[K-enter] BTS's 'Dynamite' Hits 2 Billion Streams on Spotify... A First for K-pop

It's time for our K-entertainment news with Walter Lee.

Our first story today is about a world famous song that goes like this "So I'ma light it up like dynamite, whoa" and the news you have on this song proves why it's a "world famous song"

Yes, BTS have done it again, they can add another milestone to their already endless list of achievements.

According to the latest data released on Sunday by the world's largest music streaming platform, Spotify, BTS's single "Dynamite," released all the way back in 2020, has reached 2 billion streams.

What makes this so special is that BTS are the first K-pop group to surpass 2 billion streams on Spotify with a single song.

"Dynamite" was the first song by a Korean artist to debut at No. 1 on Spotify's 'Daily Top Songs Global chart' and set a record as the most-streamed song on its release day. It was also the first K-pop song to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify.

BTS aren't the only ones making waves in the K-pop world right now, we have updates on two members from BlackPink.

Yes, so last week I reported that Rosé made a personal best and a K-pop record by reaching No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with her hit song "APT", a collaboration with pop star Bruno Mars.

Well it looks like the singer is not going anywhere as the hit song has maintained its position at No. 5 on the Hot 100 chart for the second consecutive week, only cementing her achievement in K-pop history.

And who is the other member we are going to talk about?

Also last week, we mentioned Jisoo and her upcoming K-drama series "Newtopia" coming out on February 7. But that's not the only thing Jisoo plans to do in February as she also has her musical solo comeback planned for February 14, a week after her K-drama release.

On Monday, Jisoo teased her new solo album through content shared on her agency BLISSOO's official social media channels.

This will be her first solo project since her debut single “FLOWER” in March 2023.

She sounds like a busy bee, good luck to Jisoo and her packed schedule for February and congratulations to Rosé for making more history. Lastly moving onto a K-movie.

The occult K-movie "Exhuma" or "PaMyo" in Korean, which topped the 2024 annual box office, has emerged as the most talked-about film after being nominated in 11 categories at the 18th Asian Film Awards.

According to the nominee list announced by the Asian Film Awards Academy last Friday, "Exhuma" received nominations in categories such as Best Picture, Best Director Jang Jae-hyun , Best Actor Choi Min-sik , Best Actress..Kim Go-eun , and Best Newcomer..Lee Do-hyun .

It had the most nominations of all the films at the awards.

The Asian Film Awards, held annually, are organised by the Asian Film Awards Academy, established by the international film festivals of Busan, Tokyo, and Hong Kong to promote the development of Asian cinema. The awards will be held on March 16 in Hong Kong.

Thank you for that news Walter, stick around.