Month: December 2022

RM’s debut solo album, Indigo, officially arrived on Friday (Dec. 2), and the BTS rapper celebrated his next musical chapter by sharing the lead single, “Wild Flower,” and its accompanying music video.

“Wild Flower” — which features South Korean rock singer youjeen — has atmospheric drum and synth beats and, as the title suggests, the music video follows a serene, natural theme. In general, RM revealed that his debut solo album was highly inspired by the world around him. “Record of RM: Indigo. From the colors of nature, human, etc. Documentation of my youth in the moment of independent phase. Sun-bleached record faded like old jeans. The last archive of my twenties,” the star teased in a preview video shared on Nov. 22.

Though Indigo is RM’s first full-length solo album, the rapper previously unveiled two mixtapes, his 2015 self-titled mixtape and 2018’s Mono. Watch the “Wild Flower” music video below.

“Indigo recounts the stories and experiences RM has gone through, like a diary,” reads a press release revealed ahead of the album release, promising to “present a different charm” to the South Korean rapper.

Directed by Woogie Kim, “Wild Flower” can be viewed in full below.

One of K-pop’s most famous love stories ended after HyunA and Dawn shared that they had broken up after six years of dating but remain friendly.

On Nov. 30, HyunA shared a post on Instagram announcing the breakup. The starlet shared that the couple broke up but decided to remain good friends and colleagues moving forward. HyunA thanked fans for their support.

Dawn followed up with his own statement on Instagram to denounce a comment meant to look like it was written by the singer-rapper and former boy band member insinuating his ex was meeting other men and hiding other secrets about her past. The 28-year-old shared that he would be taking legal action against the original person who spread the rumor and those sharing the information. Dawn also doubled down on his affection for HyunA, saying she remains precious to him and an artist he loves despite the breakup.

After beginning to secretly date when HyunA and Dawn were first recording as part of the K-pop trio Triple H (alongside Dawn’s former bandmate Hui) in 2016, the couple’s rumored relationship broke through local Korean media in August 2018. Both artists’ label management at the time, Cube Entertainment, denied the news. Still, HyunA and Dawn met with the Korean news agency Yonhap, without their label’s consent, to confirm their relationship of more than two years. In response, Cube canceled the surrounding promotion around a new Triple H album and terminated the artists’ contracts by September. The string of events garnered international news coverage, with many fans divided about the artists’ and label’s decisions in handling the news, alongside a sea of social-media support behind the K-pop stars standing up for their relationship.

By 2019, HyunA and Dawn both signed as new artists to PSY‘s recently launched P NATION label. PSY told Billboard that year how HyunA was vital in getting Dawn a deal with the label. The “Gangnam Style” singer also laughed when describing the “strange” couple, sharing how “they dance together, they write songs together, and they compete with each other… it’s very creative.”

Under P NATION, HyunA returned to the top of the charts with multiple EPs, along with the hit single “I’m Not Cool,” while Dawn released his first solo songs including “Money” and “Dawndididawn.” Under their new label, the two broke new ground in the K-pop industry in 2021 by releasing a joint EP under the name “HyunA&Dawn” with the single “Ping Pong”; its music video boasts more than 110 million views to date. The couple was said to be engaged when they showed off matching rings on an Instagram post in February this year, where Dawn commented, “MARRY ME.” HyunA wrote, “Of course, it’s a yes,” in a post now deleted from her account.

Dating is typically considered taboo in the K-pop industry, with some artists contractually required to refrain from dating. While relationships going public have rocked some K-pop careers, the attitude around these couples appears to be slowly changing from the fan, artist and management level. Industry leaders like HYBE and YG Entertainment have recently refused to comment on relationship rumors between their artists, citing the singer’s private lives. At the same time, HyunA and Dawn booked magazine covers and photo shoots together being openly affectionate with one another. Not to mention, the millions of social-media followers supporting the many updates and photos of HyunA and Dawn — including thousands of comments sending their good wishes on the couple’s breakup posts — point to a future where dating may not be so off-limits or controversial in K-pop.

One of the biggest girl groups in K-pop history has returned to celebrate their milestone 15th anniversary while also including a touching tribute to their late member.

KARA made their comeback with a new, four-song EP titled Move Again with members Gyuri, Seungyeon, Nicole, Jiyoung and Youngji taking part. The release is centered on the new single “When I Move,” which sees the girl group step right back into their signature mix of modern and vintage dance sounds heard in some of their biggest singles like “Honey,” “Step” and “Pandora.”

While KARA went through some lineup changes during their time, the outfit’s return to music after seven-a-half-years marks the first release where newest member Youngji (who joined the group in 2014) is performing alongside Nicole and Jiyoung (who both exited the group that same year). Notably, it is also the first KARA release not to include Goo Hara, who was found dead in her Seoul home in 2019 at age 28.

But the memory of Hara lives on in KARA with the accompanying music video for “When I Move.” Tributes to the late singer appear throughout the visual, like the sixth table setting during a scene where the members celebrate the 15th anniversary with cake and champagne. At the end of the video credits, six microphone stands are shown onstage, symbolizing Hara as an eternal group member.

KARA returned to the stage this week at the 2022 MAMA Awards held in Japan, a suitable place for their comeback performance as the group was a pioneer in helping K-pop cross over into the lucrative Japanese market during the ’10s.

Gyuri, Seungyeon, Nicole, Jiyoung and Youngji performed a medley of classic KARA hits including “Lupin,” “Step” and “Mister” (that had K-pop stars in attendance like TREASURE, Kep1er and NMIXX singing and dancing along) before giving the live debut of “When I Move.” Montage videos detailing the group’s history from debut to today with personal photos, classic TV clips, and reflections from the group on their worries and excitement about returning to the stage introduced both performances.

While next week will determine where KARA return on the Billboard charts, the group’s chart legacy includes three hits on World Digital Song Sales (peaking with 2015’s “Cupid” that reached No. 12) and multiple entries on the K-Pop Hot 100 and Japan Hot 100 (including two No. 1s on the latter with 2012’s “Electric Boy” and 2013’s “Thank You Summer Love”).

David Harbour got to live his dream when he found out one of his celebrity crushes found him sexy.

The Stranger Things star stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday (Nov. 30), where he shared the story behind getting invited to a table read for the Madonna-directed 2011 film, W.E.. “It was a crazy thing. It was a real cloak and dagger type of experience,” the actor explained. “I got a call from a casting director that I knew very well saying they’re putting together a top secret movie read through, but you just have to show up at the St. Regis and go in this room and all will be revealed. And I was like, ‘This is really weird and creepy.’”

Harbour then recalls asking why they wanted him to be in the film, and found out that the director had seen him in Sam Mendes’ Revolutionary Road, where he had a sex scene. “They thought you were sexy,” he says he was told.

“And so all weekend, I was literally thinking about Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese,” Harbour joked. “I show up at the St. Regis and I get in the room and there’s a bunch of other New York actors there and in walks Madonna, who’s directing this movie. The first thing that flooded over me, I was like, ‘Wow, Madonna thinks I’m sexy.’”

Harbour then gushed over Madonna, noting that he had been in love with her since seeing her in the 1986 music video for “Open Your Heart.” “I was eleven years old when I saw that video and so there I am, in this boardroom of the St. Regis, and it all comes flooding back,” he said. “And I’m there with a bowler cap like, ‘I’m going to run off with you into the distance.’” 

While he didn’t think the film was “terrific,” it was all worth it because Harbour ended up getting invited to Madonna’s birthday party. “She came in and she was in like this gorgeous, emerald dress and then the party started and she put on sweatpants and they just cranked Madonna music,” he said. “I danced with Madonna to Madonna music. On my headstone, that is it!”

Watch the full interview below.