For all the damage that TikTok and Instagram have done to modern music, one of the good things that’s come from the short-form vertical platforms is the resurgence of popularity of old hits — or should’ve been hits — that can arise suddenly if it’s sufficiently catchy, the right challenge can be made out of …

Out of seemingly nowhere, it was announced the first generation girl group Fin.K.L would be making their first comeback in 21 years since Forever Fin.K.L back in 2005. GEMSTONE E&M made the announcement, saying, “All four members—Lee Hyori, Ock Joo Hyun, Lee Jin, and Sung Yuri—are preparing for a full-group reunion of Fin.K.L.” The company …

It was 2009 and I was working myself to death at a dot.com in LA. I was an early adopter of brain rotting on the internet via social media and one of my online friends started exposing me to the one of the most enthralling things I’ve ever seen on the internet (thank you, Tiffany). …

In what they’re calling perhaps the least surprising news of all time, former BIGBANG member Seungri is in trouble with the law again, this time accused of aggravated assault. According to a report, he assaulted a man at a restaurant “According to police on the 10th, Seoul Gangnam Police Station received a complaint on August …

Now that I’ve returned for a mini-vacation of sorts, of course the place I’m headed is right back to the legal mines, where Bang Si Hyuk’s everlasting fraud case has finally seen him referred to prosecution after 21 long months and also after they had previously rejected it (twice). As you may know by now, …

Former EVERGLOW member Wang Yiren is reportedly a part of a recent Chinese live-action short drama adaptation of The Left Ear novel, which shot to popularity as a film back in 2015. In itself that seems like a major coup for the idol, but the catch is that it’s an AI venture and she’s not …

I have a bunch of Covered things planned for release as I catch up because this is thankfully one of the easier features to fill since covers are plentiful and they’re usually quite good, honestly. They serve as an ideal vehicle for idols to showcase their talent in a way that’s familiar to the listener, …

Singer G.NA has been hinting on social media that’s she’s returning to entertainment activities, and it’s recently been announced she’ll be making an appearance at the Kimchi & K-Food Festival as a special host. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kimchi & K-Food Festival (@kimchifest.ca) A couple months ago, she also announced …

Hello, playlist darlings, it’s me again, your favourite playlist elf, absolutely melting in the continued European heatwave and hoping you’re all staying cool and hydrated in these trying times. I’m back again with some B-sides I loved during last month, and I hope you enjoy them too. Let’s start! ====== tripleS – “Sad Girls Schemin’” …

Hello, playlist darlings, it’s me, Ells, back once again with some songs you may have missed during June. I don’t know how it’s been for you guys wherever you are, but I’ve been dealing with what feels like a neverending heatwave and I’m absolutely sick of it. I hope you’re all keeping well, and that …

As if they were purposefully trying to piss people off and reverse any positive PR they got from the Grammy decision, BTS have been criticized even within their own fandom recently for doing an ad for Google Gemini AI and also basically twerking for Usher and Chris Brown at their recent concert. @googlegemini Every journey …

Zion.T and TWICE‘s Chaeyoung were reported to have broken up after two years of dating, according to an exclusive from JTBC. JTBC cited the ending of their relationship as being due to both of them having busy schedules, leading them to naturally drift apart. Notably, statements from both artists said they were unable to confirm …

Gunil is now a former member of Xdinary Heroes, as he has been booted from the group following controversy after an ex-girlfriend posted disparaging comments he made about fans and fellow members. JYP Entertainment announced the move, also clarifying that his contract was terminated, “Regarding the recent issues concerning member Gun-il, our agency has deeply …

YENA has basically been a pandering machine for otaku and K-pop nostalgia for a while now as a soloist, and thank god for it. Somebody had to fucking do it. Anyway, during a recent WATERBOMB appearance in Busan, she took a somewhat opposite route from most, wearing a full-body cosplay suit of D.va from Overwatch …

Following the recent good news of Gaeun getting an injunction against her contract with 143 Entertainment (her sexual harassment case here), it’s now being reported that the court has ruled in favor of Yeseo and Suhye getting an injunction against theirs as well. While I had not seen news of them filing for said termination, …

In a thoughtful and not-at-all deranged move, an alleged fan took to the entrance of the YG Entertainment building with a golf club in what I can only imagine was an attempt to test the safety of the glass doors at the entrance and the general structural integrity of the building. ternyata masi ada lagi …

A Japanese TikTok influencer, and notably an ENHYPEN fan, took her own life on a live broadcast recently. Police received a report at around 5:33 AM saying that a Japanese woman in her 20s harmed herself in an officetel and authorities have confirmed her death (a friend also confirmed). Unfortunately, the circumstances around the tragedy …

Just a few weeks ago, I provided a somewhat dour update on the case of former MADEIN member Gaeun in her sexual harassment claim against 143 Entertainment, as she had filed for contract termination but her representation was left pleading for petitions and action on the case with no further update. Thankfully, there is one …

Following the judgment that former THE BOYZ member Ju Haknyeon was the victim of what was essentially a shakedown attempt by his former company ONE HUNDRED (catch up on their implosion saga), there’s been relevant news about the company now suing THE BOYZ for millions, as that seems like an awfully familiar case. Additionally, backtracking …

One story of significance that I haven’t seen mentioned much in the K-pop circles is that there’s a proposed bill in South Korea right now that’s being sold to the public as a way to curb the propagation of so-called ‘hate music’ to minors via a controversial pre-screening process. “The amendment to the Music Industry …

As a part of my mission to continue documenting the impressive implosion of ONE HUNDRED, their subsidiaries, and executives, there’s been big news on that front as they continue to lose where it matters despite trying to tell the media everything is made up. —— About four months ago, Lee Mujin requested contract termination from …

A bit lost in all the hoopla and arguing yesterday about BTS’s announcement that they’d effectively be boycotting the Grammy Awards was HYBE commenting to Korean media on the decision. Framed as a clarification, they say it won’t be a company-wide thing, “This is not a boycott at the company level. If other affiliated artists …

I suppose it really shouldn’t come as a surprise that a former One Direction member has released summer pop music, but Harry Styles was indeed a shocker to be chosen to provide the official theme for the 2026 WATERBOMB Festival. And yet, that’s exactly what JYP Harry Styles has done with “WET“. View this post …

There was already considerable controversy surrounding the Grammys creating a separate category for Asian pop music, especially among K-pop fans because it was widely viewed as something that was done to effectively quarantine the surge of K-pop nominations or at least prevent it from winning one of the major categories. BTS (and/or BLACKPINK) have always …

In what a thought was a joke or parody, SNSD subunit HyoRiSoo (Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung) are going to make their debut soon with a title track called “SKIBIDI“, as in like the brainrot meme, on August 31. “IATFB, surely this is an elaborate shitpost by you and not a real thing they’re doing, right?” No …

You don’t often get heartwarming news out of WATERBOMB, but that’s what happened yesterday at the 2026 edition when Cha Hyunseung made an appearance during Sunmi‘s set once again. This represented a reunion of sorts for the pair, as in June of last year it was worryingly revealed that he had been diagnosed with leukemia. …

Pann Choa’s latest user submitted content featured an attempt to cancel CRAVITY member Allen for making a silly “stepsister/stepbrother” meme … three months ago. He took a selfie with a stepladder and captioned it, “Step ladder, what are you doing here?!” [IG] 260428 f.alleninlove [2/2]#CRAVITY #크래비티 #ALLEN #ReDeFINE #AWAKE@CRAVITY_twt @CRAVITYstarship pic.twitter.com/Fpn99Y7M9F— PORTAL CRAVITY 🐍 #AWAKE …

Not unlike my delay with UAU, I’m doing an even more belated post about SECRET‘s reunion with a new member. And also like with UAU, they arguably should’ve gone with one of their B-sides over their actual title. The single they dropped was “ICE CREAM“, which was pleasant and fine, but the actual title was …

Hey, remember the case of former THE BOYZ member Ju Haknyeon, where he got kicked out of his group after he denied allegations of involvement with former JAV star Kirara Asuka? Well, you can catch up on all that in the tag, but basically he got kicked out after reports emerged that he paid her …

Hello, playlist darlings, I’m back once more with some of my favourite B-sides from May 2026, though it doesn’t seem to have been a huge month for K-pop releases. Regardless, I just wanted to thank everyone who is still reading these. I’m immensely grateful for you all. Anyway, let’s go! ====== BABYMONSTER – “MOON” —— …

You’ve heard of Idol Star Athletics Championships? Well now we’ve got Idol Fandom Athletics Championships. That’s right, exclusively on the Pixid YouTube channel, they are having representatives of 10 fandoms — Day6, MONSTA X, g.o.d., TXT, SHINee, SEVENTEEN, TWICE, BIGBANG, EXO, and RIIZE — participate in a show called Fandom Stage. The preview hints at …

Remember back in September 2024 when the WATERBOMB Festival was supposed to make its American debut in Los Angeles, started off disasterously and was temporarily bullied into competency before ultimately cancelling the whole venture? Well, back in March of this year it was announced the debut was instead moved to Las Vegas and would debut …

In what is something of a surprise, given … well, everything, the NewJeans comeback is actually happening despite (or perhaps because of) everything happening with HYBE, ADOR, Min Hee Jin, and now former member Danielle. The 2026 Summer of NewJeans video features the four members in a nighttime setting, and then there are also four …

Hello, playlist darlings, I’m back once more with some songs you may have missed during May. At the risk of being too short and sweet, I just wanted to do a thank you to everyone who still reads these, especially as I disappeared for most of last year. Let’s go! ====== Lee Hi – “HON2ST” …

Hello hello and welcome back to RESCENE Junkie, where I had planned on catching up on things in one post, but as you’ve seen over the last couple weeks so much has happened since and they’ve blew up even more somehow. However, this is as good a point as any to kinda consolidate things since …

While we’re on the topic of absurd idol controversies, ITZY member Ryujin recently went on livestream and addressed fans, issuing an apology. For what? Well, uh, adjusting her outfit on stage? During a recent concert, Ryujin adjusted her pants on stage between songs, and the clip went viral. Most of that is not the normal …

It’s been many months since there’s been any update on the Gaeun/MADEIN/143 Entertainment situation, and it’s notably been about 15 months since Gaeun filed a lawsuit against former company CEO Lee Yong Hak for sexual harassment. Recently though, it’s been brought to my attention that all this time Gaeun has apparently been contractually tied to …

IVE member Wonyoung, a noted unhinged thug, recently responded to my intrepid reporting on her disgusting attitude of standing around menacingly without a glowing smile. Of course, as somebody of her sly fox ilk would, she responded by mocking my respected journalistic endeavors with a pair of portraits with crossed arms. "im not owned! im …

Former GHOST9 member Brad (formerly known as Dongjun) appeared to come out as LGBTQ in a humorous social media post where he told a story about his idol life under Maroo Entertainment. He mentioned that he was lacking a lot of things at that time, like phone, time, money, and most notably, a boyfriend. View …

Terrifying news has recently struck K-pop, as I’m regretfully reporting that IVE member Jang Wonyoung was captured at Everland amusement park viewing the group’s ForEVER IVE collab, and she was exposed by a sasaeng an anonymous netizen for standing around with her arms crossed. My condolences go out to anybody who had to witness this …

Following the recent report on Tzuyu leaving JYP Entertainment, the floodgates have opened regarding reporting, rumors, and speculation on the status of the other TWICE members in their negotiations with the company. Notably, reports have come out about Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Jeongyeon, while fans are dooming about Jeongyeon and Sana after messages from them. —— …

Almost two and a half years after their debut, RESCENE have secured their first music show win with “Pretty Girl” on SBS Life The Show. It’s been a whirlwind rise in the last few months for The MUZE Entertainment girl group, and more than anything their recent results on the music charts, advertisements, and elsewhere …

TWICE member Tzuyu will reportedly be leaving JYP Entertainment after 11 years, deciding to not renew her contract, according to an exclusive report by News1. The report did also say she’ll continue participating in group activities with TWICE, but it would still go down as a landmark moment for the group, who has been together …

While I don’t often talk about the American groups from “K-pop”, I do enjoy observing trends, and news that Lexie was leaving HYBE and Geffen Records girl group SAINT SATINE before they even debuted certainly counts as that. [Notice] Important SAINT SATINE Updatehttps://t.co/GjWAZudw8n pic.twitter.com/pT6BECFA7R— SAINT SATINE (@saint_satine) July 13, 2026 For those unfamiliar, SAINT SATINE …

T.M.Revolution, Takanori Nishikawa‘s solo venture, recently appeared on THE FIRST TAKE to perform his 1998 hit “HOT LIMIT“, though that was far from the most notably thing about his showing. Rather it was the fact that he recreated the iconic outfit from the song’s cover and equally iconic music video almost 30 years later — …

While labelling this as the first controversy that RESCENE have gotten into since their viral rise is probably overselling anything negative actually happening to them, certainly this dialect situation has grown beyond what anybody probably could’ve anticipated, not the least of whom is me when I made this quip. Congrats to RESCENE, you have truly …

QWER recently made their Japanese debut with “SHOW DOWN“, which also serves as the opening theme for the upcoming anime Tomb Raider King (based on a manhwa of the same name) that’s set to start streaming on July 8th. QWER are no strangers to collabs — as they’ve notably done one with League Of Legends …

It’s not quite Dreamcatcher Junkie since it’s not quite Dreamcatcher, but I’ve finally gotten around to compiling the stuff from UAU’s recent comeback with “GENE”. The pluses of this are that it’s much better than their debut song and that they look amazing. Really, I suppose it’s a bit of a novelty aspect to it …

Well, that was quick. As people waited to see how a mere remake of a second-gen classic would do on actual music charts instead of just getting views for YouTube variety stuff, the fans that made RESCENE endlessly viral responded by pushing “Love Attack” to #1 on Melon, charting “Pretty Girl” at #4, and also …

Super Junior member Choi Siwon has long faced criticism for his political leanings from both inside and outside his own group’s fandom, but things seemed to come to a head earlier this year in relation to Yoon Suk Yeol being sentenced after his coup attempt. Siwon subsequently has gone on a crusade (literally, if you …