K-Town
BTS Faces Uproar In China Over Korean War Comments
“After 70 years, the world we are living in is much closer than before. Boundaries in many aspects are getting more blurred,” RM said. “As members of the global community, we should build a deeper understanding and solidarity to be happier together.” Chinese internet users and state media took RM’s comments as a slap at China, whose soldiers fought alongside North Korean forces during their failed attempt to annex South Korea in the 1950-53 war. They accused RM of ignoring the role played by China in the war, which Chinese Communist Party propaganda blames on the United States, instead of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung’s attack on South Korea. “Before, I thought some BTS songs were pretty good. Now, they seem to be covered in excrement,” said a commenter on the microblog service Sina Weib...
Here Are All the Performers For the 2020 BBMAs
Post Malone — who will also perform during the evening — leads this year’s pack of nominees with a grand total of 16 nods in 15 separate categories including top artist (alongside Billie Eilish, Jonas Brothers, Khalid and Taylor Swift), top Billboard 200 album (for Hollywood’s Bleeding), top streaming song (for “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” with Swae Lee) and more. The 2020 BBMAs will air Wednesday (Oct. 14) at 8 p.m. ET/PT exclusively on NBC, live from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Check out the complete list of performers below. PerformersAlicia KeysBad BunnyBrandy featuring Ty Dolla SignBTSDemi LovatoDoja CatEn VogueGarth BrooksKane Brown, Swae Lee & KhalidLuke CombsPost MaloneSaint JhnSia You Deserve to Make Money Even When ...
BTS Co-Writer Ryan Lawrie Signs Publishing Deal With Peermusic UK
As BTS make history by notching the top two slots on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, indie publishing company peermusic UK has signed one of the K-pop group’s collaborators — singer, songwriter and producer Ryan Lawrie — to an exclusive global music publishing deal. The Glasgow, UK, native has co-written several songs for BTS, including Map of the Soul: 7‘s “Inner Child” (which has 52 million Spotify streams) and Map of the Soul: Persona‘s “Mikrokosmos” (125 million Spotify streams). Lawrie is now working with BTS’ label Big Hit Entertainment on the K-pop band ENHYPEN, the winners of Big Hit’s reality television competition I-LAND. Lawrie will also release his own debut album under the moniker KOOLKID later th...
Watch Blackpink Nail ‘Lovesick Girls’ Choreography, Debut ‘Pretty Savage’ Live on Korean TV
The following day (Oct. 11), Jennie, Lisa, Rosé and Jisoo repeated their performance of “Lovesick Girls” on SBS Live, complete with a colorful, carnival-esque set and Britney Spears-inspired headset mics. “Love is slippin’ and fallin’/ Love is killin’ your darlin’/ That fearless thrill returns once the pain subsides,” Rosé crooned on the track’s post-chorus as her three bandmates circled around her, before tossing the rest of the stanza to Jisoo. Blackpink has plenty of reason to celebrate this week, with their long-awaited debut album, The Album, entering at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The entry marks a career high for the girls on the chart. (Their previous EPs, 2019’s Kill This Love and 2018’s Square Up, peaked at Nos. 24...
BTS’ Virtual Map of the Soul ON:E Concert Garnered Nearly 1 Million Viewers Across the Globe
In addition to hits like “We Are Bulletproof: the Eternal,” “DNA” and their No. 1 hit “Dynamite,” the concert also featured solo moments by all seven members for the group — from RM (“Intro: Persona”) and Jimin (“Filter”) to Jin (“Moon”) and Jungkook (“My Time”). Meanwhile, Suga and J-Hope performed “Interlude: Shadow” and “Outro: Ego” while V delivered “Inner Child.” BTS also dedicated the entire encore of the digital concert experience to their fandom, closing out with “Butterfly” and “Run” on day one and “Spring Day” and “Idol” on day two. (All in all, the two-day event drew a total of 993,ooo viewers from 191 count...
A.C.E Transforms Blackpink’s ‘How You Like That’ Into ’90s Power Ballad: Watch
A.C.E stopped by Korean music program it’s KPOP LIVE on Tuesday (Oct. 6) to deliver a stirring live cover of Blackpink‘s “How You Like That.” For the performance, the K-pop boy band flipped the script on the bombastic single by channeling the likes of Boyz II Men and turning it into a harmony-filled slow jam. “I crumbled before your eyes/ Hit rock bottom and sunk deeper/ To grab onto the last bit of hope/ I’ve tried to reach out with both my hands/ Again, in this dark place, light up the sky/ While looking into your eyes, I’ll kiss you goodbye/ Laugh all you want while you still can/ Because it’s about to be your turn, one, two, three,” the quintet crooned against a bright teal backdrop, adding plenty of harmonies and wailing ad-libs fo...
Why BTS Donated $1 Million to Black Lives Matter
From left: V, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin and J-Hope of BTS photographed Jan. 19 at Korea House in Seoul. Styling by Lee Ha Jung. V, Suga and J-Hope wear Saint Laurent tops and jackets. Jin wears a COS top and Saint Laurent jacket and shoes. Jungkook wears a COS top, Saint Laurent jacket and Prada shoes. RM wears a Saint Laurent jacket and shoes. Jimin wears a Saint Laurent top, jacket and shoes. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue.
BTS Open Up About Politics, Grammy Goals in New Interview: ‘It’s a Dream’
BTS sat down with Variety magazine recently to talk about politics, how much they want to share with their ARMY and what their Grammy goals are. The interview found member Jin paying tribute to the fan gang that has elevated the seven-member K-pop superstars to the top of the pop heat, including helping to boost them to their first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles tally with “Dynamite.” “Our goal is to try to show ourselves, expose ourselves to ARMY as much as possible,” Jin said. “There are a lot of platforms now.” That includes The Tonight Show, where the group is in the midst of a weeklong residency, which has so far included three performances and a hearty shoutout from superfan actor/wrestler John Cena. And though they don’t consider...
BTS Set to Make Millions as Big Hit Entertainment Goes Public
The seven members of the K-pop supergroup BTS are set to make millions when their label Big Hit Entertainment goes public in October. Demand for shares in Big Hit has hit record levels, driven in part by fans of the boy band, giving the music giant a valuation of $4.1 billion. Big Hit’s Oct. 15 IPO will be South Korea’s largest in three years. The IPO will make Big Hit founder and co-CEO Bang Si-hyuk, known widely as “Hitman” Bang, a billionaire. In August, Bang gave each BTS member shares in the company, which are currently valued at almost $8 million. As well as being home to RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, Big Hit’s roster includes the five-member boy band TXT and singer Lee Hyun. BTS makes up the vast majority of Big Hit’s revenue, gen...
BTS’ ‘Dynamite’ Dominates Both of Billboard’s New Global Charts, Justin Bieber’s ‘Holy’ Starts in Top Five
The two new tallies rank songs based on streaming and sales data from more than 200 territories. BTS‘ “Dynamite” spends a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart and rises from No. 2 to No. 1 to concurrently crown the Billboard Global 200. “Dynamite” is the first song in the charts’ brief history to top both tallies simultaneously. Plus, Justin Bieber‘s “Holy,” featuring Chance the Rapper, debuts in the top five of both lists. The two charts (the latest of which are dated Oct. 3) premiered two weeks ago and rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The Billboard Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Bil...
Blackpink Announces New Single From ‘The Album’
With just days to go until the release of The Album, Blackpink has served fans a new teaser of what’s to come. Jennie, Rosé, Jisoo and Lisa tweeted a poster previewing “Lovesick Girls” as a “title” (or main) track from their upcoming debut full-length studio album Sunday night (Sept. 27). The teaser poster shows the song name and the girls leaning on one another in nighttime lighting, with a reminder of The Album‘s almost here Oct. 2 release date. Blackpink has already treated fans to two tracks ahead of the album drop, “How You Like That” and the Selena Gomez collaboration “Ice Cream.” Before The Album is here, the quartet welcomes fans to join them for “Comeback Live,” a live streaming event set to take pla...
Here Are All the Livestreams & Virtual Concerts to Watch During the Coronavirus Crisis: Week of Sept. 28
The weather may be cooling off as autumn gets rolling, but livestreamed concerts and events are still going strong. This week’s shows include the first of two sets by Machine Gun Kelly, BLACKPINK’S pre-album release event, a music festival to get out the vote, and much more. Since the global coronavirus pandemic began, artists around the world have canceled tour dates. Instead, they’ve been playing sets from home, and more recently, streaming from empty venues to keep fans entertained as people stay home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Below is a list of some of the musical performances to enjoy from your couch this week. As more events are announced, we’ll add them to this list. Sept. 29: Daughtry is playing a livestream acoustic set from Nashville’s ...
