Written by Emlyn Travis
This week was full k-pop news, which included comebacks, music video releases, concerts and injuries. Here is everything you missed this week in our k-pop round up!
JYP Entertainment Releases Teaser for New K-Pop Survival TV Show
JYP Entertainment dropped a new song teaser for their upcoming boy group’s reality TV show, Stray Kids, this week.
Unlike JYP’s past k-pop survival programs like Sixteen (which gave the world Twice), the trainees won’t be battling against each other to be the best, but instead working together to debut as a team. JYP himself will assign the challenges which are believed to be teamwork related, and their ability to debut all together hangs in the balance.
The group’s single, “Hellevator”, is set to be released on October 3rd. For now, you can watch the teaser for “Hellevator” below!
Wanna One’s Dae Hwi Injures Ear During Concert
Wanna One’s Lee Dae Hwi was injured while on stage at the 2017 Fever Festival on September 30.
The vocalist was taken to the hospital to be treated after his metal headset scratched his ear during Wanna One’s set.
The group’s agency YMC Entertainment released a statement on his injury and well-being: “The support fixture that keeps the mic in place fell off and scratched the top portion of Lee Dae Hwi’s ear, causing it to bleed.
“He received emergency treatment from the medical professional on hand as soon as their performance was over. Once the event ended, he was immediately taken to the emergency room where he received additional treatment. The doctor ruled that it was not a severe injury, but just a slight scratch. He was given a tetanus shot to prevent the spread of any possible infection, and is currently resting.”
They continued: “We sincerely apologize for worrying the fans who were concerned about Lee Dae Hwi’s injury, and we will do our best so that all the Wanna One members can continue their promotions in good health.”
BewhY Announces ‘The Blind Star’ US Tour
Show Me The Money 5 winner rapper BewhY has announced the dates of his ‘The Blind Star’ US Tour!
Presented by Dejavu Group and SubKulture Entertainment, BewhY is scheduled to perform throughout the US this November on his first ever US tour.
You can catch him at these dates!
- Los Angeles, November 1, 2017 @ The Belasco
- Dallas, November 3, 2017 Gas Monkey Live
- Chicago, November 5, 2017 House of Blues
- Atlanta, November 8, 2017 Buckhead Theatre
- Washington D.C., November 9, 2017 Howard Theatre
- New York, November 12, 2017 Stage 48
MVP, Dia, ToppDogg to be on ‘The Unit’
This week, boy groups MVP and ToppDogg both announced that they would be participating on the new k-pop TV show, The Unit.
ToppDogg will be appearing as a five member group after their agency, Hunus Entertainment, announced the departure of members Hansol, P-Goon and Nakta this week as well.
KBS’ The Unit has been described as an ‘idol rebooting project’, which will give already debuted idols and groups a second chance at stardom. It is similar to the program Produce 101 for trainees, however, The Unit will create two groups, one boy group and one girl group, instead of a single group.
The show will have 14 episodes and begins airing on Saturday, October 28th. Good luck to the contestants!
EXO’s Lay Releases Music Video For Track ‘I Need U’
EXO’s Lay released the music video for his single, ‘I Need U’, this week and shared the special meaning behind the video.
Set in Paris, ‘I Need U’ features an elderly couple, who are none other than Lay’s grandparents. He flew them to Paris not only to be a part of his music video, but also as a way to help them celebrate their 50th anniversary together.
His grandparents, Lay said: “met when they were 25 years old, and like many people in older generations, they didn’t hold a wedding ceremony, and my grandfather proposed to my grandmother without a ring to signify eternal love. It was the most common of beginnings, but after many years of struggles and hardships, they have reached their 50th year together.
“I have always been envious of them and sad that they never had a wedding ceremony, and I wanted to create a romantic memory for just the two of them.”
‘I Need U’, Lay said, is the answer to his previous single, ‘What U Need?’ His upcoming second solo album, “LAY 02 SHEEP”, will be released on his birthday on October 7th.
TWICE Ranks On Billboard’s “21 Under 21 2017: Music’s Next Generation” List
TWICE is rocketing to stardom and it shows; they have landed on this year’s Billboard’s “21 Under 21 2017: Music’s Next Generation” List.
Overall, TWICE secured 18th place on the list among star-studded artists like Khalid and Shawn Mendes.
According to Billboard, the group released a statement which said: “The great love we have been receiving is still dreamlike”. They did mention, however, that they ‘still need to grow’, which means fans can anticipate a lot of new iterations of TWICE in the future.
TWICE also confirmed this month that they will be making a comeback in late October. It will be their third comeback this year after February’s “Knock Knock” and May’s “Signal“.
BTS’ Jungkook Wants to Collab With Justin Bieber
BTS’ Jungkook shared which international celebrity he would want to work with in the future this week!
In an interview with KStar this week, Jungkook mentioned that one international artist he would like to work with in the future would be Justin Bieber.
“I want to work with Justin Bieber,” he said. “It’s an honor to communicate with overseas artists and work with them.”
Jungkook’s love of Justin Bieber has long been documented by how often he covers the pop star’s songs, including “Purpose” and “Mistletoe.”
EXO’s Chen Covers Maroon 5 on JYP’s Party People
EXO were guests on JYP’s Party People on September 30th, and each member got to show off their talents, including EXO’s Chen.
While on the show, the group performed individual covers and their recently released song “Boomerang” alongside an acoustic version of their single, “Call Me Baby“. Rapper Chanyeol even danced to Sunmi’s “Gashina”!
Two members of EXO showed off their impressive English skills by performing songs entirely in English; Chanyeol played guitar and sang Radiohead’s “Creep” while Chen performed a flawless rendition of Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning”.
You can watch his cover below!
That’s it for this week! Check back next week for the round up of all k-pop related news!
