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Next Big Thing In The K-Pop Industry: Stray Kids Are ‘Shaking the Industry, Quaking Reality, and Making It Iconic’

“Stray Kids world domination!”

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Stray Kids are breaking records everywhere — proving that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Often known as SKZ, it is a South Korean boy band founded by JYP Entertainment in 2017 as a result of the reality program of the same name. 

Bang Chan (Bahng Christopher Chahn), Lee Know (Lee Min Ho), Changbin (Seo Changbin), Hyunjin (Hwang Hyunjin), Han (Han Jisung), Felix (Lee Felix Yongbok), Seungmin (Kim Seungmin), and I.N (Yang Jeong In) are the group’s eight members. 

Originally a nine-piece ensemble, former member Woojin (Kim Woojin) quit in October 2019 for unspecified personal reasons.

On June 2, 2023, Stray Kids released their third studio album, 5-Star. The album has broken many records even before its release.

Stray Kids’ ‘5-Star’ broke many records

Stray Kids are no strangers to breaking records. However, their latest album is doing the most, becoming the top in the K-Pop industry.

On May 30, 2023, two days before the album was released, JYP Entertainment said 5-Star had received 4.93 million pre-orders. Two days later, the numbers changed to 5.13 million.

5-Star is the only album in the history of K-Pop to cross the 5 million mark for pre-orders. It became the most pre-ordered release in K-pop history, shattering the previous record of 4.64 million copies set by Seventeen’s 2023 album FML.

According to the Hanteo Chart, the album sold 2,392,666 copies on its first day of release. Similarly, it sold 4,617,499 in its first week, making it the fastest-selling first-week album in South Korea, once again surpassing Seventeen’s FML

Moreover, 5-Star opened at number one on the Circle Album Chart for the May 28 – June 3, 2023 edition, selling 4,330,039 copies in its two days of tracking.

Within a week of their album release, Stray Kids have already won two music show awards. On June 7, 2023, they won Show Champion, and on June 8, 2023, they stood first on the M Countdown.

Stray Kids are breaking records left and right with their new album, ‘5-Star.’

Stray Kids are breaking records left and right with their new album, ‘5-Star.’ (Source: Twitter)

However, these are not the only awards 5-Star will win. Fans, who are called Stay, have speculated that the album will be winning ‘Daesang’ or Grand Prizes in various shows.

They have speculated this after comparing Stray Kids’ last mini-album, Maxident. 5-Star has doubled its first-week sales record of 2,163,349, which was set by Maxident.

Maxident was a triple-million seller and was deemed one of the best-selling albums in K-Pop history. Moreover, they won Best Album awards in music shows like the 37th Golden Disc Awards and the 12th Circle Chart Music Awards.

Moreover, according to Forbes, Maxident was the fourth best-selling album worldwide, and Oddinary, another Stray Kids’ mini-album, was the eighth best-selling album in 2022.

So, looking at Stray Kids’ history, they are breaking their own records as well as in the K-Pop industry. 

Stray Kids’ discography

Stray Kids released their pre-debut extended play (EP) Mixtape in January 2018 before making their formal debut on March 25, 2018, with the EP I Am Not.

It was followed by the other two I Am series EPs, I Am Who and I Am You. Their Clé trilogy EPs, Clé 1: Miroh, Clé 2: Yellow Wood, and Clé: Levanter, were released in 2019. 

The group’s debut studio album, Go Live, was released in 2020 and was certified platinum by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Stray Kids also made their Japanese debut that year with the compilation album SKZ2020, released by Epic Records Japan.

Stray Kids’ second studio album, Noeasy, became their first million-selling record in 2021. After signing with Republic Records for US marketing in 2022, the group released the EPs Oddinary and Maxident, which landed them at the top of the US Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart for the first time. 

The KMCA recognized Maxident as having triple-million album sales, making them only the second group in Korean history to do so. Stray Kids has sold over 10 million records in combined Korean and Japanese versions as of October 2022.

Just a young girl passionate about journalism, pop culture, and drama. She writes Hollywood stories for Glamour Buff and GB Issue at present.

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Three True-Crime Documentaries Coming to Netflix in April 2024

Time to snuggle with a cozy blanket and some popcorns!

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Three True-Crime Documentaries Coming to Netflix in April 2024

Netflix has a wide range of TV shows and movies.

Alongside them, Netflix also hosts a lot of documentaries. It has a wide range of documentaries but the true-crime genre is the one that has its audience sitting on the edge of their seats.

There are various true-crime documentaries and docuseries on the platform, including American Nightmare, Girl in the Picture, Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, Tiger King, and Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer, among others.

In April 2024, various documentaries and docuseries are coming to Netflix. However, the three most anticipated true-crime shows are — What Jennifer Did, Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer, and Files of the Unexplained

Here is all we know about it.

‘What Jennifer Did’ 

What Jennifer Did is an upcoming documentary directed by Jenny Popplewell, the creator of another famous Netflix documentary, American Murder: The Family Next Door.

What Jennifer Did digs into the frightening story of Jennifer Pan, who plotted to murder her parents. The crime, disguised as a heist gone wrong, unravels through police interrogation film and interviews, showing Pan’s network of lies leading up to the incident.

Pan is a Canadian woman who was convicted of a 2010 kill-for-hire attack on her parents, which killed her mother and injured her father. The crime occurred at the Pan house in Unionville, Markham, Ontario, in the Greater Toronto Area. 

According to her exact account, several gunmen entered the house, forcefully retrained her and her parents, then shot them. Her father, Huei Hann, was sent to the hospital, and her mother, Bich Ha, died instantaneously.

A whole new image appears as the law enforcement personnel piece together the facts. Pan plotted the entire operation with her drug dealer boyfriend, Daniel Wong, whom her parents had forbidden her from dating. 

This motivated her to seek his help and devise a plan to murder her parents. This threatening notion was carried out in the form of a burglary, with Pan as the victim. The documentary will also concentrate on her arrest and the legal processes.

What Jennifer Did will be released on April 10, 2024.

‘Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer’ 

As the name of the documentary suggests, Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer is based on true events that occurred in Berlin. The series examines the case of several odd and unusual killings.

In 2012, three guys were murdered and robbed in Berlin after being unintentionally drugged. While the murderer was called ‘The Darkroom Murderer’ at the time, just one occurred in a dark room at a homosexual bar in Berlin. 

‘Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer’ will be released on April 3, 2024.

‘Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer’ will be released on April 3, 2024. (Source: Netflix)

However, the murderer did look for guys in and around the city’s party scene to prey on victims. Only when one of his targets survived his attack and the assassin attempted to purchase a train ticket with one of the deceased men’s credit cards did the inquiry begin to narrow.

Jan Zabeil and Caroline Schaper directed this true crime show and Netflix will begin streaming the series on April 3, 2024. 

‘Files of the Unexplained’

Files of the Unexplained is an upcoming terrifying eight-episode docu-series that talks about strange encounters, weird disappearances, disturbing incidents, the mystery of mutilated feet washing up, and more. 

This investigative documentary series examines genuine stories that defy explanations and talk about witnessing weird encounters and strange events. 

Files of the Unexplained kind of dives into a similar area as its previous documentaries like Unsolved Mysteries, Haunted, and 28 Days Haunted. According to its plot on Netflix, the series is described as “Eerie encounters, bizarre disappearances, haunting events, and more perplexing phenomena are explored in this chilling investigative docuseries.”

The docuseries will be released on April 3, 2024.

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‘Cowboy Carter’ — Everything You Need to Know About Beyonce’s New Album

The album will be released on March 29, 2024.

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‘Cowboy Carter’ — Everything You Need to Know About Beyonce’s New Album

When Beyoncé announced her 2022 album Renaissance, she made it clear that it was merely the first installment of a multi-act body of work.

And now, after over two years of waiting, the singer has revealed that Act II is on the way — Cowboy Carter. Cowboy Carter, also known as Act II: Cowboy Carter or just Act II, is Beyoncé’s eighth studio album, set to be released on March 29, 2024, by Parkwood Entertainment and Columbia Records. 

It is the second chapter of Beyoncé’s trilogy project, developed during the COVID-19 epidemic, and follows Renaissance (2022).

The then-untitled album was first announced on February 11, 2024, during Super Bowl LVIII, when Verizon Communications aired a Super Bowl commercial, titled ‘Can’t B Broken,’ in which Beyoncé tried to ‘break the Internet’ by doing increasingly outlandish means —  from releasing a jazz saxophone record and performing on top of the Las Vegas Sphere to building an AI version of herself and launching a “Barbey” doll collection.

After all of the ideas failed, Beyoncé closed the advertisement by saying, “Okay, they ready. Drop the new music.” Following the broadcast, the singer shared a preview video for Act II on Instagram. 

The video paid tribute to the 1984 movie, Paris, Texas, which mentions border blasters, and incorporates Chuck Berry’s 1955 song ‘Maybellene.’ The singer’s official website was updated the same day, announcing her eighth studio album, Act II, which would be released on March 29, 2024.

The album’s two main singles, ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’ and ‘16 Carriages,’ were then made available for digital download and streaming. On March 12, 2024, Beyoncé stated that the album would be called Cowboy Carter via a teaser poster with a western saddle and sash. 

She released the album cover on Instagram on March 19, 2024, and teased surprises and collaborations on the album. On March 20, 2024, she unveiled a limited edition unique cover featuring a ribbon that says “act ii BEYINCÉ,” referring to a generational family surname.

On March 27, 2024, she unveiled the album’s tracklist via a themed poster. She shared a graphic on Instagram of the album’s tracklist, which was inspired by classic Chitlin’ Circuit posters. 

Cover of Beyoncé’s eighth studio album, ‘Cowboy Carter.’

Cover of Beyoncé’s eighth studio album, ‘Cowboy Carter.’ (Source: Instagram)

It includes the titles “Dolly P” and “Smoke Hour Willie Nelson,” implying possible collaborations with Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. Similarly, ‘Jolene,’ was written on the poster, which netizens believe is a cover or reinterpretation of the Parton’s song of the same name.

‘The Linda Martell Show,’ has also been mentioned on the poster, possibly referring to the first Black woman to achieve commercial success in the country genre. 

The themed poster revealing the album’s tracklist has been confusing a lot of netizens. The following things have been mentioned on the poster, so possibly, these are the songs on the album.

They are —  ‘Texas Hold ‘Em,’ ‘16 Carriages,’ ‘Ameriican Requiem,’ ‘Blackbiird,’ ‘Protector,’ ‘My Rose,’ ‘Bodyguard,’ ‘Daughter,’ ‘Spaghettii,’ ‘Alliigator Tears,’ ‘Smoke Hour Willie Nelson,’ ‘Smoke Hour II,’ ‘Just for Fun,’ ‘II Most Wanted,’ ‘Levii’s Jeans,’ ‘Flamenco,’ ‘Ya Ya,’ ‘Oh Louisiana,’ ‘Desert Eagle,’ ‘Riiverdance,’ ‘Tyrant,’ ‘II Hands II Heaven,’ ‘Sweet Honey Buckin’,’ ‘Amen,’ ‘Jolene,’ and ‘The Linda Martell Show.’ 

It looks like we will only get to know the collaborations and tracklist of Cowboy Carter after its release on March 29, 2024.

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‘Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2’ Debuted With 100% Rotten Tomatoes

“A drastic improvement over its novel predecessor.”

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‘Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2’ Debuted With 100% Rotten Tomatoes

When Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey was released back on March 10, 2023, it was not received well. 

It was neither liked by critics nor the audience. At the time of writing, it has 3% on Tomatometer out of 62 reviews and a 50% audience score.

Looking at the previous installment, many believed that the second movie — Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 — would not do well. However, it came with a massive comeback.

It debuted with 100% on Tomatometer and at the time of writing, it has 56% with 18 reviews. One of the critics wrote, “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is a drastic improvement over its novel predecessor, even if it suffers from some of the same problems.”

“This flawed but enjoyable sequel defies expectations — albeit low ones — and outperforms its predecessor on most levels,” another critic quipped.

By the looks of it, the audience is loving the second movie more than the first. It has an 83% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes with over 250 audience reviews.

Giving reviews on the movie, one netizen wrote, “Really fun twist on a classic. Directing acting and plot was fantastic. Not corny like most movies just fun and worth the watch.”

“This sequel was incredibly enjoyable! Despite my appreciation for the first film, this one surpassed it 1000% with its fantastic kills, (so much fun brutal, gory kills) the enhanced appearance of Pooh and friends, and a captivating storyline that kept me interested throughout. I’m eager to add this movie to my collection,” another commented. 

Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 is a 2024 British indie horror film directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and written by Matt Leslie. It is the second installment in the Twisted Childhood Universe (TCU) and a follow-up to Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023), a horror reinterpretation of A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories. 

The film stars Scott Chambers as Christopher Robin and Ryan Oliva as the eponymous figure, with Tallulah Evans, Eddy MacKenzie, Lewis Santer, Marcus Massey, and Simon Callow in support. 

In a June 2022 interview with Dread Central, Frake-Waterfield showed interest in making a sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, stating that he wants to ramp it up even more, go even crazier, and go even more extreme. In September 2023, teaser photographs were revealed revealing the new character Owl. 

The film contains a fresh cast and character designs, and it is set in the Ashdown town rather than the Hundred Acre Wood. Furthermore, the character Tigger, who was absent from the original film, reappeared after entering the public domain in January 2024.

The film’s budget was first rumored to be five times bigger than its predecessor, it was subsequently revealed that the budget had climbed to ten times that of the previous picture. Shaune Harrison, who has previously worked on the Harry Potter franchise and Game of Thrones, was the film’s monster and gore designer, while Paula Anne Booker oversaw the special effects. 

In the movie, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Owl’s house and life are jeopardized as Robin discovers their presence. Not wishing to remain in the shadows any longer, the group resolves to go on a rampage through Robin’s native village of Ashdown to exact their retribution once and for all.

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