BTS gives fans taste of new album ‘Arirang’

A snippet of BTS’ soon-to-be-released album, “Arirang,” was unveiled Friday. A sliver of animated film set in the 19th century shows seven young men gathered in front of a gramophone, which winds up to play the Korean traditional song “Arirang.” They then cross the Pacific Ocean, recording and singing songs before the backdrop switches to BTS on stage, awashed in its signature color, purple. The final scene has the seven members standing tall in front of Gwanghwamun, where they are set to hail t

March 13, 2026

Kep1er announces Japan fan meetups

Kep1er will host its second fan meeting in Japan in May, agency Klap Entertainment announced Friday. Under the title “Kep1arcade,” the group will take the stage six times across three cities — Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya. The members will meet fans about three years after their first fanmeet held in Tokyo, and over six months after their “Kep1asia” brought them to three cities in the country. On March 31, the group will release its eighth EP, “Crack Code,” marking its first album since it reorganize

March 13, 2026

SF9 to mark 10 years with special album

SF9 is bringing out the special album “About Love” on March 25 to celebrate its tenth anniversary, agency FNC Entertainment said Friday. It will be the group’s first group effort in about a year, after its 15th EP “Love Race.” Inseong hinted at the new album last week. Wrapping up promotions for his first solo album, EP “Crossfade:,” he thanked fans for the support and asked them to keep their expectations high. The teaser clip for the new album only shows six members of the octet, however. Yoo

March 13, 2026

Aespa to return in May: report

Aespa will return in May with a new album, according to a local media report on Friday. The group’s last album was the sixth EP “Rich Man,” which sold over 1 million copies. It joined Asespa's five EPs and first LP, “Armageddon,” which have also reached 1-million seller status. Five of them achieved the feat in a week, starting from the second EP “Girls,” a first-ever for a K-pop girl group. Focus track of the same title from the sixth mini album earned the group first place on domestic televisi

March 13, 2026

NexZ to tour Japan from May

Boy group NexZ will take to the stage in Japanese arenas in May and June, label JYP Entertainment announced Thursday. It will be the group's second tour and its first time visiting such venues in Japan, where six of the members are originally from. The 2-year-old group will have two shows each in Tokyo and Osaka, on May 30-31 and on June 12-13, respectively. Its previous trip was held last summer, spanning 15 cities in Japan for 18 shows, through which it made its concert debut at Budokan in Tok

March 12, 2026

Stray Kids win big at Japan Gold Disc Awards

Stray Kids took home four awards at the 40th Japan Gold Disc Awards, according to the organizer on Thursday. The group won album of the year, best artist, music video of the year and was among the best 3 albums in Asia, scoring the most this year for an international artist. Stray Kids' third EP in Japan, “Hollow,” the group's first to be entirely made up of Japanese-language songs, was chosen as the album of the year and one of the best 3 Albums. Live Blu-ray documenting the group’s fan meetup

March 12, 2026

Alpha Drive One to host 1st showcase in Japan

Rookie boy group Alpha Drive One is set to hold its first showcase in Tokyo on March 13, agency WakeOne Entertainment said Thursday. The event will welcome approximately 1,000 fans to relive the success of its first EP, “Euphoria,” which was released in January. Although the group has yet to officially promote in Japan, its Korean debut album ranked No. 3 on Oricon’s Weekly and Weekly Combined Album Rankings. The mini album sold more than 1.44 million copies in its first week, the second most fo

March 12, 2026

Seventeen to launch another subunit: report

Seventeen's Vernon and The8 will form a duo subunit and drop an album in June, according to a local media report on Thursday. Vernon, one of the 13-member act's rappers, has helped write songs for the group since its debut. Last year, he became a member of The Recording Academy along with Woozi, which earned them votes for the 2026 Grammy Awards. The8, one of Seventeen's performers, released his first solo EP “Stardust” in native China in 2024. Vernon co-wrote the lyrics and melodies for the lea

March 12, 2026

BTS to accommodate 7,000 more for comeback show

More seats will be added to the much-anticipated live show signaling BTS’ return, according to Big Hit Music. The group is set to go live in central Seoul on March 21 under the title “BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang,” a day after the rollout of its fifth studio album “Arirang.” All 15,000 tickets sold out upon release — with a waitlist of over 100,000 people — and the label decided to expand the outdoor venue for safety reasons and allow 7,000 more fans to enter. Seoul has gone on full alert to a

March 11, 2026

Ateez charts 4 weeks on Billboard 200

Ateez logged another week on the Billboard 200, ranking No. 108 with its 13th EP, agency KQ Entertainment said Wednesday. The EP “Golden Hour: Part 4” has spent four weeks on the main albums chart after entering it at No. 3. It is the group's sixth consecutive album to sit among the top three on the chart. The newest endeavor logged 200,000 units in streaming equivalent album sales in the US — a career-best for the octet. It also sold more than 1.5 million copies in the first week and became the

March 11, 2026