Le Sserafim's agency to seek new girl band through auditions in S. Korea

SEOUL -- BTS agency's record label Source Music will hold auditions to form a sister band of the label's multinational girl group, Le Sserafim. Regardless of nationality, females born after 2007 can apply for the audition, which seeks talented members in vocals, rap, dance, and other areas. The "2024 Source Music Audition" will take place in six cities in South Korea next month, starting in Seoul on March 2. The other five cities include the southern port city of

February 6, 2024

YouTube becomes S. Korea's favorite smartphone app for first time: market data

SEOUL -- YouTube, the video content-based social media platform operated by Google, became South Korea's favorite smartphone app, surpassing messenger app KakaoTalk, the former king of South Korea's smartphone app ecosystem, for the first time in December 2023, according to data released by mobile big data company IGA Works. KakaoTalk, with more than 45.5 million monthly active users (MAUs), has maintained its status as South Korea's favorite smartphone app since the e

February 5, 2024

Indonesian Embassy in Seoul to improve cultural ties with S. Korea through traditional music event

SEOUL -- The Indonesian embassy in Seoul is seeking to improve cultural ties with South Korea through music events. The embassy aims to host a special music event featuring a collaboration between Gamelan, traditional Indonesian ensemble music, and Korea's traditional musical instrument Gayageum. Gamelan is a traditional ensemble music or the instruments used in the ensemble. It is mainly played with percussion instruments such as metallophones and drums. Gamelan is deeply roote

February 1, 2024

NewJeans to participate in Seoul's biannual fashion event as honorary ambassador

SEOUL -- Girl Band NewJeans will participate in South Korea's major fashion event "Seoul Fashion Week" as a global ambassador. The five-member band will promote the biannual event, featuring 21 South Korean brands, at its fashion show. The fashion event, organized by Seoul City, is scheduled for five days starting on February 1. A total of 68 fashion brands will engage in a trade exhibition where they can interact with 101 overseas buyers from 23 countries including

January 30, 2024

BLACKPINK's 'Pink Venom' surpasses 800 mln views on YouTube

SEOUL -- The music video for BLACKPINK's dance song "Pink Venom" has garnered more than 800 million views on YouTube, 527 days after its release on August 19, 2022. The song with hip-hop and electronic dance music features entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart and topped the charts of major domestic online music streaming services in 2022. The music video had 801,064,451 views as of 5:39 p.m. (0839 GMT) on January 29. The number of music video views on YouTube surpass

January 29, 2024

NewJeans selected as 'Group of the Year' at 2024 Billboard Women in Music Awards

SEOUL -- Girl band NewJeans will receive Billboard's annual award given to influential women in the music industry. Along with American singer Maren Morris and Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, the five-member band will be honored at YouTube Theater, a live theater in Los Angeles. NewJeans, which debuted in July 2022, has gained recognition for its exceptional dance performances and singing skills across different genres, including R&B and hip hop. The sister band of BTS ha

January 26, 2024

Singer-actress IU tops domestic song charts with new single 'Love wins all'

SEOUL -- Singer-actress Lee Ji-eun, known by her stage name IU, has topped South Korea's real-time song charts with her new single "Love wins all." The 30-year-old collaborated with BTS member V for the music video of the song. According to EDAM Entertainment, the artists' agency, the song dominated the song charts of major domestic online music services Melon, Genie, and Bugs as of 9 a.m. (1200 GMT) on January 25. Love wins all also secured the top positio

January 25, 2024

Boy band TWS sells 200,000 copies of album 'Sparking Blue' on debut day

SEOUL -- TWS, the brother band of boy group Seventeen, has sold more than 200,000 copies of its album "Sparking Blue" on its debut day. The debut album has also topped iTunes song charts in Thailand and India. According to album sales data released by South Korea's Hanteo Chart, 206,240 copies of Sparking Blue were sold on January 22. The new album entered the iTunes song charts in 11 countries including Britain, Japan, the Netherlands, and Italy as of January 22.

January 23, 2024

Singer-actress IU to go on world tour in 18 cities

SEOUL -- Singer-actress Lee Ji-eun, known by her stage name IU, will go on her first world tour in about five years since she went on a tour in Asian countries in 2019. The 30-year-old will interact with global fans in 18 cities including Los Angeles, Berlin, Jakarta, and Seoul. IU, who debuted in 2008 at the age of 15, is one of the most popular solo female artists in South Korea's entertainment scene. Not only IU is famous for her talent as a musician, but she is also wel

January 18, 2024

Girl band Le Sserafim to perform at US music festival Coachella

SEOUL -- Le Sserafim, a girl band formed by BTS agency Hybe's music label Source Music, will interact with global fans at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, a popular music event held in California. The annual event is known for showcasing popular artists in indie rock, hip-hop, and electronic dance music. Coachella is one of the largest music festivals in North America that attracted more than 200,000 fans every year. Along with K-pop girl band BLACKPINK, Puerto Ri

January 17, 2024