2020 may be beginning to wind down, but K-pop’s getting busier than ever.
- Watch: Rosé And Bruno Mars Take 3rd Win For "APT." On "M Countdown"
- BLACKPINK's Rosé Announces Solo Comeback With Teasers For 1st Studio Album "rosie"
- BOYNEXTDOOR, DAY6, aespa, Jimin, And BLACKPINK Top Circle Weekly Charts
In a year where K-pop has proved its tenacity and continued full speed ahead regardless of the global pandemic, this past week saw artists awarded for their efforts, and others continue to drop the hits. Catch up on some big K-pop news below.
Big Hit plan companywide New Year’s Eve concert
Though much of the world is still void of live events because of the coronavirus pandemic, Seoul’s music scene is cautiously planning for some concerts at the end of this year, including a roster-wide one from Big Hit Entertainment on New Year’s Eve. Set to have both online and in-person audiences, the December 31 event will feature BTS, GFriend, TXT, NU'EST, Enhyphen, Lee Hyun and Bumzu.
It will be the BTS members’ first event with an in-person audience since lockdown shut down much of the world.
Exo and SuperM member Kai teases solo debut
Anticipation for the Gucci brand ambassador’s first solo release has been rising ever since SM Entertainment announced it earlier this year, and this week saw the first taste of what Kai is going to offer with his upcoming first EP. Set to drop on November 30, it is said: “to open new world of musicXperformanceXstyle”.
>>> See more: Year-end 'Boom' - EXO Kai Solo Debut, A Whole New World Of Music And Performance
November releases impress
October and November are always busy for K-pop as artists release new music ahead of end-of-year event season, and Monday came in a big way with releases from not one or two but three major artists: Taemin returned with his Act 2 of his “Never Gonna Dance Again” album series, GFriend finished up their current album trilogy with “Walpurgis Night”, and Ha Sung-woon, formerly of Wanna One, returned with his EP “Mirage”.
No time for love for Jihyo and Kang Daniel
Twice’s Jihyo and soloist Kang Daniel, also formerly of Wanna One, issued statements this week confirming they had broken up after rumors began circulating. The pair had been publicly together since summer 2019, but the romance came to a halt reportedly because they were too busy with their careers for the relationship.
Bloomberg names Blackpink the biggest band in the world
The American financial outlet dubbed BLACKPINK the biggest band in October in its Pop Star Power Rankings. BTS was ranked tenth in that same time period, a major win for South Korea-based artists.
Wall Street Journal dubs BTS 2020 music innovators
As the year begins to wind down, award season is slowly creeping up on the world, and BTS are already winning big. At The Wall Street Journal Magazine’s 10th annual Innovator Awards on Wednesday, the septet was recognized for their efforts in the musical world, with their impact garnering comparison at the event to that of The Beatles.
NCT to return with Resonance Pt. 2
The 23-member boy band just wrapped up promoting their “Resonance Pt. 1” singles From Home and Make a Wish, but NCT isn’t slowing down: they’ll release the second half of the project on November 23.
CNBLUE teases return
The pop band released teasers for their upcoming return with Then, Now and Forever and album “Re-Code”. It’ll be the first release from Cnblue as a trio, and follows the departure of Lee Jong-hyun from the act in 2019 after the guitarist-vocalist admitted involvement in s.e.x crime abuses.
Boa releases 20th-anniversary doc
The K-pop icon celebrated her 20th anniversary this year, and is planning to release an upcoming album in commemoration. But ahead of it, a new documentary arrived on YouTube this week that explored Boa’s legacy.
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RELATED ARTICLE
BLACKPINK Tops No.1 On Bloomberg Ranking With 'Biggest Pop Group In The World'
Bloomberg ranks BLACKPINK as the “Biggest pop group in the world” because the company ranks number one among musicians from well-known media and analysis companies.
Bloomberg launched its Pop Star Power Ranking back in April this year, aiming to measure “the rise and fall of the world’s most in-demand musicians“. BTS was the first K-pop group to make the list that month, coming in at #18 and steadily rising over the months.
Now, the ranking for November has been established and set a new record: BLACKPINK has been crowned as the world's largest pop music! The group defeated the top 5 singers Pop Smoke, Cardi B, Justin Bieber and Juice WRLD to win the championship.
The Bloomberg Pop Star Power Ranking is based on six key criteria: ticket sales, concert grosses, album sales, Spotify streams, Instagram engagements, and YouTube views. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, BLACKPINK may not have any concert ticket sales to their name this year, but that hasn’t stopped them from storming the top spot after a trio of successful songs this year.
Alongside the boy group BTS, BLACKPINK has achieved a level of global popularity unprecedented in the history of music.
- Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg
To date, “How You Like That” has accumulated 630 million YouTube views and 280 million Spotify streams.
Meanwhile, “Ice Cream” with Selena Gomez captured an international audience with 390 million YouTube views and 180 million Spotify streams.
And despite being released just over a month ago, “Lovesick Girls” already has 230 million YouTube views and 90 million Spotify streams.
According to Bloomberg, these impressive figures and the group’s immense social engagement all contributed to their Pop Star Power Ranking #1. But as if topping the list isn’t impressive enough, BLACKPINK’s historic victory also breaks several records. For one, they’re the first South Korean act to achieve the title since the list’s inception.
On top of that, they’re also the first group to take the top spot, and their win is also an achievement for female artists. Only two women have topped the list before them: Lady Gaga in July and Cardi B in September. BLACKPINK recently collaborated with Cardi B for a song on The Album, which broke all-time K-Pop girl group album sales records with 1.2 million total sales so far.
With rumors circulating that main vocalist Rosé could be releasing her first solo song before the year is out, BLACKPINK can only go up from here.
