Ex-IZ*ONE members forge solo paths
Kwon Eunbi dropped the digital single 'Hello Stranger' on Monday. Through her agency Woollim Entertainment, she introduced the single album, saying, "The title track ('Hello Stranger') contains a story of inviting a stranger to my secret world. It is full of charm while exuding mysterious ambience."
Choi Yena announced that she will host her solo stand-alone concert in Taiwan in May, after going live in Macao next week. It is in line with the show, her first such event, held in Seoul, Osaka and Tokyo, under the title 'Strange World Starting from a Square! Journey.'
Lee Chaeyeon, meanwhile, will appear in the drama 'Let's Dance.' She will be the female lead in the drama created to help understand people with disabilities, alongside Jiseok of Big Ocean and Kim Donghan of WEi.
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Korea Herald
18-07-2025
- Korea Herald
Choi Yena to hold concerts in Japan
Choi Yena will be performing in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, this fall, her agency Yue Hua Entertainment announced on Friday. She will host 'I Am Star!' in the two cities on Sept. 15 and 17, respectively, returning to her Japanese fans about seven months after her previous sold-out show. The singer will also be dropping her fourth EP, 'Blooming Wings,' on July 29 — approximately ten months since 'Nemonemo.' The upcoming mini album will consist of five tracks, including the main track whose title translates as 'I hate the most to hear that I am good.' She participated in writing the lyrics for both the focus track and 'Hello, Goodbye.' In May, she was featured in 'Loser' on 'Echo,' the second EP of BTS' Jin. She sang the duet with Jin at his first solo fan concert in Korea last month.
Korea Herald
11-07-2025
- Korea Herald
Big Ocean JJ performs new single at UN AI summit with tech support from Hybe's Supertone
Boy group subunit reveals 'Bucket Hat' using AI-powered pronunciation tools at AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva Big Ocean, the world's first K-pop group composed of deaf members, performed its new single at the UN's 'AI for Good Global Summit' held in Geneva, Wednesday, marking a new milestone in inclusive music performance through the integration of artificial intelligence. The group's subunit, Big Ocean JJ, premiered the music video and performance of their track 'Bucket Hat' at the international event, which focuses on how AI can be used for social impact. The release also went live the same day on major music streaming platforms. Formed last April, Big Ocean is composed of members Chanyeon, PJ and Jiseok, who produce and perform music using a combination of AI tools and tactile technology such as vibration-based devices for choreography. Their debut track 'Glow,' which also incorporated AI-generated vocal support, was recognized as the first K-pop song to feature deep learning-based vocal synthesis. The track challenged assumptions about deaf performers in pop music, earning praise from global audiences and the International Telecommunication Union, the UN agency that hosts the summit. The group's rapid rise has earned international acclaim. Big Ocean was named 'K-pop Rookie of the Month' by Billboard in September and was listed on Forbes' 'Asia's 30 Under 30' in the entertainment and sports category in May. For 'Bucket Hat,' members PJ and Jiseok partnered with Supertone, Hybe's AI-powered audio and music technology subsidiary, to improve the clarity of English lyrics while preserving the unique vocal tones of the performers. Supertone's Controllable Voice Conversion technology was used to extract the vocal timbre of the subunit members and blend it with fluent English pronunciation from a guide vocal. The result is a track that retains the artists' identity while ensuring accurate delivery to international listeners. 'Our goal was to allow Big Ocean JJ to communicate naturally with global fans, without sacrificing their vocal character,' Haley Cha, CEO of Parastar Entertainment, said during a presentation at the summit. 'Supertone's AI allowed us to separate tone and pronunciation, combining the strengths of both the artist and the guide vocal.' CVC is based on Supertone's proprietary foundation model, NANSY (Neural Analysis & Synthesis), which separates and recombines voice elements like tone, pitch, articulation and accent. The AI system learns these traits and reconstructs them in new combinations, enabling nuanced control over vocal output. 'This collaboration shows how Supertone's AI technology can support new artistic challenges in K-pop,' said Lee Kyo-gu, CEO of Supertone. 'We'll continue helping artists push past physical and technical limitations in their creative work.' Meanwhile, following their Geneva appearance, Big Ocean is continuing their second European tour with stops in Warsaw, Copenhagen, Lille, Athens and Mainz. The group will then head to the US for performances in Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Kansas City, New York, Washington, Raleigh and Atlanta through early August.
Korea Herald
10-07-2025
- Korea Herald
Tragic couple of 'Squid Game' Season 3: interview
Im Si-wan, Jo Yu-ri reflect on the harrowing dynamics of their on-screen relationship and the brutal truths of human nature One of the emotional high points in "Squid Game" Season 3 unfolds with the birth of a baby amid the deadly competition, as contestants find themselves torn between protecting the child or exploiting the situation for their own survival. At the center of this harrowing storyline is the tragic couple Myung-gi, portrayed by Im Si-wan, and Jun-hee, played by Jo Yu-ri. Set against the brutal backdrop where participants risk everything for the 45.6 billion won ($33 million) prize, the couple faces a tragic choice: whether to sacrifice their infant child, born unexpectedly during the games, or protect her until the end. Im Si-wan delivers a gut-wrenching performance as Myung-gi — a man caught between his desire to survive and his instincts as a father — is pitted against his former lover and their child in a contest where only one can survive. Reflecting on his role as a character driven by greed and fear, Im said he found portraying Myung-gi both challenging and strangely gratifying. "Until the very end of filming, I was confused about what kind of person this character really was," Im said during an interview in Seoul's Samcheong-dong on July 2. "I kept exploring and analyzing whether his actions came from a good heart or a bad one. In that process, I experienced a kind of stress that actually felt good. Expressing clear extremes is easy, but finding that line somewhere in the middle isn't something just anyone can do. Since I felt that the director and I were touching on that delicate point together, it was a meaningful kind of stress," he added. Im noted that the director emphasized the character's human side over painting him as a simple villain. "I felt like the keyword 'coward' was in the director's mind," said Im. "When I first received the script and met the director, he told me, 'I didn't intend to portray him as a villain. I wrote it while thinking about a more human side.' When I thought of the character's actions as something done out of fear, as a way to break through the situation, everything started to fit together like the pieces of a puzzle," said Im. "Because I kept questioning it until the very end, I was able to create a more three-dimensional character," he added. Alongside Im, Jo Yu-ri makes her acting debut in "Squid Game" Season 3, playing Jun-hee, a pregnant woman navigating the death games. At the age of 23, Jo — formerly of the K-pop group IZ*ONE — takes on the role without any personal experience of pregnancy, something she says caused considerable anxiety. "I was most worried that viewers might find those parts awkward or unnatural because of my lack of experience," she shared. "So I asked Ae-shim a lot on set, as well as my mom. I also have an acquaintance who recently gave birth, and I asked her many questions, too. I even sought advice separately from an obstetrician-gynecologist. That's how I prepared for the childbirth scenes and everything related to them, including breastfeeding and such," said Jo, speaking at an interview in Samcheong-dong on Tuesday. Jo explored Jun-hee's conflicted feelings toward her ex-boyfriend, Myung-gi, noting how the character's trust in Myung-gi evolved over time. "At first, I don't think Jun-hee really trusted Myung-gi. But I think there was still a lingering attachment, a small sliver of hope. So even though Jun-hee tried to push Myung-gi away, deep down, I felt like there was still this desire for him to hold onto her — and I acted with that thought in mind." Jo added that key moments shifted Jun-hee's feelings, including Myung-gi's apparent acts of kindness and protection. "However, during the hide-and-seek game, when Jun-hee saw Myung-gi act in such an inhuman way — killing Hyun-joo, someone incredibly precious and important to her — and not even for survival, but just for prize money, I think from Jun-hee's perspective, he no longer looked like a human being." "From that point on, everything collapsed. And I think that's when she slowly started to lean on Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae)," she said. For Jo, the baby at the heart of the season symbolizes hope amid despair. "The baby seemed to represent even the tiniest sliver of hope, and it felt like the drama and reality were deeply connected in that way, which made me feel good." "Even though reality can seem completely hopeless at times, there are still people with humanity. Kind and caring people do definitely exist. And in the end, it feels like the story shows that warmth — that humanity — ultimately prevails," she said.
