SM Entertainment: Last News

aespa singer and rapper Karina – real name Yoo Ji-min – as its latest global brand ambassador.Today (August 28), the Italian luxury brand announced in a statement to Women’s Wear Daily that aespa’s Karina has become is its newest global brand ambassador. The K-pop idol notably attended the Prada’s Menswear Fall/Winter 2024-2025 during Milan Fashion Week this January.The singer has also been wearing Prada for magazine shoots over the last few months, and frequently features the brand on her official Instagram account, as shared by Esquire Korea.A post shared by 에스콰이어 코리아 (@esquire.korea)This comes over a year after Prada announced K-pop boy band ENHYPEN – comprising members Ni-ki, Jungwon, Sunghoon, Heeseung, Sunoo, Jay and Jake – as global brand ambassadors.

Jaehyun of NCT has released his solo debut album ‘J’, alongside a music video for lead track ‘Smoke’.NCT’s Jaehyun made his official solo debut today (August 26) with the release of his first album ‘J’, led by the single ‘Smoke’. An accompanying music video for the song, which was released at the same time as the album, features Jaehyun battling an unseen entity that seems to haunt him.“I got the smoke / Hold up you’re too hot, too hot / Smoke coming out the boombox / Hold up you’re too hot, too hot / Smoke coming out the boombox,” he sultrily chants on the chorus of ‘Smoke’.‘Smoke’ is the third track off the album to receive video treatment.

K-pop boyband NCT Dream have released a music video for their new English-language single, titled ‘Rains in Heaven’. Watch it below.In the new visual, the members of NCT Dream wander through an overgrown forest and abandoned buildings, eventually coming together to embrace a new beginning as it rains down on them.

K-pop entertainment giant SM Entertainment has announced the upcoming debut of its first AI-generated singer, named nævis, next month.Today (August 21), SM Entertainment released the first official teaser clip and launched a website for nævis’s upcoming debut. The former features rows of computer code, reading “nævis is coming to the real world”, before revealing her silhouette.SM Entertainment has yet to release details on nævis’s debut such as a release date and track list.

BoA has announced her upcoming 2024 ‘One’s Own’ Asia tour, featuring concerts in Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and more.BoA’s 2024 ‘One’s Own’ Asia tour will kick-off with two shows in at the Olympic Handball Gymnasium in South, South Korean on October 12 and 13. In the same month, the singer will also perform at the Basket Hall GBK Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia.In the following month, BoA will bring her 2024 ‘One’s Own’ Asia tour to Taipei and Singapore for one-night-only concerts at the NTU Sports Center 1F and The Star Theatre, respectively.

HYBE, YG, SM and JYP Entertainment have reportedly been fined by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) in South Korea for breaches its regulations after their stringent retail policies were investigated.According to TenAsia, he FTC announced on August 11 that it had imposed corrective orders and fines amounting KRW10.5million (approximately £5716.71) on the official retail branches of HYBE, YG, SM and JYP Entertainment: Weverse Company, YG Plus, SM Brand Marketing and JYP Three Sixty, respectively.The companies being subject to FTC’s sanctions all operate the official online retail centres for the K-pop industry’s four biggest players. According to the commission, all four companies were found to have “arbitrarily shortened the period where customers are able to get refunds on idol-related merchandise”, including albums, which it deemed a breach of its regulations.Examples of some violations include SM’s policy of having any product refunded for simple change of mind arrive at its logistics centre within seven business days of its original delivery date, despite the law stating that customers have the right to seven days from the time it was received to decide on a return.Additionally, Weverse, SM and JYP all have a policy where they would not offer compensation for lost items after 30 days from when it was shipped, despite the law permitting monetary claims within three months of purchase, among others.In response to the results of FTC’s investigation, all four companies were quick to conduct voluntary policy correction where appropriate, which allowed their fines to be reduced.

NCT vocalist Jaehyun has released a teaser for his upcoming solo album ‘J’.On August 8 at midnight KST, the K-pop singer surprised fans with a trailer clip titled ‘The Smoky Night’. The visual features Jaehyun taking flowers from a greenhouse.

EXO singer Chanyeol has announced his upcoming 2024 ‘City-scape’ Asia tour, featuring concerts in Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong and more.Today (August 2), EXO’s Chanyeol revealed more details about his upcoming 2024 ‘City-scape’ Asia tour. The trek will take the K-pop singer to 10 cities in seven countries across September to December this year, in support of his upcoming solo mini-album.Chanyeol will kick off his 2024 tour with a two-date concert at the Bluesquare Mastercard Hall in Seoul, South Korea on September 6 and 7.

RIIZE are set to bring their ‘RIIZING Day’ concert live to cinemas worldwide next month.On July 31, distributors Trafalgar Releasing and CJ 4DPlex announced that the boyband will be broadcasting the finale of their 2024 ‘RIIZING Day’ fan-con world tour, which will take in Seoul on September 13, live to cinemas worldwide.According to the distributors, viewers will be able to “experience the undeniable magic” of the boyband’s concert, which will feature “spectacular performances [and] celebrated hits from their debut mini-album, ‘RIIZING’.”Tickets to the live broadcast of RIIZE’s ‘RIIZING Day’ concert will go on sale next Wednesday (August 7) at 2am PDT / 5am EDT / 10am BST / 4pm KST at riizeincinemas.com. A press release for the upcoming broadcast also noted that the showing will be tape-delayed in select markets, including North America and Europe.“Trafalgar Releasing is proud to partner again with CJ 4DPlex to bring RIIZE’s monumental tour finale to cinemas worldwide as a live broadcast,” said CEO Trafalgar Releasing CEO Marc Allenby in a press release.

SHINee singer Taemin has announced his 2024 solo world tour, titled ‘Ephemeral Gaze’, featuring concerts in Asia and more.Today (July 19), SHINee’s Taemin announced the first batch of dates for his upcoming 2024 ‘Ephemeral Gaze’ world tour, currently featuring 14 concerts over 10 countries across four months.It’ll kick off with a two-day concert at the end of August at the Inspire Arena in Incheon, South Korea. Thereafter, the K-pop star will bring his tour to cities across Japan, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

SM Entertainment stock prices.Today (July 17), Korea Bizwire reported that the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office has formally filed for an arrest warrant for Kakao founder Kim Beom-su. It comes a week after police questioned Kim over his alleged involvement in manipulation of SM Entertainment shares.

Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience, which will air this summer.Made in Korea: The K-Pop Experience will be a six-part reality series that follows five contestants from the UK as they undergo the rigorous K-pop training system in South Korea, according to BBC. The contestants will train for a hundred days at SM Entertainment in hopes of becoming a new global boyband.SM Entertainment is one of the biggest K-pop companies in South Korea.

Red Velvet member Yeri has revealed that she initially refused to join the girl group when asked to by her agency, SM Entertainment.Three members of K-pop girl group Red Velvet – Yeri, Seulgi and Joy – recently guest starred on the South Korean YouTube talk show Zzanbro, which is hosted by comedian Shin Dong-yeob, per SBS Star.During their appearance on the programme, Joy revealed how the fifth member of the group had “kept changing” during their training period, before the girl group debuted as a quartet in August 2014. Notably, Yeri was added to Red Velvet half a year later in February 2015.“Yeri was supposed to debut as a centre in a new group with younger trainees more in line with her age.

K-pop festival takes place at the Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Centre from July 26 to 28. The festival’s main M Countdown concert, which takes place on Sunday, July 28 will be aired live on The CW Network starting at 8pm ET.The line-up for the M Countdown concert include K-pop groups and soloists like NCT 127, STAYC, ZEROBASEONE, Jeon Somi and Zico.

Red Velvet singer Joy has opened up about her months-long hiatus from the group in 2023 and why she needed to do it.Red Velvet’s Joy recently made a guest appearance on the South Korean YouTube talk show Zzanbro, hosted by comedian Shin Dong-yeob, alongside bandmates Seulgi and Yeri.During the programme, Joy looked back on the girl group’s 10-year career and recalled their early years when she “used to smile so brightly”. However, the singer added that “as time passed” she noted that she was “gradually losing that smile and looking more fatigued”, per SBS Star.Later on the show, she touched on her months-long hiatus in 2023, opened up about how “during that time, I thought, ‘I don’t even know who I am anymore'”.

aespa have debuted brand-new solo songs at the opening nights of their 2024 ‘SYNK: Parallel Line’ tour.On June 29 and 30, the four-member act kicked off their ‘SYNK: Parallel Line’ tour at the Jamsil Indoor Stadium in Seoul, South Korea. In addition to performing songs from their latest album ‘Armageddon’, the girl group surprised fans by debuting brand-new solo tracks for the first time.Leader Karina performed a hip-hop-inspired song called ‘Up’, while Giselle showcased the R&B-tinged ‘Dopamine’.

Girls’ Generation member Hyoyeon has announced her upcoming 2024 Summer USA tour, featuring concerts in Boston, Houston and more.Girls’ Generation’s Hyoyeon will be going on tour of the US later this year, releasing a poster of her upcoming tour through the girl group’s official X (formerly Twitter) account.The tour begins this weekend in Milwaukee and Boston, and will resume on August 23 at the ORA Nightclub in Seattle.

aespa have dropped a new music video for ‘Live My Life’, a cut from their new album ‘Armageddon’.‘Live My Life’ originally appeared on aespa’s first-ever studio album, ‘Armageddon’, which was released late last month. The record was led by the single of the same name, and also includes the smash hit ‘Supernova’.“I live my life / Break out from the box that defined me / Your obvious way of thinking / I live my life / Now it truly begins, this life I’ve chosen / And I, as a main character,” the quartet sing on the pop-rock track.

Red Velvet have announced their upcoming 2024 ‘Happiness: My Dear, ReVe1uv’ Asia tour, featuring concerts in Thailand, Indonesia and more.Today (June 19), Red Velvet revealed that they will be embarking on an Asia fancon tour this August and September. Titled ‘Happiness: My Dear, ReVe1uv’, it will kick off on August 3 and 4 at the Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul, South Korea.Later that same month, the girl group will also play two shows at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

SHINee singer Key has dropped the first teaser image for his next solo single ‘Tongue Tied’, out later this month.The new retro-inspired teaser images feature cryptic, low-quality photos of a houseplant, a nineties Macintosh model PC and one of Key’s dogs, Comme Des. Titled ‘Tongue Tied’, his new single arrives on June 16 at Midnight KST.‘Tongue Tied’ will be Key’s first solo release in ten months, after his September 2023 mini-album ‘Good & Great’.

SM Entertainment has filed a lawsuit against EXO singers Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin – also known as EXO-CBX – over the idols’ royalty fees.According to a report by Korea JoongAng Daily, SM Entertainment filed the civil suit on June 12 against EXO’s Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin to demand that they pay a 10 per cent royalty free that the trio have allegedly been evading for two months.“CBX’s nonsensical actions cannot be tolerated anymore,” SM Entertainment said of the trio’s alleged actions, per the news outlet. The K-pop agency also claims that the EXO singer had agreed to the 10 per cent royalty fee in a contract that was signed in June 2023, following a months-long dispute.INB100, the agency that manages the activities of Chen, Baekhyun and Xiumin outside of EXO, alleged in a press conference that SM Entertainment had made “unfair” demands of the trio’s individual earnings.The trio’s representatives claimed that SM Entertainment had “defaulted on the 5.5 per cent album distribution fee it promised”, and as such, the EXO trio were not obliged to pay the 10 per cent royalty fee.Despite the ongoing row between EXO-CBX and SM Entertainment, both sides have maintained that the trio will continue to carry out their activities as members of EXO, per Soompi.SM Entertainment also confirmed that EXO are planning to release new music, adding that “there has been no further discussion about changes to the plan”.In a recent interview with NME, Baekhyun teased new EXO music, saying that “during winter, there will be something that’s coming up”.