KPOPWORLD #5

KPOPWORLD #4

KPOPWORLD #3

KPOPWORLD #2 (Poster Version)

&amp;TEAM is a nine-member Japanese boy group under YX Labels (formerly HYBE Labels Japan). The group was formed through the survival program &quot;&amp;Audition - The Howling&quot; and debuted in December 2022 with their first extended play &quot;First Howling: Me&quot;. The group consists of EJ, Fuma, K, Nicholas, Yuma, Jo, Harua, Taki, and Maki, with EJ serving as the leader. Several members, including K, Nicholas, EJ, and Taki, previously participated in the survival show I-LAND before being selected for HYBE&#x27;s Japanese global debut project. Before their official debut, the group released the digital single Under the Skin, which introduced their storyline and concept. Their debut EP, First Howling,e followed shortly afterward, marking the beginning of the group&#x27;s &quot;First Howling&quot; series of releases. Although primarily active in Japan, &amp;TEAM promoted internationally and later expanded into Korea with Korean-language releases and promotions. Their fandom name is LUNÉ, representing fans who support the group like the moon lighting the night sky.

&TEAM

Dalam cerita cover cetak Issue 5 kami, MAKI dari &amp;TEAM berbicara jujur tentang rasanya jadi viral — dan kenapa itu lebih rumit daripada kelihatannya

DALAM REFLEKSI MAKI: &TEAM

BIGBANG is a South Korean boy group formed by YG Entertainment, debuting in 2006 and becoming one of the most influential acts in K-pop history. The current profile centers on G-Dragon, Taeyang, and Daesung, with T.O.P and Seungri tied to earlier chapters of the group. The group&#x27;s importance comes from how strongly it changed expectations for idol music and image. BIGBANG made self-production, individual fashion identity, and genre-blending central to its appeal, with G-Dragon&#x27;s songwriting and public style playing a major role in the group&#x27;s reputation. Musically, BIGBANG moved through hip-hop, R&amp;B, electronic pop, ballads, and festival-sized dance tracks without losing a recognizable identity. Songs such as &quot;Lies,&quot; &quot;Haru Haru,&quot; &quot;Fantastic Baby,&quot; and &quot;Bang Bang Bang&quot; became reference points for later idol groups trying to balance mainstream hooks with stronger artist branding. The members also became major solo figures, which helped the group feel less like a standard idol team and more like a collection of distinct pop stars. That individual power brought both longevity and complications, especially as military service, controversies, and member departures changed the group&#x27;s public shape. The fandom is known as V.I.P. BIGBANG is a defining second-generation group whose impact on K-pop music, fashion, performance, and global ambition is difficult to separate from the genre&#x27;s modern history.

BIGBANG

G-Dragon menjadi rapper Asia pertama dalam sejarah Nike yang mendapatkan kolaborasi kreatif dengan Swoosh pada 2019 — bukan sekadar ambassadorship, melainkan kemitraan yang dibangun sepenuhnya berdasarkan logika estetikanya sendiri

Bagaimana G-Dragon Membangun Kemitraan Nike Paling Penting dalam Sejarah K-Pop

Jalan David Yong masuk ke dunia K-pop tidak mengikuti pola idol pada umumnya. Setelah mengenal genre ini lewat BIGBANG dan TWICE, pengusaha asal Singapura itu memanfaatkan bertahun-tahun pelatihan vokal saat ia mulai belajar bahasa Korea, les dance, dan rekaman di Seoul

Dari Penggemar ke Eksekutif Artis: David Yong tentang Perjalanannya di K-pop

KiiiKiii is a five-member girl group under Starship Entertainment, consisting of Jiyu, Leesol, Sui, Haum, and Kya. The group began its rollout in 2025 with &quot;I Do Me&quot; and built its debut era around a confident, self-directed image. As a newer Starship group, KiiiKiii carries attention from the company&#x27;s girl-group history while needing a distinct identity of its own. Their early presentation leans youthful but assertive, with styling and performance choices that frame the members as a compact team rather than a loose collection of rookies. The fandom is known as TiiiKiii. KiiiKiii is still early in its career, but its debut identity is clear: a compact Starship girl group built around self-possession, youthful confidence, and a team image still being defined through its first releases.

KiiiKiii

Jenis pemasaran tertentu sudah menjadi hal yang lazim di industri K-pop. Dari foto konsep awal dan trailer bergaya film hingga teaser dan mash-up, album baru hadir dengan segudang konten yang bisa diulik fans sebelum dirilis

Era Baru Pemasaran K-pop: Mengapa Situs Web Travel KiiiKiii Bekerja

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 sudah berkecimpung di industri ini lebih lama daripada yang disadari kebanyakan orang. Ia bergabung dengan Fantagio sebagai trainee saat masih awal belasan tahun, debut sebagai member termuda ASTRO pada 2016

YOON SAN-HA Siap Menjadi Dirinya Sendiri

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

Jeongyeon, member girl group andalan JYP Entertainment, TWICE, telah mengumumkan berakhirnya kontrak eksklusifnya dengan perusahaan tersebut

Jeongyeon TWICE Tinggalkan JYP untuk Memulai Karier Akting

NewJeans is a girl group launched by ADOR in 2022, originally introduced with Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein. Their debut was unusual: instead of a long teaser cycle, ADOR introduced the group through a surprise rollout led by &quot;Attention&quot;, followed quickly by &quot;Hype Boy&quot;, &quot;Cookie&quot; and their first EP. The group&#x27;s early image felt deliberately low-friction compared with much of fourth-generation K-pop. NewJeans leaned into natural styling, soft choreography, conversational vocals, and production influenced by 2000s R&amp;B, UK garage, jersey club, and light dance-pop. That understated approach became the point: records like &quot;Ditto&quot; and Super Shy were catchy without feeling overbuilt, helping shift the broader sound of girl-group pop toward smoother textures and shorter, replayable hooks. NewJeans&#x27; impact is also inseparable from presentation. Their videos, graphic design, choreography, and fashion choices treated the group less like a traditional idol launch and more like a youth-culture project with a specific visual world. That made the members feel immediately recognizable even when the songs were restrained. The fandom is known as Bunnies or Tokkis. The group&#x27;s later public story became tied to major corporate conflict around ADOR and HYBE, but their musical impact remains clear. NewJeans changed the temperature of K-pop quickly: softer, more casual, more design-conscious, and still massively public-facing. Their catalog is short compared with older top groups, but the influence of their first run is already large.

NewJeans

ADOR telah mengumumkan bahwa “How Sweet” milik NewJeans telah mencapai 300 juta streaming di Spotify per Sabtu lalu. Ini menjadi lagu kesembilan dari grup tersebut yang menembus angka 300 juta

NewJeans “How Sweet” Mencapai 300 Juta Streaming Jelang Kemungkinan Comeback

EXO is a South Korean-Chinese boy group formed by SM Entertainment in 2012. Originally debuting as two subunits — EXO-K (Korean) and EXO-M (Chinese) — the group quickly became one of the biggest acts in K-pop history with hits like &quot;Growl,&quot; &quot;Call Me Baby,&quot; and &quot;Monster.&quot; Their synchronized choreography, powerful vocals, and theatrical concepts helped define the third generation of K-pop and earned them the nickname &quot;Kings of K-pop.&quot; Over the years, EXO has sold millions of albums, held massive world tours, and seen their members flourish in solo careers spanning music, acting, and variety shows. Members like Baekhyun, D.O., and Chen have become household names in South Korea. Despite mandatory military enlistments creating periods of group inactivity, EXO&#x27;s dedicated fanbase, known as EXO-L, has remained fiercely loyal, ensuring the group&#x27;s legacy endures well into the 2020s.

Pada 29 Juli, Sehun dari EXO merilis single berbahasa Mandarin kejutan berjudul “Fade,” yang menampilkan Sion dari NCT WISH. Dirilis sebagai bagian dari proyek untuk Warner Music China

Sehun dari EXO Rilis Single Mandarin Kejutan “Fade,” Menampilkan Sion dari NCT WISH

HYBE membukukan pendapatan kuartal kedua rekor sebesar KRW 1,45 triliun dan laba operasional sebesar KRW 170,9 miliar, didorong oleh World Tour "ARIRANG" BTS dan aktivitas kuat di seluruh grup label

HYBE Catat Pendapatan Kuartalan Rekor saat Dorongan Tur Mulai Berbuah

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 telah mengumumkan bahwa mereka tidak akan mengajukan musik untuk 68th Grammy Awards yang akan digelar Februari mendatang, sebagai respons atas dibentuknya kategori baru Asian Pop Music Performance

BTS Menarik Diri dari Grammy Awards Tahunan

2NE1 is a South Korean girl group formed under YG Entertainment, known for their bold musical experimentation, powerful stage presence, and lasting influence on the global rise of K-pop. The group consists of CL, Park Bom, Sandara Park, and Minzy, and became widely recognized for redefining the image of girl groups with their confident, edgy style. 2NE1&#x27;s name is an abbreviation of &quot;New Evolution of the 21st Century.&quot; The group&#x27;s name was created to represent a new generation of music, style, and performance in the 21st century, with &quot;21&quot; symbolizing the modern era and &quot;NE&quot; standing for &quot;New Evolution.&quot; The name was shortened to &quot;2NE1&quot; as a stylized form that became the group&#x27;s official branding and widely recognized name worldwide. From their debut, they stood out as one of the most impactful acts of their generation, helping push K-pop beyond traditional boundaries. They gained immediate attention with their debut single &quot;Fire,&quot; followed by the major success of &quot;I Don&#x27;t Care,&quot; which earned major awards early in their career. Releases such as To Anyone, &quot;I Am the Best,&quot; &quot;Lonely,&quot; and &quot;Ugly&quot; solidified their reputation, blending hip-hop, pop, and electronic influences into a distinctive sound. Their international growth included notable achievements like one of the first global tours by a K-pop girl group and strong chart performance worldwide, including success on the Billboard 200 with Crush, further establishing their global presence. Throughout their career, the members expanded into individual activities while continuing to shape the group&#x27;s artistic direction and influence. Their music, fashion, and concept played a major role in popularizing the &quot;girl crush&quot; image and inspiring a new generation of artists. Even during periods of reduced group activity, their cultural impact and recognition remained strong across both Korean and international audiences. In recent years, 2NE1 has reunited for performances and group activities, marking a new chapter that builds on their legacy while reconnecting with fans worldwide. In 2026, Minzy confirmed that the group would move forward performing as a trio for select stages following controversy and public tension involving Park Bom and Sandara Park, with scheduled appearances including &quot;Special Live in Japan 2026&quot; at K-Arena Yokohama. Despite these changes, the group continues to evolve while maintaining their presence, influence, and long-standing status within K-pop.

2NE1

Sandara Park, yang juga dikenal sebagai Dara dari 2NE1 milik YG Entertainment, telah mengumumkan kemitraan baru dengan agensi Power Entertainment yang berbasis di Singapura. Setelah penampilannya di Waterbomb Singapore pada 2024 bersama agensi tersebut

Sandara Park dari 2NE1 Bermitra dengan Power Entertainment yang berbasis di Singapura

Komite Kepresidenan untuk Pertukaran Budaya Populer telah mengungkap rencana “Fanomenon,” sebuah Festival K-culture yang didukung negara dan dijadwalkan debut pada Desember 2027. Berlangsung selama 11 hari

HYBE, SM, YG, dan JYP akan Berkolaborasi dalam Festival K-culture 11 Hari pada 2027

SEVENTEEN is a thirteen-member boy group formed by Pledis Entertainment, debuting in May 2015. The group is organized into three internal teams: hip-hop, vocal, and performance. That structure is more than branding; it explains how SEVENTEEN functions, with members contributing to songwriting, choreography, staging, and the division of energy across a very large lineup. The members are S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon, and Dino. Their nickname as &quot;self-producing idols&quot; comes especially from Woozi&#x27;s central role in music and Hoshi&#x27;s role in performance direction, but the larger appeal is how the group makes thirteen people feel coordinated rather than crowded. SEVENTEEN&#x27;s early music leaned bright, youthful, and rhythmically nimble, with songs like &quot;Adore U,&quot; &quot;Mansae,&quot; and &quot;Very Nice&quot; presenting them as a group with unusual stage chemistry. Later releases such as &quot;Don&#x27;t Wanna Cry,&quot; &quot;Home,&quot; &quot;Left &amp; Right,&quot; &quot;Rock with you,&quot; and &quot;Super&quot; widened the scale while keeping the choreography and vocal distribution clear. Their best songs often turn teamwork itself into the hook: repeated gestures, fast transitions, and formations that reward watching the whole stage. The group&#x27;s growth into one of K-pop&#x27;s top album sellers came from consistency as much as spectacle. SEVENTEEN built trust through steady comebacks, strong variety content, and concerts that emphasized the members&#x27; humor as well as precision. Their fandom, CARAT, became part of that identity, following a group that could be technically impressive without losing warmth. SEVENTEEN&#x27;s legacy is tied to durability. Few large idol groups have kept such a clear group image while allowing so many individual personalities to stand out. As their scale expanded under the wider HYBE era, they remained recognizably Pledis-born: performance-first, member-driven, and unusually good at turning the mechanics of a big team into something emotionally easy to understand.

SEVENTEEN

Pada 27 Juli, PLEDIS Entertainment memberi tahu para penggemar SEVENTEEN bahwa member DK dan Vernon akan menjadi berikutnya yang menjalani wajib militer dan memenuhi kewajiban layanan militer mereka. Main vocalist DK akan mendaftar sebagai tentara aktif pada 8 September 2026

DK dan Vernon dari SEVENTEEN Umumkan Tanggal Wajib Militer

Stray Kids is an eight-member boy group under JYP Entertainment, consisting of Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. The group was introduced through the 2017 survival program Stray Kids and officially debuted in March 2018 with I Am Not, following the pre-debut release &quot;Hellevator.&quot; Former member Kim Woojin left in 2019. The group&#x27;s identity is unusually tied to self-production. Before debut, Bang Chan had already gathered the members around a team-first concept, and the production trio 3RACHA -- Bang Chan, Changbin, and Han -- became the engine behind much of Stray Kids&#x27; sound. That gave the group a different center of gravity from many idol acts: the music often felt like it came from inside the team rather than being assigned to them. Musically, Stray Kids are known for dense rap writing, aggressive electronic textures, sudden rhythmic switches, and choruses built for performance impact. &quot;God&#x27;s Menu,&quot; &quot;Back Door,&quot; &quot;Thunderous,&quot; &quot;Maniac,&quot; and &quot;S-Class&quot; made their style easy to identify: noisy in the intentional sense, but organized around hooks, slogans, and choreography that fans could immediately hold onto. Their lyrics often return to pressure, self-definition, ambition, and the awkward process of growing into confidence. The members&#x27; contrast is a major part of the group&#x27;s appeal. Bang Chan anchors the team as leader and producer; Changbin and Han give the rap line speed and personality; Lee Know, Hyunjin, and Felix shape the performance image; Seungmin and I.N bring clearer melodic balance. Rather than smoothing those differences out, Stray Kids usually lean into them, making their songs feel crowded, restless, and unmistakably theirs. Stray Kids became one of the defining global boy groups of the fourth generation, with a fandom known as STAY and major touring success across Asia, North America, Europe, and beyond. Their rise helped prove that a self-producing idol group could scale internationally while keeping a specific sonic fingerprint. Even when the group experiments with genre or language, the core idea remains stable: Stray Kids make high-impact pop out of tension, noise, teamwork, and control.

Stray Kids

JYP Entertainment telah mengumumkan bahwa Stray Kids akan merilis album digital baru, ‘SKZ-REPLAY 2026 Pt. 1’, pada 1 Agustus 2026 sebagai bagian dari perayaan “STAYweeK” grup tersebut. Dipimpin oleh versi Korea baru dari rilisan Jepang 2023 “Battle Ground”

Stray Kids Akan Merilis ‘SKZ-REPLAY 2026 Pt. 1’ pada 1 Agustus

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 akan membawa debut world tour mereka ke layar bioskop di seluruh dunia pada 13 dan 14 Agustus, disiarkan langsung dari YouTube Theater di LA dengan pre-show berdurasi 30 menit yang dibuat eksklusif untuk perilisan ini

CORTIS Akan Membawa Debut World Tour Mereka ke Bioskop di Seluruh Dunia pada Agustus

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

Pada 24 Juli, TAEMIN mengumumkan comeback solonya PHASE 1 : Soft Violence, yang dijadwalkan rilis pada 31 Agustus 2026. Dengan gambar misterius seekor semut dan teaser video yang sama misteriusnya, direkam dari sudut pandang rendah yang goyah

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