#k-pop

#k-pop

The directors were crying, the producer was crying, and I thought: Oh my gosh, this is an incredible musical world. It was February 2025, and Ian Eisendrath was conducting an orchestra through the final flourishes for the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack. He knew that the team had built something special but I never thought it would be like this, he laughs, marvelling at what came next.

ILLIT's Not Cute Anymore came out a couple of months ago. It's an incredibly impressive pop song. It has this kind of, like, light, lithe, rocksteady vibe to it. I also hear it as a little bit of a pointed rebuke to how a lot of girl groups are framed in K-pop. Innocent. Sweet. And maybe it's a bit of a broadside in the ongoing K-pop war between NewJeans and their parent label, Hybe.

Will America's long national nightmare ever be over? Will we ever learn who Leonardo DiCaprio was talking to during a Golden Globes commercial break? Yesterday, his One Battle After Another co-star Teyana Taylor confirmed that, in the soundless video of DiCaprio talking to someone offscreen, he was talking to her. "Yesterday, I thought I broke the Da Vinci Code," Taylor said on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. Today, she's less sure.

BTS is finally heading back out on the road. These K-Pop superstars have announced their long-awaited return to the global stage with their 2026-27 world tour, which currently spans 34 regions and 79 shows. The BTS tour, which kicks off on the band's home turf in South Korea on April 9, also includes a Bay Area stand. BTS performs May 16-17 at Stanford Stadium - which is a huge booking for a venue that has just recently gotten into the concert business.

That could change at next month's 2026 Grammy Awards ceremony. Songs released by K-pop artists - or K-pop-adjacent artists, more on that later - have received nominations in the big four categories for the first time. Rosé, perhaps best known as one-fourth of the juggernaut girl group Blackpink, is the first K-pop artist to ever receive a nomination in the record of the year field for "APT.," her megahit with Grammys' favorite Bruno Mars.

What is available is the daydream-a limitless realm of freedom. In this other world, one might be famous or rich, finally catch the attention of their beloved, or simply sit on a beach as a waiter brings them cocktails. They might fly or speak to animals, heroically save a child, tell off their boss with no consequences, win the Super Bowl at the whistle, or travel to another continent, planet, or time period. No one can stop them; no one can even object.

Since its inception five years ago, hello82 has emerged as a bridge between K-pop artists and fans, hosting immersive live experiences at its event spaces in Los Angeles and Atlanta. In May, the independent label unveiled a new flagship location in SoHo, where musical juggernauts including ATEEZ, LE SSERAFIM, AMPERS&ONE, A2O MAY, WONHO, and P1Harmony have already made appearances. It was the ongoing partnership between hello82 and P1Harmony, however, that enabled the company to take its next major step in expanding its global footprint.

Admissions for Korean and international films have fallen 45% since 2019, from about 226 million to 123 million, while box office revenue has dropped from $1.3bn to $812m. With investment slowing sharply, Korean distributors that once released more than 40 locally produced films a year are expected to put out about only 20 in 2025, and warn that 2026 could be even more serious as the pandemic-era backlog runs out and new productions are not coming fast enough.

Woo stood center stage at Madison Square Garden with one simple question for a sold-out crowd: This is the anthem of 2025. Are you ready to seal the Honmoon with me tonight? before launching into Golden, transforming iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball into a deafening sing-along and proving his evolution from animated demon to real-life pop phenomenon. While K-Pop Demon Hunters has become a cultural marvel, amassing more than 352 million views.

Since their 2017 debut, the quartet, J.Seph, BM, Somin, and Jiwoo, has challenged industry norms by blending genders, genres, and perspectives, using contrast as a storytelling tool rather than a constraint. That bold, genre-bending identity, paired with their explosive live performances, keeps fans, affectionately known as Hidden KARD, coming back for more. That signature energy was on full display as the group emerged through a cloud of fog, striking a balance between hype and intimacy.

It's been five years since WONHO debuted as a solo artist after departing MONSTA X in 2019. In that time, he completed his mandatory military service, released a string of EPs, and reunited with fans at last December's Welcome Back WENEE fan meeting. Now, with the release of his debut English album Syndrome, featuring standout tracks What Would You Do and Better Than Me, WONHO is stepping boldly into a new chapter.

This pass is pretty loaded, with eight jam tracks, two skins, two Kpop emotes, two guitars, a bass, a drum kit, a mic, three auras, and one weapon wrap. The Fortnite-original Melodie Mars skin is unlocked instantly when you purchase the pass, and the Rockstar Lisa skin is the final reward in the pass, she's got a reactive back bling on the pass as well.

VIVIZ is the South Korean girl group forging a new legacy in K-pop, drawing on their veteran experience from their former group, GFriend, and elevating it into a bright, bold sound that spans a wider musical spectrum. Fans have heralded EUNHA, SINB, and UMJIi as a golden trio, praising their vocal prowess, versatility, and distinctive synergy on stage. Now, just three years after their debut mini-album Beam of Prism, VIVIZ continues to embody the spirit of their name by bringing VIVID dayz to supporters,

"not to sing these songs at school out of respect for those who find the themes at odds with their faith."

In a season of lists - gift lists, card lists, guest lists, ingredient lists - we've got the best one of all: holiday entertainment lists. Our holiday preview has everything you need, no shopping, mailing, inviting or cooking required. Browse our picks throughout the week for what to watch on the couch, at the movie theater or on stage.

K-pop reaches its biggest Grammy moment yet, with multiple acts scoring nominations in major categories and signaling the genre's acceptance as mainstream pop music. Rosé's smash hit with Bruno Mars and the debut of Katseye showcase K-pop artists' crossover potential and musical credibility with Grammy voters. The shift marks a turning point where Grammy voters are judging K-pop on artistic merit rather than treating it primarily as a fandom-driven phenomenon.

After " Not Like Us" swept every category in which it was nominated at the 2025 Grammys (including Song of the Year), Lamar is eyeing back-to-back wins with his SZA duet " Luther." Mars has also become a hot commodity, appearing among last year's nominees on Lady Gaga's " Die With a Smile" and this year alongside Rosé on "Apt.,", from the Blackpink member's solo debut, . Lady Gaga herself is recognized for her single " Abracadabra."

STAYC drew thousands of spectators last month for the final stop on the US leg of their tour, STAY TUNED,' drawing thousands of fans to the Theater at Madison Square Garden. With the rallying call, STAYC Girls is going down! echoing throughout the venue, fans beamed with pride as SUMIN, SIEUN, ISA, SEEUN, J, and YOON lit up the stage on October 21. The six-member girl group delivered an unforgettable performance for over 2,000 supporters filled with STAYC's signature Teen Fresh energy, combining a perfect blend of charm, confidence, and talent.

Usually, every movement in a K-Pop group is controlled by their company and management team; however, tripleS are shaking things up by taking their fans' opinions into account. Through a series of voting stages, fans can pick title tracks and who they want to see perform these songs. Each voting stage will show what direction supporters are leaning toward for tripleS, and as they approach the final countdown, fans can steer the outcome.

Lisa, Jennie, Rosé, and Jisoo have broken numerous records since their debut in 2016: the first to sell one million, then two million, album copies in South Korea; the first Korean group to top the Billboard 200 album chart; the highest-grossing concert tour by a female artist. Blackpink, and K-pop and K-culture more broadly, are now a source of South Korean "soft power," expanding the country's cultural influence across Asia and beyond.

I feel like a lot of people like to copy whatever works and stay away from whatever doesn't, so I feel like there's not a lot of groups that are willing to take risks, and I don't even think it's the group's fault.

K-pop's biggest names are strutting their stuff at Milan Fashion Week and turning up in ultra-cool fits. Seventeen's Joshua Hong, BTS's Jin, and Stray Kids' Bang Chan were some of the K-pop idols who rolled up to the fashion week in the city. They were dressed by some of the biggest fashion houses, including Gucci and Fendi. While Hong went with a chic, neutral look, Bang opted for a bold, sheer outfit.

"I'm crossing oceans to see Joshua Hong, and this is going to change my life," I said in my friend group chat, drunk with victory, with my prize from the Seventeen concert ticketing war in hand. To be clear, I didn't meet the US-born member of the boy band Seventeen, but I did hop on an international flight to see him and the group perform.

You're hearing an R&B intro sung a cappella by Rumi, the main character. It almost has a Mary J. Blige tragic heaviness to it. And then as the other singers come in, Zoey and Mira, what you end up with is something like an up-tempo club number. It doesn't quite go full EDM, but it does feel like it's designed for a Hamilton- esque chant along. What started as a tender, warm, introspective ballad ends up as a powerful fight song.

Normally, that wouldn't be news we would cover here at , but KPop Demon Hunters , Netflix's animated musical phenomenon, was apparently brought up during the generative AI organization's launch event for its new Korean subsidiary on Monday, September 15. Vince, a prolific K-pop producer who wrote songs performed by the film's demonic boy band group called the Saja Boys, made an appearance at the Seoul event.

In the final moments of Netflix's wildly popular KPop Demon Hunters, a K-pop group called the Saja Boys-whose members are secretly demons-celebrate an award-show victory by performing a new song called "Your Idol" for thousands of adulating fans. "Your obsession feeds our connection / So right now give me all your attention," they sing. By absorbing the frenzied reverence, the Saja Boys can break through the Honmoon, a fictional barrier that protects humans from the demon world, which would unleash chaos.

The movie is brash, loud, funny, and full of catchy songs. It tells the story of HUNTR/X, a K-pop girl band whose members Rumi, Zoey and Mira are more than just manufactured products of the South Korean pop industry: They also hunt demons! In between filling stadiums, the band lounge on the sofa in bunny pajamas, stuff themselves with fast food, and enjoy their pop star life without hard training and constant rehearsals.