Entertainment
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Big Hit to renew exclusive contracts with all BTS members
SEOUL -- All members of BTS will renew their exclusive contracts with their agency "Bit Hit Music." The seven-member band would resume its group activities in 2025 after fulfilling their compulsory military service. Currently, two BTS members -- Jin and J-Hope -- are serving as assistant drill instructors in the South Korean Army. In South Korea, all able-bodied males who are 18 and older must do their military service unless they have a valid reason for exemption. Those who
21 September 2023
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Girl band NiziU completes two-month Japan tour
SEOUL -- NiziU, a nine-member Japanese girl band, has completed its Japan tour that started in July. The group attracted about 185,000 audience through 17 concerts in eight cities including Tokyo, Osaka, and Hokkaido. The band, which debuted in December 2020, was formed through the first season of "Nizi Project," an audition show launched by South Korea's entertainment powerhouse JYP Entertainment and Sony Music, a global music label based in Tokyo. The girls who were u
20 September 2023
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First solo album by BTS' V launches at No. 2 on Billboard's popular albums chart
SEOUL -- "Layover," the first solo album released by BTS member V on September 8, has earned some 100,000 equivalent album sales in the United States during the first week of release. The album launched at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the weekly chart that ranks the most popular albums in the U.S. Layover is a rhythm and blues (R&B)-themed piece containing six songs. The 27-year-old BTS member pre-released songs -- "Rainy Days" and "Love Me Again" --
18 September 2023
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BTS' V drops solo album 'Layover'
SEOUL -- BTS member V has released his very first solo album called "Layover." V had previously released original soundtracks for dramas and mix tapes, self-composed experimental songs distributed for free, but this is the first time for the 27-year-old to release an official album. Layover is a rhythm and blues (R&B)-themed piece containing six songs. V pre-released songs "Rainy Days" and "Love Me Again" about a month before the release of his album
8 September 2023
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Boy band Seventeen completes two-day concert in Tokyo
SEOUL -- Multinational K-pop boy band Seventeen has completed its concert at Tokyo Dome, an indoor stadium regarded as the "dream stage" among Japanese artists. About 100,000 audience attended the two-day event held at the stadium with a total capacity of around 50,000. The group will continue its Japan tour at four other domes in Saitama, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka. The 13-member band debuted in May 2015 and won the "World Performer Award" at the 2016 Mnet Asian Mu
8 September 2023
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Global art fair Frieze begins in southern Seoul
SEOUL -- Frieze, a major global art fair, has started at a convention center in Gangnam District, Seoul's heart of fashion and finance. Some 120 galleries from 30 countries including the United States, Britain, and South Korea are presenting various artworks at the four-day event. The annual contemporary art event, run by a British art magazine publisher of the same name, is one of the largest art fairs along with Switzerland's Art Basel and France's Foire Internationale d&
6 September 2023
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Justin Timberlake's label signs contract with rookie boy band Riize
SEOUL -- RCA Records, an American record label that includes Justin Timberlake and Khalid, has signed a contract with Riize, a seven-member band formed by South Korea's entertainment powerhouse SM Entertainment. Pre-orders for the group's debut album "Get A Guitar" exceeded more than one million copies before its release on September 4. SM Entertainment said in a statement on September 5 that the boy band signed a label contract with the American label owned by Sony M
5 September 2023
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Stray Kids achieves second highest album sales in US
SEOUL -- Boy band Stray Kids ranked second in album sales in the United States, followed by Taylor Swift. The eight-member band has gained explosive popularity through "5-Star," an album released in June 2023, and Maxidient, an album rolled out in October 2022. Through 5-Star, the group topped Billboard's top 200 popular albums chart in June this year. The music video of S-Class, the album's title track featuring hip-hop elements, has gained more than 117 million views
4 September 2023
