LE SSERAFIM release their second studio album 'PUREFLOW pt.1' today, May 22, at 1 PM KST. Title track 'BOOMPALA' samples the Latin pop groove of 'Macarena', the 1996 track that held #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 straight weeks. The album runs 11 tracks total, with pre-release 'CELEBRATION' opening the set, and members took direct writing and composing credits on tracks like 'iffy iffy', 'How Can We Date More', and 'Trust Exercise'. The album extends their debut message 'FEARLESS' into 'FEARLESS 2.0', carrying a growth narrative about facing fear head-on. In an interview, Eunchae said, "I hope this becomes a career high that goes beyond 'SPAGHETTI' — I want to hear people call it a 'masterpiece'."

BTS return to the American Music Awards 2026 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 25 (local) — their first AMA appearance in five years. They're up in three categories including the grand prize 'Artist of the Year', 'Best Male K-Pop Artist', and 'Song of the Summer', and the top prize puts them up against nine nominees including Bad Bunny, Bruno Mars, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga. Around the ceremony, four 'ARIRANG' Las Vegas nights run at Allegiant Stadium on May 23, 24, 27, and 28, and back in Korea, the June 13 Busan Asiad Main Stadium day-two show will be simulcast in roughly 3,800 screening rooms across about 80 countries worldwide (domestic via the three major multiplexes CGV, Lotte Cinema, and Megabox; Europe to air on a 1-to-2-day delay). The Busan show marks their first return since October 2022's 'Yet to Come' — a three-year-and-eight-month gap — timed to their June 13 debut anniversary.

ATEEZ are coming back with their 14th mini album 'GOLDEN HOUR : Part.5' on June 26 at 1 PM KST. It's a new release roughly four months after February 2026's 'Part.4'. 'Part.4' entered the Billboard 200 at #3 and rewrote the group's own first-week sales record. The comeback teaser visually flashes the word 'BAD', and the intro copy lays a "have suspicion" voiceover under the visuals. Even in year eight since debut, the moment they wrap the 24-city 'IN YOUR FANTASY' world tour (July 2025 to April 2026) across North America, Japan, Asia, and Oceania, they're jumping straight back into a new album cycle.

NMIXX took #1 on the May 21 M Countdown with comeback title 'Heavy Serenade', grabbing their very first music show trophy since debut. With a total score of 8,167 points, they edged out ILLIT's 'It's Me' (#2), which was also in its comeback week. With their 5th mini album 'Heavy Serenade' having dropped on May 11, this means they reached the chart's top in roughly the second week of activity, and JYP Entertainment's 7th-generation girl group has now locked in upward momentum inside the comeback cycle.

Hearts2Hearts' 'RUDE!' music video crossed 100 million views at 6 AM on May 22. That's roughly 92 days (about three months) since its February 20, 2026 release — the group's first 100M-view milestone. They're marching on the charts at the same time — three straight weeks at #1 on Spotify Korea Weekly Top Songs, five straight weeks at #1 on Circle Weekly Streaming, seven straight weeks at #1 on China's QQ Music K-pop Weekly, plus five music show wins. On May 17 at 'ASEA 2026', they also picked up two awards — 'Best Group (Female)' and 'The Platinum'. They've already wrapped stages at the Konkuk University and Sejong University campus festivals, with Hanyang University coming up on May 29.

BOYNEXTDOOR release their 1st studio album 'HOME' on June 8 at 6 PM KST. All six members — Sungho, Riwoo, Myung Jaehyun, Taesan, Leehan, and Woonhak — are credited as lyricists and composers across all nine tracks, and among them, Myung Jaehyun and Woonhak put their names on every single track. Title track 'VIRAL' has KOZ Entertainment's flagship producer ZICO himself joining as lyricist and composer. What stands out is that on 'I Wonder' and the CD-exclusive 'I Wonder, Always', the group name 'BOYNEXTDOOR' appears in the writing and composing credits. The album positions itself as a six-member emotional record running through the growth and pain of love, parting, and youth.

CORTIS's 2nd mini album 'GREENGREEN' crossed 100 million cumulative Spotify streams on May 19. That's a 15-day mark — twice the pace of their previous album 'COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES' (September 2025), which hit the same point in 34 days. In the same window, it entered the Billboard 200 (May 23-dated chart) at #3, and on Spotify Korea Daily Top Songs, 'REDRED' is holding #1 for 22 consecutive days. Their Spotify Monthly Listeners count sits at 11.85 million — a top-4 all-time scale for a K-pop boygroup. The five members — Martin, James, Juhoon, Seonghyeon, and Keonho — are signed to BigHit Music/HYBE.

aespa release their 2nd studio album 'LEMONADE' on May 29 — D-7 as of today. Pre-release track 'WDA (Whole Different Animal) (Feat. G-DRAGON)' debuted on the May 21 M Countdown chart as NEW at #4. The full album has G-DRAGON and other global artists including Becky G and Ty Dolla $ign joining as collaborators, signaling a wider lineup. The four members — Karina, Giselle, Winter, and Ningning — are signed to SM Entertainment.

RIIZE release their second mini album 'II' on June 15. It's a new release roughly seven months after November 2025's single 'Fame'. The lead single is 'Do Your Dance', and the album packs in six tracks total. Now in their fourth year since debut, RIIZE say they're expanding the genre space they've named 'emotional pop' using the stimulation they picked up from global tours and major festival stages. Album pre-orders opened May 22, and starting May 25, trailers, images, and single previews drop in sequence. On May 24, they're set to throw the first pitch and give a celebratory performance at a Taiwan CTBC Brothers baseball game. They're signed to SM Entertainment.

TREASURE release their fourth mini album 'NEW WAV' on June 1 — D-10 as of today. The member-by-member concept poster series is rolling out one at a time, and on May 22, Jihoon and Yoshi's visuals unveiled in turn. YG Entertainment is staying with their marketing pattern of pulling up comeback anticipation with posters that draw out each individual member's heavy aura.

SEVENTEEN's vocal unit DK and Seungkwan (DxS) take the stage at the 18th Seoul Jazz Festival 2026 today, May 22. The festival runs three days from May 22 (Friday) through 24 (Sunday) across Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and the final 60-act lineup includes Baek Yerin, Jang Beom June, Hyukoh, Epik High, CNBLUE, wave to earth, and NCT's Taeyong and Haechan. DxS are also running ticket pre-sales for their '[Lullaby] ON STAGE' Incheon show in parallel.

ILLIT are on a nationwide campus festival tour in May with new track 'It's Me'. On the May 21 M Countdown overall chart, they came in at #2 behind NMIXX's 'Heavy Serenade', holding strong chart competitiveness inside their comeback cycle. The five-member BELIFT LAB group are running comeback build-up and live activities side by side, warming up for the global festival season.

ITZY have formally launched 'Motto' on music show stages. They're fronting sharp synchronized choreography and a summer concept. The five-member JYP Entertainment group are heading into their June activity stretch by anchoring the comeback build-up around music shows.

BABYMONSTER's second world tour '2026-27 BABYMONSTER WORLD TOUR [CHOOM]' opens at Seoul's Jamsil Indoor Stadium across three days from June 26 to 28. All three shows sold out, and right after, soundcheck seats opened up too, unlocking even rehearsal-viewing access for fans. From this Seoul run, the tour stretches across five continents — Japan, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America. On May 21's M Countdown, 'CHOOM' came in at #3, keeping the activity-cycle chart momentum going at the same time. The seven members are signed to YG Entertainment.

IVE release their Japanese 4th studio album 'LUCID DREAM' on May 27 — D-5 as of today. Following 'Fashion', pre-released May 3, they're formally launching the Japan activity stretch with this album. Their second world tour 'SHOW WHAT I AM' moves through Osaka Kyocera Dome on May 18-19 and lands at Tokyo Dome for a return on June 24 — going for another 100,000-seat sellout after the previous show there in September 2024. The six-member Starship Entertainment group.

BLACKPINK's debut 10th anniversary commemorative stamps will be issued on June 16 by Korea Post. BLACKPINK is the first K-pop female act to be put on a Korean commemorative stamp. The news was confirmed by an official YG Entertainment announcement. Specs like stamp design and print run will be revealed closer to issue date.