BLACKPINK’s “Pink Venom” Deemed Ineligible For “Music Bank” K-Chart Rankings

KBS has confirmed that BLACKPINK’s “Pink Venom” has been deemed ineligible for the “Music Bank” chart.

“Pink Venom” has notably been absent from the weekly chart rankings on KBS 2TV’s “Music Bank” (which the music show refers to as “K-Chart”) ever since its release last month, even as two of BLACKPINK’s older songs—”Lovesick Girls” and “As If It’s Your Last“—made the latest chart at No. 38 and No. 40 respectively.

It has now been confirmed that, as many fans had speculated, “Pink Venom” was deemed ineligible for the chart due to the mention of a luxury brand name (Celine) in the song’s lyrics, which was determined to be a violation of Article 46 of the Broadcast Act. (At one point in the song, Lisa raps, “This da life of a vandal, masked up and I’m still in Celine.”)

Because YG Entertainment ultimately chose not to resubmit an edited version of the song without the brand name, “Pink Venom” was not included in the “Music Bank” K-Chart rankings.

Meanwhile, BLACKPINK is currently gearing up for the release of their second full-length album “BORN PINK,” featuring the title track “Shut Down,” on September 16. Check out their latest teasers here!

Lee Da Hee And Super Junior’s Choi Siwon Confirmed For New ENA Rom-Com

Lee Da Hee and Super Junior’s Choi Siwon will be starring in the new drama “Icy Cold Romance” (literal title)!

ENA’s upcoming Wednesday-Thursday drama “Icy Cold Romance” is the real survival romance of Goo Yeo Reum and Park Jae Hoon, who have been close friends for 20 years, as they begin to experience romantic feelings for each other after unexpectedly meeting as a reality dating show producing director (PD) and the program’s cast member. The drama will be written by scriptwriter Kim Sol Ji of “Heading to the Ground,” “Syndrome,” and “Pegasus Market” and helmed by PD Choi Gyu Shik of “Rude Miss Young Ae,” “Let’s Eat” Seasons 2 and 3, “Drinking Solo,” and “Hush.”

Lee Da Hee will be playing variety show PD Goo Yeo Reum who has been working as a PD for 10 years and is currently desperate about both work and love. Goo Yeo Reum faces the crisis of whatever program she lands her hands on being discontinued, so she starts working even more passionately after taking charge of the crazy reality dating show “Kingdom of Love.” Lee Da Hee previously impressed through “Search: WWW” and “Beauty Inside,” and she also starred as an MC for the variety shows “Single’s Inferno” and “Queendom.”

Choi Siwon will be playing Park Jae Hoon, the nearly unemployed neighborhood guy who works as a plastic surgeon on a salary but has lost interest in both love and work. As neighborhood friends who live on different floors of the same house, Park Jae Hoon agrees to star in “Kingdom of Love” to help his friend Goo Yeo Reum and faces the decision of a lifetime. Having captivated viewers with his latest transformation in “Work Later, Drink Now,” viewers are looking forward to Choi Siwon’s next drama role.

The production team shared, “Lee Da Hee and Choi Siwon, who have solid acting skills and splendid visuals, are showcasing outstanding and passionate acting performances as they transform into Goo Yeo Reum and Park Jae Hoon. Please look forward to the new romance drama that viewers will become immersed in this winter of 2022.”

“Icy Cold Romance” will premiere in October following the conclusion of “Good Job.”

Song Kang Ho Confirmed For His First Drama In 32 Years

Song Kang Ho is returning to the small screen after 32 years!

The new drama series “Uncle Sam Sik” (literal title) is a drama that tells the story of desire and bromance of two men, Uncle Sam Sik and Kim San, who survived the turbulent period of the early 1960s in Korea.

Song Kang Ho has been actively communicating with the audience through the big screen for the past 32 years. In May 2022, he became the first Korean male actor to win Best Actor at the Cannes International Film festival through the film “Broker.” This raises anticipation for the drama that Song Kang Ho chose to star in for the first time in 32 years.

In addition to this, “Uncle Sam Sik” is a drama where Song Kang Ho and director Shin Yeon Sik will collaborate once again after working together on two upcoming projects “One Win” and “Cobweb” (working titles) in succession. Starring Song Kang Ho as a lead role, “One Win” will be Korea’s first volleyball film, which director Shin Yeon Sik took charge of directing, writing, and producing. Director Shin Yeon Sik also co-produced and participated in the script writing for the film “Cobweb,” which is directed by Kim Ji Woon.

A source from the production company Slingshot Studio remarked, “Sam Sik, the main character of the 10-part drama series ‘Uncle Sam Sik,’ has a diverse narrative. Needless to say, it is expected that actor Song Kang Ho will breathe life into this character with exuberance. We will produce and present a high quality well-made drama to the viewers.”

LOONA’s Agency Releases Statement On Yeojin’s Health

On August 30, LOONA’s agency Blockberry Creative shared a statement regarding Yeojin’s health after she fainted during a performance at the group’s concert in Mexico City.

The full statement is provided below:

"On August 28 (local time), the last concert for the Americas leg of LOONA’s first world tour “2022 LOONA 1st World Tour ‘LOONATHEWORLD'” took place.

On this day, member Yeojin temporarily had breathing issues after performing the choreography at the concert in Mexico City, which is at high altitude. She is in stable condition after having received immediate care from the on-site medical team.

The company will put the artist’s health and safety foremost and support Yeojin so that she can recover as soon as possible."

LOONA kicked off their world tour in Los Angeles on August 2, and they have since then traveled to perform at a total of 13 cities in the United States and Mexico. For September, LOONA will perform at the European leg of their tour.

SEVENTEEN To Be The 1st K-Pop Artist To Perform At MTV’s “We Speak Music”

SEVENTEEN will be appearing on MTV’s “We Speak Music”!

On July 15 (local time), MTV announced via Twitter that SEVENTEEN will appear on their special campaign “We Speak Music” on July 18 and perform “CHEERS,” one of the tracks from their album “SECTOR 17,” which will be released on July 18 at 6 p.m. KST.

“We Speak Music” is a campaign under the theme of “Music as a universal language” that sheds light on artists who have shown the best performances on MTV and VMA. SEVENTEEN will be the first K-pop artist to appear on it.

Co-written by Woozi and Vernon, with lyrics penned by all three leaders and Vernon, “CHEERS” is an upbeat hip hop track in which the three unit leaders sing about how far they’ve come since their humble beginnings.

PSY Shocks Audience As BTS’s SUGA Joins Him On Stage At Jamsil Olympic Stadium Concert

PSY is currently on his nationwide concert tour, “Splash Show – 2022 Summer Swag.” Today, on July 16, while performing at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul, he gave his audience a huge surprise and brought out SUGA (also known as Min Yoongi) from BTS on stage!

The veteran singer was joined by the BTS rapper during the song “That That,” a smash hit track that both collaborated on back in April. Dressed in a casual white t-shirt, ripped jeans, and a beige overshirt, SUGA looked summer-ready as he moved along to the iconic choreography that is still quite a social media sensation.

Just a day ago, ARMYs on Twitter were wishing him a speedy recovery after he revealed that he couldn’t attend bandmate J-Hope’s listening party due to a cold and mild fever. But now, the fans are the ones gasping for air after discovering he appeared on stage with PSY out of nowhere and rocked a stadium full of audience!

SUGA is not only a featuring rapper on “That That.” He is also the producer and arranger of the track! But what surprised ARMYs the most when the song came out two months ago is the fact that he also appeared in the official music video with PSY, a rarity for any BTS member!

The song became an instant hit both domestically and internationally. It bagged the second highest spot on the South Korean streaming platform Melon, while the music video gained 110 million views within a week of its release. SUGA received much praise for his musicality and production skills, as these achievements re-iterated his Midas touch as a musician.

"THAT THAT CO-WRITTEN, ARRANGED, PRODUCED, FEATURING AND LIVE PERFORMED BY MIN YOONGI pic.twitter.com/D4VyHB14Bk" — nir⁷ 🃏 (@ughtan7) July 16, 2022

Last month PSY shared some clips of him performing “That That” on stage and its crazy crowd reception. ARMYs were hoping that SUGA would get to perform the song on stage as well and witness the magic he created himself soon.

YG Entertainment Confirms Plans For BLACKPINK’s August Comeback And World Tour

BLACKPINK is gearing up for their highly-anticipated return!

On July 6, a representative of YG Entertainment revealed that the girl group is currently in the final stages of recording their new album. BLACKPINK will start shooting their music video in July and make a comeback with new music in August.

The source stated, “A lot of music that is BLACKPINK-esque has been completed with much effort over a long period of time. In order to expand BLACKPINK’s emotional connection with fans all over the world, they will set out for the largest-scale world tour in K-pop girl group history until the end of the year along with their comeback. Furthermore, big projects fitting of that status will continuously follow.”

This will mark BLACKPINK’s first comeback in approximately one year and 10 months since they released their first studio-length album “THE ALBUM” in 2020 along with the title track “How You Like That” and the special collaboration song “Ice Cream.”

Are you excited for BLACKPINK’s return?

Jessi Leaves P NATION After 3 Years

Jessi has parted ways with P NATION.

On July 6, the agency released the following statement:

"Hello. This is P NATION.

First of all, we express deep gratitude to everyone who has sent much love and interest to Jessi.

We inform you that our exclusive contract with Jessi recently expired.

Being with P NATION since the beginning until now as P NATION’s first artist, Jessi has secured her position as an artist who is loved by more fans through her warm passion and endless efforts. That process and her achievements became positive and enjoyable sources of motivation for every member of P NATION.

We will continue to cheer on Jessi’s future path as an artist, and we will continuously support her diverse activities.

We thank the many fans who cherish Jessi, and we ask that you continue to send warm encouragement and support.

Thank you."

Jessi signed with P NATION in January 2019, being the first artist to do so.

Best of luck to Jessi on the new chapter of her career!