CORTIS took the overall No. 1 spot on the SBS Inkigayo May Week 3 chart broadcast on May 17 with 'REDRED'. A total of 5,926 points (digital 3,174 · SNS 320 · album 1,000 · ON-AIR 825 · pre-vote 107 · live vote 500) put them ahead of BABYMONSTER's '춤 (CHOOM)' (4,569) and AKMU's '소문의 낙원' (4,169). On the same May 23 dated Billboard charts, their 2nd mini album 'GREENGREEN' landed at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the Artist 100, Billboard's overall popularity metric. CORTIS are the only boy group debuted within the last five years to reach the Billboard 200's top three. Title track 'REDRED' sits at No. 19 on Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and No. 38 on Global 200, extending a three-week climb. The 2nd mini also topped both the Billboard Top Album Sales and World Albums charts. The lineup is Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon and Keonho (5 members).

BTS topped the May 23 dated Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for a second consecutive week with 'SWIM', the title track of 5th full-length 'ARIRANG'. Across 2026 to date, they have placed six tracks at No. 1 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart, overtaking Taylor Swift's year-to-date tally over the same window. On the same chart refresh, 'SWIM' held No. 2 on the Billboard Global 200 for a third week and stayed in the Billboard Hot 100 for an eighth straight week, currently at No. 34. Their 2022 album 'Proof' extended its long-running streak on the Billboard World Albums chart to 205 weeks. The group kicks off four 'BTS WORLD TOUR ARIRANG IN NORTH AMERICA' shows at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas this weekend (5/23, 24, 27, 28).

LE SSERAFIM's Chaewon has paused activities due to neck pain. In an official statement on May 19, the agency said, "After hospital treatment, medical staff advised that she needs a period of rest while her recovery is monitored," confirming her absence from college festivals, the Spotify PURE FLOWERS LIVE and music show appearances. The duration of the pause will be adjusted depending on her recovery. However, the 2nd full-length 'PUREFLOW pt.1' release on May 22 at 1 PM and Chaewon's '리무진서비스' (KBS Kpop YouTube channel) appearance go ahead as scheduled. Chaewon returned to '리무진서비스' for the first time in about four years since the group's early debut days, and the May 19 episode previewed two album tracks, 'CELEBRATION' and '우리 어떻게 더 사귈 수 있을까'. Title track 'BOOMPALA' is a bright, upbeat number that samples 'Macarena'. The lineup is Chaewon, Sakura, Yunjin, Kazuha and Eunchae (5 members).

SEVENTEEN's The8 has been tapped as the cover model for the May issue of AD (Architectural Digest) China, the global living, design and art magazine. AD China introduced The8 as "the youngest cover star in the magazine's history" alongside the issue. The shoot took place at Villa Arconati, a classical building in Milan, Italy, during Milan Design Week (MDW 2026), and in the interview The8 shared his philosophy that "art is not a conclusion but a discussion." He has recently released self-composed tracks '四月的漂流' and '不见了', extending an activity span that crosses music, dance and visual art. AD was founded in 1920s America and is currently published in nine countries worldwide.

IVE's Wonyoung has been selected as MC of the 'Asia Artist Awards 2026' (AAA 2026). With this booking, Wonyoung will host AAA for a sixth consecutive year. The ceremony takes place on December 5–6, 2026 at Kaohsiung National Stadium in Taiwan, and the rest of the MC lineup will be announced later. AAA is an integrated Asian awards show covering K-pop, K-drama and K-movie, and the 2025 edition was also held in Kaohsiung. Wonyoung has been praised year after year for her "steady hosting and quick-witted reactions". On the same week's Inkigayo May Week 3 chart, IVE's 'BANG BANG' landed at No. 8.

Stray Kids' 'Walkin On Water' music video crossed 100 million YouTube views on the afternoon of May 19. With this, the group's catalog of 100M-view music videos reaches 20 in total. 'Walkin On Water' is the title track of mini album '合(HOP)', released in December 2024, and the same album logged six consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Earlier 100M-view tracks include '神메뉴', 'Back Door', 'MIROH', 'My Pace', '소리꾼', 'MANIAC', 'Hellevator', 'Christmas EveL' and 'CASE 143'.

aespa's 2nd full-length 'LEMONADE' drops on May 29 at 1 PM. After G-DRAGON featured on the pre-release 'WDA', the digital album adds Latin pop star Becky G on 'LEMONADE (Feat. Becky G)' and hip-hop artist Ty Dolla $ign on 'Switchblade'. The 2nd full-length is made up of 11 tracks spanning dance numbers like 'SHAKIN'', 'Bite' and 'Roll' alongside a range of other genres. The first week after release falls outside the May Week 3 Inkigayo scoring window (5/4–5/11), so it will not enter that chart yet.

ILLIT's 'It's Me' jumped 23 spots in a single week to No. 32 on the May 23 dated Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart. On the same chart refresh, it placed at No. 67 on Billboard Global 200 (↑37), No. 8 on World Digital Song Sales and No. 15 on Hot Dance/Pop Songs. The 4th mini album '마밀라피나타파이' logged No. 2 on the Billboard World Albums chart. Domestically, it also stays high on major streaming platforms at Bugs No. 2, Melon No. 4 and Genie No. 8, and regional charts climbed in tandem with Spotify Japan Weekly Top Songs No. 10 and Line Music No. 16. On the Inkigayo May Week 3 chart, the track landed at No. 4 (3,620 pts), and at the Korea University festival ILLIT performed an 'It's Me' mashup stage with LE SSERAFIM.

ZEROBASEONE has been added to the second lineup of the KMA (Korean Music Awards) 2026. The ceremony will be held on July 25 at the Korea University Hwajeong Gymnasium in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, and the eight-act second lineup (P1Harmony, Hi-Fi Un!corn, ZEROBASEONE, UNIS, Hearts2Hearts, NEWBEAT, ALPHA DRIVE ONE, MODYSSEY) brings the total to 15 acts. Meanwhile, follow-up activities from the members excluded after the five-member realignment are also taking shape. AND2BLE (앤더블), a new group including Zhang Hao and Ricky, will release debut album 'Sequence 01: Curiosity' (five tracks total) on May 26 at 6 PM. The agency is YH Entertainment, and title track 'Curious' is an EDM number combining synth pop and future house elements, with Zhang Hao and Ricky personally credited as co-lyricists. A highlight medley was unveiled on May 19.

Hearts2Hearts have joined the KMA 2026 second lineup. The same lineup includes P1Harmony, Hi-Fi Un!corn, ZEROBASEONE, UNIS, NEWBEAT, ALPHA DRIVE ONE and MODYSSEY, and together with the first lineup a total of 15 acts will take the stage at the July 25 ceremony (Korea University Hwajeong Gymnasium). On the same week's Inkigayo May Week 3 chart, 'RUDE!' landed at No. 6 (3,118 pts), successfully placing inside the overall top 10.

BOYNEXTDOOR unveiled 'Finding HOME', a film essay trailer for their 1st full-length 'HOME', on May 18 at 10 PM. The roughly nine-minute piece is shot like an indie film, with all six members (Sungho, Riwoo, Jaehyun, Taesan, Leehan, Woonhak) taking on full dramatic acting for the first time, each playing a different character. The piece traces how the members become safe places for one another through the realization that "maybe this is a place where time briefly stops". The 1st full-length 'HOME' drops on June 8 at 6 PM, and a comeback showcase follows the same day at 8 PM at the Korea University Hwajeong Gymnasium. The album looks back on the time the group has been called "boys next door", touching on love, parting and the growth and pain of youth.

BABYMONSTER's official YouTube channel passed 12 million subscribers on May 17 at 6:30 PM. The milestone came about two years and two months after their April 1, 2024 debut, making them the fastest K-pop girl group to hit 12M measured from debut date. They rank No. 1 among fourth-generation girl groups and No. 3 across all K-pop girl groups. Since the release of 3rd mini album 'CHOOM (춤)' on May 4, they added roughly 250,000 subscribers over 13 days (an average of around 20,000 per day). The following day, May 18 at 2:50 PM, the title track 'CHOOM (춤)' music video crossed 100 million YouTube views, about 14 days after its May 4 release. Right after release, the MV topped YouTube's Worldwide Trending and the "most-viewed in 24 hours" rankings, and led both the global YouTube daily popular music video chart and China's QQ Music MV chart. With this, the group's 100M-view catalog reaches 16 videos, and the channel's cumulative views have surpassed 8.4 billion. The 3rd mini has sold about 750,000 copies, closing in on million-seller status. On the Inkigayo May Week 3 chart, '춤 (CHOOM)' landed at No. 2 (4,569 pts).