Blackpink becomes first artist to reach 100 mln subscribers on YouTube

K-pop girl group Blackpink hit 100 million subscribers on YouTube, making it the first official artist channel to hit the milestone, the video sharing platform said Saturday. To celebrate such an achievement, YouTube said it presented Blackpink with a custom Red Diamond Creator Award. "The dynamic female powerhouse that is Blackpink has earned international acclaim on YouTube with their mega hit songs and fierce performances," YouTube said on its official blog. "The group has continuously raised

Feb. 21, 2026

Update on BTS comeback show in Seoul: Ticketed entry, one-hour show; city preparing for 260,000 fans

An update on BTS’ upcoming show “BTS The Comeback Live: Arirang” in central Seoul next month: Access to designated viewing areas for the concert will be limited to fans with advance tickets, organizers said, and the show will run for about one hour. Seoul police are preparing extensive crowd control measures amid expectations that attendance could reach 260,000. According to an announcement posted Friday on the global fan platform Weverse, entry to the main viewing zones for the one-hour event —

Feb. 20, 2026

Two Oh My Girl members are taking on the big screen. How's that going?

The mid-to-late 2010s saw no shortage of K-pop girl groups — the so-called "third generation" of idol acts that gave us Blackpink, Twice, Red Velvet and dozens more. Oh My Girl were never quite the frontrunners, but they did make their presence felt. Coming out of the smaller-label WM Entertainment, the group built a loyal fanbase on dreamy, experimental concepts and some genuinely inventive tracks. They also became one of the industry's unlikelier success stories, breaking through commercially

Feb. 20, 2026

KCON taps ZB1's Sung Han-bin as first-ever ambassador

CJ ENM’s long-running K-pop festival KCON has introduced a global ambassador role for the first time, appointing Zerobaseone (ZB1) member Sung Han-bin as its inaugural representative. The company announced Friday that Sung will serve as the first “KCON Global Ambassador,” a position designed to promote the identity and core values of the festival as a worldwide platform encompassing not only K-pop but also K-beauty, K-food and broader K-content and lifestyle trends. As ambassador, Sung will act

Feb. 20, 2026

Blackpink Rose’s ‘APT.’ biggest hit in 2025: IFPI

Rose of Blackpink bagged the No. 1 spot on Global Single of the Year 2025, charted by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, said the Italy-based organization on Thursday local time. Her collaboration with Bruno Mars, “APT.,” was the best-selling single in 2025, making her the first singer outside of North America and Europe to secure the title, it added. Psy was the first Korean singer to make the chart in 2012 and BTS made the cut in 2020 and 2021, as did Jungkook in 2024.

Feb. 20, 2026

TXT celebrates 7th anniversary

Tomorrow X Together announced plans for a weeklong celebration of its seven-year anniversary Friday, via label Big Hit Music. Titled “2026 Dream Week,” the event will look back on the group's career since its 2019 debut with photographs, videos and other content, culminating in the date of the anniversary on March 4. From Feb. 27 to March 1, the quintet will host a series of special concerts, “2026 TXT MOA Con.” MOA is the name of its official fandom. The sold-out shows follow TXT’s fourth inter

Feb. 20, 2026

Stray Kids hit 300m views with ‘S-Class’ music video

Stray Kids exceeded 300 million hits on YouTube with the music video for “S-Class” as of Thursday, according to label JYP Entertainment. It is the band’s sixth music video to accomplish the feat, after those of “God’s Menu,” “Back Door,” “Thunderous,” “Maniac” and “Lalalala.” Co-written by Bang Chan, Changbin and Han, “S-Class” is the eight-piece act’s hit from 2023 and the focus track from third studio album “5-Star.” The LP sold over 4.6 million copies in the first week, the most in K-pop hist

Feb. 20, 2026

BTS’ Jungkook garners 1.4b streams with ‘Standing Next to You’

Jungkook of BTS has clocked up 1.4 billion streams on Spotify for the second time with his solo single “Standing Next to You.” The single was released in November 2023 as the main track of his solo album “Golden” and debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 at No. 5, charting 19 weeks straight on the main songs chart. It topped Billboard’s Global 200 and Global excl. US and spent 38 and 44 weeks, respectively. In UK, it ranked No. 6 on the Official Singles Chart, where it spent 11 weeks in the top 100. Af

Feb. 20, 2026

G-Dragon’s Middle East debut marred by chaotic planning at Dubai show

G-Dragon’s first official performance in the Middle East ended in disappointment Tuesday, with the “Krazy Super Concert” in Dubai overshadowed by what attendees and industry insiders described as inexperienced event management. The concert, held at Dubai Media City Amphitheater in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, marked a symbolic milestone for the K-pop icon. But hasty promotion and questionable planning by organizer Pu1se Events diluted the show's significance, critics say. A local promote

Feb. 19, 2026

Hybe America’s BMLG rebrands as Blue Highway Records

Big Machine Label Group, a label under Hybe America, has rebranded as Blue Highway Records and appointed industry veteran Jake Basden as its new CEO, the company said Tuesday. Blue Highway Records will retain BMLG’s assets, distribution agreements and artist roster. The label represents top-tier country acts, including Thomas Rhett, Brett Young, Justin Moore, Carly Pearce and Preston Cooper, and oversees distribution for Riley Green, The Band Perry and Greylan James through Nashville Harbor Reco

Feb. 19, 2026

Vienna Symphony plays SM artists' songs

The Vienna Symphony joined forces with SM Entertainment for a K-pop concert in the Austrian capital, the label’s affiliate SM Classics Thursday. For the concert dubbed “Wiener Symphoniker X K-Pop,” the orchestra “traveled acoustically to South Korea and fused the colorful and dazzling world of K-pop with the European orchestral tradition.” The program arranged a string of hit songs from the label’s artists: from EXO’s “Growl,” Shinee’s “Sherlock” and Red Velvet’s “Red Flavor” to Aespa’s “Black M

Feb. 19, 2026

Stray Kids rank No. 2 on global artist chart

Stray Kids ranked No. 2 on the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's Global Artist Chart, according to the organization on Thursday. Marking the group's fourth consecutive year on the chart since its debut at No. 7, it is the only K-pop artist to rank among the top ten this year. It claimed the highest rung so far, following Taylor Swift. The group is slated to host a fan meetup in Korea next month. Under the title “Stay in Our Little House,” Stray Kids hold four shows at Inche

Feb. 19, 2026

Cortis logs 100m Spotify streams this year alone

Cortis hit 100 million streams on Spotify for 2026, according to Big Hit Music on Thursday. The rookie boy band achieved the feat in just 45 days with seven tracks — six from its debut album “Color Outside the Lines” along with “Mention Me,” which it sang for the soundtrack of animation “GOAT.” The group's first album has maintained a spot on Billboard’s World Albums Chart for 23 weeks straight, after debuting on the Billboard 200 at No. 15. Last week, the five-member act performed for the NBA C

Feb. 19, 2026

Ateez lands on Billboard 200 at No. 3

Ateez placed its 13th mini album at No. 3 on Billboard 200 dated Feb. 21. The EP “Golden Hour: Part 4” is its sixth consecutive album to hit the main albums chart within the top three, and eighth overall to sit among the top ten. The five-track set rolled out Feb. 8 and topped the iTunes Top Albums Chart in 31 regions, and the main track, “Adrenaline,” debuted atop the Top Songs Chart in 18. The mini album sold more than 1.5 million copies in its first week and became the group’s sixth straight

Feb. 19, 2026

J-Hope donates W300m to kids' hospital, charity for his birthday

J-Hope of BTS has donated 200 million won ($150,000) to the children’s hospital at Seoul Asan Hospital to mark his birthday, the hospital said Wednesday. The K-pop star was born on Feb. 18, 1994. “I continue to donate as a way to give back to Army, who always give me so much support,” J-Hope said. “I’m grateful to make another meaningful contribution on my birthday this year, just as I did last year. I sincerely hope children can overcome their pain and dream bright dreams.” The BTS member also

Feb. 18, 2026