BTS member V (Kim Taehyung) continues to impress with his hit song Friends, which has been selected as one of the 'Best K-Pop of 2024' by both Amazon Music and Apple Music.

On November 22, Friends was added to Amazon Music's prestigious 'Best of 2024 K-Pop' playlist, featuring 50 standout songs of the year.

Just days earlier, on November 19, Friends was also included in Apple Music's 'BEST of 2024 K-Pop World' playlist.

To top it off, on November 23, Friends won the 'Best Solo & Featuring' category in the third season of Tokyo FM's K-Star Chart 2024.

Released on March 15 as a digital single, Friends has reached impressive milestones, surpassing 425 million streams on Spotify by November 23.

The track made a strong debut, landing at No. 65 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the Billboard Global 200. It also hit No. 3 on the Billboard Global (excluding the U.S.) chart.

Friends continued to make waves on the UK charts, debuting at No. 13 on the Official Chart and staying in the Top 40 for two weeks. On the UK's Official Big Top 40, it debuted at No. 3 after just two days, staying on the chart for five weeks.

Friends made history by reaching No. 1 on iTunes worldwide, including in Europe, and became the first song of 2024 to top iTunes in 100 countries. It is currently holding the No. 1 spot in 102 countries.

On Spotify, Friends debuted at No. 7 on the global chart and topped the 2024 mid-year K-pop report for solo tracks with the most streams. It also became the longest-charting K-pop solo song on Spotify's global charts, cementing V's success as a solo artist.

The music video for Friends has been a huge hit as well, topping YouTube’s World Trending Music chart for 14 days in a row. It also reached No. 1 on Tidal’s 'Top Videos' chart in 23 countries, making V the first K-pop artist to top Tidal's Top Video chart in the U.S.

Looking ahead, V will release a duet titled Winter Ahead (with PARK HYO SHIN) on November 29, collaborating with the famous vocalist Park Hyo Shin.

On December 6, V will also release a reimagined version of the classic White Christmas in a duet with Bing Crosby, drawing even more excitement from fans.

Source: [1]

Actor Lee Min Ho recently shared an unforgettable and embarrassing moment from his early career, revealing how he became a “falling star” at his first Baeksang Arts Awards.

On the December 25th episode of You Quiz on the Block (Episode 274), Lee Min Ho made a guest appearance and reflected on his rise to fame.

The actor, known for his iconic role as Goo Jun Pyo in Boys Over Flowers, won the Best New Actor award at the Baeksang Arts Awards, but it wasn’t just his victory that grabbed attention.

Lee Min Ho recalled, "I was attending the Baeksang for the first time, and I was so excited. Since I wasn’t going as Goo Jun Pyo, but as Lee Min Ho, I styled my hair in a perm and was ready to go." However, things took an unexpected turn when he tripped and fell on the red carpet.

He sighed, recalling, "That day, I fell. I fell and created so many memes. Even now, I look back and think, 'How did I walk that quickly on the red carpet?'"

Laughing at his own clumsiness, he admitted, "I was moving at the speed of light, no composure, no focus. Honestly, more than the joy of winning the award, that day was chaotic and so embarrassing for me."

Though his win was a highlight, Lee Min Ho humorously shared that the incident of tripping overshadowed the excitement of his achievement.

It’s safe to say that while the fall became a funny meme, it also became a lesson in humility for the actor, and a moment that fans still remember to this day.

Source: [1]