KPOPWORLD #5

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David Yong's route into K-pop doesn't follow the standard idol playbook. After discovering the genre through BIGBANG and TWICE, the Singaporean entrepreneur drew on years of vocal training as he took on Korean-language study, dance lessons, and recording in Seoul

From Fan to Artist-Executive: David Yong on His K-pop Journey

The Seoul-born singer-songwriter is 17 years old, less than two years into her career, and already operating on her own terms – writing and producing her music

ZIN CHOI

NEXZ is a seven-member Japanese boy group formed by JYP Entertainment and Sony Music Japan through the Japanese reality show Nizi Project Season 2. The group&#x27;s name means Next Z(G)eneration, and was coined by J.Y. Park to represent the wish for the group to lead JYPE into the future. The final episode premiered on December 15, 2023, revealing the debut lineup, ranked as follows: Tomoya, Haru, Yuki, Ken (So Geon), Yu, Yuhi (Hyui), and Seita. They debuted with the Korean song &quot;Ride the Vibe.&quot;

NEXZ

When NEXZ released "Mmchk" in April 2026, the seven-member group's first comeback of the year sold over 444,000 copies in its first week – a new career high – topped the Circle Chart retail album chart, and earned them their first number one on a Korean music broadcast

NEXZ: Nowhere Left But Up

Beyond the K-pop groups and the choreography that dominate headlines, another wave of singer-songwriters and independent artists from South Korea’s music scene has been building its own audience. DORI is part of that wave, though she arrived at it from an unlikely direction

DORI Speaks in Colour

ASTRO is a four-member boy group under Fantagio. Originally debuting as six members, the group entered the industry with their first mini album &quot;Spring Up&quot;, quickly gaining attention for their bright concept and strong performance skills. The original lineup consisted of MJ, JinJin, Cha Eun-woo, Moon Bin, Rocky, and Sanha, establishing a well-balanced team recognized for both musical and variety presence. In their early years, ASTRO built a steady discography with releases such as &quot;Summer Vibes&quot;, &quot;Autumn Story&quot;, and the &quot;Dream&quot; series, while also expanding their reach through concerts and international promotions. Their growth continued with their first full-length album &quot;All Light&quot; and subsequent releases including &quot;Blue Flame&quot;, &quot;Gateway&quot;, and &quot;All Yours&quot;, solidifying their place in the industry with a consistent sound and evolving image. The group also explored unit activities, including Moon Bin &amp; Sanha and JinJin &amp; Rocky, further showcasing their versatility. :contentReference[oaicite:0] Over time, ASTRO experienced significant changes, including Rocky’s departure and the passing of Moon Bin in 2023, marking a deeply emotional period for the group and fans. Despite these challenges, the group has continued activities as four members, releasing commemorative and special projects such as &quot;Circles&quot;, &quot;Twilight&quot;, and &quot;Moon&quot;, reflecting both their growth and enduring bond as they move forward together.

ASTRO

YOON SAN-HA has been in the industry longer than most people realise. He joined Fantagio as a trainee in his early teens, debuted as the youngest member of ASTRO in 2016

YOON SAN-HA Is Ready To Be Himself

TOMORROW X TOGETHER, often shortened to TXT, is a five-member boy group under BIGHIT MUSIC. The group consists of Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai. They debuted in March 2019 with The Dream Chapter: Star, becoming BigHit&#x27;s first boy group after BTS and immediately attracting heavy attention. TXT&#x27;s early identity centered on youth, friendship, imagination, and the strange emotional weather of growing up. Instead of debuting with a hard-edged performance image, they leaned into brightness, fantasy, and vulnerability on songs such as &quot;Crown,&quot; &quot;Run Away,&quot; and &quot;Blue Hour.&quot; That made the group feel distinct within fourth-generation boy-group trends, especially because their storytelling often treated adolescence as magical, confusing, and a little unstable. As their catalog developed, TXT added sharper pop-rock, emo, and dance influences through songs like &quot;0X1=LOVESONG,&quot; &quot;LO$ER=LOVER,&quot; &quot;Sugar Rush Ride,&quot; and &quot;Chasing That Feeling.&quot; The members&#x27; strengths map cleanly onto that evolution: Soobin&#x27;s calm leadership, Yeonjun&#x27;s performance charisma, Beomgyu&#x27;s color, Taehyun&#x27;s vocal focus, and Huening Kai&#x27;s bright tone all help the group move between softness and intensity. TXT&#x27;s fandom is known as MOA, short for Moments of Alwaysness. The group&#x27;s significance is tied to how carefully they built a coming-of-age identity across albums, videos, and performances. Rather than defining themselves through a single sound, TXT became a group about transition itself: childhood into adulthood, fantasy into reality, and polished idol pop into something more emotionally restless.

TOMORROW X TOGETHER

TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s YEONJUN held his first solo concert, titled “Billboard: One Night Only,” at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on August 12, 2026

TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s YEONJUN Holds First Solo Concert

BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Music in 2010 and debuting on June 12, 2013, with the single album &quot;2 Cool 4 Skool&quot;. The group consists of seven members: RM (leader), Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. The name BTS stands for Bangtan Sonyeondan (“Bulletproof Boy Scouts”), reflecting the group’s original concept of resisting societal expectations and criticism aimed at youth. Members RM, Suga, and J-Hope have played significant roles in songwriting and production throughout the group’s career. BTS first gained widespread attention with the [The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1 era], particularly the single I Need U, which earned the group their first Korean music show win in 2015. Their international breakthrough followed with releases such as Wings and the Love Yourself series. In 2018, &quot;Love Yourself: Tear&quot; became the first album by a Korean act to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The group achieved further global success with singles including &quot;Dynamite&quot;, &quot;Butter&quot;, and &quot;Permission to Dance&#x27;&quot;, all of which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. BTS is among the best-selling artists in South Korean history and has received numerous international awards, while also participating in global initiatives such as the UNICEF Love Myself campaign. Between 2022 and 2025, BTS paused full-group activities as the members completed South Korea’s mandatory military service. The last member, Suga, was discharged in June 2025, marking the completion of service for all seven members. Following their reunion, the group confirmed they were preparing a new album and world tour for 2026. Their tenth studio album, &quot;ARIRANG&quot;, recorded between July and November 2025, was released on March 20, 2026, marking their first group release in more than three years. The album will be supported by the Arirang World Tour, beginning in April 2026.

BTS' Arirang World Tour has turned every stop into a fashion statement with intent behind it. Seoul opened in custom Songzio and Juntae Kim, rooted in Korean design on Korean soil

BTS’ Arirang World Tour Turns the Stage Into a Runway

SHINee is a boy group formed by SM Entertainment, debuting in May 2008 with &quot;Replay.&quot; The group consists of Onew, Jonghyun, Key, Minho, and Taemin. SM promoted them as a &quot;contemporary band,&quot; a phrase that fit their role as trendsetters in music, choreography, styling, and performance. SHINee&#x27;s catalog moved quickly from the smooth youthfulness of &quot;Replay&quot; into sharper electronic pop and hybrid performance tracks. Later records like &quot;View&quot; and &quot;1 of 1&quot; showed how far they could push taste while staying accessible, bringing deep house, retro R&amp;B, and fashion-conscious presentation into mainstream idol pop. Their dances were often technical without feeling stiff, and their vocals gave even experimental tracks a polished center. The members built unusually strong individual identities: Onew as a warm vocalist, Jonghyun as a songwriter and one of K-pop&#x27;s most expressive singers, Key as a style and variety standout, Minho as an athletic performer and actor, and Taemin as a solo performer whose work influenced later idols. Jonghyun&#x27;s death in 2017 remains an important and painful part of SHINee&#x27;s history, and the group&#x27;s later activities are often understood through both grief and continuity. SHINee&#x27;s fandom is known as Shawol. Their legacy is deep because they were not only popular; they were influential in ways that became part of K-pop&#x27;s basic vocabulary. Later groups inherited their emphasis on difficult choreography, distinctive styling, strong solo identities, and the idea that idol pop could be both polished and genuinely adventurous.

SHINee

TAEMIN has officially unveiled the European dates of his &lt;LiMiNaL&gt; World Tour

TAEMIN Announces Europe Leg of <LiMiNaL> World Tour

FIFTY FIFTY is a 5-member South Korean girl group under ATTRAKT, currently consisting of: Keena, Chanelle Moon, Yewon, Hana, and Athena. They debuted on November 18, 2022, with the mini album The Fifty. On June 28, 2023, all original members officially filed a lawsuit against ATTRAKT. On October 23, 2023 it was announced that Saena, Sio and Aran‘s exclusive contracts with ATTRAKT were terminated. On November 2, 2023 ATTRAKT announced that the group’s remaining member Keena will be joined by three new members. On August 8, 2024, four new members were announced, including Chanelle Moon, Yewon, Hana, and another mystery member, who was later revealed to be Athena. Along with that, the group&#x27;s fandom name changed from &quot;Hunnies&quot; to &quot;TWENY&quot;. Soon after, they pre-released ‘Starry Night‘ on August 30, 2024, and made their comeback with the new lineup on September 20, 2024, with the mini-album Love Tune.

FIFTY FIFTY

FIFTY FIFTY has begun unveiling their Asia Fancon Tour [Still LoBubble], with stops in Seoul, Tokyo and Manila from August 1, 2026. The tour’s name is taken from the group’s title track “Like a Bubble”

FIFTY FIFTY to Embark on First Asia Fancon Tour in August

TWICE is a nine-member girl group formed by JYP Entertainment through the survival show Sixteen. The lineup consists of Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu, with members from South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. They debuted in October 2015 with &quot;Like Ooh-Ahh,&quot; introducing the bright, kinetic identity that would make them one of the central girl groups of K-pop&#x27;s third generation. The group&#x27;s early rise was built on an unusually clear pop formula: big choruses, memorable gestures, colorful styling, and personalities that were easy for viewers to distinguish. A run led by &quot;Cheer Up&quot; and &quot;TT&quot; turned TWICE into a national-level phenomenon in Korea, while their Japanese members helped the group cross naturally into Japan&#x27;s idol and pop markets. Rather than relying on a single vocal or dance center, TWICE worked because the lineup felt balanced as a whole: playful, approachable, and tightly rehearsed. As the members grew older, TWICE gradually expanded beyond the cute and school-age image attached to their first hits. The move from &quot;Fancy&quot; through &quot;I Can&#x27;t Stop Me&quot; kept the group&#x27;s melodic accessibility while bringing in sleeker dance-pop, disco, synth-pop, and more mature performance styling. That evolution mattered because it let TWICE remain recognizable without staying frozen in their debut concept. TWICE also became one of the clearest examples of a K-pop girl group building a long international career without losing its domestic base. Their Korean and Japanese discographies developed side by side, and later global touring brought the group to arenas and stadiums far beyond East Asia. The fandom is known as ONCE, a name that matches the group&#x27;s long-running emphasis on mutual loyalty between the members and their audience. Their legacy is not only commercial. TWICE helped define what a modern large girl group could be: member-driven, visually bright, musically immediate, and durable enough to age into a second phase. They normalized the idea that a top K-pop girl group could keep all members active across many years, shift concepts without abandoning its core warmth, and still feel like a complete team even as individual members developed solo work, acting, modeling, and unit activities.

TWICE

On July 19, 2025, JYP Entertainment girl group TWICE opened their &lt;THIS IS FOR&gt; World Tour at Incheon’s Inspire Arena. A year on, the group returned to South Korea for three consecutive encore shows at Seoul’s KSPO Dome from July 10 to July 12, 2026

TWICE: <THIS IS FOR> World Tour and The End of an Era

ARTMS is a 5-member South Korean girl group under MODHAUS. The group consists of JinSoul, HaSeul, Kim Lip, HeeJin, and Choerry from the currently inactive girl group LOONA. They first rebooted the LOONA sub-unit ODD EYE CIRCLE on July 12, 2023. They debuted on May 31, 2024, with their first album, DALL.

ARTMS

ARTMS have announced &lt;Art of BLUE BLOOD&gt;, their fourth world tour, landing ahead of comeback &lt;Hyper-Ego&gt;. Two Seoul shows open the run on 5–6 September, before the group heads to North America in October and Europe in November

ARTMS Confirm <Art of BLUE BLOOD> World Tour Ahead of <Hyper-Ego> Comeback

BTS’ second night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium carried a different kind of emotion. The anticipation of their long-awaited return had already been answered the evening before, leaving July 7th to become a celebration of what that reunion truly meant

BTS WORLD TOUR 'ARIRANG' In London: A Second Night That Needed No Introduction

GOT the beat is a South Korean female supergroup formed by SM Entertainment. On December 27, 2021, SM Entertainment announced the group, featuring BoA, aespa&#x27;s Winter and Karina, Red Velvet&#x27;s Seulgi and Wendy, and Girls&#x27; Generation&#x27;s Taeyeon and Hyoyeon. GOT the beat revealed a special stage on January 1 2022 and debuted on January 3, 2022, with their first single &quot;Step Back.&quot; On January 16th, 2023, they made their comeback, with a new single called &quot;Stamp On It.&quot; It is assumed GOT the beat has silently disbanded due to multiple members leaving SM Entertainment.

GOT the beat

BoA is heading back to Japan this September – and this time, she's doing it on her own terms. After 25 years with SM Entertainment, the artist widely credited with opening the Japanese market to Korean pop music has announced BoA the LIVE

BoA Announces First Japan Live Tour Under Her Own Label

AMPERS&amp;ONE is a seven-member South Korean boy group under FNC Entertainment. The group debuted on November 15, 2023 with their first single album Ampersand One. The lineup consists of Kamden, Brian, Jiho, Siyun, Mackiah, Kyrell, and Seungmo. Prior to their debut, FNC Entertainment announced plans to launch a new boy group and later confirmed that former Boys Planet contestants Kamden and Jiho would be part of the lineup. The group name, AMPERS&amp;ONE, was revealed along with the opening of official social media accounts, followed by the introduction of each member through individual profile releases. The group officially debuted with the single album Ampersand One. They returned the following year with their second single album One Hearted and later released their first mini album One Question. During this period, the group also held their first fan meeting, “&amp;Dear. My First _,” in Seoul. AMPERS&amp;ONE expanded their activities internationally through a series of fan meetings in Asia and their first tour in the United States. They continued their releases with the mini album Wild &amp; Free, followed by their third mini album Loud &amp; Proud. The group later participated in the U.S. leg of P1Harmony’s “P1ustage H: Most Wanted” tour as an opening act, marking one of their earliest large-scale international touring experiences. On February 6th the group won their first ever award, the &quot;Rising Star Male Idol&quot; award at the 2026 Korea First Brand Awards. &quot;Definition&quot; with be their fourth mini album.

AMPERS&ONE

AMPERS&amp;ONE are heading to Europe for the first time. With six cities and ten days across September, Berlin, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Paris, Cologne, and London, the European leg of the 'Born To Define' World Tour follows a run in North America that saw multiple sold-out dates and near-doubled venue capacities

AMPERS&ONE To Embark on Europe Leg of ‘Born To Define’ Tour

Cortis, is a South Korean boy band formed by Big Hit Music. The group consists of five members: Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, and Keonho. They debuted on August 18, 2025, with the digital single “What You Want&quot; followed by their first EP, &quot;Color Outside the Lines&quot;. The group’s name is derived from the phrase “Color Outside the Lines,” reflecting their concept of creative freedom and nonconformity. Cortis has been promoted as a self-producing “creator crew,” with members participating in songwriting, choreography, and visual direction. Blending pop, hip-hop, and experimental elements, the group gained early attention for their performance skills, self-produced content, and strong rookie-year sales, establishing them as one of Big Hit Music’s newer generation acts.

CORTIS

CORTIS' &lt;PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN&gt; North America tour sold out in under twenty minutes during pre-sales, with queue numbers breaching 475,000 for a venue that holds 6,000

CORTIS Sell Out <PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN> U.S. Theatre Tour in Pre-sales

ITZY is a five-member girl group formed by JYP Entertainment, consisting of Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna. They debuted in February 2019 with &quot;Dalla Dalla&quot;, a song built around self-acceptance, difference, and the refusal to fit neatly into other people&#x27;s expectations. ITZY&#x27;s early identity was direct and performance-forward. &quot;Icy&quot;, &quot;Wannabe&quot; and &quot;Not Shy&quot; expanded the same confidence-first message with sharper choreography, chant-like hooks, and a visual style that mixed teen crush, streetwear, and runway attitude. Their dances became a major part of the group&#x27;s public image, with Ryujin&#x27;s shoulder move in &quot;Wannabe&quot; standing out as one of the most recognizable fourth-generation choreography moments. The group&#x27;s strength is the way its members divide the performance picture. Yeji gives ITZY a precise leader and dance center, Lia brings a warmer vocal tone, Ryujin anchors the cool charisma, Chaeryeong adds technical dance detail, and Yuna gives the group a bright visual spark. Even when the music shifted into different textures, that balance kept ITZY recognizable as a group built around motion, confidence, and clean stage impact. ITZY&#x27;s fandom is known as MIDZY. Their place in K-pop comes from helping define the fourth-generation girl-group language of self-confidence: louder than simple cuteness, less dark than some girl-crush concepts, and built for fans who wanted slogans they could actually say back to themselves.

ITZY

ITZY are heading back to Europe – and this time, all five of them are coming. The &lt;TUNNEL VISION&gt; tour adds London, Amsterdam, Paris, and Frankfurt to its run, marking the first time Yeji, Lia, Ryujin, Chaeryeong, and Yuna will perform together on the continent as part of a world tour

Concerts & Tours