PHOTOS THE KREW
PHOTOS THE KREW
09
09
A Bulletproof Year For BTS
Bangtan Boys kicked off 2016 with a bang by winning Gaon Chart’s World KPOP Star award, and continued to rock the music scene, performing on international stages, lodging two records in Billboard’s Year-End World Albums chart with “Wings” at #6 and “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, PT.2” at #9, and bagging awards, including Album of the Year at this year’s Melon Music Awards, Artist of the Year and Best Dance Performance (male) awards at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), and the prestigious Minister of Culture Award. The year may be coming to an end, but BTS sure isn’t quite done blowing us away.
Known for churning out some of the most unique concepts in K-Pop, SHINee took a step back in time for their fifth full studio album “1 of 1”. Heavily inspired by the sounds of the bangin’ and slammin’ ‘70s to ‘90s, the nine-track record released in October scaled various Korean and international music charts, peaking at #1 in the iTunes Top Albums chart in the Philippines, Chile, and Thailand–among others–and debuting at #2 in the US Billboard World Albums chart. To complete the retro vibe of their comeback, the eight-year-old boy group released special limited edition cassette tape versions of “1 of 1.”
BIGBANGs Most-Awaited Comeback
EXO has #NoChill PHOTOS SM ENTERTAINMENT, BIG HIT ENTERTAINMENT, YG ENTERTAINMET, JYP ENTERTAINMENT
One of the hardest working boy groups of 2016, EXO embarked on their very first North American tour in February, taking cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Vancouver by storm. In June, they released their third studio album “Ex’act”, which crossed 1.17 million in unit sales. They were then tagged with the title “Triple Million Sellers”. With their solo concert “EXO’rDIUM”, EXO became the first group to hold six consecutive concerts at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul. The band’s first sub-unit EXO-CBX–composed of members Chen Baekhyun, and Xiumin–debuted in October with the album “Hey Mama”. At the 2016 MAMA, EXO won the Best Male Group and the Album of the Year awards. Capping off the year, they are set to make a comeback with a second winter album “For Life.”
BIGBANG finally dropped their first full album in eight long years last December 12. The band’s latest release titled “MADE” contains eleven new songs, with two title tracks namely “FXXK IT”, a catchy and up-tempo tune, and “Last Dance”, which rev eals a more serious side of the quintet. Earlier in December, an official from YG Entertainment said that hopefully, BIGBANG’s new record, made with perfection, will bring comfort to the fans, especially with the members’ impending enlistment for South Korea’s mandatory military service. BIGBANG’s resident rapper T.O.P is due to enlist in February 2017.
There’s no stopping GOT7 from soaring higher! Starting the year with promotions for their fourth EP “Flight Log: Departure”, they went on to hold their first solo concert in Seoul in April, followed by a string of international shows, stopping in cities like Singapore, New York, and Los Angeles. Their second studio album “Flight Log: Turbulence”, released in September, peaked at #1 in the US Billboard World Albums chart. The winners of the Best Worldwide Act (Korea) award at the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards concluded a busy year with two entries in Billboard’s Year-End Charts–#15 for their album “Fly” on the World Albums chart and ranking #6 on the World Albums Artists chart.
GOT7 Flies High
Striking Debuts Out of 2016’s K-Pop debuts, Black Pink arguably had the most impact. A new gem from YG Entertainment, they achieved a perfect all-kill with the release of “Boombayah” and “Whistle”, which won them the Best Music Video award in the 2016 MAMA, from their debut album “Square One”. Needless to say, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa are fresh faces we’ll be seeing more of in the near future.
SHINee Goes Retro Black Pink
The hearts of millions of Black Jacks across the globe were shattered when YG Entertainment announced on November 25 the split of their prized girl group 2ne1, composed of CL, Dara, and Bom (member Minzy left the group earlier this year), after seven years in the industry. In a statement, YG Entertainment confirmed that Dara and CL will continue their solo activities under the label.
2ne1 Bids Goodbye 16
DECEMBER 2016
SM Entertainment’s ambitious boy group concept Neo Culture Technology spawned three sub-units namely NCT U (April 2016), NCT 127 (July 2016), and NCT Dream (August 2016). The three boy band sub-units are behind the singles “The 7th Sense”, “Without You”, “Fire Truck”, and “Chewing Gum.”
NCT DECEMBER 2016
17
A Bulletproof Year For BTS
Bangtan Boys kicked off 2016 with a bang by winning Gaon Chart’s World KPOP Star award, and continued to rock the music scene, performing on international stages, lodging two records in Billboard’s Year-End World Albums chart with “Wings” at #6 and “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, PT.2” at #9, and bagging awards, including Album of the Year at this year’s Melon Music Awards, Artist of the Year and Best Dance Performance (male) awards at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), and the prestigious Minister of Culture Award. The year may be coming to an end, but BTS sure isn’t quite done blowing us away.
Known for churning out some of the most unique concepts in K-Pop, SHINee took a step back in time for their fifth full studio album “1 of 1”. Heavily inspired by the sounds of the bangin’ and slammin’ ‘70s to ‘90s, the nine-track record released in October scaled various Korean and international music charts, peaking at #1 in the iTunes Top Albums chart in the Philippines, Chile, and Thailand–among others–and debuting at #2 in the US Billboard World Albums chart. To complete the retro vibe of their comeback, the eight-year-old boy group released special limited edition cassette tape versions of “1 of 1.”
BIGBANGs Most-Awaited Comeback
EXO has #NoChill PHOTOS SM ENTERTAINMENT, BIG HIT ENTERTAINMENT, YG ENTERTAINMET, JYP ENTERTAINMENT
One of the hardest working boy groups of 2016, EXO embarked on their very first North American tour in February, taking cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Vancouver by storm. In June, they released their third studio album “Ex’act”, which crossed 1.17 million in unit sales. They were then tagged with the title “Triple Million Sellers”. With their solo concert “EXO’rDIUM”, EXO became the first group to hold six consecutive concerts at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul. The band’s first sub-unit EXO-CBX–composed of members Chen Baekhyun, and Xiumin–debuted in October with the album “Hey Mama”. At the 2016 MAMA, EXO won the Best Male Group and the Album of the Year awards. Capping off the year, they are set to make a comeback with a second winter album “For Life.”
BIGBANG finally dropped their first full album in eight long years last December 12. The band’s latest release titled “MADE” contains eleven new songs, with two title tracks namely “FXXK IT”, a catchy and up-tempo tune, and “Last Dance”, which rev eals a more serious side of the quintet. Earlier in December, an official from YG Entertainment said that hopefully, BIGBANG’s new record, made with perfection, will bring comfort to the fans, especially with the members’ impending enlistment for South Korea’s mandatory military service. BIGBANG’s resident rapper T.O.P is due to enlist in February 2017.
There’s no stopping GOT7 from soaring higher! Starting the year with promotions for their fourth EP “Flight Log: Departure”, they went on to hold their first solo concert in Seoul in April, followed by a string of international shows, stopping in cities like Singapore, New York, and Los Angeles. Their second studio album “Flight Log: Turbulence”, released in September, peaked at #1 in the US Billboard World Albums chart. The winners of the Best Worldwide Act (Korea) award at the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards concluded a busy year with two entries in Billboard’s Year-End Charts–#15 for their album “Fly” on the World Albums chart and ranking #6 on the World Albums Artists chart.
GOT7 Flies High
Striking Debuts Out of 2016’s K-Pop debuts, Black Pink arguably had the most impact. A new gem from YG Entertainment, they achieved a perfect all-kill with the release of “Boombayah” and “Whistle”, which won them the Best Music Video award in the 2016 MAMA, from their debut album “Square One”. Needless to say, Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa are fresh faces we’ll be seeing more of in the near future.
SHINee Goes Retro Black Pink
The hearts of millions of Black Jacks across the globe were shattered when YG Entertainment announced on November 25 the split of their prized girl group 2ne1, composed of CL, Dara, and Bom (member Minzy left the group earlier this year), after seven years in the industry. In a statement, YG Entertainment confirmed that Dara and CL will continue their solo activities under the label.
2ne1 Bids Goodbye 16
DECEMBER 2016
SM Entertainment’s ambitious boy group concept Neo Culture Technology spawned three sub-units namely NCT U (April 2016), NCT 127 (July 2016), and NCT Dream (August 2016). The three boy band sub-units are behind the singles “The 7th Sense”, “Without You”, “Fire Truck”, and “Chewing Gum.”
NCT DECEMBER 2016
17