Jeff Benjamin

'KPop' Finally Wins at the Grammys: Zooming in on 'Golden' Thoughts on the larger media story developing alongside the KPop Demon Hunters anthem. Plus, Rosé, KATSEYE, BTS, Tame Impala, ZEROBASEONE, MeloMance and more.

Looking at the media story now that 'Kpop' has won a Grammy — and much more — in today's newsletter: www.the-xover.com/p/2026-gramm...

Best K-Pop Songs of January 2026: ENHYPEN, KiiiKiii, EXO & More I whittled down the best K-pop for you from ENHYPEN, KiiiKiii, EXO, i-dle, ZEROBASEONE, Inseong and more with playlists on whatever platform you use.

The Best #Kpop of January 2025

The year started blazing with ENHYPEN leading the way among excellent releases from EXO, KiiiKiii, i-dle, Inseong, Chuu, ZEROBASEONE and many more

Playlists are available for whatever platform you use inside:
www.the-xover.com/p/best-k-pop...

Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s ‘Luther’ Wins 2026 Record Of The Year Grammy Kendrick Lamar and SZA's "Luther" wins Record of the Year at the 2026 Grammy Awards, presented by Cher who accidentally named "Luther Vandross" as the winner.

While cher hilariously and accidentally called the winner of the #GrammyAwards' Record of the Year as "Luther Vandross," it was actually "Luther" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA

She wasn't *totally* off though, here's why via @forbes.com: www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

Kendrick Lamar & SZA’s ‘Luther’ Wins 2026 Record Of The Year Grammy Kendrick Lamar and SZA's "Luther" wins Record of the Year at the 2026 Grammy Awards, presented by Cher who accidentally named "Luther Vandross" as the winner.

While Cher hilariously called the winner of the Grammys Awards' Record of the Year as "Luther Vandross," it was actually "Luther" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

Tyler, The Creator Wins First Best Album Cover Award At 2026 Grammys Tyler, the Creator's 'Chromakopia' won the first-ever awared for Best Album Cover at the 2026 Grammy Awards, with the award going to Tyler Okonma under his real name.

Tyler, the Creator won the Grammy's first-ever Best Album Cover award for his 'Chromakopia,' which he was the art director
www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

ROSÉ opens the 2026 Grammy Awards with a live performance of "APT.," up for Record and Song of the Year tonight, alongside Bruno Mars. Iconic.

‘Sinners’ Wins Grammy For Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media Sinners won 2026 Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, beating out KPop Demom Hunters, F1, Wicked, and Timothee Chalamet's A Complete Unknown.

#Sinners wins Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the #2026GRAMMYs, beating out a stacked category with #KPopDemonHunters, #Wicked, #F1 and Timothée Chalamet's #ACompleteUnknown

www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

OUR GLOBAL PRINCESSES ARE HERE! #2026GRAMMYs performer and two-time nominees KATSEYE have hit the #GRAMMYs red carpet!

LET'S GO #KATSEYE!!

Kehlani Wins Her First Grammy Awards, Ends Speech With ‘F— ICE’ Kehlani used her platform at the 2026 Grammys to protest ICE as she accepted her first of two awards Sunday night (Feb. 1).

Kehlani Wins Her First Grammy Awards, Ends Speech With ‘F— ICE’

2026 GRAMMY performer and three-time nominee ROSÉ has ARRIVED and made a REGAL entrance to the #Grammys red carpet

LET'S GO ROSIE!!

KPop Demon Hunters ‘Golden’ Wins Best Song Written For Visual Media At Grammys HUNTR/X's "Golden" from Netflix's 'KPop Demon Hunters' won the 2026 Grammy award for Best Song Written For Visual Media with EJAE, Teddy and more awarded.

"GOLDEN" FROM KPOP DEMON HUNTERS HAS WON A GRAMMY!

"Golden" won the 2026 Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media with the win going to songwriters EJAE, Park Hong Jun (Teddy), Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo and Mark Sonnenblick.
www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

Oscars Will Feature Performances of Only 2 Best Original Song Nominees Academy Awards will feature performances by only two best original song nominees while other three are highlighted in packages

'KPop Demon Hunters' and 'Sinners' will be the only Best Original Song-nominated movies to have live performances during The Academy Awards with "segments designed to honor how music helped these stories resonate worldwide"

The other songs are featured in packages www.billboard.com/music/awards...

25 Songs That Shaped My 2025 Music journalist Jeff Benjamin's personal 2025 playlist featuring intimate moments and reflections from a year of transformation through song.

25 Songs That Shaped My 2025

A bit of an explainer of what my year was like and where I'm going now. I'm so thankful for all you readers and I'm excited to continue the journey with you all in 2026
www.the-xover.com/p/25-songs-t...

G-Dragon, Jay Park, KUN and More Set for First ‘Krazy Super Concert’ in Dubai Krazy Super Concert to debut in Dubai with a Yein, Yerin, Kim Jongkook, G-Dragon, Jay Park and KUN lineup on February 17, 2026 after NYC and LA dates.

Exclusive: The Krazy Super Concert festival is hosting its first overseas date next month with a lineup of G-Dragon, Jay Park, KUN, Kim Jongkook, Yein and Yerin!

Full details on @billboard.com:
www.billboard.com/music/concer...

Harry Styles Kickstarts New Album Era With ‘Aperture’: Listen Now Harry Styles' new song "Aperture" opens his 'Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally' album era alongside his Together Together residency world tour dates in NYC and more.

He's back! Harry Styles' comeback single "Aperture" is here and it's an unexpected, five-minute-plus disco-trance cut where Harry sings with a choir

Not what I expected but an exciting start to the new era www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

BRIT Awards 2026 Nominations: Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Sam Fender Lead The BRIT Awards 2026 take place February 28, 2026 with leading nominees Olivia Dean, Lola Young, Sam Fender, Lily Allen, Fred Again.., Wolf Alice, Dave and Jim Legxacy.

The BRIT Awards 2026: Olivia Dean, Lola Young and Sam Fender lead the nominees list while ROSÉ and HUNTR/X's EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami make history for K-pop and Korean artists

Full list of nominees for this year's #BRITs:
www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

2026 Release Calendar Of New K-Pop Albums And Songs New K-pop album and singles, and rumored releases in 2026 including BLACKPINK, BTS, BIGBANG, EXO, KATSEYE and new boy and girl groups from HYBE, SM and YG Entertainment.

Latest K-pop updates include ✨

BTS
Jackson Wang
MISAMO
Lee Jiham (formerly Donghun) of A.C.E
MOMOLAND
i-dle
Billlie
KISS OF LIFE
P1Harmony
ENHYPEN
IVE
RESCENE
ALL(H)OURS
TWS
POW
idntt
I1IT
Hearts2Hearts
BUS
LNGSHOT
dodree
Saem
OWIS
TUNEXX
and more...
www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

ENHYPEN Sell 1.6 Million Copies Of 'THE SIN : VANISH' Album In One Day ENHYPEN's 'THE SIN : VANISH' sold more than 1.6 million copies globally in one day, making the biggest K-pop album of 2026 so far and could be No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

It's already a particularly hot January and ENHYPEN instantly became the year's biggest-selling K-pop album in one day after selling 1.6 million physical copies of 'THE SIN : VANISH'

They're currently in a three-way tie to potentially hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200!

www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

Three other unreleased tracks premiered at the
Louis Vuitton show
John Legend's "Pray For Ya," A$AP Rocky's "Disturbing The P (feat. Pharrell Williams)" and Voices Of Fire's "The One (feat. Pharrell Williams)"

All music was recorded and produced by Pharrell in-house at LV's Paris HQ

The new Jackson Wang song "Sex God” (feat. Pusha T) made its live premiere at the #LouisVuitton Fall-Winter 2026 Men's show where LV's Men's Creative Director Pharrell Williams debuted four unreleased tracks

A press release says the track will "appear on forthcoming albums"

Danielle Marsh Letter Calls NewJeans Members ‘Family,’ Talks ‘Dreams’ NewJeans' Danielle Marsh addresses fans in a letter dated November 12, 2025, about her relationship with members Minji, Hanni, Haerin and Hyein, and her future career.

Days after Danielle opened her Instagram account (dazzibelle on IG), the star posted a fan letter originally dated November 12th that spoke to her situation with NewJeans and her future

Read it here via @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

2026 New K-Pop Albums And Songs Calendar: EXO Album in January New K-pop album and singles, and rumored releases in 2026 including BLACKPINK, BTS, BIGBANG, EXO, KATSEYE and new boy and girl groups from HYBE, SM and YG Entertainment.

Big #Kpop updates today!

MISAMO
BLACKPINK
INSEONG of SF9
CHUU
JIWOO of KARD
ONEWE
Forestella
CRAVITY
LA POEM
Jeong Dong-won
8TURN
TNX
n.SSign
POW
Young Posse
RIIZE
HELLO GLOOM
from20
Lim Sejun
Kang Yuchan
NCT WISH
Hearts2Hearts
1VERSE
GPP
LNGSHOT
dodree
OWIS
hrtz.wav
www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

KCON 2026 Sets Los Angeles, Japan Dates: When The K-Pop Fest Returns KCON 2026 will return to LA in August after hitting Japan in May this year with details about the lineup, venue, location, on-sale tickets and expected to come soon.

#KCON just revealed its 2026 dates including Los Angeles!

The world's biggest K-pop festival confirmed its returning to Japan and LA so far this year. More via @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

BTS 2026-2027 World Tour Reveals Venues: Dates, Ticket On-Sale & More BTS confirm dates, venues and on-sale ticket information for a world tour spanning 2026-2027, hitting North and Latin America, Europe, Asia, Australia and more.

Update: @livenationconcerts.bsky.social has shared the venues for the initial 45 shows in Korea, Japan, and across North America and Europe

As expected, #BTS will be playing some of the world's biggest venues + set several historic firsts. More at @forbes.com:
www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

"a 360-degree, in-the-round stage design, creating an immersive setup that places the audience at the center of the experience while allowing for increased capacity at every venue"

The world tour will likely mark the highest number of tour dates + widest reach for a Korean tour #BTSComeback2026

MASSIVE: #BTS' World Tour cover 34 regions with a total of 79 shows around the globe — with more to come!

While venues weren't announced, all signs point to this being a stadium tour with stops like East Rutherford likely being MetLife Stadium

According to a press release, "the tour will feature

Korea’s Top Chart Reveals Stray Kids Earn Biggest KPop Album Of 2025 Circle Chart, South Korea's top and longest-running music chart, released the 2025 Yearly Top Best-Selling Albums with Kpop artists like Stray Kids, SEVENTEEN and more.

The Circle Charts revealed their year-end album rankings with Stray Kids' KARMA at No. 1

This is the first time SKZ have earned the year's top album and first time a JYP Entertainment act took the top spot on Korea's longest-running chart

The full Top 100 here: www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

Updated with the new Heize single dropping on New Year's Eve, is this the final update for the year? Is the calendar complete?

Possibly better question: Who should I update as the representative photo? Or is Hyolyn perfect? www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

Breaking: ADOR shares #NewJeans update

Hanni will return to ADOR

Minji is in ongoing talks about returning

Danielle's contract has been terminated after it was "determined it would be difficult for her to continue as a NewJeans member and ADOR artist"

Full story: www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbe...

The New York Times names KATSEYE one of the most stylish people of 2025 @nytimes.com