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Tamar Herman

United States
@tamarwrites
Tamar covers K-pop and related content for outlets such as Billboard, Forbes, and NBC News. She released her first book, "BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears," in August 2020, and can be seen in the K-pop episode of Vox’s Explained on Netflix.

NFTs and the metaverse were trending in 2021, and K-pop labels invested heavily in the tech. This year is no different, with new platforms and collaborations with idols, fashion labels and blockchain companies.

For the longest time, power players in the K-pop industry thought that boy bands could shift more in sales than girl bands could. This year, acts like Blackpink, Twice and Aespa are proving them wrong.

With galleries showing Chinese, Japanese, South Asian, Himalayan and Islamic art, the newly renovated Brooklyn Museum in New York City is showing pieces that haven’t been seen for decades.

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After Blackpink member Jennie’s personal private photos were shared online, fuelling rumours she is dating V from BTS, YG Entertainment announces it will take legal action against those responsible.

K-pop group Verivery had only been going a year when the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted their burgeoning musical career. Now they are touring again and can’t wait to impress their fans with their new, edgier sound.

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We look at the history and music of Girls’ Generation, Kara and Exid, three of K-pop’s all-time biggest girl groups who have all made or are making comebacks in 2022.

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The return of Nayeon from Twice’s stalker is the latest indication that South Korean entertainment companies and authorities are not doing enough to discourage obsessive K-pop fans.

BTS played in Saudi Arabia in 2019, and Blackpink will play both there and the UAE in 2023, as K-pop taps the Middle East market. Some K-pop fans are concerned this could burnish the region’s authoritarian regimes.

K-pop girl group Blackpink took the No 1 spot on the US Billboard chart with Born Pink, a week after the album, their second, was released. They are now planning the biggest female K-pop concert tour ever.

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K-pop group CIX, who formed in 2019, are growing a global fandom after a pandemic hiatus. They talk about their new album OK Episode 1: OK Not, and the search for perfection.

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Blackpink’s new ‘Born Pink’ album and NTC 127’s ‘2 Baddies’ have drawn a range of reactions, with some fans saying each group’s dedication to their ‘brand’ is holding back their music.

Lee founded SM Entertainment in 1995, serves as its chief producer and has been integral to the forming of the modern K-pop industry, producing acts including Girls’ Generation, Exo and Aespa.

K-pop girl group Blackpink have dropped Born Pink, their first album in two years, as well as the throwback-laden music video for their newest single, Shut Down.

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NCT Dream’s Jeno, Twice’s Dahyun, Red Velvet’s Seulgi, iKon’s DK and others took New York Fashion Week by storm, with Jeno the first K-pop star to be the opening model for an NYFW collection.

K-pop fans were rightly up in arms after a recent Stray Kids’ interview in Billboard magazine saw their fans labelled as ‘teens and tweens’. It’s time for this lazy stereotyping to stop.

Ahead of the release of their English-language debut album Survive, new K-pop girl group Rocking Doll talk about their favourite songs, their name and their label’s ‘motherly’ CEO.

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K-pop boy band Seventeen’s recent US concerts, part of their ‘Be the Sun’ world tour, show how the group have grown up, levelled up and connect with fans – known as Carats – even more.

Many high-profile acts are releasing new albums and singles as K-pop’s year-end awards season begins, including Blackpink, NCT 127, Jackson Wang, Exo’s Xiumin, The Rose and Nmixx.

With Sunmi telling an overzealous fan to ‘shut up’ at a concert in New York, it’s time for some K-pop fans to ask themselves how much their behaviour is affecting their favourite stars.

The free concert on October 15 has been moved to Busan Asiad Main Stadium after BTS fans pointed out numerous health and safety issues with the original venue, a former glass factory.

BTS leader RM appears on Balming Tiger’s ‘Sexy Nukim’, Mamamoo’s Solar and Moonbyul of Mamamoo team up with Big Naughty on ‘Better’, and Day6 subgroup Even of Day are falling in love at the beach.

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A new US investment fund gives fans and others a chance to invest in K-pop companies such as BTS’ label Hybe and Blackpink’s label YG Entertainment to help the industry grow.

Why head to the gym when there are so many workout videos available on YouTube? For K-pop fans, we’ve picked 5 of the best, of varying durations and with all your favourite music, by BTS, Blackpink and more.

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Between August and February, K-pop year-end award shows overwhelm the industry, talent and fans, diluting artists’ achievements with show after show. Can they still be justified in 2022?

After Like from IVE is so infectious you’ll be singing along in no time, while Twice’s Talk That Talk will have you trying to match the group’s spelling-inspired choreography.

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Made up of Donggeon, Chan, Jisu, Jaeyun, J.You, Kyungho, Daigo, Renta and Yeojeong, K-pop boy group TO1 talk about their new album Why Not??, KCON LA and dreaming big.

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The 2022 edition of the K-pop-focused annual awards show, which has handed boy band BTS 17 major honours, will be broadcast internationally and available to watch on YouTube.

2022 has been the biggest year ever for K-pop events outside Asia, with festivals like KCON LA and London’s MIK Festival drawing huge crowds and boding well for the future.