Tag - k-pop

 
 

K POP

South Korean pop group BTS perform during the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards on April 3, 2022.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024
Universal Music to distribute BTS and rappers in new Hybe deal
As part of the agreement, the companies will collaborate on artist promotions and marketing activities in North America.
Baseball fans wait to enter Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Wednesday ahead of the MLB opener between the Dodgers and Padres.
BASEBALL / MLB
Mar 20, 2024
K-pop stars to help showcase South Korea during Seoul Series
Before Ohtani’s debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Diego Padres begins, K-pop girl group aespa will hit the stage for a performance.
The final 10 contestants of the reality show “The Debut: Dream Academy” in November. The show aimed to select the members of a new global K-pop girl group.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 17, 2024
K-pop without the ‘K’ just won’t pop
The BTS hiatus may have slowed K-pop down, but the answer isn't to take the Koreanness out of it. If not, all that's left is run-of-the-mill pop.
J-pop duo Yoasobi performed its 2023-defining hit, “Idol," during the 74th edition of NHK’s “Kohaku Uta Gassen,” giving the show its best moment — and drawing anger from netizens.
CULTURE / Sound Off
Jan 12, 2024
Yoasobi delivered the standout moment of ‘Kohaku.’ Why did some music fans hate it?
The J-pop duo brought artists from J-pop and K-pop together on stage for the night's best performance, but it didn’t take long for negative voices to emerge on social media.
Yuka Tada and her friend pose for a photograph at a BTS fan cafe in Tokyo.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 12, 2023
BTS members head for South Korea military service; fans vow to wait
With three members already serving, the remaining four members of the K-pop supergroup begin their 18-month service.
From left: Prin, Sen and jiGook of QI.X call themselves one of the first openly queer, transgender K-pop acts.
CULTURE
Sep 30, 2023
Queer K-pop group QI.X wants to change South Korea
In conservative South Korea, few LGBTQ entertainers have ever come out. The young members of QI.X don’t see the point of staying in.
Zaein, created by artificial intelligence company Pulse9, is one of South Korea's most active virtual humans.
BUSINESS / Tech
Sep 26, 2023
In South Korea, AI-driven virtual humans go mainstream
Digital humans have been created for some of the country's largest conglomerates, with research indicating the tech could be worth $527 billion by 2030.
Crowds packed the Mountain Stage at Summer Sonic for Yoasobi’s set on Saturday and went wild when the J-pop duo played the opening notes of “Idol.”
CULTURE / Music
Aug 25, 2023
Summer Sonic closes out the season with one hot party
Asian artists NewJeans, Gen Hoshino, Awich and Babymetal drew impressive crowds at the summer festival despite the overbearing heat.
Creativeman President Naoki Shimizu says Summer Sonic has been featuring an increasing number of Asian acts in recent years, a change that reflects the growing number of Asian visitors attending the music festival. This year’s standouts include K-pop group NewJeans, whose Summer Sonic performance will be its first Japan show ever.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 18, 2023
NewJeans, Blur and Kendrick Lamar head to Summer Sonic
While Summer Sonic’s reputation as an international showcase holds strong, the event has become an important launchpad for homegrown performers.
This year’s Fuji Rock Festival, which took place last weekend and featured The Strokes, Foo Fighters and Lizzo as headliners, brought a cumulative total of 114,000 attendees to the mountains of Niigata Prefecture.
CULTURE / Music
Aug 4, 2023
Fuji Rock’s diversity is back — and it feels great
Millennial rock, Gen Z rap and a Sinead O’Connor tribute fill a stellar weekend of music.
BTS fans at an event in Seoul on June 17
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Aug 3, 2023
K-pop fans fight big coal to protect beach made famous by BTS
Environmental groups are aiming to harness the immense influence that K-pop enthusiasts have to fight climate change.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 12, 2023
U.N. human rights group to probe Johnny's agency sex abuse scandal
The Working Group on Business and Human Rights is expected to arrive in Japan between late July and early August and conduct interviews in Tokyo and Osaka.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Jun 30, 2023
With ‘Idol,’ Yoasobi pens a new chapter in J-pop's story
In creating the theme song to the popular anime 'Oshi no Ko,' one of Japan’s most interesting groups wins new fans overseas.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jun 24, 2023
A Japanese song on the South Korean charts is more than just a viral moment
As Japan’s imase celebrates the success of his track “Night Dancer” in South Korea, it could be a further sign that relations between the two countries are getting better.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2023
Culture at Johnny's to be scrutinized amid investigation into abuse claims
A team of experts hired by the talent agency have said they will “independently” and “exclusively” investigate claims of sexual assaults by late founder Johnny Kitagawa.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2023
Former Johnny’s idols submit petition and call for changes to child abuse prevention law
The online petition was set up on May 26 by three former idols and has garnered more than 40,000 signatures as of Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Jun 5, 2023
Nagano school runs course for girls dreaming of idol stardom
Six girls dreaming of debuting as idols joined the inaugural class that will pursue both academic studies and performing arts at Saku Chosei Senior High School.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Society
Jun 2, 2023
Ex-Johnny’s idol fears that attention on abuse scandal will soon fade away
'I'm afraid that in a few months, even before the summer, no one will be talking about it anymore. That’s the fear I have right now,” said Junya Hiramoto.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 21, 2023
Japanese actor Noriyuki Higashiyama apologizes for Johnny's sex scandal
Higashiyama asked younger members to wait to comment as he thought he should speak first as the agency's oldest active member.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 18, 2023
How Japanese media companies enabled Johnny’s abuse
The power dynamics of Japan's entertainment and media industries ultimately meant that accusations of sexual abuse were not investigated.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores