K-pop superband BTS has become the first group in the world to accumulate 10 billion streams on Spotify in a single year, the group's label said Friday. While solo acts such as Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Bad Bunny have achieved the milestone, it marks the first time for a group to top 10 billion streams on Spotify, according to BigHit Music. BTS saw Spotify streams for its songs more than double from 4.5 billion last year, driven by its fifth studio album, "ARIRANG," released in March. The album alone has racked up more than 5 billion streams since its release, becoming the most-streamed album on Spotify among albums released this year. "ARIRANG" has attracted major attention for being the first full-group project from the global K-pop sensation in nearly four years, released after all its members completed their mandatory military service and reunited. It surpassed 110 million streams on its release day on March 20. It also became the first album from a group to top the Billboard 200, the main U.S. albums chart, for three consecutive weeks since Mumford & Sons' "Babel" in 2012.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted music, which spread rapidly through short-form videos and YouTube just a few months ago, has now broken into the upper reaches of major Korean music charts. As songs not sung by actual human vocalists compete alongside established artists, debate over AI music is intensifying. As of Wednesday, “Have You Become the Adult You Dreamed of?” by Meomuru ranked No. 3 on Melon’s TOP100 chart. The song also reached No. 2 on Genie Music and YouTube Music, placing it near the top of major streaming platforms. Released in June, the track gradually gained word-of-mouth popularity. As recently as early October, it remained as among the top 20 songs on Melon’s TOP100 before climbing rapidly. Its rise suggests that online buzz is translating into actual music consumption. A rock ballad, “Have You Become the Adult You Dreamed of?” explores the gap between the person one dreamed of becoming as a child and the reality of adulthood, along with the worries that accumulate over time. What makes the song particularly striking is that its emotionally expressive

Rookie K-pop girl group Hearts2Hearts is continuing its upward trajectory, offering fans an intimate look into their musical journey through a newly released live performance series and video podcast. The eight-member act — comprising Jiwoo, Carmen, Yuha, Stella, Juun, A-na, Ian and Ye-on — recently took the stage for their exclusive Spotify CLOSER event, becoming the first musical act featured in the platform's new series designed to spotlight promising Korean artists. During the intimate showcase, the group treated their fandom, known as S2U, to a mix of unreleased live stages and candid conversations, creating a personal space that bridged the distance between the artists and their audience. Official performance videos of the group's first-ever live renditions of "ICONIC HEART (Korean Version)," "Baby Steps" and a special acoustic arrangement of "Butterflies" were released online alongside a full video podcast of the evening's talk session. The podcast captures the members sharing behind-the-scenes studio anecdotes and personal stories. "Our name represents a promise to connect wi

The late director Hur Bum-wook left behind a grim yet compelling cinematic legacy with his second and final animated feature, "Pig That Survived Foot-And-Mouth Disease." The film was originally scheduled for release on Aug. 5, but Hur tragically passed away on July 28 at age 43 due to injuries sustained in an accidental fire days earlier. As a result of his unexpected death, the release of the movie was delayed until this month. His final work stands as an unforgettable testament to his artistic vision, diving deep into the raw violence and dark realities of modern society through its parallel tales of a man and a pig. In "Pig That Survived Foot-And-Mouth Disease,” a pig named H survives a mass burial pit during a disease outbreak and strives to become human after drinking a farm owner's blood. Meanwhile, a young military deserter named Jeong-seok, who suffered relentless abuse from his superiors, rejects his humanity and chooses to become a beast. As the pig learns about human cruelty, power struggles and greed, Jeong-seok falls into deep despair and a cycle of self-destructive actions

Song Joong-ki and his wife, Katy Louise Saunders, have apparently added olive harvesting to their family life in Italy, with a bottle of oil made from their first harvest making its way to one of the actor's celebrity friends. TV personality Choi Hwa-jung revealed that Song had given her olive oil produced from olives the couple harvested together in Italy. The gift appeared in a video uploaded to Choi's YouTube channel Thursday, in which she shared five dishes made with Greek yogurt while discussing her usual diet and wellness routine. While preparing one of the dishes, Choi pulled out a bottle of olive oil and revealed its celebrity connection. "This is something Joong-ki gave me. Song Joong-ki," she said. "He said this was the olive oil from their first harvest in Italy," Choi said. "The two of them harvested the olives themselves. Isn't it so precious?" Choi also drew attention to the carefully decorated packaging, which featured illustrations of two children. She said she treasured the gift so much that she normally reserved the oil for consuming on an empty stomach. "It's so adorable t

The decision of BTS to boycott the Grammys amid the newly introduced Asian pop category appears to have grown into an industrywide stand, with artists from Korea's four biggest entertainment companies reportedly opting not to submit music for consideration. According to Grammy analysis site The Grammy Guru on Thursday, no artists represented by HYBE, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment or SM Entertainment submitted songs for the Best Asian Pop Music Performance category at the 69th Grammy Awards, scheduled for next year. The Recording Academy recently introduced the category to encompass Asian pop genres including K-pop, J-pop and C-pop. The move, however, has sparked debate over whether grouping Asian artists into a region-specific category could effectively separate them from broader Grammy competition rather than expand their recognition. BTS previously said it would not submit music for Grammy consideration in a move widely seen as a protest to the award show's new Asian pop category. "We hope music can be heard and loved for the music itself, rather than being divided by region or l

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