Author: Denise Coley
K-Pop Power Couple HyunA and Dawn have ended their relationship after six years. “We broke up,” HyunA wrote in an Instagram post. “We decided to remain as good friends and colleagues from now on. Thank you always for your support and for looking over us fondly.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Hyun Ah (@hyunah_aa) Dawn, formerly known as E’Dawn, also confirmed the split in an Instagram post. “Hello, this is Dawn. I won’t talk at length. Even after we broke up, [HyunA] is equally precious to me, she is more sincere…
TW: Article discusses sexual assault and rape. Former EXO member Kris Wu (Wu Yifan) has been sentenced to a total of 13 years in prison after the Beijing court sentence found him guilty of raping three women in his Beijing home. He was also found guilty of the “crime of assembling a crowd to engage in sexual promiscuity,” a charge from 2018. In addition to the sexual crime charges, Wu was also found guilty of hiding personal income and evading taxes and was ordered to pay fines upward of 600 million yuan ($83.77 million) to be paid toward the…
It’s been a whirlwind weekend for Blockberry Creative’s (BBC) girl group LOONA as it was announced that Chuu was expelled from the group. Following the announcement, fans, staff, and advertisers came to Chuu’s defense. Allegedly, nine of the LOONA members have filed to have their exclusive contracts suspended though BBC denies this information. Background Prior to the dual announcements, Chuu filed a lawsuit to have her exclusive contract with BBC suspended back in December 2021, though news related to this injunction didn’t make the media rounds until March 2022. The courts awarded Chuu a partial injunction, though details for…
Alexander Wong (IG @slackkeyalex) is a slack-key guitarist who was born and raised in O‘ahu, Hawaii. He plays traditional Hawiian slack-key guitar music that is infused with acoustic styling, all integrated into ultra modern compositions and productions. At the age of 17 he started playing slack-key and studied under the legendary Jeff Peterson. Before releasing his first debut album S-K1, Alex graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he specialized in Songwriting and minored in Philosophy. Alex’s music has been compared to: Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin, Claude Debussy, George Winston, Jimi Hendrix, John Butler, Kotaro Oshio…
Updated: February 15, 2023 Note: This is a dynamic list and will be updated if more disbandments are announced. CW/TW: Article mentions suicide. Sporting one the strongest debut classes in recent years, it’s no secret that 2022 has been one of the best years debut-wise for many K-Pop groups. Unfortunately, 2022 marked the disbandment of 34 groups as of October. Here are the groups we said goodbye to this year. 4Seazn Under Litchi MCN, 4Seazn was a project girl group composed of cheerleaders Sohyun, Baek Seol, Soojin, and Hana. The members were unveiled April 2022. They started busking…
We enjoyed October’s K-Pop releases! Here are our favorites from the month (in alphabetical order). What songs were your favorites?
Led by producer/composer Hiroyuki SAWANO, who has provided music for movies, anime, TV shows and artists, the new team music project NAQT VANE released their second digital single, ‘VANE’, on November 2, 2022. The song shares the same concept as NAQT VANE themselves: Creating an uplifting tailwind to encourage those who have a challenger spirit. Vocalist Harukaze’s strong yet gentle voice offers unflinching support, with an inspiring message for those of us who are trying hard to live our best life. In Japan, ‘VANE’ has been selected as the theme song for the historic Women’s Ekiden long-distance road relay,…
One of Japan’s fastest rising J-Pop acts YOASOBI confirm they’ll be releasing a new English language EP, E-Side 2, the follow up to last year’s acclaimed E-Side. Pre-order/pre-save HERE. In celebration of the announcement, the duo shares “The Blessing” from the EP. Listen/share HERE. The song follows previously released track “The Swallow” which was released last week and also will be featured on the EP. The focus track for the upcoming EP is “If I Could Draw Life,” theme song for the theater play “もしも命が描けたら(Moshimo Inochiga Egaketara).” YOASOBI continue to go from strength to strength in the short window since their conception,…
Yamato Releases Defining ‘Essentials’ EP on Japanese-Based Label Avex Japan-based DJ/producer Yamato is dropping his biggest release of 2022 in Essentials EP. Having worked for Pioneer as a technical developer of Pioneer CDJ series, he has an unrivaled competitive advantage few other artists can touch. A keen sense of songwriting, a brand-savvy skillset, and an ability to surround himself with the right team makes it clear as to why he’s achieved so much in his internationally acclaimed career. With over 30 million views on YouTube, Yamato not only began uploading to the platform early, but showcased clever live DJing video…
Trigger Warning: Article contains video shared from Itaewon that night. Viewer discretion advised. Two days following the deadly Itaewon Halloween celebration, we’re learning more about the deceased as Seoul authorities continue to investigate the cause of the crush that killed over 150 people and injured over 140 in an alleyway including 26 people from 14 countries, two of which were American college students. Other foreign citizens were from Uzbekistan, Iran, Norway, and China according to Al Jazeera. Among those deceased include actor and singer Lee Jihan. Lee, 24, appeared on season two of Produce 101 in 2017 and had…
On Sunday October 29, 2022 local time, a Halloween celebration in Seoul’s Itaewon district ended in tragedy as reports of a stampede and people injured hundreds while others suffered from “cardiac arrest” symptoms. As of Sunday evening, 149 people are dead with the death toll expected to climb. Currently, the cause of the rush, which occurred near the Hamilton Hotel, is unknown and under investigation. Some local media stated the panic occurred after an identified celebrity was reportedly in one of the bars in the area, but these reports remain unconfirmed. Itaewon is Seoul’s nightlife and club center. The…
With their second single ‘MASCARA’, XG made a huge impact on the music scene, reaching number one on the iTunes song chart in 17 countries & territories and entering the Spotify ‘Viral50’ in 21 countries & territories. Solo vocal performances by CHISA, JURIA and HINATA were recently released, showcasing their exceptional vocal skills. These have received rave reviews from around the world. Today, a new video from HINATA entitled ‘Welcome to My Party’ has been released. In this video, Hinata talks about her hometown, her hobbies and the type of music she likes to listen to. The video…
The world’s first Ghibli theme park’s set to open in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture Japan. Ghibli Park will open the first three of its five themed sections on November 1, 2022. The park features areas themed around Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Howl’s Moving Castle among other walkable attractions. While Ghibli Park is a theme park, guests should not expect rides or costumed characters walking around the park. Instead, Ghibli Park promises a calming experience that celebrates nature and the outdoors and their significance in Ghibli’s works. The attractions feature the whimsy and realism of…
The highly anticipated nuptials of figure skating queen Kim Yuna and Forestella’s Ko Woo Rim will be held October 22, 2022! “Kim Yuna and Forestella’s Ko Woo Rim will hold a private wedding ceremony with close family and friends on October 22,” representatives for the pair said. “Please send them warm congratulations.” Kim and Ko originally confirmed their relationship back in July after Korean media source The Fact revealed the two may be dating. According to BEAT Interactive, Ko’s agency, Ko’s Forestella groupmates will perform a congratulatory song during the wedding. Kim and Ko’s wedding will be held at…
After years of debate regarding if BTS should enlist in the military or not due to their cultural impact, BIGHIT MUSIC announced via a press release all BTS members will start enlisting beginning at the end of 2022. The news came following BTS’ successful Yet to Come in Busan concert. “The members of BTS are currently moving forward with plans to fulfill their military service,” starting with the eldest member, Jin, who is turning 30 this year, BIGHIT MUSIC told ABC News Monday. In South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve in the military before they are…
DREAMCATCHER [Apocalypse: Broken Halloween] 2022 World Tour offline and online concert is set to take place on October 29th, 7:00PM, and October 30th at 4:00PM KST on online streaming platform with MyMusicTaste. Ticket sales will open today at 7:30PM KST on Melon Ticket for the offline concert and MyMusicTaste for online streaming. Dreamcatcher will hold both online and offline at the same time, joining more audiences and communicating with Insomnia (official fandom name) worldwide. Through this Halloween concert, Dreamcatcher not only prepared a set list that can clearly show the group’s color and charm but also plans to complete…
NEMOPHILA is going to attend a huge music festival called, “AFTERSHOCK FESTIVAL 2022” in California in the United States from March in 2022. They also announced their live performance tour, “North American Tour”. The tour will start from March in 2023. The venue of the first 3 live performance shows in the United States have been announced. The tickets of the shows will be sold at 10:00 am (US TIME) on the 11th of October on the website for every venue. Also, NEMOPHILA announced the release of their latest album called, “Seize the Fate”. This album will be released…
The K-Pop star drops first body of work in four years with eventful music video LISTEN TO “ONE BAD NIGHT” EP HERE WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR “3D WOMAN” HERE October 5, 2022, South Korean singer and songwriter, JAMIE, released her EP, “One Bad Night,” along with a bubbling music video for focus track “3D Woman.” This body of work marks her first EP in over four years since jiminxjamie and is available on all digital streaming platforms via Warner Music Korea. In the focus track of the EP, “3D Woman,” JAMIE’s strong vocals are layered over a trap…
Japanese rock band tricot, who are currently touring 20 towns in 10 countries on their UK/European tour, have released new song ‘Aquarium’. ‘Aquarium’ is a straight-ahead, bright and poppy song with a twist, built on the foundation of tricot’s characteristic unusual time signatures. It is a song about ditching the presumptions around what love and relationships are supposed to be. Curiosity, guilt and other emotions do not necessarily need to have negative connotations, and this idea is expressed through a positive musical arrangement. The lyrics are filled with metaphors and declarations, with lines that roughly translate as “It takes…
The English version of NAQT VANE’s debut song ‘Break Free’ was released on September 30. This English version was produced in tandem with the original Japanese version released earlier in September, so that music fans around the world could enjoy the message of hope behind the song’s lyrics. NAQT VANE launched in September as a fresh new team project breathing a wind of change. Their debut single ‘Break Free’ carries an encouraging message of “a new self” and “liberation” and is dedicated to everyone living in the era of the wind – a flexible world of freedom and diversity…