BLACKPINK, ENHYPEN, NMIXX among honorees at the 17th Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards

 

BLACKPINK, ENHYPEN, NMIXX among honorees at the 17th Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards

By Jonathan Hicap

K-pop groups BLACKPINK, ENHYPEN and NMIXX along with other personalities were named honorees at the 17th Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards on Oct. 29 at the National Theater of Korea. 

Marking its 17th edition since its launch in 2010, the awards ceremony is the most prestigious government-awarded honor in the field of popular culture and arts. 

It recognizes individuals for elevating the social status of popular culture and arts professionals and for their contributions to the development of the industry.

There were 36 honorees this year: 10 for the prestigious Order of Cultural Merit, seven for Presidential Commendation, eight for Prime Minister’s Commendation, and 11 for the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation. 

The 2016 honorees represented a diverse range of fields within popular culture and the arts, including singers, actors, comedians, radio personalities, music directors, voice actors, jazz musicians, musical theater actors, choreographers, and producers of live performances and films.

The late singer Shin Hae-chul, who debuted after winning the grand prize at the 1988 MBC Campus Song Festival and later led the popularization of Korean rock music, was honored with the Eungwan (Silver) Crown Order of Cultural Merit. 

“Running Man” star, comedian and TV personality Yoo Jae-suk received the Bogwan (Precious Crown) Order of Cultural Merit. 

BLACKPINK was given the Ok-gwan (Jeweled Crown) Order of Cultural Merit. 

K-pop groups ENHYPEN and NMIXX were among the 11 honorees of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation. 

17th Korea Popular Culture and Arts Awards honorees: 

Eungwan (Silver Crown) Order of Cultural Merit

- The late singer Shin Hae-chul

Bogwan (Precious Crown) Order of Cultural Merit

- Park Myung-sung, a performing arts producer who has been active in the field for more than 40 years.

- Voice actor Park Young-nam, known for lending her voice to iconic characters in works such as *Dooly the Little Dinosaur* and *Crayon Shin-chan*.

- Musician Shin Gwan-woong, who has been a fixture on the jazz scene for over half a century.

- Comedian and TV personality Yoo Jae-suk, a prominent figure in broadcasting for over 30 years, known for shows like “Running Man: and *Infinite Challenge*.

- Singer Han Young-ae, who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of her debut.

Recipients of commendations from the President, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism:

Presidential Commendation

- Music Director Kang Seung-won, who has led music programs for 36 years

- The band Boohwal, which has kept the legacy of Korean rock alive for over 40 years

- K-pop boy band Super Junior, which ignited a K-pop craze with their hit "Sorry, Sorry"

- Actor Yoo Hae-jin, who has appeared in five "ten-million-viewer" (blockbuster) films

- Director Jang Hang-jun, whose film *The King’s Warden” stands as the second highest-grossing Korean film of all time

- Actor Ryu Seung-ryong, who has appeared in four "ten-million-viewer" films 

- Actor So Ji-sub, who has remained consistently beloved for his roles 

Prime Minister’s Commendation

- Broadcaster Bae Mi-hyang, who has hosted the radio program *Bae Mi-hyang’s Evening Sketch* for over 25 years

- Actor Yoo Seung-mok, who has portrayed a wide range of characters across various projects

- Director Yoon Ga-eun, who has garnered international acclaim at film festivals for works such as *The World of Us*

- “Pansori” performer and musical actress Lee Ja-ram

- Composer Lee Jae, who achieved a Billboard No. 1 hit and a Grammy Award with the song "Golden"

- Actress Kim Go-eun, who has demonstrated great versatility across both television dramas and "ten-million-viewer" films

- Actor Oh Jung-se, who has been active across a diverse range of genres, including both film and television

- The sibling duo AKMU

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Commendation

- Comedian Kim Shin-young

- Comedian Kim Won-hun

- Choreographer Lee Jung

-  Actress Lim Ji-yeon, who delivered a stellar performance in works such as *The Glory*

- Film producer Jang Won-seok

- Actor Choi Dae-hoon

- Actor Park Ji-hoon, who left a profound impression with his portrayal of King Danjong in *The King’s Warden” 

- Actor Yoon Kyung-ho

- Singer Jang Min-ho, who garnered immense popularity through *Mr. Trot*

- Girl group NMIXX

- Idol group ENHYPEN

BLACKPINK sets Guinness World Records title as most streamed female group on Spotify

Published March 9, 2023, 8:43 AM

by Jonathan Hicap

The Guinness World Records officially declared that K-pop group BLACKPINK as the most streamed female group on Spotify.

Guinness World Records made the announcement on March 8, tallying that BLACKPINK’s “songs have a whopping 8,880,030,049 individual streams.” 

BLACKPINK in Hong Kong (Twitter)

It said BLACKPINK “overtook British pop group Little Mix by 400 million streams.” 

Their most streamed songs on Spotify include “How You Like That” (746,198,263 streams), “Kill This Love” (672,084,360) and “DDU-DU DDU-DU” (574,613,362).

“All four individual members of BLACKPINK have at least 66 million followers on Instagram, while the group’s joint account has racked up 53 million followers,” Guinness World Records added. 

BLACKPINK have several Guinness World Records titles such as “most subscribers for a band on YouTube as well as becoming the first K-pop group to reach No.1 on the UK albums chart (female) and the first K-pop group to reach No.1 on the US albums chart (female).”

“Spotify currently has over 480 million users worldwide, making genres like K-pop a lot more accessible to global audiences,” it said.

BLACKPINK sets record as ‘Ddu-Du Ddu-Du’ MV reaches 2 billion views on YouTube

Published January 6, 2023, 8:26 AM

by Jonathan Hicap

K-pop girl group BLACKPINK set a new record with their music video “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du.”

On Jan. 4, “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” reached two billion views on YouTube and set the record of becoming the first music video by a K-pop group to achieve the feat. 

BLACKPINK’s “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” reached two billion views on YouTube on Jan. 4 (YG Entertainment)

The “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” music video was released on YouTube on June 15, 2018 and it first set the record of becoming the first music video by a K-pop group to reach one billion views on Nov. 11, 2019, or one year and five months since its upload.

The two-billion feat for “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” was achieved four years and six months after its release on YouTube.

“Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” is the main track of BLACKPINK’s first mini-album “Square Up” released on June 15, 2018.

According to YG Life, after its release, “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” reached “perfect all-kill” status on music streaming sites in South Korea. It also reached 40th and 55th places, respectively, on Billboard 200 and Hot 100 Chart, and also achieved 500 million streams on Spotify.

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BLACKPINK completed 26 performances in 15 cities under their “Born Pink” world tour and they will head to Asia and Oceania including the Philippines.

Meanwhile, BLACKPINK’s Jisoo will have her solo debut this year.

In YouTube’s most viewed music videos in the first 24 hours of release, BLACKPINK and member Lisa occupy four in the top 10.

YouTube’s All-Time Top 24 Hour Music Debuts as of Jan. 3, 2023:

1. BTS (방탄소년단) ‘Butter’ Official MV – 108.2 million views

2. BTS (방탄소년단) ‘Dynamite’ Official MV – 101.1 million views 

3. BLACKPINK – ‘Pink Venom’ M/V – 90.4 million views

4. BLACKPINK – ‘How You Like That’ M/V – 86.3 million views

5. BLACKPINK – ‘Ice Cream (with Selena Gomez)’ M/V – 79.0 million views

6. BTS (방탄소년단) ‘작은 것들을 위한 시 (Boy With Luv) (feat. Halsey)’ Official MV – 74.6 million views

7. LISA – ‘LALISA’ M/V – 73.6 million views

8. BTS (방탄소년단) ‘Permission to Dance’ Official MV – 72.3 million views

9. BTS (방탄소년단) ‘Life Goes On’ Official MV – 71.6 million views

10. Taylor Swift – ME! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco) ft. Brendon Urie – 65 million views

 

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Blackpink's Rosé looks stunning as Tiffany & Co.'s newest ambassador

 

by John Legaspi

Manila Bulletin

A new gem is added to the list of ambassadors of luxury label Tiffany & Co., and that is Rosé. The member of K-pop girl group Blackpink made it official through an Instagram post on April 21, 2021.

“I am so excited to finally announce to you that I have officially joined the Tiffany and Co. family with their stunning Hardware line,” the Korean-Australian singer posted. 

In Tiffany and Co.’s latest digital campaign, Rosé is modelling pieces from the brand’s Hardware line. Embodying the spirit of New York, the collection was “inspired by the ‘Ball and Chain’ bracelet from 1971.” It presents wrap bracelets, ball earrings, and chain link necklaces made of 18k gold and sterling silver. 

This is not the first time Rosé was seen wearing the piece. According to WWD, the singer previously donned jewelry from the collection during the promotion of her singles “On the Ground” and “Gone” months ago. Going even further than that, she revealed to Vogue that she’s been wearing Tiffany jewelry since she was in high school. 

“Growing up, Tiffany & Co. was always such an iconic jewelry brand and I’m proud to be working with them. This is a dream come true,” she said.

The Hardware campaign will be featured at Tiffany’s flagship store in Manhattan starting in May.