[Weekly Digest: Aug. 29 –Sept. 04] BTS' Busan concert venue changed to Asiad Main Stadium...BLACKPINK wins two prizes at VMA

연합뉴스 / 2022-09-04 07:00:10
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by Ra Hwak Jin/Jiwon Woo

 

 

▲This image provided by Big Hit Music shows a promotional poster for K-pop superstars BTS' one-day concert in Busan on Oct. 15, 2022. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)



◇ BTS' Busan concert venue changed to Asiad Main Stadium

 

The venue of K-pop giant BTS' upcoming concert in the southern port city of Busan has been changed to Asiad Main Stadium for the convenience of fans coming to see their favorite artists, the band's agency said Friday.

The septet had planned to hold a one-day concert at a makeshift stage in Gijang, northeastern Busan, for free on Oct. 15 to support the city's bid to host the 2030 World Expo. The "Yet To Come in Busan" concert was expected to accommodate 100,000 spectators.

But the plan has drawn concerns about safety of the artists and fans as the venue is far away from the city center and thus is not easily accessible through public transportation.

As a public relations ambassador for the Busan World Expo 2030, BTS sees it as a chance to globally promote the city of Busan and the Korean culture.

The change of the main concert venue to the stadium with limited seating capacity, the size of the concert will likely be scaled down. Big Hit said it will provide more details of the event later.

 

▲ This photo, shows Asiad Main Stadium. (Yonhap)

The city government of Busan, South Korea's second-largest city, is busy establishing transportation, safety and quarantine measures for an unprecedentedly large audience at the BTS concert there in October, officials said Monday.

The municipal government is struggling to cope with a host of problems anticipated from the simultaneous gathering of some 100,000 people at the concert venue, such as transport chaos, spread of COVID-19, safety accident and accommodation shortages.

Traffic congestion has been cited as the biggest concern.

The city authorities will thus seek to increase the number of flights between the airports of Seoul and Busan and the operations of Busan-bound KTX trains for the convenience of BTS fans coming from foreign countries or other regions. 

 

 

▲This photo captured from the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards' Twitter page shows South Korean girl group BLACKPINK posing for the camera at the awards ceremony at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Aug. 28, 2022. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)


◇ BLACKPINK wins two prizes at VMA

BLACKPINK has won in two categories at the MTV Video Music Awards, one of the biggest U.S. pop music awards, becoming the first K-pop girl group to accomplish the feat.

The South Korean group lifted the trophies for Best Metaverse Performance and Best K-pop during this year's event held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday (U.S. time).

BLACKPINK previously won Song of Summer for its hit single "How You Like That" in 2020.

The quartet received the best metaverse performance honor for its in-game concert titled "The Virtual," while member Lisa grabbed the top K-pop title for her solo debut single, "Lalisa," released in September. She became the first K-pop solo artist to win at the VMAs.
 

▲This Reuters photo shows BLACKPINK performing its new single "Pink Venom" at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Aug. 28, 2022. (Yonhap)


Earlier in the day, BLACKPINK gave its first-ever performance at a U.S. music awards show, also becoming the first female K-pop group to do so.

Jisoo, Jennie, Rose and Lisa enthusiastically performed their new single "Pink Venom" at the VMAs in black and pink costumes, colors symbolizing the group.

Local fans cheered by waving BLACKPINK's glow stick as the pink smoke appeared on the stage and BLACKPINK, in their black costumes, appeared.

 


▲This photo, provided by STARSHIP Entertainment shows, IVE. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)


◇ 'After Like,' Ive's third straight hit after 'Eleven,' 'Love Dive'

Ive has proved its status as one of the hottest rookie girl groups with its latest single "After Like" dominating domestic charts and having sold far more copies than two preceding hits from early on.

The six-member group dropped its third single "After Like" on Aug. 22, making the song the band's first release in about five months after "Love Dive."

 

The new release has drawn much attention to whether it will become the group's third straight hit or not as "Love Dive" still remains high on major domestic music charts.

Upon its release, "After Like" debuted at No. 3 on various local music charts, rose to the second place, beating BLACKPINK's "Pink Venom," and then reached the top position over last weekend, outdoing rising newbie group NewJeans' "Attention."


As of Thursday at 9 a.m. Ive stayed atop the real-time charts of Melon, Bugs, Genie, Vibe and Flo with "After Like."

 

▲This photo, provided by SKT shows, IVE. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

The tune is also doing well on global charts. It was at No. 49 on the world's largest music streaming platform Spotify's Global Top 50 and No. 33 on Apple Music's Global Top 10 as of Thursday morning.

The new single had sold 924,363 copies in the first week of its release, according to Hanteo Chart, a local albums sales tracker, on Wednesday. The single is expected to become the K-pop rookie's first million seller soon.

 

 

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