Latest news with #Aespa
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Listen: Aespa returns with 'Dirty Work,' first single of 2025
June 27 (UPI) -- K-pop group Aespa released their first single of 2025 on Friday. The South Korean singers dropped the song "Dirty Work," as well as an English version, and a remix with Flo Milli. In the music video, Karina, Giselle, Winter and Ningning perform in an apparent prison. "Real bad business, that's dirty work," they sing. A previously issued press release described the concept as "a fresh contrast to their usual powerful charm."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Squid Game' Finale Ends With Surprise Hollywood Star Cameo
[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the season three finale.] Fans around the world were ready for some big twists from the series finale of Netflix's smash-hit dystopian thriller Squid Game — but arguably no one saw this surprise coming (warning: spoilers ahead). More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Nawi' Star Michelle Lemuya Ikeny Thought She Was Auditioning for a School Play But Ended up in Kenya's Oscar Submission About Child Marriage K-Pop Girl Group Aespa Is Exactly Where They Want to Be Lorde Performs Surprise Glastonbury Set on Day of Album Release: "I'm Back and Completely Free" In the final moments of the show's last episode, the Squid Game universe suddenly gets a whole lot more global when the camera jumps to California to find a character played by none other than two-time Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett on the streets of Los Angeles, recruiting potential American players to join what one must assume is a U.S. version of the show's eponymous death game. The brief moment provides an instant answer to the widespread industry speculation about how Netflix will continue or create a spinoff for its most globally popular show of all time. For now, all we know is that a new American storyline for the hit Korean series has been seeded. More details about what Blanchett's cameo portends for the future of the Squid Game franchise — like, who might direct a new U.S. season, who else would star and/or how involved series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk will be — can be expected from Netflix in the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, Squid Game fans across the globe have a whole new death and drama-packed season to digest. Netflix dropped all six episodes of the final and third season of Squid Game at midnight on Friday, Pacific Time, just six months after the premiere of the second season late last year. Adding a few dozen more deaths to the harrowing but candy-colored show's already enormous kill count, season three brought the curtain down on the story of protagonist Gi-Hun (Lee Jung-jae), as the everyman hero made his final face-off against the game's dark overseer, The Front Man (Lee Byung-hun). The season had plenty of surprises besides Oscar-winning actresses, too — most notably the inclusion of an innocent newborn infant as a contestant in the game, an upping of the show's anti-capitalist moral stakes to their logical extreme. The original season of the Korean dystopian drama shocked the world after its debut on Netflix in September 2021, rapidly becoming the streamer's most-watched show ever, and later winning a pair of Emmys for its creator and star. The first season's unprecedented success heaped enormous pressure on series creator Hwang, who famously writes and directs every episode of the show single-handedly. But season two nonetheless delivered, setting a record for the most views of a series or film on Netflix in its premiere week, and eventually rising to become the streamer's third most popular show of all time. Now, Squid Game's fate is back in the hands of the audience, as the world makes its way through season three. The casting of Blanchett lends instant artistic heft to whatever comes next for Squid Game. The Australian actress has been nominated for eight Academy Awards and won twice (for Martin Scorsese's The Aviator and Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine), and has also been nominated for two Emmys (Mrs. America) and has won four Golden Globes from 13 nominations. She's also known for picking her artistic collaborators carefully and tends to only work with top auteurs. Recent roles include the leads in Alfonso Cuaron's critically acclaimed Apple TV+ series Disclaimer, Todd Fields' Tár, Guy Maddin's Rumors and Steven Soderbergh's Black Bag. Blanchett also has some considerable ddakji skills up her sleeve and packs a mean, full-wind-up slap — as evidenced by season three's stirring final moments. 'If a story came my way that I felt could benefit from the amount of time that serialized storytelling can give it then, yeah,' Blanchett had told THR after Disclaimer in 2024 about her interests in doing more series television. 'But I suppose it just depends.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lorde Performs Surprise Glastonbury Set on Day of Album Release: 'I'm Back and Completely Free'
New Zealand musician Lorde had Glastonbury-goers racing to the Woodsies area on Friday as the singer made a surprise appearance at the U.K. music festival. The two-time Grammy winner had initially said she was 'pretty keen' to return to the fest, with some interpreting that to mean that she might pop up at some point over the weekend. More from The Hollywood Reporter K-Pop Girl Group Aespa Is Exactly Where They Want to Be Raindance Film Festival: 'Nawi' Wins Best Int'l Feature and Debut Performance Awards Polish Indie Kino Swiat Names New CEO She thrilled attendees at Worthy Farm in Somerset when word spread that she was about to kick off a performance on Friday morning, the same day of the release of her album Virgin. 'This is fucking sick,' she said, playing most songs from her new album. 'This is the release, I'm releasing it right now! After the show, then the album's out, you know?' She also added: 'This record took me a lot, I didn't know if I would make another record to be honest — but I'm back here and completely free. I'm so grateful to you for waiting.' Lorde performed 'What Was That,' 'Man of the Year,' as well as 2017 hit 'Green Light' to the delight of thousands waiting at the Woodsies tent. Glastonbury organizers were forced to close the area off ahead of her set as the area was getting too crowded. 'What Was That' marks her first single since her last album Solar Power came out in August 2021. However, she's still been around — most notably on Charli XCX's 'Girl, so confusing' remix on Brat. The English singer is also set to perform at the festival Saturday evening. Lorde had announced the title of her fourth studio album at the end of April via Instagram, alongside an image of the record's cover art: a blue x-ray image showing a zipper going down a pelvis, a belt buckle and an IUD. The Glastonbury Festival runs through Sunday, with The 1975, Neil Young and Olivia Rodrigo set to of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
K-Pop Girl Group Aespa Is Exactly Where They Want to Be
Aespa is all about reinvention. The four-piece girl group, hailing from Korean label SM Entertainment, have been ahead of the curve since their 2020 debut. The group debuted with at-the-time revolutionary concept tied to the metaverse, where every member had a corresponding avatar. But now, approaching five years as a group, Karina, Giselle, Winter and Ningning seemingly feel they've found the Aespa they've always wanted to be. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Action Item' Treats Burnout as "Collective Condition, Silenced Crisis" (Exclusive Karlovy Vary Trailer) Comcast to Sell Sky Deutschland to Bertelsmann's RTL Group 'Squid Game' Finale Ends With Surprise Hollywood Star Cameo 'I think what people think of Aespa, right now, since maybe 2024-ish, I think that's where the image that we were thinking from the beginning started to be shown to the people who see us,' Giselle tells The Hollywood Reporter on a Zoom from SM's Seoul headquarters. Building off the success of their 2024 hits 'Supernova' and 'Whiplash,' Aespa's latest single, 'Dirty Work (Feat. Flo Milli),' is primed to become the group's latest chart-topping hit. 'Dirty Work,' which racked up over 1 million pre-orders ahead of its Friday debut, keeps the sound and soul of Aespa alive but with an added groove that the group hasn't fully explored before. Below, the 'Next Level' singers speak with THR about 'Dirty Work,' their collaboration with Flo Milli and how they've evolved into the group they always saw themselves as. Let's start with 'Dirty Work.' Can you tell me about the release? GISELLE It'll be a single, so we'll have the Korean version, the English version and then we have a featuring version with Flo Milli, which is something we're very excited about. This is one of those songs where when we heard the demo, from the start, we were all just like, 'Wow.' It's a song that we all really, really like, so we're very excited to show you guys, and it's a little more minimal than what we have done recently. It does have a bit of a different feel than some of the music (like 'Whiplash', 'Supernova' or 'Armageddon') that you've been putting out lately. How do you feel it still fits into the sound that you have created for yourselves over the years? GISELLE Well, we're always trying to do something new. With 'Supernova' and 'Armageddon,' the instrumentals in general, not only our vocals, but everything is the opposite of minimalistic, I think. There's a lot of sounds. Same with 'Whiplash,' different genre but similar with a lot of sounds, but more techno. We think 'Dirty Work' is a lot less than that. The teasers that have come out so far, it doesn't really sound like that, but once you hear the actual full song, I think a lot of people will feel the different sounds and how it's a lot more simple. But it has that kind of cool feel to it. What was it like collaborating with Flo Milli? KARINA First of all, we're really happy to collab with a very big artist like Flo Milli. This is our first official collab with another artist, but we'd love to work with artists who inspire us and create something unique together, which made this collaboration with Flo Milli so special. She was able to bring a very fiery edge to the vibe of the song. You've had plenty of success over the last year with your recent releases. Does that add pressure onto you with every release? Or does it motivate you to try new things? WINTER Of course, as much as we receive love from the public, I really do think that I need to feel pressure in a positive way. Rather than feeling pressure in a negative way, feeling it more heavily and [with] more weight, I think this should go in a positive way where we can give positive influence to our fans and to the public and give our messages that we want to send. What was your experience like growing alongside your fans? NINGNING From our debut until now, we kept trying new music. We challenged ourself with new music and concerts; We did a lot of concerts meeting our lovely fans out there. I think we really actually grew up and actually really got better. I'm really happy that when people think of Aespa, we have this distinct color and we keep working to find new colors. Finding our color and specificity in this music scene is making us grow. We are really thankful for our fans who loved [us along] this journey and who grew up with us. How do you feel you've all evolved from when you debuted until now, and how you've been able to do that together as a team? How has that dynamic changed for you guys? KARINA Both as a team and myself, I think with the recent albums, I really got to talk with our company more about music and the album we're making. Also, as a team, we talk with each other, we discuss a lot about music and the color we actually want to show to the public. We constantly try to find and study and offer feedback to each other about what is best on this journey. With these insightful discussions going on, we think the more we talk and discuss, we grow up faster. Our company actually gives us a lot of help as well, so as a team and a person myself, I think communicating would be the best way to grow up. How do you want the world to see Asepa? GISELLE From the start, we had a concept that was just very [specifically] a certain thing. Very AI, very cyber, which was cool, but at the same time, It didn't mesh perfectly well at the start because obviously because we're human. [Laughs]. But as time went by, we released more music, tried new concepts and merged that together. I think what people think of Aespa, right now, since maybe 2024-ish, I think that's where the image that we were thinking from the beginning started to be shown to the people who see us. I can speak for all four of us when I say we did feel that, little by little, as time went by. It's still very new. It's still 2025, and it's going to start now with each member as an individual. From now, we can show people what we think our ideal thing is, but I think that's kind of up to us to be able to show that and be that too. Do you feel the shift just happened over time or did it come from working together for a few years now? GISELLE I think every reason put together made that outcome. I mean, everything that we're saying right now is an opinion, so someone could think completely differently. But I think it was us getting to know each other more as well. Even just being together for a couple of years, that definitely did play a big role. Knowing this kind of vibe suits you and me and blah, blah, blah. And how we portray that on screen as well. Is there a genre or concept you haven't tried yet that you'd like to? NINGNING Since our debut [we've] wanted to try a cute or fresh or cleaner concept. What do you hope for Aespa as a whole or yourselves as performers? GISELLE As a group, obviously we [all started this career] for different reasons, but it's all because of music and [that] we loved performing and all of that. We all wish the best for each other as well, as in our own individual careers as well. I think each member has something in mind, of course, and that would've been what got us started here in the first place. I think our fans haven't seen anything like that yet, obviously, no one has done a big solo project yet, but it will be coming someday we hope. Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
UPI
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Listen: Aespa returns with 'Dirty Work,' first single of 2025
Aespa released new music Friday. File Photo by Peter Foley/UPI | License Photo June 27 (UPI) -- K-pop group Aespa released their first single of 2025 on Friday. The South Korean singers dropped the song "Dirty Work," as well as an English version, and a remix with Flo Milli. In the music video, Karina, Giselle, Winter and Ningning perform in an apparent prison. "Real bad business, that's dirty work," they sing. A previously issued press release described the concept as "a fresh contrast to their usual powerful charm."
