SM Entertainment: Last News

NCT Dream have unveiled an English-language version of their hit 2022 single, ‘Beatbox’.The English version of ‘Beatbox’ was released alongside a lyric video, which features behind-the-scenes footage of the boyband at the photoshoot for song.“Yeah, hands up to the top, bring ’em up / Make a beatbox-box and it bump / Everywhere I go make the room hop / Everywhere I go, bring the beatbox,” the boyband sing on the chorus.The English remake of ‘Beatbox’ arrives just weeks ahead of the upcoming North American leg of NCT Dream’s ‘The Dream Show 2: In a Dream’ world tour.The boyband are set to play seven shows across the US, including the states of California, New Jersey and Texas. Tickets for the show are available now via Ticketmaster.NCT Dream are currently set to wrap up the first Asian leg of their tour with a show in Hong Kong this Saturday (March 25).

Kai, also a member of the boyband EXO, has performed his new single ‘Rover’ live for the first time.The K-pop idol recently made an appearance on the South Korean music chart show M Countdown on the network Mnet. The performance was his first live performance of ‘Rover’, following the song and its accompanying mini-album’s release on March 13.For his M Countdown appearances, Kai performed on a stage that emulated the hair salon set from the song’s music video.

Girls’ Generation leader Taeyeon has stirred up rumours about her relationship with label SM Entertainment following a series of cryptic Instagram posts.Earlier this week on March 13, just a day after BTS label HYBE ended its bid to acquire shares of SM Entertainment against competitor Kakao, Taeyeon took to Instagram Stories with a post that referenced the popular Netflix K-drama series The Glory.In the scene from The Glory, character Park Yeon-jin (Lim Ji-yeon) hand writes a resignation letter on the spot after being confronted at work.

aespa are set to release new music this spring, their label SM Entertainment has confirmed.Earlier today (March 16), South Korean news outlet StarNews reported that the girl group would be releasing new music this May. The news outlet also noted that aespa were initially scheduled to release an album in February, but it was delayed due to management disputes within SM Entertainment.Since that report, SM Entertainment has confirmed that aespa’s comeback date of May.

NCT 127‘s ‘Limitless’.NCT 127 and its labels SM Entertainment and Universal Music Group have teamed up with Z2 Comics – which has worked with other musicians including Weird Al Yankovic and Gorillaz – on the new original graphic novel ‘NCT 127: Limitless’.The graphic novel shares its title with the boyband’s 2017 single ‘Limitless’ and will be “presented in the manhwa format”, according to the Z2 Comics website. The novel is set to follow in the boyband in a “reality-crossing mystery” that will take place in both the real world and “new, surreal dreamscape” as they prepare for a sold-out concert in New York.‘NCT 127: Limitless’ will be available in 10 different hardcovers – one for each active member of the boyband, alongside a general cover with the full group – starting from US$21.99.

Kai has confirmed that boyband EXO are currently working on new music.In a recent interview with GQ Magazine UK, the South Korean musician opened up about a comeback for his K-pop boyband EXO. Notably, following Baekhyun‘s discharge from the military on February 5 this year, it will be the first time since 2019 that none of the members are serving their mandatory military service.“All the members are gathering after a really long time, so we are really looking forward to the fact that we can put out another album too,” Kai told the magazine, which added that the K-pop idol also confirmed that preparation work on new music has started.Kai said that the boyband are “not worried about what the results of this comeback would bring”.

HYBE is ceasing its acquisition of SM Entertainment, the K-pop company announced today (March 12), after a discussion with competitor Kakao.In a press statement, HYBE said it decided to suspend the acquisition after a discussion with tech giant Kakao. “The two companies agreed to cooperate on matters related to their platforms,” it added.HYBE made the decision, it said, “after observing that the market has been showing signs of overheating due to competition with both Kakao and Kakao Entertainment”.

Doyoung, Jaehyun and Jungwoo, members of the K-pop boyband NCT, are set to debut as a sub-unit.Earlier today (March 9), South Korean media outlet Sports Today reported that the three K-pop idols are set to form a trio sub-unit as part of their work with the boyband. Notably, the three singers previously worked together on the song ‘Can We Go Back’, which they performed at the 2022 MBC Gayo Daejejeon, as well as a Christmas medley posted on the official NCT YouTube channel.Their label SM Entertainment has since confirmed the report.

NCT Dream have announced the venues and ticketing details for their upcoming ‘The Dream Show 2: In a Dream’ US tour.NCT Dream’s seven-date US tour will kick off on April 5 at the Prudential Centre in Newark, New Jersey, followed by stops at Chicago’s Allstate Arena on April 7 and Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on April 9.From there, the K-pop boy band will play two shows in the state of Texas – one at the Toyota Center in Houston on April 12 and another at the Texas Trust CU Theatre on April 17.NCT Dream will the wrap up their US tour with two dates on the West Coast. The septet will first play the Honda Center in Los Angeles on April 18, before heading for their final stop at the Climate Pledge Area in Seattle, Washington on April 21.General onsale tickets for NCT Dream’s ‘The Dream Show 2: In a Dream’ US tour are set to go on sale at 4pm local time this Friday (March 10) via Ticketmaster.

K-pop agency SM Entertainment has released a statement in support of internet giant Kakao’s tender offer to buy a large stake in the company.Yesterday (April 7), Kakao – which currently holds 4.9 per cent of the SM Entertainment – announced a tender offer to buy up to 35 per cent of the company for ₩150,000 per share. If successful, this bid would make Kakao the largest shareholder of the K-pop agency, over BTS label HYBE, which has acquired nearly 16 per cent of SM.Soon after Kakao’s announcement, SM Entertainment released a statement signalling support for the deal, citing “[Kakao’s] respect [for] the current management’s efforts to address factors that have hindered SM Entertainment’s growth”, according to CNN.In the statement, SM Entertainment also said that the Kakao deal would “ensure autonomous and independent management of the company, as well as the continuous and independent activities of SM artists”, per Yonhap News Agency.“Unlike HYBE seeking to take over SM’s board of directors through a hostile merger and acquisition, Kakao is the best horizontal and strategic partner for the successful implementation of the ‘SM 3.0’ vision as it respects SM’s own tradition and identity,” the statement reportedly said.Following Kakao’s tender offer yesterday, shares of SM Entertainment jumped 15.07 per cent to close at ₩149,700.

SHINee’s Onew has opened up about the long process leading up to the release of his debut studio album ‘O (Circle)’.Yesterday (March 6), the K-pop singer made a comeback with his first-ever studio record ‘O (Circle)’ and its title track of the same name. In the hours prior to the release, SM Entertainment released an interview with Onew, in which he discussed his feelings and preparation that went into the record.While discussing his latest title track, Onew revealed that he had actually heard the song over a year ago, prior to the release of his last solo mini-album.

SHINee member and soloist Key has expressed his desire to form a duo act with Taeyeon of Girls’ Generation.Key recently appeared on ELLE Korea’s ‘Ask Me Anything’ series on YouTube, where he was asked who in SM Entertainment he would like to form a unit with. The K-pop veteran shared that he would like to form a duo with long-time friend Taeyeon.“It’s awkward for me to do [a performance] with people a lot younger than me, and they would feel uncomfortable as well,” the idol pondered aloud, before naming Taeyeon as a labelmate he wanted to form a new unit with.“I can’t do anything sensual with Taeyeon,” Key added.

SM Entertainment, HYBE has criticised a recent partnership the K-pop agency has forged with South Korean tech giant Kakao.Earlier this month, Kakao shared that it had acquired a 9.05 per cent stake in SM, which would have made it the second-largest shareholder of the company after founder Lee Soo-man. HYBE later announced that it had struck a deal to acquire a 14.8 per cent stake in SM from Lee, thus becoming its biggest shareholder.

K-pop girl group aespa performed several brand-new tracks at their first-ever ‘SYNK: Hyper Line’ concerts over the weekend.On February 25 and 26, the four-member act held their first standalone concerts at the Jamsil Arena in Seoul, with the second day also streaming on Beyond LIVE to overseas audiences.During the shows, aespa gave live debuts to several unreleased tracks including ‘Salty and Sweet’, which they previewed via their YouTube channel prior to the concert. “‘Cause I am salty and sweet / Irresistible, a different type of treat,” they sing in the chorus.In addition to ‘Salty and Sweet’, the quartet also debuted six other unreleased group tracks, namely ‘Thirsty’, ’YOLO’, ’Don’t Blame’, ‘Hot Air Balloon’, ‘I’m Unhappy’ and another untitled song.Each member of aespa also unveiled their first-ever solo tracks: ‘Menagerie’ by Karina, ‘Wake Up’ by NingNing, and ‘2HOT4U’ by Giselle, while vocalist Winter sang an untitled ballad.

SM Entertainment boyband NCT’s “infinite” expansion will come to an end in 2023, the K-pop agency has confirmed.On February 25, SM Entertainment shared the latest in its series of videos about its new ‘SM 3.0’ strategy. In this video, SM’s co-CEOs Chris Lee and Tak Young-jun answered fan questions and also announced the end of boyband NCT’s expansion in 2023.

SHINee leader Onew’s upcoming full-length album, ‘Circle’, have recently been released.According to a report by South Korean media outlet Herald Pop, Onew’s forthcoming record will feature ‘Rain on Me’, a ballad produced and arranged in collaboration with singer-songwriter Sam Kim. Rapper Giriboy, meanwhile, has production credits on B-side ‘Caramel’.온유, 첫 정규 앨범 ‘Circle’ 기리보이·샘김 작업 참여!재치 있는 재즈팝 ‘Caramel’, 서정적 발라드 ‘우중산책’ 수록!https://t.co/hBJ7lUVyT6 #ONEW #온유 #SHINee #샤이니 #Circle #ONEW_Circle #Caramel #우중산책 #RainOnMe #GIRIBOY #기리보이 #SamKim #샘김 pic.twitter.com/zowfslbMXH— SHINee (@SHINee) February 23, 2023A separate report by Newsen also revealed the title of two more B-sides to be featured on the record, ‘Anywhere’ and ‘Paradise’.

HYBE Labels CEO Park Ji-won has issued a new open letter addressing the K-pop company’s recent acquisition of the majority stake in competing label SM Entertainment.The statement was published in Korean, English and Japanese earlier today (February 22) via HYBE’s official Twitter. It announced the completion of HYBE’s acquisition of a 14.8 per cent stake in SM, a deal which the company struck with SM founder and former chief producer Lee Soo-man earlier this month.This officially makes HYBE, home to the likes of BTS, SEVENTEEN, NewJeans and more K-pop acts, the single largest shareholder in SM.

K-pop agency SM Entertainment has previewed its upcoming music release plans for the first half of 2023.On February 20, SM uploaded a report of its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2022 to its official website for investors. In the new report, SM also shared the line-up of comebacks it has scheduled for the first half of 2023.According to the report, April will see the release of Girls’ Generation leader and soloist Taeyeon’s fifth mini-album, the debut of a new NCT sub-unit with their first mini-album as well as girl group aespa’s first-ever full-length album.Meanwhile, veteran boyband SHINee are scheduled to make a comeback with their eighth studio album in May, marking their first group release since their seventh repackaged  album ‘Atlantis’ in April 2021.

SM Entertainment has released a video of its CFO Jang Cheol-hyuk explaining company leadership’s opposition to HYBE’s recent acquisition of a controlling stake in the K-pop agency.On February 20, a video titled “The reason why SM is against HYBE’s hostile takeover” was published on the agency’s official SMTOWN YouTube account, which usually only releases content for its artists. In the clip, Jang directly addressed fans of SM’s artists and its shareholders, outlining the agency’s view on HYBE’s recent acquisition and what it sees as potential consequences of the merger.In the video, Jang claimed that HYBE did not request due diligence material from SM Entertainment during the merger and acquisition disclosure process despite the large scale of the deal – a 1trillion won investment on HYBE’s part, which would require the agency to take a short-term loan in order to finance it, according to HYBE’s regulatory filing on February 10.Jang then raised this as an indication that HYBE’s corporate governance is “far from sound or rational”, claiming that SM Entertainment would “inevitably” be subject to this “weak governance” should HYBE take over the company, to the detriment of SM’s shareholders and artists.Jang also claimed that the values and interests of SM’s shareholders would likely not be prioritised in the event that HYBE successfully dominates its board of directors, and alleged that a takeover by HYBE would lead to the de-prioritisation of SM artists and their music releases due to HYBE’s roster already being “saturated” with artists from its existing subsidiaries.

SM Entertainment and its founder Lee Soo-man has widened further with the release of a video by the K-pop label’s CEO Chris Lee, in which he accuses Lee Soo-man of greed and airs suspicions that he attempted offshore tax avoidance, among several allegations.Chris Lee, who is also known as Lee Sung-soo and one of two current CEOs at the South Korean label, took to his personal YouTube channel to upload a 30-minute-long announcement regarding the current status of the company on February 16. The video was labelled the first part of a series of videos explaining why SM decided to sever ties with its founder Lee Soo-man (also Chris Lee’s uncle).In the video, Chris Lee accused Lee Soo-man of pushing SM to make unusual contract arrangements with a company he established overseas in a bid to avoid South Korean taxes.According to Chris Lee, Lee Soo-man had launched a new business in Hong Kong called CT Planning Limited, which Chris Lee claims is an offshore version of Lee Soo-man’s separate Korea-based consulting business, Like Planning.

SM Entertainment CEO Chris Lee (also known as Lee Sung-soo) has claimed the label’s founder Lee Soo-man is the reason why aespa’s new music has been delayed.On February 16, Lee, who is one of the K-pop agency’s two current CEOs, released a 30-minute statement regarding the company. In the video, which is the first part of a series, Lee made several allegations about SM’s former chief producer Lee Soo-man.According to Chris Lee’s video, Lee Soo-man was the reason why aespa’s music has been delayed.