Zhou Mi of Super Junior M to lead China venture STE SEOUL, August 27 (AJP) - SM Entertainment has named Zhou Mi of Super Junior-M to lead its new Beijing joint venture with Tencent Music Entertainment Group, the company said Thursday. The joint venture, called STE, was established after SM and TME signed a memorandum of understanding in May to expand cooperation in the Chinese-speaking market. STE will work on a new Chinese idol group project that SM is preparing to debut within the next two to three years. The company will o August 27, 2026

KATSEYE lands four songs on Billboard Hot 100 SEOUL, August 26 (AJP) - International girl group KATSEYE placed four songs simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, extending its U.S. chart breakthrough after scoring its first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with latest EP WILD. Pre-release single "Animal" climbed six places to No. 24 on the main U.S. singles chart dated Aug. 29, according to Billboard. Title track "Hootie Frutti" debuted at No. 31, giving KATSEYE another top-40 entry. "Pinky August 26, 2026

BLACKPINK's Jisoo to return with new single 'CLICK' SEOUL, August 25 (AJP) -BLACKPINK's Jisoo will release a new single, "CLICK," on Sept. 4, her agency Blissoo said Tuesday. The release will mark Jisoo's first solo music in 11 months since "EYES CLOSED," her collaboration with former One Direction member Zayn, released last October. Blissoo said further details about the new single would be unveiled in stages ahead of its release. Jisoo debuted as a member of BLACKPINK in 2016 and has August 25, 2026

BOYNEXTDOOR opens 13-show Japan run with new single SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - The Japan leg of K-pop boy band BOYNEXTDOOR's first world tour opens Friday at K-Arena Yokohama, the start of a three-night run that carries the six-member group through 13 shows in six cities into October. Last year, the group played six Japanese cities across 13 dates, but in concert halls seating a few thousand, venues such as Pacifico Yokohama and Fukuoka Sunpalace. Every date sold out. This year, the same city count runs through arenas, starting w August 21, 2026

BIGBANG returns as trio for first stadium tour in 9 years SEOUL, August 21 (AJP) - Nine years after its last full tour, BIGBANG opens a 20th anniversary world tour Friday at Goyang Stadium northwest of Seoul, the first concert run in the group's history with three members on stage instead of five. The Goyang shows run three nights through Sunday and are sold out, including seats released later with restricted views. General ticketing drew roughly 210,000 people into the online queue at once, the heaviest demand for any single concert August 21, 2026

NCT 127 to open pop-up store in Seoul to promote new album SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - K-pop boy group NCT 127 will open a pop-up store in Seoul next week to promote the release of their seventh full-length album, their agency SM Entertainment said on Thursday. NCT 127's upcoming album "BLINGY" is set for release on Aug. 24 with nine tracks, including the title song of the same name. The pop-up store, called "NEO LOST&FOUND CENTER," will open the following day and run through Sept. 1 in Seoul's hip district o August 20, 2026

BIGBANG's new single sweeps music charts immediately after release SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - K-pop group BIGBANG swept major music charts with their first new single in more than four years, their agency YG Entertainment said on Thursday. The digital single "BiiiG," released the previous day, reached No. 1 on Melon's Top 100 chart within an hour of its release. The track also topped other major music charts including Bugs, Genie and Vibe later that day. "BiiiG" is a high-energy hip-hop track built around a heavy August 20, 2026

NCT Dream members renew contracts with SM Entertainment SEOUL, August 20 (AJP) - All six members of NCT Dream have renewed their contracts with SM Entertainment, the talent agency said on Thursday. According to SM Entertainment, Chenle, Haechan, Jaemin, Jeno, Jisung and Renjun decided to remain with the agency based on their mutual trust and commitment to the group, with Haechan having already completed his contract renewal. NCT Dream debuted in August 2016 as a subunit of NCT, releasing songs including "Hot Sauce," "He August 20, 2026

NCT 127 to showcase new title track at comeback event next week SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - K-pop boy group NCT 127 will showcase their new title track at a comeback event, SM Entertainment said on Wednesday. The group will host "NCT 127 THE 7TH ALBUM COMEBACK LIVE PARTY" at KINTEX in Ilsan, northwest of Seoul next week. The event slated for Aug. 25 comes a day after the release of the group's seventh full-length album, "BLINGY." The title track, "Blingy," is a hip-hop song built around distorted syn August 19, 2026

K-pop girl group i-dle's Soyeon to release new solo album this fall SEOUL, August 19 (AJP) - Soyeon of K-pop girl group i-dle will return as a solo artist in September, Cube Entertainment said on Wednesday. The release will mark her first solo project in five years and two months since her debut mini album, "Windy," in July 2021. Soyeon is the leader of i-dle and has played a central role in the group's self-produced music. She has written and produced several of the group's major hits including "TOMBOY," &q August 19, 2026