The fastest moving music industry in the world can feel like whiplash. Here’s a round-up of must know tidbits to stay up to date.
BTS’ Jungkook and Suga make K-Pop History
For the release of BTS’ original webtoon and web novel “7 Fates: CHAKHO,” youngest member Jungkook released a new song “Stay Alive” produced by fellow member Suga.
The song then proceeded to debut at the Official Singles Chart, making it the first Korean OST in history to ever enter the chart, coming in at no. 89. The song is also on two other charts: No. 5 on the Official Singles Sales Chart and the Official Singles Downloads Chart.
All over the world, the song has been setting new records: it was the fastest song by any Korean soloist in history to top the iTunes Top Songs charts in 80 regions and to sweep the No. 1 spot in eight of the world’s biggest music markets. In under 24 hours, it was No. 1 in 98 regions: a new record for Korean soloists. That number has since continued to climb up.
It is also the biggest Spotify debut of any song by a Korean soloist, entering the music platform’s daily Global Top 50 chart at No. 3 on the day after release.
Suho returns from the military
After spending 18 months away from his public duty military service, EXO leader Suho (Kim Junmyeon) is back! His official date of return was February 13, an early Valentine’s gift for EXO fans who have been waiting patiently.
According to the military, his time in public service was very fruitful: Suho rarely took days off and volunteered at vaccination sites.
To celebrate, Suho had two live streams with fans: an intimate one on Instagram Live, followed by a bigger production where he played games and read some fan comments.
Here are some of the things we have learned in both: he can cook now and feels confident in challenging master chef D.O. in a cooking battle, the members who are back from the military, like Xiumin and D.O. excitedly welcomed him back, but Kai and Sehun, who have yet to go, were a little worried. He dropped hints about a solo project, and at the end of the stream, a teaser was uploaded by the EXO Twitter account. We can’t wait!
Red Velvet to hold a two-day concert
Get ready for some red flavor because K-pop auteurs Red Velvet are having a two-day concert!
SM Entertainment announced that “The ReVe Festival: Prologue” is happening on March 19 and 20, at 5 pm KST at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium.
This is the group’s first concert in two years, and 3 months since “Red Velvet 3rd Concert – La Rouge” in November 2019.
The second day will be broadcasted on Beyond Live. Tickets will be available on Beyond LIVE, the SMTOWN Store, and the Yes24 website. Fan club pre-orders will start from 8 pm to 9 PM KST on February 23, and general reservations will be held at 8 pm on February 25.
Alysa Liu Dances to ITZY During Olympics Gala
The Olympics ended yesterday, and one of the biggest talking points was the Figure Skating gala, a tradition where the top 3 placers in each discipline and other chosen skaters are invited to perform to celebrate the end of the competition.
From Nathan Chen’s jaw-dropping backflip to Alexandra Trusova’s Wonder Woman fight back, Yuzuru Hanyu’s beautiful skills on display, and mascot Bing Dwen Dwen showing off his jumps, there was a lot to see.
Two-time U.S. National Champion Alysa Liu, one of the invited performers, is a big fan of K-pop girl group ITZY, and for her gala performance, the 16-year-old danced to the group’s hit song LOCO.
Not having expected to be invited, Liu hadn’t prepared at all. But with the help of some helpful fairy-god skaters, she was able to perform in style. Bronze-winning ice dancer Madison Hubbell helped with her make-up, fellow ice dancer Madison Chock did her hair, Spain’s Olivia Smart lent her a dress and the choreography was from ice dancer Jean-Luc Baker (and Itzy).
The performance was broadcast everywhere and caught the attention of the group, who posted about it on their official Instagram account. Liu, understandably, was thrilled.
