K-pop News Today (Nov 9, 2026): JISOO Signs With WME, EXO Close Their Encore for 33,000 Fans, KiiiKiii and TWS Win Big at KGMA

I had to read the JISOO headline twice this morning, because, as a BLINK, I was grinning too hard to focus. JISOO now has WME, the agency behind Bruno Mars and Billie Eilish, in her corner. EXO closed three sold-out encore nights in Seoul with a December unit promise from KAI and SEHUN, and KiiiKiii and TWS each went home from KGMA’s Music Day with three trophies. Here are the stories K-pop fans were talking about on Nov. 8.

BLACKPINK’s JISOO Signs With WME, Bruno Mars and Billie Eilish’s Agency

JISOO has signed with WME, the global agency that represents Bruno Mars and Billie Eilish, OSEN and other Korean outlets reported on Nov. 8. Pollstar first reported the deal on Nov. 6, according to Topstar News. JISOO set up her own label, BLISSOO, in February 2024 for her acting and solo music, and she still works with YG Entertainment on BLACKPINK. This year she starred in Netflix’s “Boyfriend on Demand,” which reached No. 1 on Netflix’s global non-English TV chart for March 9 to 15. She also co-wrote and sings “Sun Showers,” an original song for “The Angry Birds Movie 3,” The Hollywood Reporter reported on Nov. 3. The single’s artwork features Shumon, a little dust-ball character she drew in middle school. On Nov. 8 she performed “ADDICTED” on SBS “Inkigayo,” and that stage had 964,134 views about 12 hours after it went up. BLINKs, she’s going global on her own terms.

Sources: OSEN, Nov. 8, Topstar News, Nov. 8, YouTube views checked around 4:55 a.m. KST, Nov. 9

Also read: K-pop News Today (Oct 26, 2026): A2O LITE's 4th Win, BABYMONSTER's 31M, RIIZE 'Insomnia'

EXO Close Their Seoul Encore for 33,000 Fans, and KAI and SEHUN Tease a December Unit Debut

EXO finished “EXO PLANET #6 – EXhOrizon [dot],” the encore of their sixth solo tour, at KSPO DOME in Seoul on Nov. 8. The three nights from Nov. 6 drew about 33,000 people and sold out down to the restricted-view seats, and the final show was screened live in 764 theaters across 23 regions, JoyNews24 reported. SUHO, CHANYEOL, D.O., KAI and SEHUN opened with “Crown,” the title track of their eighth full album “REVERXE” from January. The crowd made them sing the last part of the EDM version of “Run” three times, and they played a winter medley of “Sing For You,” “For Life,” “Universe” and “First Snow.” On stage, SEHUN taught CHANYEOL, and then SUHO, the “scorpion” move from “Sweet Lies.” KAI and SEHUN, who debut as a new unit with a first mini album in December, promised to “smash” the performance. The “Crown” MV had 51,289,374 views when we checked. EXO-L, December can’t come soon enough.

Sources: JoyNews24, Nov. 8, Sports Kyunghyang, Nov. 8, YouTube views checked around 4:55 a.m. KST, Nov. 9

KiiiKiii and TWS Win Three Trophies Each on KGMA’s Music Day

KGMA’s second night, Music Day, at Gocheok Sky Dome on Nov. 8 spread its trophies far and wide. KiiiKiii won three: Grand Honors’ Choice, Best Streaming Song and Best Music, in only their second year since debut. “We want to thank our members and our fans, who always cheer for us,” they said. “The five of us will practice harder and show you many beautiful stages.” TWS also took three: the ENA K-pop Artist award, Best Music and Best Fabulous, and SHINYU won Trend of the Year in the male solo category and called it “a great birthday present.” MONSTA X won Best Group, ALPHA DRIVE ONE took IS Rising Star, KISS OF LIFE shared Best Stage, MINHO and YENA won Best Solo, Billlie won Best Dance Performance and NEXZ won Best Global K-pop Star. KiiiKiii’s “404 (New Era)” MV had 28,044,079 views when we checked. TIKI, your girls had a big night.

Sources: Ilgan Sports, Nov. 8, Edaily, Nov. 8, Edaily, Nov. 8, YouTube views checked around 4:55 a.m. KST, Nov. 9

P1Harmony Sell Over 540,000 Copies of ‘BLOW UP’ on Day One

P1Harmony’s 10th mini album “BLOW UP,” released Nov. 6, sold more than 540,000 copies on its first day, already beating the first-week sales of their previous album, FNC Entertainment said on Nov. 8, as reported by Aju News. It topped the Hanteo daily album chart and the Circle daily retail album chart for Nov. 6. The title track landed on Spotify’s “New Music Friday” and “All New Pop,” Apple Music’s “New Music Daily,” TIDAL’s “New Arrivals” and Amazon Music’s “Brand New Music.” As of Nov. 7, every song on the album was in the top 10 of the US iTunes K-pop chart, and “BLOW UP” was No. 1 on the iTunes top songs chart in Argentina. The MV had 18,033,333 views about two days after release. P1ece, this comeback is off to a flying start.

Sources: Aju News, Nov. 8, YouTube views checked around 4:55 a.m. KST, Nov. 9

ROSÉ Is Inducted Into the Asian Hall of Fame

ROSÉ was named one of this year’s inductees at the 22nd Asian Hall of Fame ceremony in Los Angeles on Nov. 5 (local time), recognized for widening K-pop’s reach through her global music, Herald Business reported on Nov. 8, citing CJ ENM. The honor points to her solo album “rosie” and “APT.” with Bruno Mars. She joins a class that includes former MLB pitcher Hideo Nomo, TSMC and Din Tai Fung, and CJ Group Vice Chair Miky Lee received the Centennial Lifetime Achievement Medal the same night. The “APT.” MV had 2,749,986,875 views when we checked. A Hall of Fame name, and still only two years since “APT.”

Sources: Herald Business, Nov. 8, YouTube views checked around 4:55 a.m. KST, Nov. 9

A2O LITE Take an ‘Inkigayo’ Triple Crown for Their 11th Music Show Win

A2O LITE won SBS “Inkigayo” on Nov. 8 with “NEON,” their third win in a row on the show (after Oct. 25 and Nov. 1), which gives them the show’s triple crown and their 11th music show trophy. They scored 6,037 points without appearing on the broadcast, ahead of ILLIT (4,717) and IVE’s “Looks Can Kill” (3,906), Topstar News reported. Their first win came on “The Show” on Oct. 20, less than three weeks ago. The official video had 41,377,848 views when we checked. A triple crown from a debut single: what a month for these girls.

Sources: Topstar News, Nov. 9, Celuv Media, Nov. 8, YouTube views checked around 4:55 a.m. KST, Nov. 9

Stray Kids Wrap ‘RUN IT JAPAN’ With Three Sold-Out Tokyo Dome Shows

Stray Kids closed the Japan leg of their world tour “RUN IT JAPAN” with three added shows at Tokyo Dome on Nov. 6, 7 and 8. Organizer SOGO TOKYO said the shows were sold out, with no same-day tickets, and the Nov. 7 and 8 shows were screened live in cinemas across Japan, according to Sony Music Japan, Topstar News reported on Nov. 8. The Japan leg began at Japan National Stadium in Tokyo on Aug. 29 and 30 and went through Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. The Tokyo Dome dates, announced after the first seven shows sold out, made it 10 shows in all. The Japanese version of “Super Bowl” had 40,703,544 views on their Japanese channel when we checked. STAY, what a way to close out Japan.

Sources: Topstar News, Nov. 8, YouTube views checked around 4:55 a.m. KST, Nov. 9

ATEEZ Set ‘UP’ as Their Nov. 13 Title Track and Open Japan Tickets for 2027 ‘ZERO TO ALL’

ATEEZ release their 15th mini album “GOLDEN HOUR : Part.6” on Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. KST, five tracks led by the title song “UP” and including “Drip,” which came out first on Oct. 23, Topstar News reported on Nov. 8. Their 2027 world tour “ZERO TO ALL” starts in Incheon on Jan. 22 to 24 and moves on to Japan, Europe, North America and South America. In Japan they play Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo on Feb. 2 and 3 and GLION ARENA KOBE on Feb. 13 and 14, and the first fan club ticket lottery runs until Nov. 23 at 11:59 p.m. The “Drip” MV had 29,635,258 views when we checked, about two weeks after release. ATINY, four days to go.

Sources: Topstar News, Nov. 8, YouTube views checked around 4:55 a.m. KST, Nov. 9

ENHYPEN’s JAY Falls in Love in the ‘THE SIN : PARALLEL WORLD’ Concept Film

ENHYPEN posted JAY’s “DAY & NIGHT” concept film for their spin-off single “THE SIN : PARALLEL WORLD” on HYBE LABELS on Nov. 7. In it, he finds a hair tie in his room, smiles at the thought of “you,” wears it on his wrist while he cleans, then sprays perfume before heading out. The films started Nov. 5 and run member by member through Nov. 10. The MV for the title track “I Want You” arrives Nov. 13 at 11:59 p.m. KST, the digital single on Nov. 20 at 2 p.m. and the physical release on Nov. 23 at noon, iMBC reported on Nov. 8. JAY’s film had 277,108 views about a day and a half after it went up. ENGENEs, the countdown to “I Want You” is on.

Sources: iMBC, Nov. 8, YouTube views checked around 4:55 a.m. KST, Nov. 9

MAMA Fans’ Choice Round Two Closes Near 100 Million Votes, With BTS and Hearts2Hearts on Top

The second round of 2026 MAMA AWARDS Fans’ Choice voting closed on Mnet Plus at 11:59 p.m. KST on Nov. 8. As of 5:11 p.m. that day, it had 98,191,791 votes. BTS led the male category ahead of ENHYPEN, NCT DREAM, CORTIS and EVAN (tied) and TREASURE. Hearts2Hearts led the female category ahead of BABYMONSTER, ILLIT, NMIXX and LE SSERAFIM, Topstar News reported. The Fans’ Choice of the Year with VISA winner combines this round with live voting during the broadcast. Melon Music Awards voting is also under way: as of the afternoon of Nov. 8, PLAVE led Artist of the Year with 544,152 votes (28%), and ALPHA DRIVE ONE led New Artist of the Year with 57%. Mnet K-POP’s Fans’ Choice female nominee video had 107,541 views when we checked. Every vote is a little love letter.

Sources: Topstar News, Nov. 8, Topstar News, Nov. 8, YouTube views checked around 4:55 a.m. KST, Nov. 9

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This week brings ENHYPEN’s “I Want You” MV and ATEEZ’s “GOLDEN HOUR : Part.6” on Nov. 13, JISOO’s “Sun Showers” still to come with “The Angry Birds Movie 3”, and KAI and SEHUN getting ready for December. I’ll be cheering for every one of them with you. See you tomorrow.

Featured photo: BLACKPINK's JISOO at the press conference for Netflix's "Boyfriend on Demand," Feb. 26, 2026. Photo: K-POPIT 케이팝잇 via YouTube/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized).