapped out their very first world tour. Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna will be making stops throughout South Korea and the US late this summer into early fall, and we’ve got the details below on how to secure tickets. With this being ITZY’s first world tour and the group’s first visit to America since the pandemic began, it’s expected to be a competitive ticketing on-sale. Get tickets here and find details below regarding on-sale times and more. What Is ITZY’s Tour? In support of their upcoming mini-album, CHECKMATE, the ladies of ITZY will be embarking on a world tour of the same name. Things kick off with two nights in Seoul, South Korea before the group arrives stateside, where they’ll make their wa...
j-hope Sets Release Date for New Solo Album Jack In The Box
j-hope is set to kick off “BTS Chapter 2” with the release of his new solo album, Jack In the Box, on July 15th. As a preview, the BTS member will release the album’s first single this Friday, July 1st. “Jack In The Box lends voice to j-hope’s aspirations to break the mold and grow further. The album represents j-hope’s own musical personality and vision as an artist,” promises a press release issued by BIGHIT Music on Saturday. Meanwhile, in an interview with Weverse Magazine earlier this month, j-hope said he hoped to explore a “different side of me” with the upcoming solo album. Advertisement Related Video “As you know, I often present myself with a sunny demeanor. So I have a strong desire to display a different side of me. I personally challenged myself to do that in my current projec...
TWICE’s Nayeon Is the Perfect ‘Pop!’ Star With Debut Solo Album: Listen
Since TWICE‘s 2015 arrival on the scene, Nayeon has been known as the face of the group, becoming one of the most recognizable members of the crossover K-pop act. Now, Nayeon takes her enormous appeal to the masses with the release of her first solo album. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Released globally on Friday (June 24), the EP cleverly titled Im Nayeon (her full name but also acts as the introduction “I’m Nayeon”) honors all parts of the charming singer-songwriter with a refreshing twist that spotlights her true superstar appeal. Nayeon’s debut solo single “Pop!” recalls the feel-good K-pop anthems that TWICE became famous for but now with punches of exuberant brass acting as an excellent match to the star’s sugary vocals. No expens...
BTS’ Jungkook and Charlie Puth Are Hopeless, Goofy Romantics in ‘Left and Right’ Video Preview
Get ready for the launch of the BTS break era. After teasing last week that he would drop his collaboration with BTS’ Jungkook if he got 500,000 pre-saves, Charlie Puth posted a pair of tantalizing previews of the duo’s bubbly pop tune “Left and Right” on Thursday morning (June 23). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Memories follow me left and right/ I can feel you over here/ I can feel you over here/ You take up eery corner of my mind,” Puth croons in his signature falsetto in the video sneak peek. In the short clip, the two men cycle through a series of outfits as they sing back-to-back and Jungkook tries to listen to a conversation on the other side of a wall using a glass and hangs on to a car hood for dear life as it speeds through town. Pu...
BTS Holds Atop Hot Trending Songs Chart With ‘Yet to Come,’ Bounds to Top 5 With ‘For Youth’
BTS‘ “Yet to Come” tallies a second week at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Trending Songs chart (dated June 25), powered by Twitter, becoming the group’s second multi-week leader. The track leads with 8.1 million Twitter mentions in the June 10-16 tracking week (up 4%), according to Twitter. As previously reported, parent album Proof launches at No. 1 at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with the biggest week for an album by a group in 2022. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The song is BTS’ record-extending third No. 1 on Hot Trending Songs, which began last October, after “Butter” (20 weeks on top) and “Permission to Dance” (one). BTS also ranks at Nos. 2, 5 and 18 and the chart with “Run BTS,” “For Youth” (both from Proof) and “Butter,” respectivel...
BTS Break Sparks Debate on Continued Activism, Military Exemptions
The surprise announcement by BTS last week that they were taking a break to focus on members’ solo projects stunned their global fanbase, shaking their label’s stock price and leaving many questions about the K-pop supergroup’s future. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news HYBE, the company behind the band, denied the group was taking a hiatus — a word used in a translation of the group’s emotional dinnertime video announcement. In the days since, band members have remained active on social media, continuing the stream of posts, photos and assurances that the band wasn’t breaking up. Despite the immediate impacts — HYBE’s stock initially dropped more than 25% and has yet to fully recover — several factors may still affect BTS’ futur...
After BTS Announced Hiatus, Management Label HYBE Lost $1.7 Billion in Market Cap
Following BTS’ announcement of a “hiatus,” their management label HYBE Co. lost $1.7 billion in market cap, a massive dip that did not reverse even after the group clarified, “We are not disbanding.” The company’s stock price plunged a whopping 28%, The New York Times reports, reaching an all-time low of about $108 (139,000 won) per share. HYBE, which was founded as Big Hit Entertainment and which rebranded in 2021, made about $1 billion last year, with BTS alone accounting for a 58% increase in revenue over 2020. The news is seen as a bearish sign for South Korea’s economy, where BTS contribute about $3.5 billion annually. The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute had thought that the Bangtan Boys would generate even more income as pandemic restrictions loosened, n...
BTS Accounts for Nearly 1/3 of All U.S. K-Pop Sales & Streams: Their Domination, By the Numbers
BTS members’ decision to take time off for solo projects is bound to shake up K-pop music consumption in the U.S. because of the group’s dominance in the genre. And the band’s label, Big Hit Music — a division of HYBE, which Universal Music Group’s Geffen Records has distributed in the U.S. since last year — will have a tough time filling the hole. Since the beginning of 2021, BTS has accounted for 29.4% of sales and on-demand streams of K-pop music in the U.S., according to a Billboard analysis of Luminate data. Over that time, BTS did not release a new studio album but put out two “best of” collections — BTS, the Best in June 2021 and Proof on June 10, 2022. BTS also released multiple variations of the tracks “Butter” (including a remix with Megan Thee Stallion), “My Universe” and “Permi...
BTS Members Clarify Future of Group: “We Are Not Disbanding”
Following a “family dinner” video that aired as part of BTS’s annual FESTA anniversary celebration on June 14th, the members of Korean pop septet are sharing more details about their next chapter. While the conversation (which spans over an hour) initially seemed to indicate that BTS would be taking a break from activities as seven, including an English translation that used the word “hiatus,” the members and management company HYBE are clarifying that BTS’s “second chapter” will see the septet “remaining active as a group.” This will include filming content like their treasured variety show, “Run BTS,” among other team activities. At the same time, this strategy shift will incorporate more solo work from the members, beginning with J-Hope, who is set to headline the closing night of Lolla...
Will BTS’ Label Take a Big Hit From Band’s ‘Hiatus’?
HYBE will miss BTS — but not as much as it would have before acquiring Ithaca Holdings in 2021. On Tuesday (June 14), the band announced it was “going on a hiatus” to allow each member to focus on their solo projects. What that might mean for the label that launched BTS in 2013 is unclear. Companywide, BTS accounted for 27% of HYBE’s U.S. album sales and streams in 2021, according to the company’s fourth quarter 2021 investor presentation. In Japan — the world’s second-biggest music market — BTS accounted for about half of HYBE’s album sales, according to the company’s 2021 earnings. On top of that, BTS likely accounted for nearly all HYBE’s touring income that amounted to 191.1 billion ($148 million) in 2019 and 45.6 billion KRW ($36 million) 2021. HYBE’s acquisition of Ithica Projects in...
BTS Returns to No. 1 on Hot Trending Songs Chart With ‘Yet to Come,’ Debuts 2 Other Songs From ‘Proof’
BTS scores its third No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Trending Songs chart (dated June 18), powered by Twitter, as “Yet to Come” soars to the summit. The song reigns with 7.8 million Twitter mentions, surging by 222%, according to Twitter, following its release June 10 on the group’s new LP Proof (which is set to launch on next week’s June 25-dated album listings). BTS topped the inaugural Hot Trending Songs chart in October with “Permission to Dance” and then ruled with “Butter” for a record-setting 20 weeks. (The only other songs to top the tally so far are SB19’s “Bazinga” for seven weeks, and Ha Sung-woon and BTS member Jimin’s “With You,” for five.) Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news BTS also debuts two tracks on Hot Trending Songs, both — li...
