K-pop News Today (Nov 1, 2026): A2O LITE Win Music Core, j-hope’s ‘MONA LISA’ Hits 100M Views, BESTie Reunite After 11 Years

A confession from a fan: watching BESTie stand together on a music show stage again, eleven years later, made my whole Halloween weekend. A2O LITE picked up yet another trophy, j-hope’s “MONA LISA” crossed 100 million views, and ATEEZ took K-pop somewhere it had never been: inside Deoksugung Palace. Here are the stories K-pop fans were talking about on Oct. 31.

A2O LITE Win ‘Show! Music Core’ as ‘Hangout with Yoo?’ Forms ‘AZ2O’

A2O LITE won No. 1 on MBC’s “Show! Music Core” on Oct. 31 with “NEON,” scoring 6,557 points ahead of NMIXX’s “Birthday Wish” (4,673) and IVE’s “Looks Can Kill” (3,978), even though the group did not perform on the show that day. It is their seventh music-show win, following trophies on “The Show,” “Show Champion,” “M Countdown” and “Inkigayo,” among others, and “NEON” was still No. 1 on the Melon TOP100 at 4 a.m. KST on Nov. 1. The same evening, MBC’s “Hangout with Yoo?” aired its “AZ2O” parody: Kim Kwang-kyu, Heo Kyung-hwan and Joo Woo-jae learned the “NEON” opening dance on Yoo Jae-suk’s orders to earn back points in a foot-volleyball match, and Yoo was so delighted he took 10 points off their deficit. A trophy without even showing up, and a dance that a whole variety show is copying: two weeks in, this debut has become a nationwide game.

Sources: Sports Today, Oct. 31, Celuv Media, Oct. 31, Sports Kyunghyang, Oct. 31, Melon TOP100 (checked 4 a.m. KST, Nov. 1)

Also read: K-pop News Today (Oct 27, 2026): IVE's EP Drop, ILLIT 'You're Under Arrest', LISA's 59M

j-hope’s ‘MONA LISA’ MV Passes 100 Million Views

The music video for j-hope’s “MONA LISA” passed 100 million YouTube views at about 5:50 a.m. KST on Oct. 31, and it stood at 100,104,039 views when checked around 5 a.m. KST on Nov. 1. It is his fourth video to reach the mark, after “Daydream,” “Chicken Noodle Soup” and the “Killin’ It Girl” dance video. Released in March 2025, the hip-hop R&B single compares a lover’s charm to Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, and it reached No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 27 on Spotify’s Weekly Top Songs Global and No. 56 on the UK Official Singles Chart. The milestone lands while BTS are in São Paulo for the final night of the Latin American leg of the “ARIRANG” tour (Oct. 31 local time), so ARMY get to celebrate j-hope twice this weekend.

Sources: Dailian, Oct. 31, Sports World, Oct. 31

BESTie Reunite on Music Core 11 Years Later With ‘Love Options’

BESTie returned to a music show stage as a full group for the first time in about 11 years, performing their 2013 title track “Love Options” on “Show! Music Core” on Oct. 31. The song has been climbing back through short-form videos this year: it was No. 61 on Melon’s daily chart for Oct. 30, No. 54 on the Melon TOP100 at 4 a.m. KST on Nov. 1, and it entered YouTube Music’s top 100 in Taiwan and Vietnam. MBC’s official stage video drew 1,404,954 views in under 11 hours (checked 5 a.m. KST, Nov. 1), and viewers wrote that seeing them on stage again “brought tears.” A song from 2013 finding a brand-new audience, and the members coming back to sing it for them, is the sweetest kind of comeback there is.

Sources: Insight, Oct. 31, News1, Oct. 31

ILLIT’s ‘You’re Under Arrest’ Climbs to No. 8 on Melon

ILLIT’s “You’re Under Arrest” was No. 8 on the Melon TOP100 at 4 a.m. KST on Nov. 1, after rising from No. 67 to No. 17 on Apple Music’s Today’s Top 100: Global between Oct. 27 and 29 and topping YouTube’s daily Shorts songs chart in Korea on Oct. 27. The point move, a finger-gun pose, has been picked up by IU, Crush and ENHYPEN’s Jungwon and Sunoo, and fans are rewriting the hook into wishes like “I’ll get promoted” and “I’ll ace the college entrance exam.” On Oct. 31, Wonhee co-hosted “Show! Music Core” as a special MC, and the group’s stage there passed 486,347 views on MBC’s official channel within half a day. With GLLIT blowing whistles along to the chorus at every stage, this has become the most fun fan chant of the season.

Sources: MD Today, Oct. 31, Break News, Oct. 31, Melon TOP100 (checked 4 a.m. KST, Nov. 1)

ATEEZ Become the First Idol Group to Perform at Deoksugung Palace

ATEEZ became the first idol group to perform at Deoksugung Palace, staging their pre-release single “Drip” in uniforms in front of the palace’s Seokjojeon Hall on KBS2’s “Immortal Songs,” which aired Oct. 31. The palace special also brought NMIXX to Gyeongbokgung, where they sang “Heavy Serenade” in jade-colored hanbok under blue light. KBS’s official clip of ATEEZ’s “Drip” passed 217,000 views within about 9 hours, and “BAD” sat at No. 11 on the Melon TOP100 at 4 a.m. KST on Nov. 1. Seokjojeon stands in the palace where Emperor Gojong proclaimed the Korean Empire, and that stone hall filled with ATEEZ’s beat is a picture ATINY will be saving for a long time, and “GOLDEN HOUR : Part.6” is still due Nov. 13.

Sources: KBS Star, Oct. 31, Top Star News, Oct. 31

RESCENE Hold Three Songs in Melon’s Top 10 Ahead of Their Comeback

RESCENE had three songs in the Melon TOP100’s top 10 at 4 a.m. KST on Nov. 1: “LOVE ATTACK” at No. 4, “Deja Vu” at No. 5 and “Pretty Girl” at No. 9. They return on Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. KST with their fourth mini album “PULSE” and its title track “With,” a lyrical song about finally meeting someone you’ve long dreamed of, with a hook that speeds up like a heartbeat. The “With” MV teaser, released Oct. 30, reached 1,244,975 views (checked 5 a.m. KST, Nov. 1). Walking into a comeback with three songs already in the top 10 says everything about how much love this group has gathered this year.

Sources: Dispatch, Oct. 31, Break News, Oct. 31, Melon TOP100 (checked 4 a.m. KST, Nov. 1)

TREASURE Drop the ‘SHOCK’ MV Teaser Before Their Nov. 2 Return

TREASURE released the music video teaser for their new digital single “SHOCK” at midnight KST on Oct. 31, and it reached 2,311,521 views by 5 a.m. KST on Nov. 1. The hip-hop track interpolates “Hot 뜨거” (“Hot”) by their YG seniors 1TYM, and the teaser shows smoky makeup, buzz cuts, leather gloves and a large-scale group dance built around the shout “Who that animal.” “SHOCK” arrives Nov. 2, about five months after the June mini album “NEW WAV,” and right after a 22-show fan concert tour across 10 cities. A tribute to the YG hip-hop roots that TEUME know so well, with a stage this big, makes Monday feel very far away.

Sources: News Culture, Oct. 31

AKMU’s Lee Chan-hyuk Shows Off a Four-Day Week at His New Company

On MBC’s “The Manager” (Point of Omniscient Interfere), which aired Oct. 31, AKMU’s Lee Chan-hyuk showed the culture of Yeonggam-ui Saemteo (“Fountain of Inspiration”), the company he founded after leaving YG Entertainment. Staff work a four-day week with Wednesdays off, work from home after a weekly Tuesday sports day, and took swing dance lessons on company time; his manager said Lee even found him a home and covers the deposit and rent. “Good music comes from a good life,” Lee said. The siblings also explained why they invite people from vulnerable groups to their concerts, with Lee recalling a childhood in Mongolia with few cultural experiences. It’s exactly the warm, slightly unusual world AKMU fans have always loved hearing in their songs.

Sources: Sports Chosun, Nov. 1, Newsen, Oct. 31

TXT Release ‘PERFECT STORM IN MOTION’ as Pre-Saves Top Spotify’s Countdown

TOMORROW X TOGETHER released “PERFECT STORM IN MOTION” at midnight KST on Oct. 31, following three sets of concept photos, “RIDE THE STORM,” “EYE OF THE STORM” and “HOLDING THE STORM.” Their ninth mini album “PERFECT STORM” was No. 1 on Spotify’s pre-save “Top 10 Countdown” for five straight days, Oct. 26 to 30. The album preview comes Nov. 5, the “Angel Bite” MV teaser Nov. 13, and the album itself on Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. KST, with a mystery role-play film, “PERFECT STORM : THE MOVIE,” screening for fans at CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall on Nov. 21. Five boys holding the storm in their hands after years of riding it: MOA could not ask for a better story for this chapter.

Sources: Sports Kyunghyang, Oct. 31

KATSEYE’s ‘Animal’ Spends a 14th Week on the UK Singles Chart

KATSEYE’s “Animal” rose 11 places to No. 78 on the UK Official Singles Chart Top 100 published Oct. 30 (local time), its 14th straight week on the chart, while the mini album “WILD” climbed six places to No. 80 for a ninth week on the Official Albums Chart. The HYBE x Geffen girl group recently announced the Asian dates of their first world tour, “THE WILDWORLD TOUR,” including their first Seoul concert at KSPO Dome on Feb. 4, 2027. Fourteen weeks in a market as tough as the UK is real staying power, and EYEKONS in Seoul finally have a date to circle.

Sources: Slist, Oct. 31, Jeonnam Ilbo, Oct. 31

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Hope your Halloween was as fun as ILLIT’s whistle chant. BTS close São Paulo tonight, TREASURE’s “SHOCK” lands on Nov. 2 and RESCENE follow on Nov. 3, and I already can’t wait to see what this week brings.

Featured photo: j-hope at a photo call in Seoul, Nov. 22, 2024. Photo: TV10 via YouTube/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (cropped and adapted).