Today in K-Pop

SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) -- K-pop rookie group Cortis has entered the Billboard 20

CORTIS

While “Ascend-” marks a new beginning for Zerobaseone as a five-member group, the album also reflects the members’ growing involvement in shaping the group’s music and creative direction. Ahead of the sixth EP’s release on May 18, members Hanbin, Jiwoong, Matthew, Taerae and Gunwook sat down for a round interview at a cafe in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul on Friday, where they discussed the making of the EP and the group’s evolving musical identity. The album also highlights the members’ growing in

ZEROBASEONE

Enhypen added another show in Macao on Oct. 16 as part of its “Blood Saga” world tour, its agency Belift Lab announced Monday. The six-member act was originally set to host two concerts in Macao on Oct. 17-18, but the tickets sold out in ten minutes. Enhypen added dates to the Mexico show as well, extending it to three shows from one, in mid-July. The boy group launched the tour in Seoul on May 1, drawing over 32,000 fans in over three days. It will fly around North and South America over the su

ENHYPEN

K-pop rookie group CORTIS has entered the Billboard 200 at No. 3 with its latest album, "GreenGreen," marking the highest chart position of its career. The act's second EP earned 87,000 album-equivalent units in the latest tracking week, including 81,500 in album sales, Billboard said Sunday (local time) in a chart preview for this week. The five-member group also secured its first top-10 entry on the main U.S. albums chart with the album. It previously entered the chart one time with its debut EP, "Color Outside the Lines," which peaked at No. 15 last year. The Billboard 200 ranks the most popular albums of the week in the United States, measured by equivalent album units comprising physical and digital sales, as well as streaming and digital track downloads converted into album sales. In a press release, BigHit Music, the group's agency, said CORTIS became the fastest K-pop group, excluding project acts, to reach the chart's top three, achieving the milestone just nine months after debut. It added that the group is the only boy band formed in the past five years to have reached the Bil

CORTIS

Katseye took home two trophies at the Webby Awards, Hybe and Geffen Records announced Saturday. The group won both the official Webby Award and the people's voice award for its collaboration with Gap on the"Better in Denim" campaign in the Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle, Branded Entertainment Video/Film category. Established in 1996 by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, the Webby Awards recognize influential achievements across digital culture, including websites, social media,

Katseye

Taeyong, the multifaceted leader of the K-pop juggernaut NCT, released his highly anticipated first full-length solo album, "WYLD," Monday. Marking his return from a two-year hiatus that included mandatory military service, the 10-track project represents a stark artistic evolution as Taeyong took complete creative control, serving as both chief lyricist and sole producer. Hours before the global release, the 30-year-old discussed the psychological and musical shifts that defined his transition from a meticulously trained idol to a self-determined producer. Q: Your first studio album arrives after a two-year hiatus. What was the internal baseline as you approached this milestone? A: It is a mix of anticipation and genuine excitement. I spent the last two years looking back at my previous work, studying where I had been and identifying where I needed to evolve. I approached this project with a singular focus: to demonstrate measurable artistic growth. My hope is that when people listen, it triggers something primal — that it awakens their own musical instincts. Q: The album title swaps

NCT

BTS is planning a citywide project in partnership with Busan for its debut anniversary, according to label Big Hit Music on Monday. Under the title “BTS The City Arirang - Busan,” the city will turn itself into a venue where fans will be offered a series of experiences: welcoming visitors with special booths and operating exclusive buses and tourist courses across the city. A pop-up store will run at the train station while major landmarks will be illuminated and projected with messages from the

BTS

Following a major reorganization into a five-piece act, K-pop group Zerobaseone is returning with its new album, "Ascend-," embracing sophisticated contemporary R&B and a sound it describes as "minimalist." Formed through local music cable channel Mnet's audition show "Boys Planet," Zerobaseone debuted in July 2023 as a project group and quickly rose to fame, scoring six consecutive million-selling albums. After the 2 1/2-year project terminated in January 2026, the five members — Sung Han-bin, Kim Ji-woong, Seok Matthew, Kim Tae-rae and Park Gun-wook — decided to continue their activities as Zerobaseone while four other members — Zhang Hao, Ricky, Kim Gyu-vin and Han Yu-jin — left and debuted again as a new boy group. "Since I lead performances as the frontman, I definitely noticed a huge difference after the personnel change," the group's leader Sung Han-bin said, asked about changes from the reorganization during a group media interview in Seoul on Friday. To adapt, the group thoroughly researched how to best showcase its dance lines as a five-member act. The effort paid off d

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Izna will return with its third EP "Set the Tempo" on June 8, the girl group announced Monday through its official social media channels. The comeback marks Izna's first release in about eight months since its second EP "Not Just Pretty," released in September last year. While the previous album focused on going beyond conventional ideas of beauty, "Set the Tempo" is expected to tell the story of Izna finding its own rhythm rather than following standards set by others. The newly released title

izna

Day6 announced details of the final show of its "The Decade" tour via label JYP Entertainment on Monday. The four-member band will conclude the concert series that celebrates its tenth year with three shows in Seoul on July 3-5. The quartet kicked off the tour in Gyeonggi Province in August and performed 27 times in 16 cities, including Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon and Busan in Korea. In June, it will hit the stage in Kobe, Japan. In between travelling as a team, Wonpil released his EP “Unpiltered” i

WonpilDAY6

K-pop rookie group Cortis has entered the Billboard 200 at No. 3 with its latest album, "GreenGreen," marking the highest chart position of its career. The act's second EP earned 87,000 album-equivalent units in the latest tracking week, including 81,500 in album sales, Billboard said Sunday in a chart preview for this week. The five-member group also secured its first top-10 entry on the main US albums chart with the album. It previously entered the chart one time with its debut EP, "Color Outs

CORTIS

SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) -- Following a major reorganization into a five-piece act

ZEROBASEONE

Taeyang, one of K-pop's most enduring vocal presences and lead singer of BIGBANG, returned Monday with "Quintessence," his fourth solo studio album and first full-length release since "White Night" in 2017. The record dropped on his birthday, a detail the artist called a meaningful gift to fans. "I've been incredibly busy this year," Taeyang said at a press showcase held hours before the album's release at Cube Convention Center in Mapo District, Seoul. "I was preparing for BIGBANG's Coachella appearance while finishing the album at the same time. I haven't had a single day off since the Coachella stage. But I'm more excited than anxious. I'm glad I can give fans something good on my birthday," he said. As the title suggests, "Quintessence" is a record of self-distillation. Taeyang described it as an attempt to find what is most essentially himself after two decades in the spotlight. "This year marks twenty years since my debut, which made it an especially important moment," he said. "While making this album I focused on what feels most like me while still being something new. The challe

Big Bang

SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) -- BIGBANG's Taeyang signaled the start of the iconic K-p

TaeyangBig Bang

Itzy returned with its 12th EP “Motto," marking the girl group’s first comeback in six months. Following the release of its previous EP “Tunnel Vision” in November 2025, Itzy launched its world tour in February this year in Seoul, where a never-before-seen performance of its 2020 side track “That’s a No No” gained explosive popularity online. “Motto” consists of eight tracks, including the title track and new songs such as “Glitch” and “You And I.” The album also includes solo songs first reveal

ITZY

Babymonster hit 12 million subscribers on YouTube as of Sunday, surpassing the milestone in the fastest time since debut for a K-pop girl group, at two years and two months, label YG Entertainment said Monday. The group of seven has the third most subscribers among K-pop girl groups, only after Blackpink and Twice. The music video for “Choom,” the title track of its third EP, added momentum, drawing 15 million hits in half a day and heading straight to the top of YouTube's worldwide trending cha

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K-pop is increasingly dividing into two distinct musical directions: one built for instant virality on short-form platforms, and another driven by slower, emotionally immersive music that thrives through festivals, live performances and repeat listening. The split has become one of the defining shifts shaping the industry in 2026. While major K-pop groups continue tightening song structures around challenge-ready hooks and choreography optimized for rapid online circulation, independent artists like Hanroro and AKMU are finding growing success through introspective songwriting and audiences willing to engage with music beyond a 60-second clip. Together, the two trends reveal an industry adapting to dramatically fragmented listening habits, where music increasingly finds success either by being instantly consumable or emotionally durable. Short-form platforms now play a central role in determining how songs spread globally. According to a joint 2025 report by TikTok and entertainment data company Luminate, 84 percent of songs that entered Billboard's Global 200 in 2024 first gained tract

AKMU

Zerobaseone is opening a new chapter with its sixth EP, “Ascend-,” marking the group’s first release as a five-member act following the departure of four members in March. Ahead of the album’s release on May 18, members Hanbin, Jiwoong, Matthew, Taerae and Gunwook sat down for a round interview at a cafe in Gangnam-gu, southern Seoul, Friday. They reflected on the group’s transition after the expiration of the project group’s two-year-and-eight-month contract, a new musical direction, and what t

ZEROBASEONE