by Ra Hwak Jin / An Hayeon
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| ▲ These photos, provided by Fantagio Entertainment, show ASTRO’s Jinjin and Rocky. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
◇ ASTRO Jinjin&Rocky released first mini-album 'Restore'
K-pop boy group ASTRO's Jinjin and Rocky released their first mini-album "Restore" on Monday.
It is ASTRO's second release of the unit album, following Moon-bin and San-ha in September 2020.
Jinjin and Rocky, who have actively performed as the main rapper and dancer, showed off their musical talents by participating in composing, writing lyrics, and producing all of the songs in the album.
Along with the title song "Just Breath," The album consists of a total of 5 songs, including "Lazy," "Lockdown," "Complete Me," and "CPR."
According to Fantagio, Jinjin & Rocky's first mini-album "Restore" and title track "Just Breathe" topped the global music streaming platform iTunes "Top Song" chart and "Top Album" chart in 12 regions, as of the Tuesday, the day after its release.
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| ▲ This photo, provided by RBW, shows Mamamoo's Moonbyul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
◇ Moonbyul made comeback with third mini-album
Moonbyul, who has shown powerful rap and performances in K-pop girl group Mamamoo, made a comeback with her third solo mini-album "6equence" on Wednesday.
The new album expressed the theme of "love" through many scenes.
The title song "LUNATIC" depicts complex emotions that a lover in boredom may feel through the rhythm and melody of the house music. The dance crew "HOOK," which made themselves known through the program "Street Woman Fighter," and the leader Aiki participated in choreography.
The song "G999" with the rapper Mirani and a song of R&B genre "Shutdown" with the singer Seori were pre-released ahead of the release of the album.
Ahead of the album release, Moonbyul explained in a press conference, "I have prepared the album for over a year from the thought of wanting to show better music to the fans."
She mentioned, "In terms of satisfaction with this album, it's about 97% out of 100%," adding, "The remaining 3% is made by fans, but unfortunately, I can't meet the fans in the COVID-19 situation."
Moonbyul's agency RBW said, "6equence" topped the top iTunes album charts in 20 countries and regions around the world, including Brazil, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, South Africa, Indonesia, and Denmark, and the title song "LUNATIC" also topped the top iTunes song charts in 11 countries and regions around the world.
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| ▲ This photo, provided by Sony Pictures, shows a scene from "Spider-Man: No Way Home." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
◇ 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' exceeds 7 million audiences
"Spider-Man: No Way Home," which was released on Dec. 15, 2021, has exceeded 7 million cumulative audiences in a month.
"Spider-Man" attracted 7,007,000 people, according to the data by the Korea Film Council on Friday.
It has become the first movie to surpass 7 million in admissions since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020.
Although "Spider-Man," which maintained its first place since the release, yielded the first place to Korean movies "The Policeman's Lineage" and "Special Delivery" for a while, it soon topped the box office again.
As there is a significant decrease in the number of audiences visiting the theater, "Spider-Man" is expected to continue to top the box office until Korean masterpieces, which aim at New Year holidays, are released.
"Kingmaker" and "The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure" will open next Wednesday, three days before the five-day Lunar New Year holiday begins.
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| ▲ This photo, provided by KBS, shows a poster of "The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won." (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
◇KBS 'The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won' faces animal abuse controversy
KBS’s historical drama "The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won" faced animal abuse controversy when a horse that was forcibly knocked down during the filming of the fall scene was confirmed to have died.
KBS apologized on Friday, revealing that the horse that filmed the fall scene died, saying, "We deeply feel responsible."
KBS decided to cancel the 13th and 14th episodes scheduled to air on Jan. 22~23 and the special broadcast that was originally scheduled to air on Jan. 29~30.
The scene was directed in the 7th episode when Lee Seong-gye fell to the floor after his horse collapsed.
The Korean Animal Welfare Association released a video of the scene filmed by tying a wire to the horse's ankle and forcibly knocking it down and demanded confirmation of the horse's survival.
They also criticized the filming as animal abuse in violation of the Animal Protection Act, which prohibits injuring animals.
KBS revealed, "Through this accident, we have confirmed that there is a problem with the method of filming the fall," adding, "We will try to find other ways of filming and expressing such accidents so that they do not recur again."
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