K-pop: Celebs Rumors

NME’s latest stars of The Cover, KISS OF LIFE, have compiled an exclusive playlist to accompany the story’s launch – check it out below.The K-pop girl group are on this week’s (December 2) edition of The Cover, a renewal of NME’s commitment to supporting emerging talent across the globe on a weekly basis. Every week, a rising artist will feature on The Cover – you can read the profile of KISS OF LIFE here, written by Rhian Daly and featuring photography by Ahn Hongje.To accompany The Cover, KISS OF LIFE have put together an exclusive playlist, ‘Songs To Lose Yourself In’.

SM Entertainment has dropped the first batch of stops for the upcoming SMTOWN Live 2025 world tour, with shows in Mexico, Los Angeles and Tokyo.On December 2, the South Korean music label announced the first three stops for its highly anticipated SMTOWN Live 2025 world tour, along with dates and venues. The tour is in celebration of the company’s 30th anniversary.It will kick off with two-night residency at Seoul’s Gocheok Sky Dome from January 11 to 12, 2025.

G-Dragon‘s 2013 album ‘Coup D’etat’ became one of the most-searched on South Korean search engines amid the martial law attempt by President Yoon Suk-yeol.Yoon declared martial law on the night of December 3 during a live television broadcast. In his statement, the South Korean president accused political opponents of “anti-state activities plotting rebellion” and alleged that he was protecting the constitution from “pro-North Korean forces”, per The Conversation.Shortly after martial law was declared, searches for a 2013 album titled ‘Coup D’etat’ by South Korean artist G-Dragon spiked.

BLACKPINK‘s Rosé recently covered of Wham!‘s iconic holiday hit ‘Last Christmas’ during her recent appearance on BBC’s Radio 1 Live Lounge.BLACKPINK singer Rosé appeared as a guest on the series’ latest episode, shared on YouTube on December 3. She performed two songs during her appearance on the show: ‘APT.’, her hit single with Bruno Mars, and ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham! in celebration of the holidays.Rosé’s stripped-down take on ‘Last Christmas’ arrives on the song’s 40th anniversary, and was performed live accompanied by back-up singers, a drummer and a keyboardist.

C9 Entertainment has announced the disbandment of K-pop girl group, cignature.Yesterday (December 3), C9 Entertainment released a statement on cignature’s official fancafé website, announcing the official disbandment of the girl group. The company said that “it was mutually agreed that disbandment of the group was necessary”, following discussions with members.“As a result, we have terminated the exclusive contracts of all seven cignature members regardless of the remaining duration of their contracts,” it wrote, as translated by Soompi. “The group’s activities also officially concluded as of November 30, 2024.”C9 Entertainment concluded the statement by expressing its gratitude to the cignature members “who gave their all despite numerous challenges over the years” and apologising to fans.

Korea JoongAng Daily reported on December 3 that Park had died from cardiac arrest on November 29, while travelling to China. His company, Big Title, also told press that Park did not face any major health issues prior to his trip.“The guy that said he would conquer China before leaving for a monthlong trip is now on an eternal journey,” said Big Title CEO Hwang Joo-hye. “It was so unexpected.

MAMAMOO singer Hwasa has announced her 2025 ‘Twits’ tour of North America, featuring concerts in Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto, Dallas and more.The singer’s label, P Nation, announced the tour on December 3 via X (formerly Twitter) along with its first batch of dates. The ‘Twits’ North American tour so far features 11 stops across the US and Canada, and is set to kick off with its first show in March.Hwasa will be performing in Seattle, Oakland, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Brooklyn, Boston and Chicago, along with a sole Canadian stop in Toronto.

fromis_9 have announced their upcoming departure from Pledis Entertainment after their contracts expire later this month.On November 29, Pledis Entertainment released a statement on fan community platform Weverse, where it announced that fromis_9 will leave the label after the girl group’s contracts expire later this month. The band were initially formed through reality survival series Idol School and made their debut in January 2018, later signing with Pledis in 2021.“The exclusive contract with fromis_9 will expire this coming December 31,” the agency wrote.

aespa emerging as the night’s biggest winners – view the full list of winners below.The 2024 Melon Music Awards (MMA) was held on November 30 at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, South Korea. The winners for most major categories were decided through a mix of digital sales, online voting and panelist evaluations.The MMAs’ four most prestigous awards are considered “Grand Prizes”, and include Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

GFRIEND have announced their upcoming reunion and teased their new 2025 album, titled ‘Season of Memories’.Today (December 2), GFRIEND and Source Music released a new logo animation video for the girl group, alongside details of the six-piece’s highly anticipated reunion project on social media.Touted as a “special album”, GFRIEND are slated to drop a pre-release track on January 6, 2025 before releasing the ‘Season of Memories’ album in full on January 13, 2025.The special album will arrive just a few days shy of their 10th anniversary on January 16.

(G)I-DLE have renewed their contracts with longtime label CUBE Entertainment.(G)I-DLE first broke the news of their contract renewals on November 30. Leader Soyeon made the surprise announcement as part of their speech at the MelOn Music Awards 2024, after receiving the Record of the Year grand prize.“My contract expired, and these days there are many articles being released that are like ‘(G)I-DLE is disbanding’ or ‘(G)I-DLE is over’,” Soyeon shared, as translated by Soompi. “However, not me alone, but the five of us all decided to renew our contracts together.

DEAN has released a new project titled ‘3:33’ and a visual for the track ‘NASA’.Today (November 29), DEAN dropped his new two-song project ‘3:33’, led by the single ‘NASA’ featuring French producer FKJ. Its accompanying visual features the singer performing the song with FKJ on the piano as ballet dancers twirl around them.Also part of the release is the track ‘Ctrl’, which the singer first premiered live at Hypefest 2024 in Hong Kong earlier this month.

K-pop label ADOR has refuted a recent statement by girl group NewJeans, claiming that their contract with the K-pop act has not been terminated.Yesterday (November 28), NewJeans held an emergency press conference announcing their departure from their label, ADOR. The news came two weeks after the group issued a legal notice to the agency, stating that they would terminate their contracts if ADOR did not resolve alleged breaches of their contracts.ADOR has since sent out a press release stating that their contract with NewJeans is still in effect.

Loossemble, a girl group formed by former LOONA members Hyunjin, Yeojin, Vivi, Gowon and Hyeju, have left their agency.Today (November 29), K-pop agency CTDENM released a statement through the girl group’s fancafe site sharing that their contract has ended. “Firstly, we would like to express our gratitude for the precious support and love for the members of Loossemble,” it said.“We would like to inform you that the exclusive contract with Loossemble has ended,” CTDENM shared.

NewJeans have announced their departure from ADOR, a subsidiary of powerhouse label Hybe, accusing it of “mistreatment” and “manipulation”.The chart-topping K-Pop group made the announcement in a late-night press conference on Thursday (November 28). In the announcement, member Hanni alleged that the five-piece had been shunned by ADOR.“This is not the type of work ethic we respect and not one we want to be a part of, and to continue working under a company with no intention of protecting NewJeans would only do us harm,” Hanni said (via BBC News).She would also go on to allege “mistreatment, not just towards us [NewJeans] but also including our staff”, as well as claiming that the members experienced “deliberate miscommunications and manipulation in multiple areas”.“[ADOR is] a company that no longer has any sincerity in the art of music that is created, is rather fixated on appearing like a well-working company despite only having thoughts about making money, and does not have any conscience about the negative effect they create through their non-authentic means,” she later added (as per Music Business Worldwide).The planned departure comes as the latest chapter of a long-running conflict between Hybe’s chairman Bang Si-hyuk and former NewJeans producer Min Hee-Jin.According to various reports, NewJeans said they would like to continue working with Min Hee-Jin – who left ADOR in August amid accusations that she had planned to split from the company and take the K-pop group with her.She has denied the accusations levelled against her, and the debate comes as the two have run into a dispute before.

Netflix and JTBC have released a new trailer for its upcoming period K-drama The Tale of Lady Ok.Led by The Glory’s Lim Ji-yeon, The Tale of Lady Ok is an upcoming legal K-drama set in the Joseon period. It follows the titular Lady Ok, a smart and popular attorney who uses a fake identity to hide her past as a slave.

ADOR has issued a statement requesting an apology from fellow HYBE sub-label Belift Lab to NewJeans member Hanni.On November 28, ADOR released a statement on its official stance regarding an alleged incident that took place between NewJeans member Hanni and a manager from Belift Lab.Hanni claimed earlier this year that a manager had told another K-pop group to “ignore” her when they crossed paths at HYBE amid an ongoing feud between ex-ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin and the parent company. Belift Lab denied the allegations in a statement last month.“While ADOR has taken a cautious approach to avoid unnecessary disputes that could escalate into controversies for our artist, we now feel compelled to clarify our position as the matter remains unresolved,” said the label per Korea Times.“Belift Lab’s claims differ completely from Hanni’s account,” it continued, adding that it was “unfair” and “unnecessarily harsh” to expect the singer to recount the incident in detail.

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NewJeans Hanni act’, to prevent the workplace harassment of those under special contracts, including K-pop idols.According to Women News, South Korea’s Progressive Party representative Jeong Hye-kyung held a press conference on November 26 announcing the proposed amendment. This change in the Labour Standards Act is aimed at further preventing workplace harassment, particularly for those who aren’t currently legally classified as employees.Representative Jeong emphasised that everyone is entitled to protection “regardless of income, employment relationship, or contractual relationship,” per translations by Koreaboo. The proposal of this bill comes about a week after South Korea’s Ministry of Employment and Labour had dismissed claims of workplace bullying faced by NewJeans at HYBE on November 20, filed by fans on behalf of the group.The petition alleged that member Hanni in particular was subject to workplace bullying within HYBE, the parent company of her label ADOR.

Red Velvet leader Irene has made her solo debut with the release of her first mini-album ‘Like A Flower’.The mini-album was released alongside a music video for its lead single of the same name. In the clip, Irene is listening to a cassette tapes in the back of a parked mini-van, which is equipped with audio equipment as she spies on and records a girl on her way to give a boy a bouquet of flowers.

Squid Game. Today (November 27), the streaming service unveiled the new trailer for Squid Game season two.

Squid Game.On November 26, the streaming giant dropped a clip titled ‘The Backrooms (Found Footage)’ for the upcoming Squid Game season two. Using a first-person filmed found footage format, it takes viewers through the empty Squid Game set.The clip begins in the players’ dormitory, which are filled with bunk beds and ‘O’ and ‘X’ symbols on the floor, which are part of a new game mechanic this season.

ADOR CEO Min Hee-jin has officially filed a criminal complaint against K-pop company HYBE’s public relations executives.On November 26, Min Hee-jin’s representatives shared that the former ADOR CEO had filed a criminal complaint with Seoul’s Yongsan Police Station accusing two HYBE executives of breach of duties regarding ADOR girl group NewJeans.According to Yonhap News Agency, the executives named in the complaint are HYBE’s Chief Communications Officer Park Tae-hee and a PR director only identified as Cho. They are part of the agency’s public relations team, which reportedly handles communications and promotional activities for the artists under the agency’s sublabels, including girl group NewJeans.Min’s representatives claimed in a statement that Park and Cho “not only failed to fulfil their obligations but caused significant damage to NewJeans and ADOR by downplaying the group’s achievements”.

BTS singer Jin has unveiled a new version of his solo song ‘Falling’ with ONE OK ROCK frontman Taka.Earlier this month, Jin released his debut solo album ‘Happy’, which included the singles ‘I’ll Be There’ and ‘Running Wild’. Also included on the record is the B-side track ‘Falling’, which was co-produced and co-written by ONE OK ROCK’s vocalist Taka and guitarist Toru.Today, the singer unveiled a new version of the song that includes vocals by the Japanese rock singer.

TWS have released their first single album ‘Last Bell’, alongside a music video for title track ‘Last Festival’.Pledis Entertainment dropped both the single album and accompanying music video on November 25 at 6pm KST. Led by title track ‘Last Festival’, the new record features two additional B-sides: ‘Your Name (Highlight)’ and ‘Comma’.In the music video, the six-piece become high school students working hard to prepare a performance of ‘Last Festival’ for a school talent show called ‘A Winter Night’s Dream’.

aespa and SEVENTEEN emerging as the biggest winners – view the full list of winners below.This year, the MAMA Awards held two separate ceremonies in the US and Japan, with the first day’s festivities held at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre on November 21. It then picked up with a two-night ceremony at Osaka’s Kyocera Dome on November 22 and 23.

BLACKPINK‘s Rosé has recently opened up about her perspective on K-pop fan culture as an idol in a new interview.The Korean-Australian singer recently spoke to The New York Times ahead of her anticipated solo debut album, during which she shared some insight into the realities of K-pop fan culture as an idol herself.“We were trained to always present ourselves in the most perfect, perfect way. And so even when we were interacting with fans online, it was when I was ready to give perfect answers and give them what they wanted. And making sure that I’m a perfect girl for everyone,” she candidly told the outlet, noting that “that was the culture”.Rosé also shared that the persona she puts on as a K-pop idol was something she had to learn while navigating the industry back when she first debuted.

The Murky Stream, The Manipulated, Tempest and Made in Korea. Other K-dramas airing next year include Hyper Knife, Knock-Off, Nine Puzzles and Lowlife, along with the second season of the 2023 hit series Moving.The Murky Stream is an upcoming historical drama led by Rowoon (Tomorrow) and The Glory’s Shin Ye-eun.

BLACKPINK singer Rosé has released her new solo song ‘number one girl’, the second single off her upcoming studio album ‘rosie’.Today (November 22), BLACKPINK’s Rosé dropped her new single ‘number one girl’ and its accompanying music video. The visual features fuzzy footage of the K-pop star as she wanders the city at night, singing the new ballad.“Isn’t it lonely, I’d do anything to make you want me / Give it all up if you told me, that I’d be / The number one girl in your eyes / Your one and only, so what’s it gonna take to make you want me / I’d give it all up if you told me, that I’d be / The number one girl in your eyes,” she sings in the chorus.‘number one girl’ marks the second release from Rosé’s debut studio album ‘rosie’, following last month’s ‘APT.’ featuring Bruno Mars.

K-pop singer Kang Daniel has announced his upcoming 2025 ‘ACT’ tour, featuring concerts in Asia and Australia.Earlier this week, Kang Daniel released a new tour poster announcing the concerts on his upcoming 2025 ‘ACT’ tour. The singer originally kicked off the tour in October 2024 with a two-night concert in Seoul, and previously announced concerts in Tokyo and Osaka set to take place in January 2025.The singer has announced five new shows in Asia and Australia for 2025.

Big Bang member G-Dragon has released a new song ‘Home Sweet Home’, featuring bandmates Taeyang and Daesung.Today (November 22), K-pop rapper G-Dragon dropped his new song titled ‘Home Sweet Home’, a collaboration with his Big Bang bandmates Taeyang and Daesung. While it is credited as a G-Dragon track, it marks the first music the boyband have made together since 2022.“Well I said, I would be back / And I’d never let you go / Pick a petal off a flower / Daze you love me nope? / Well I said, I would be back / And I’d never let you go / Pick a petal off a flower / Do you love me or (Stop!),” the trio sing in the chorus.‘Home Sweet Home’ comes just weeks after G-Dragon returned with the surprise single ‘Power’, his first solo release in seven years, following his 2017 self-titled EP ‘Kwon Ji-young’.

TMZ leaked that Post Malone, Lady Gaga, Green Day and Travis Scott were headlining the 2025 Coachella Arts and Music Festival, the multi-weekend extravaganza officially released their full lineup for April 11-13 and 18-20 at the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, CA.Joining the aforementioned household names this year include “Brat” hitmaker Charli XCX, Hip-Hop trailblazer Missy Elliott, K-Pop boy band Enhypen, fearless rapper Megan Thee Stallion and rising star Benson Boone.They’ll be joined by Zedd, Ivan Cornejo, Clairo, FKA Twigs and Jessie Murph.Personally, we’re most excited to see throwback giants like The Original Misfits, The Go-Go’s, Kraftwerk, Jimmy Eat World and Three 6 Mafia live.Plus, we’d be absolutely remiss if we didn’t mention Yo Gabba Gabba! is going to be there as well.Sound like the genre-bending festival for you?If you want to be there, tickets can be purchased for both Coachella 2025 weekends on sites like Vivid Seats.Vivid Seats is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.They have a 100% buyer guarantee that states your transaction will be safe and secure and will be delivered before the event.Multi-day pass options for both 2025 Coachella weekends can be found below.In total, over 140 (!) acts have been tapped to play both mid-April 2025 Coachella weekends.For a fuller picture of next year’s exciting lineup, sneak a peek at the festival’s poster here:A post shared by Coachella (@coachella)Although festival season feels like a lifetime away — it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet (!) — some organizers are getting ahead of the game early.To make sure you’re aware of what’s going on in the festival world, here are five multi-day jamborees you

Physical: 100 has officially been renewed by Netflix for a third season.On November 20, Netflix released an official announcement sharing that its hit South Korean reality survival competition will be returning for a third season. The streaming giant added that the upcoming instalment of Physical: 100 would expand its search across Asia, and will include contestants from across the region.“With even higher stakes, the third season will continue to showcase a diverse group of participants, regardless of age, gender, weight class, occupation, or nationality,” said Netflix.

BLACKPINK’s Rosé has opened up about a new song called ‘toxic till the end’, from her upcoming debut studio album ‘rosie’.Yesterday (November 20), Apple Music released a snippet of an upcoming Zane Lowe interview with BLACKPINK’s Rosé. In the new clip, the Korean-Australian K-pop singer spoke about the inspiration behind ‘toxic till the end’, a new song off her upcoming debut studio album ‘rosie’.Originally titled ‘the ex’, Rosé shared that she wrote the song after deciding that it was “about time” after spending years discussing the relationship that inspired it with her friends.

Light Shop has discussed the difference between the TV adaptation and the original webtoon.Premiering next month on Disney+, Light Shop is a new K-drama based on the 2011 webtoon written by Kang Full, who is the writer behind the streamer’s hit 2023 K-drama Moving. The story follows six individuals who meet in a mysterious light shop while trying to reckon with traumatic experiences from their pasts.At a press conference during the Disney Contents Showcase APAC 2024 event in Singapore yesterday (November 20), Kang, who also acts as the series’ screenwriter, shared that he was pleased with how his story was translated onto the screen.“I drew Light Shop as a webtoon 13 years ago.

NewJeans of workplace harassment.Today (November 20), the Ministry announced the closure of its investigation into workplace bullying claims filed by NewJeans fans on behalf of the band in mid-September, per Yonhap News Agency. The case was dismissed as K-pop idols are not legally classified as employee under the country’s current labour laws.The petition alleged that member Hanni in particular was subject to workplace bullying within HYBE, the parent company of her label ADOR.