The first quarter of 2021 saw the K-pop industry continuing to debut exciting new tracks and albums for fans worldwide almost weekly. For those looking to update their playlists, below, we've gathered some of the genre's best releases of the year so far.At the beginning of this year, K-hip hop veterans Epik High tapped CL and ZICO for their new project Epik High Is Here, while singer-songwriter Colde released his latest EP. Idol group IZ*ONE revealed their final single “D-D-DANCE" in late Janu...

Squashing rumors of animosity between the two, Lil Nas X and FKA twigs have addressed recently raised similarities between the two artists' music videos. Upon releasing his controversial visual for "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)," Nas was criticized for the undeniable parallels between his work and twigs' "cellophane" video, released in 2019. In a now-deleted TikTok post, "cellophane" director Andrew Thomas Huang pointed out that both videos depict the artists ascending to heaven and subsequent...

BTS has issued a statement condemning the wave of anti-Asian hate and violence continuing to sweep the U.S. Posted to the official BTS Twitter in both Korean and English, the statement sends a clear message to the group's 34-million-strong following."We send our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. We feel grief and anger," BTS begins. The statement goes on to share the members' personal experiences of racism: "We have endured expletives without reason and were mocked for...

On March 26, Lil Nas X sparked online frenzy after dropping anticipated single "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)" and an accompanying music video. The song, which references 2017's Timothée Chalamet-led romance Call Me By Your Name, is an unabashed celebration of the rapper's sexuality (he came out as gay on the last day of Pride Month in 2019). Reflecting on the single in an open letter to his 14-year-old self, the Grammy-winning artist wrote, "I know we promised to never come out publicly, I kn...