Latest news with #K-Pop
Perth Now
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
The K-Pop Labubus have sold out, one for nearly $50,000
The extremely limited edition Sacai x Seventeen Labubu collaboration has officially sold out, with one bidder paying a shocking $48,133 for one of the toys. The 14 plush monsters were open for bidding on designer Pharrell Williams' auction platform Joopiter for a week. The toys were a part of a limited-edition capsule collection between K-Pop boy band sensation Seventeen and Japanese fashion label Sacai in celebration of the band's fifth album Happy Burstday. The 6.7 inch Labubus are wearing custom beige Sacai x Carhatt WIP looks and clad in a never-seen-before neon green fur, with one secret version of the 14 adorned in an undisclosed distinctive colour. 14 of the limited edition Labubus were on auction on the Joopiter site. Credit: Supplied The 14 Labubus sold for prices ranging from $28,879 to $48,133. They were sold in a blind box format, meaning final bidders will not know which one they scored until they open the packaging. Labubus are collectible plush toy monster elves created by Hong-Kong born designer Kasing Lung and sold by Chinese toy company Pop Mart. The monsters have gone extremely viral this year, with celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa wearing them as fashion accessories. Labubus have become a viral fashion trend. Credit: Supplied The recent demand for the toys has seen Pop Mart's shares soar more than 500% in the last year due to their popularity. This auction is not the first time a Labubu has sold for an eye-watering amount – last week, a human-sized Labubu figure sold in Beijing for $231,535. In addition to the limited Labubus, the auction also included a Sacai-designed jacket seen in Seventeen's 'Bad Influence' music video, and a t-shirt signed by 11 of the K-pop group's members. The auction also included a signed t-shirt and a Sacai jacket. Credit: Supplied These items were sold for $14,635 and $6,932 respectively. Net proceeds from the sale will be donated to the United Nations Organization for Education, Science, and Culture (UNESCO). Both Seventeen and Williams serve as goodwill ambassadors for the organization.
India Gazette
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- India Gazette
Winners will be nominated to represent India at K-Pop World Festival in Changwon
New Delhi [India], June 19 (ANI): The Korean Cultural Centre India presents the All India K-Pop Contest 2025, which began on May 14 and will culminate with the Grand Finale on July 19. In its 15th year, the contest has come up with much more excitement and surprises. This year's contest has seen an exciting new addition--a dedicated 'Rap' category--highlighting the evolution of the Indian K-Pop scene and encouraging participants to showcase how they interpret and perform K-Pop rap in their distinctive styles. With this expansion, there will be a total of three categories this year: Dance, Vocal and Rap, as per the press release. The competition is structured in three stages: Online, Regional and Grand Finale. The online round was held between May 14 and June 7, and it received a total of 1,278 team registrations from across the country, underlining the nationwide appeal of K-pop. After the first evaluation by regional judges from Korean culture fan communities, selected participants will move on to regional preliminaries held in June in 10 major cities. The Regional Round will kick off in Chennai on June 22 and will thereafter travel to Bengaluru, Kolkata, Itanagar, Bhopal, New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kohima and Hyderabad, bringing the excitement of K-Pop to cities nationwide. These rounds will be organised independently by each local fan community, with support and oversight from the Korean Cultural Centre India. The selected winners of the three categories from the 10 cities will compete in the Grand Finale that will be held on July 19 in New Delhi, which will again unfold many surprises. The final event will also include a fan meeting event and special performances by K-pop idol groups invited from Korea. The winners in each category will receive cash prizes of Rs 2,00,000 for first place, Rs 1,00,000 for second, and Rs 50,000 for third. Moreover, the champions will be nominated to represent India at the prestigious 'K-Pop World Festival' in Changwon, South Korea, as per the press release. Hwang Il Yong, Director of Korean Cultural Centre India, said, 'This event, which has been held for the past 15 years under all circumstances, is a very meaningful festival for young people in India who love Korea and Korean culture. I would like to express my gratitude to the representatives of the Korean Culture Fan communities in 10 cities who have been of great help as the organisers of the regional preliminary rounds of the All India K-pop contests in recent years. It is touching to see young people in India empathising and communicating with each other through the unified culture of Korean music and K-pop, despite the large size of the country and the diverse languages and cultures in each region. I hope that Indian friends will participate and continue to create a place for empathy and communication through K-pop culture in India.' Oinam Surchandra, a candidate who will participate in the newly introduced rap category, said, 'I feel incredibly grateful to the Korean Cultural Centre India for giving upcoming rappers like us a platform to showcase our love for K-pop and rap. In a country where K-pop rap is still growing, this opportunity means the world. I genuinely hope that the rap category continues in future contests, as there are so many aspiring artists who dream of expressing themselves this way.' To offer a unique and enjoyable experience for K-culture fans in India, the Korean Cultural Centre India held a surprise K-pop Random Play Dance event on June 1 in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Korean Culture India Fan Club in Delhi. Around 400 fans gathered and danced to popular K-pop songs, creating a vibrant and energetic scene. Prerna Tiwari, president of the fan club, said, 'Having seen the Korean Wave grow in India for over a decade, the All India K-Pop Contest has become a source of pride for many fans. We are truly thankful to the Korean Cultural Centre India for making this experience possible,' as per the press release. (ANI)
India Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Indian-origin pop star Lara Rajagopalan falsely reported to US immigration
Indian-American musician Lara Rajagopalan, a member of the global pop music group Katseye, was recently subjected to a false tip submitted to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A screenshot of the anonymous tip submitted to ICE alleged that the teen musician lacked the proper authorisation to stay and work in the complainant was reportedly a K-Pop fan. "There is an illegal alien in LA known by the name Lara Rajagopalan; she has not obtained the necessary visa or legal status required to remain in the US and appears to be working and residing in the United States without legal authorisation," the reported summary on the "criminal activity" form reported to the authorities, Rajagopalan is a US citizen. The musician also faced hate posts and comments online. A social media user posted a screenshot of the alleged complaint involving the Katseye member, accompanied by the message, "See you in the city jail," and tagged the situation escalated, Lara's supporters raised concerns that she was facing such treatment due to her Indian complaint comes amid an ongoing surge in immigration enforcement actions, with US authorities intensifying raids and deportation efforts across the country.A fan wrote on X, "Blocking everyone who justifies racism towards Lara over fanwars. It's Always her who has to deal with such things because she's Indian. Do people think deportation jokes are funny? This happened to Hanni and now to Lara. They're getting called 'illegal aliens' over K-pop fanwars (sic)".advertisementEarlier this month, Khaby Lame, the world's most-followed social media star on TikTok, with 162 million followers, was detained by ICE in Nevada for overstaying his tourist IS LARA RAJAGOPALAN?Lara was born to Kavita Rajagopalan, an Indian Tamil, and Sri Rajagopalan, a Sri Lankan Tamil. She grew up in Dallas and Los Angeles. In 2018, she featured in a video for Michelle Obama's Global Girls Alliance. She achieved second place in the final lineup began training in acting, dancing, and singing at the age of in both English and Tamil, she is known for her standout fashion Los Angeles-based girl group Katseye has rapidly gained attention on the K-Pop scene since their debut in June 2023 with their debut single, aptly titled "Debut".Described as a global girl group, Katseye is composed of six members — Sophia, Manon, Daniela, Lara, Megan, and Yoonchae.
India Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Ex-NCT member Taeil pleads guilty to rape charges, prosecution seeks 7-year jail
K-pop idol Moon Tae-il, popularly known as Taeil, pleaded guilty to rape charges at a Seoul court on Wednesday, June 18. According to Koreaboo, the prosecutors have demanded a seven-year prison sentence against first trial of Taeil's sex crime case took place on Wednesday, a year after the incident February 2025, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Women and Children's Crime Investigation Division 1 indicted Taeil along with his two accomplices. They were charged with rape under the Act on the Punishment of Sexual In June 2024, the South Korean singer also faced accusations of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman. Taeil and the two other accused admitted guilt to the rape after being prosecuted for these allegations on prosecution has also asked for a seven-year prison term for each to the South Korean portal, the prosecution mentioned that they had doubts regarding the surrender of the defendants after two months of report quoted the prosecution as saying, "The defendants are considering taking into account the sentencing with their own letters, but it is difficult to say that this is a true surrender. After two months of police investigation, the defendants were identified and raided, and after that, they submitted their own letters.""It is an inappropriate argument to consider sentencing for each other. Especially, it does not fall under the legal requirements. It undermines the meaning of embroidery," the report conducted a live SNS broadcast and communicated with fans in June 2024 after he was booked for the crime. He expressed gratitude towards NCTzen (fandom name) for being "able to have such a happy birthday." The singer also attended a fan meeting in August, the same year, on the eighth anniversary of NCT (Neo Culture Technology) 127's August 2024, SM Entertainment made an announcement that Taeil would no longer be a member of NCT. The K-Pop star was later removed as an artist from the made his debut as NCT's first unit, NCT U, in 2016. He was a member of NCT and NCT 127.
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
#SHOWBIZ: BTS label BigHit to launch new K-pop boy group
SEOUL: K-Pop agency BigHit Music has reportedly confirmed that its upcoming boy group is set to debut in the third quarter of 2025. The label, home to superstars BTS and TXT, stated yesterday that the group is in the final stages of preparation, with their debut reportedly planned for August. "BigHit Music's new boy group is currently preparing with the aim of debuting in the third quarter of this year. Details regarding the exact debut date will be announced officially at a later time," Soompi reported the company as saying in a brief statement. This will be BigHit Music's first new boy group in six years, following the debut of Tomorrow X Together (TXT) in 2019. The new group was described as a "next-generation creator crew" in parent company HYBE's Q1 2025 earnings report. The report also highlighted that the members will be actively involved in producing their own music, choreography, and video content. BigHit Music, a subsidiary of HYBE Corporation, has been instrumental in the meteoric success of BTS and continues to be a major player in the K-pop industry.
