Stray Kids have added another No. 1 album to their Billboard streak, KCON LA 2026 brought K-pop fans together for three days in Los Angeles, and BIGBANG are preparing to release their first new song in more than four years.
Here are three of the biggest K-pop stories from the past week.
Stray Kids Score Their Ninth No. 1 on the Billboard 200
Stray Kids are back at No. 1 in the United States.
The group's new mini-album, THIS & THAT, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200, giving Stray Kids their ninth No. 1 album on the chart.
All nine of the group's Billboard 200 entries have now debuted at No. 1. The streak began with ODDINARY in 2022 and has continued with every album they have placed on the chart since then. Billboard confirmed the latest No. 1 on August 17.
Released on August 7, THIS & THAT contains eight tracks. The album was already drawing attention before the latest chart result, winning Billboard's reader poll for favorite new music shortly after its release.
The achievement extends a Billboard run that has been building for several years. When ATE debuted at No. 1 in 2024, Stray Kids became the first group to have its first five charting albums debut at the top of the Billboard 200.
Two years later, that streak has reached nine. The achievement also places Stray Kids among a very small group of bands with nine or more No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, alongside names such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
The members marked the achievement by thanking STAY after learning that THIS & THAT had continued their run at No. 1.
KCON LA 2026 Brings K-Pop Back to Los Angeles
KCON LA 2026 ran from August 14 through August 16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Crypto.com Arena, filling the weekend with concerts, fan events and Korean pop-culture experiences.
The lineup included NCT 127, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ZEROBASEONE, TREASURE, ILLIT and P1Harmony, along with artists representing different corners of the current K-pop scene.
The concerts were only part of the weekend. Fans could also explore events and exhibits centered on beauty, fashion, food and other areas of Korean popular culture.
That broader mix has become a defining part of KCON in Los Angeles. Rather than functioning only as a multi-artist concert, the event gives North American fans a chance to experience several parts of Korean pop culture in one place.
Onstage, Billboard highlighted performances by NCT 127, TXT and ZEROBASEONE, as well as collaborations and cover stages that gave fans combinations they would not normally see on a regular tour stop.
Wanna One also returned to the KCON LA stage, bringing a familiar name from an earlier generation of K-pop into a lineup filled with currently active groups.
For international fans, that remains one of KCON's biggest attractions. Streaming makes K-pop accessible almost anywhere, but KCON gives fans a chance to experience performances, fan events and different parts of Korean pop culture together over a single weekend.
BIGBANG Return With “BiiiG” for Their 20th Anniversary
BIGBANG will release their new digital single “BiiiG” on August 19, exactly 20 years after the group's debut.
The song will be BIGBANG's first new release in four years and four months, following “Still Life” in April 2022.
“BiiiG” arrives as part of a much larger 20th-anniversary schedule. Just two days after the single's release, BIGBANG will begin their XX : COSMOS world tour with three shows at Goyang Stadium in South Korea from August 21 to 23.
The announced tour schedule spans 19 cities, with G-DRAGON, TAEYANG and DAESUNG set to perform across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
The anniversary celebrations begin before the tour itself.
Seoul is preparing a free BIGBANG event at Yeouido Hangang Park on August 19, with a listening party, media art, a drone show and fireworks planned ahead of the Goyang concerts.
For longtime VIPs, the schedule packs several major events into a matter of days: BIGBANG's 20th anniversary, their first new song in more than four years, and the start of a new world tour.
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