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Thanksgiving is upon us! Let's take the time to look back and give thanks to the Asian entertainment shows, influential figures and pop culture moments that have made our 2022 so special and memorable! BTS Solo Debuts Following the release of their anthology album Proof, BTS announced their temporary group hiatus in the 2022 BTS FESTA video. While fulfilling their military service in the span of three years, they will also pursue solo endeavors to showcase their individual artistry and musicality. Starting from j-hope's Jack In The Box and Jin's The Astronaut to RM's Indigo, the BTS members have been dropping solo releases that express their own unique colors. Though we temporarily may not... [read more]
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The baseball postseason is in full swing for Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball and the KBO League. Between following the World Series, Japan Series and Korea series, find time to explore Asian sports films and series set in the world of baseball. With baseball being a popular pastime in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, there are many Japanese, Korean and Chinese baseball movies, dramas and anime that tell stirring and universal sports stories while capturing unique aspects of local baseball culture. We've built a varied roster of 20 Asian baseball series and films below, including coming-of-age stories revolving around high school baseball, inspirational accounts of... [read more]
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September means… it's back to school time! Whether you're adjusting to a new school year or long past your school days, let's take some time off to enjoy some Korean dramas. These notable Korean school dramas will get you back into school mode, as well as guide you to explore a lot more than just studying. 1. A-TEEN Hailed as one of the best Korean web dramas of all time, PLAYLIST Studio's 2018 breakout hit A-TEEN centers around the ordinary high school life of three girls and three boys who wish to be extraordinary in their own ways. Led by a lineup of then-newcomers including Shin Ye Eun and Shin Seung Ho, A-TEEN portrays the sweet and sour moments one encounters at age 18 – from... [read more]
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Jay Chou Chieh Lun made his debut in the year 2000 at the age of 21, and Chinese pop music was forever changed. Breaking the Mandopop mold, the Taiwanese musician and singer-songwriter fused R&B, hip-hop, traditional Chinese music, classical music, rock and ballad into his own unique musical style that influenced the music entertainment industry for years to come. It is hard to understate the impact and popularity of Jay Chou as the biggest Mandopop singer of his generation and one of Asia's biggest pop stars. In the early 2000s, the center of Chinese pop music shifted from Hong Kong to Taipei, with Jay Chou leading the way. Jay Chou songs topped charts in Taiwan, Hong Kong and mainland... [read more]
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The below rankings are based on sales of movie, music, TV and book releases on YesAsia.com from January 1 to June 30, 2022. Sales of all editions and versions of the same title are summed up to determine the total sales and ranking of each title. BEST-SELLING C-POP RELEASES Hong Kong super group MIRROR effortlessly tops the chart with overwhelming sales of their One & All Live 2021 concert Blu-ray, the overall #1 best-selling release at YesAsia in the first half of 2022. Besides MIRROR, the top ten in Chinese music is dominated by Cantopop artists including perennial favorites Jacky Cheung and Sammi Cheng. RubberBand and Terence Lam break into the top ten for the first time, while Alfred... [read more]
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Last year, we published an article about the MIRROR phenomenon in Hong Kong, and traced the group's rise and impact in the history of Hong Kong boy bands. Since then, the popularity of MIRROR in Hong Kong has only gotten bigger. Now, it is time to know more about Hong Kong's biggest boy band through their music! In four years, MIRROR has released one studio album and 12 group singles, and most of the members have further showcased their music talents with solo projects. Though they may not be the best vocalists in the music industry, they've undoubtedly grown as singers and artists while giving us chart-topping hits of different styles and genres. Many of MIRROR's songs have fresh and... [read more]
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The newest trend in K-pop is K-trot! Trot music is a popular Korean music genre that dates back to the first half of the 20th century. Trot can take the form of energizing and catchy dance-pop or soul-stirring and bluesy ballads, but what makes it different from other music genres are the specific techniques required in the vocal performance, including vocal inflections like vibrato and kkeokk-ki (flexing). Thanks to TV Chosun's sensational survival shows Miss Trot and Mr. Trot, trot music has been trending in South Korea since 2019. The hit TV programs not only re-introduced the traditional music genre to younger generations, but also ushered in fandom culture for an older demographic of... [read more]
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Cantopop is dying? Not anymore. Cantopop may not be as widely known and popular as it was in the 90s and early 2000s, but it's made a comeback in recent years thanks to the rise of not only popular Hong Kong idols like MIRROR but also talented singer-songwriters who deserve more recognition from pop music audiences. Let's take a look at ten Hong Kong singer-songwriters that you should know! YOYO SHAM Yoyo Sham began drawing notice in the early 2010s for her airy, soulful vocals as a backup singer. She earned the endorsement of pop titans Jonathan Lee, Eason Chan and Sandy Lam early on in her career, and released her first self-penned Mandarin EP 4-6pm in 2011. Her first full-length album... [read more]
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BL, or boys love, may have been considered a niche genre in the past, but it's clearly entered mainstream Asian entertainment in recent years thanks to a multitude of breakthrough live-action BL series. From Addicted to 2gether to Semantic Error, hit Asian BL dramas gain traction both domestically and internationally as commercial successes, trending hashtags and star-making vehicles. In Japan, gay relationship dramas have made it to wholesome network television with the BL series Ossan's Love and My Love Mix-Up, not to mention the middle-aged slice-of-life series What Did You Eat Yesterday. In Taiwan, where queer stories have been welcome on the small screen as far back as 2003's Crystal... [read more]
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Korean zombies are all the rage – again! While South Korean dramas and films have been popular with international audiences for a while, there is one unique genre that seems to enjoy more crossover success. From the 2016 zombie blockbuster Train to Busan to the recent Netflix teen drama All of Us Are Dead, the "K-zombie" genre just keeps coming back with more surprises. Read on for 12 Korean zombie films and shows that you should not miss! 1. All of Us Are Dead Following Squid Game's global success in 2021, Netflix kicked off 2022 with another huge Korean drama. All of Us Are Dead landed at #1 on the streaming platform for three consecutive weeks. Led by a young and fresh-faced cast, the... [read more]
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Jacky Cheung is back as our top-selling C-pop artist with the strong overall sales of his album and concert releases, from his latest A Classic Tour concert to older records. Like in 2021, WayV reigned over the Chinese album chart with their third mini-album Kick Back, making them the second highest-selling artist. The original soundtrack of hit drama Word of Honor grabbed the second position on the album chart. Cantopop singers again dominated the bestsellers. Hins Cheung climbed to #5 among male artists with his album and concert releases in 2021. Sammi Cheng appeared in the top ten for both albums and concerts, while Joey Yung's Pretty Crazy was the #1 concert video. A Roman Tam classic... [read more]
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Korean boy band NCT 127 became our top-selling artist in Japanese music for the first time, thanks to the strong sales of their chart-topping album Loveholic and their 2019 album Awaken which has been in the top ten for three straight years. Though Stray Kids slipped to second place, the group grabbed the #1 single spot and all three of their 2020 releases stayed in the top ten. BTS's best-of album, which was Japan's best-selling album of 2021 according to the Oricon chart, came in second on the YesAsia chart. SHINee returned to the top ten with their first Japanese release in three years, while EXO's Baek Hyun ranked #6 on the top-selling artists list just on the power of his first... [read more]
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After ranking second in 2020, Stray Kids climbed to #1 as our top-selling artist of 2021 with two entries in the top ten K-pop releases – their second full-length album NOEASY and the District 9: Unlock in SEOUL concert video. Their JYPE labelmate Twice also came in first for female artists, and ranked fourth on the album bestsellers with Taste of Love. ITZY rose to #4 among female artists, and their album Guess Who charted in the top ten for the first time. SHINee had two albums in the top ten – Don't Call Me at #1 and Atlantis at #8 – in addition to two entries in the video category, making them the second highest-selling male artist. EXO, who followed at #3, came back with another... [read more]
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The below rankings are based on sales of television/drama releases on YesAsia.com from January 1 to December 31, 2021. TOP 10 TV DRAMAS (OVERALL) 1. HIStory3: Trapped 2 (tie). We Best Love 2 (tie). Cherry Magic! 4. HIStory3: Make Our Days Count 5. Goblin 6. HIStory2 7. What's Wrong with Secretary Kim 8. TharnType 2 9. Legend of the Condor Heroes 10. Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo CHINESE TV BESTSELLERS Just like in 2020, Taiwan's HIStory BL series nabbed three spots in our top TV bestsellers, with the 2019 release HIStory 3: Trapped reclaiming the #1 position. The 2021 Taiwan BL series hit We Best Love starring Sam Lin and YU settled for second place, while Be Loved in House: I Do came in... [read more]
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The below rankings are based on sales of movie releases on YesAsia.com from January 1 to December 31, 2021. TOP 10 MOVIES (OVERALL) 1. Shock Wave 2 2. Eight Hundred 3. Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train 4. Cliff Walkers 5. Black Widow 6. Deliver Us From Evil 7. Find Your Voice 8. Fatal Visit 9. Shock Wave 10. Dear Tenant BEST-SELLING CHINESE MOVIES Andy Lau is king with three films in our top ten bestsellers! The evergreen superstar's crime thriller Shock Wave 2 was our #1 film of 2021, and its 2017 predecessor also returned to the top ten right behind Andy's inspirational drama Find Your Voice. Guan Hu's blockbuster war epic The Eight Hundred and Zhang Yimou's spy thriller Cliff Walkers... [read more]
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The below rankings are based on sales of Chinese books (excluding horoscope books) on YesAsia.com from January 1 to December 31, 2021. TOP 10 CHINESE BOOKS Though the publishing industry has been affected by the pandemic since 2020, that has not hindered the sales of popular Hong Kong author Yi Shu, whose novels and essays occupy seven spots on the Hong Kong books chart. BL novelist Mo Xiang Tong Xiu kept the #1 spot on the strength of Mo Dao Zu Shi and other period fantasy novel series. Cookbooks and books about Hong Kong nostalgia also made the list. Chua Lam and Ni Kuang continued to rank among the top-selling writers, and Japanese authors Murakami Haruki and Higashino Keigo appeared in... [read more]
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Our editors' picks for the best Chinese albums of 2021! Accusefive - Easy Come, Easy Go Released digitally on the last day of December in 2020 (and physically in early January), Accusefive's sophomore album was the best way to kick off 2021 with good vibes. Packed with genre-hopping songs, Easy Come, Easy Go drifts through a diversity of emotions coming from romance, family, chance and a sense of security. Megahit title single "Where I Lost Us" lyrically revisits heartbreak over six minutes of soothing and evocative music, while the unplugged "Easy Come, Easy Go" showcases the band's clear vocal tones amid a mix of acoustic guitar and nature sounds. Feel Accusefive's energy in the stunning... [read more]
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Our editors' picks for the best Japanese albums of 2021! Aimer – Walpurgis An ambient prologue leads into Aimer's most atmospheric album that lines up her many anime and drama theme songs of the past two years. From gentler, lilting pieces like Torches and kiro to the driving rock numbers Stand-Alone and Spark-Again, Aimer's vocals soar effortlessly with every song. Her singing tells stories in the entrancing hollow-mas and Haru wa Yuku, which grandly fuse traditional instrumentals and rock ballad sensibilities with an RPG-worthy aura. The mysterious and rhythmic wonderland especially stands out with Aimer's fiercely pronounced vocals against the song's powerful clash of strings and hard... [read more]
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Our editors' picks for the best Korean albums of 2021! (G)I-DLE - I BURN (G)I-DLE kicked off 2021 by sweeping charts and music show trophies with their fourth mini-album I burn, though the members later spent the rest of the year primarily focusing on solo activities. The group's resident hitmaker So Yeon is still unstoppable as she produces yet another banger. Accompanied by a mix of Moombahton beats and traditional East Asian music, title track HWAA, meaning both "flower" and "fire," signifies the fierce and passionate flames in the heart after letting go of a past love. Despite its title, I burn comes across rather cold and melancholic. It sets a somber winter mood with the intro HANN... [read more]
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Our editors' picks for the best Chinese dramas of 2021! Danger Zone Based on a novel by Qianyu Zhicheng, the crime suspense thriller Danger Zone opens strong and grisly with a serial murder case. As more and more dismembered body parts turn up – don't watch this while eating – the police are at a loss for leads. Hot-headed rookie detective Ren Fei (Berant Chu) gains new perspective on the case by secretly teaming up with jailed lawyer Liang Yan Dong, who cuts a deal to clear his own name. Returning to Taiwan television after a decade for his best performance in as many years, Vic Chou is magnetic as the mysterious prisoner who gets into the mind of the killer, and Christopher Lee is even... [read more]
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