Author: Denise Coley
The pandemic, lockdowns, and the cancellation of live music events all over the world left many K-Pop fans searching for a viable fix until they could see their favorite k pop groups perform in person again. While many spent hours every day sifting through YouTube videos trying to find any viewable content which offered a glimpse of their faves, others turned to V-Live and found exactly what they were looking for right away. What Is V-Live? For those who don’t know what V-Live is, you are about to experience one of the best online platforms for K-Pop fans.…
Rosé has set new records for herself as a solo artist, without her fellow BLACKPINK members this time. The 24-year-old’s first solo album “R” sold a staggering 282,674 copies on the first day since the release of her album “R” on March 16. It received over 500,000 stock pre-orders. This easily surpassed IU’s record of “Love Poem” which sold 147,856 in its first week back in 2019. The single album also made its presence known on Spotify since its debut. Her title track “On The Ground” reached at No. 8 on Spotify’s daily Global Top 50 chart for March…
SM Entertainment confirmed that Baekhyun will be back with his third solo album “Bambi” on March 30. The EXO member’s new EP will include six songs with the title track “Bambi,” and will be available for streaming starting 6 p.m. on March 30. SM Entertainment stated that “Bambi” is a R&B track which very much showcases Baekhyun’s vocal sound and abilities. Details on the other five tracks of the album will additionally be released by the agency soon. Byun Baek-hyun is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actor. He was born on May 6, 1992, and is best known mononymously…
Although BTS failed to win a Grammy this year, they managed to collect eight trophies from Japan Gold Disc Award – a major Japanese music awards show – setting a new record as a non-Japanese artist. On the 35th Japan Gold Disc Award aired on Monday, the band won eight categories. Best Artist (Asia), Album of the year (Asia), Best 3 Album (Asia, for BTS’s Map of the Soul: 7, and BTS’s Map of the Soul: 7 ~The Journey~), Best Music Videos (Asia), and Song of the Year by download (Asia) as well as the new awards Best Song…
It’s been announced that “Minari” is up for six nominations for the Academy Awards – for best picture, best directing, best original screenplay, best actor for Steven Yeun, best score, and best supporting actress for South Korean veteran actress Youn Yuh-jung. Its six nominations are on par with “Parasite,” as it made history as the first non-English language film to win best picture in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards, last year. In the best direction category, Korean-American director Lee Isaac Chung will be competing with Thomas Vinterberg of “Another Round,” David Fincher of “Mank,” Chloe Zhao of…
We’re bringing you an interview from HMLT and KEI-LI. For those who may not be aware, HMLT (pronounced “Hamlet”) is an artist, producer and collaborator who has worked with various flourishing musical acts. KEI-LI is a singer, producer, animator and XR Game Designer. We would like to state a massive thanks for this awesome interview and wish the guys all the best in their careers. Please briefly introduce yourself to our readers. KEI-LI: I’m a singer-songwriter and producer as well, known to bust out the keytar/talkbox every now and then. I’m mostly influenced by the great hip hop…
Because This Is My First Life is a cute show with an interesting plot, funny moments, and heartwarming vibes. If you need a pick me up after having your heart ripped out from the drama you just binged, this show is perfect for you! Plot: Because This Is My First Life’s plot is upbeat and a much more romantic comedy than a heart-wrenching drama. It all starts with female writer Yoon Ji Ho, who is in her thirties without any real financial stability. She isn’t dating and has no hopes of independence any time soon. Needing to move out…
HMLT & KEI-LI dropped their third single – Peaches & Cream – from the album Drifters, on March 5th of this year. The music video for the single was directed by photographer/videographer Jason Li (@siego_pidgin). KEI-LI says (via his social media) that he wrote Peaches & Cream after HMLT (pronounced Hamlet) sent him the basic instrumentals – and this was over 2 years ago. Since then, the single went through numerous tweaks and changes in the process before being released into the world. He stated that he hopes the listeners will resonate with its vibe and feelings. HMLT and…
Over a week ago, songs from Kakao Entertainment (formerly Kakao M) artist were dropped from Spotify without warning. Now, music from the distributor will return to Spotify following a new agreement. On March 1, Kakao Entertainment’s music catalog was pulled from Spotify after the licensing agreement between the two companies expired, which came as a surprise to many K-Pop fans. At the time, a Spotify spokesperson stated that a new agreement between the companies was not reached despite “their best efforts.” “We have been working with Kakao Entertainment over the last year and a half to renew the global…
On March 9, 2021, Kim Himchan, formerly of K-Pop group B.A.P, opted to file an appeal following his sexual assault sentencing this past February, Insight revealed. Kim, 30, was sentenced to 10 months in prison and 40 hours of sexual violence treatment at the conclusion of the initial sexual assault case’s trial. At the conclusion of the trial February 24, the Seoul Central District Court ruled that the female accuser’s evidence and witness statements were credible enough for conviction. According to Insight, Kim’s lawyer’s filed appeal papers a day after the sentencing was handed down. Following Kim’s appeal, the…
Vicke Blanka is a globally-acclaimed Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist. His music has been featured on various anime series, Japanese TV dramas and commercials. Vicke Blanka is also active as a radio DJ, a model and an esports streamer. We would like to express “a massive thank you” to Vickeblanka for giving us a great interview and insight into his life and music. Please briefly introduce yourself to our readers. Hello, I am Vicke Blanka. We’ve read that you were musically influenced by Michael Jackson to start music, could you name other artists or musicians that inspired…
Japanese-American mixed-culture boyband INTERSECTION are exploding in popularity in Asia following a number of killer performances on Chinese variety show ‘CHUANG2021’, resulting in their music video ‘You’re the Reason’ surpassing 5 million views on YouTube. INTERSECTION already had a strong following in Japan, where they have been most active until now. Their popularity skyrocketed in 2019 when INTERSECTION member Mitchell Kazuma, a multitalented fashion model who has walked the runway at Paris Fashion Week, appeared on a reality show on AbemaTV called ‘Okami-chan ni wa Damasarenai’ (Don’t be Fooled by the Wolf). During one memorably romantic scene, Kazuma, who…
If you’re a fan of the Paula Hawkins’ 2015 novel The Girl on the Train and the 2016 film of the same name starring Emily Blunt, Netflix recently released the Hindi version of The Girl on the Train. As of March 4, 2021, the film has been one of the top-ten trending films in the United States. However, just because a movie is trending doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a stellar film. In fact, the latest version of The Girl on the Train is quite the opposite thanks to poor acting, snooze-worthy yet laughable scenes, and a questionable ending that…
Dreamcatcher Stands At The “CROSSROADS” To Their Third Online Concert Popular South Korean girl group, Dreamcatcher prepares dual concepts with a live band for their third online concert [DREAMCATCHER CONCERT CROSSROADS], a two-night event happening on March 26 and March 27 at 10pm KST. Dreamcatcher has garnered significant attention, even claiming the title of K-pop’s first female act to hit #1 on Billboard’s Next Big Sound Chart. It’s not their first run on the Billboard Charts though, as the musical septet have ranked on the Billboard World Albums Chart and Billboard World Digital Song Sales Chart multiple times since…
On February 28, 2021, the 78th Golden Globe Awards were held. This year’s awards were a socially distanced and virtual affair thanks to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. During this year’s awards, two Asian and Asian-American directors made a splash. Lee Isaac Chung’s film, Minari, won the Best Motion Picture- Foreign Language category. The film, which is about a Korean-American family searching for the American dream during the 1980s, was shrouded in controversy. Minari received a nomination in the Best Foreign-Language Film category instead of the Best Motion Picture category because it failed to “meet the Globe’s 50 percent English…
At Kcrush, we’ve interviewed Josh Johnson who is the Lead Designer at Golden Gear Press that recently created a fun board game KPOP: Becoming an Idol. We hope this interview draws more interest to the work and we wish Josh and his team a lot of success! Hello! Could you briefly introduce yourself to our readers, please? Hi! I’m Josh and I’m the Lead Designer at Golden Gear Press for KPOP: Becoming an Idol. My team and I are all professional game designers and huge K-pop fans so Becoming an Idol is a real passion project for us.…
“Beauty Water” is now the first Korean animated film to be honored as the best animated feature award at the 46th Boston Science Fiction Film Festival. As the oldest independent genre film festival in the United States, the Boston Science Fiction Film Festival runs for 10 days, showcasing over 100 science fiction features from around the world. The best animated feature award of 2021, was awarded to “Beauty Water,” which was directed by Cho Kyung-hun. The animation, displayed mostly in 3D, tells the story of a homely makeup artist who meets horrific consequences after she comes across “beauty water”…
Korean singers and actors are often seen dressed in outfits worth thousands of dollars. Not only is that undoable for the average person, these celebrities hardly ever own the clothes. With this in mind, Kpop fans launched Fashion Chingu in 2018, after realizing how hard it was to find affordable alternatives to what their favorite idols were wearing. After fine-tooth combing the internet every time a style interested them, they noticed that not one website focused on this niche. Finding a single piece might have taken up to several days. Sometimes, a good enough match would never even come…
Trigger warning: Story discusses sexual harassment/assault. Reader discretion advised. After three years and ten trials, Kim Himchan, 30, received his sentence for the sexual harassment allegations stemming from a July 2018 incident. After years of back-and-forth between the defendant (Kim) and the plaintiff (the unnamed female), the Seoul Central District Court convicted Kim and sentenced him to 10 months in prison and 40 hours of sexual violence treatment. “The evidence, including statements from the victim, is credible and backs the charges,” Judge Jung Sung-hwan said. “The seriousness of the crime and the fact that the victim did not forgive…
Oakland-based hip-hop orchestra Ensemble Mik Nawooj unveils a new track today, “Who Would Be Born,” alongside a video, which exclusively premiered last week via Glide Magazine—watch it here. The new track is from the group’s forthcoming album, Death Become Life, out March 19. All music composed and orchestrated by JooWan Kim. All lyrics written by Sandman Produced by JooWan Kim and Christopher Nicholas. In collaboration with Asian Art Museum and Yerba Buena Gardens Festival Inspired by Herman Hesse’s Demian, “Who Would Be Born” is an apocalyptic rap score on the destruction of the world and Gnostic god Abraxas. “The…