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Happy Friday from skyways! I’m on my way to Los Angeles for what’s set to be a ridiculously packed — and potentially quite juicy — K-pop filled weekend.

Here’s what I’ll be up to and here’s what I’m hearing.

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A K-Poppin’ Weekend in Los Angeles

iHeartRadio’s Wango Tango is making its beachside comeback on Saturday, May 10, in Orange County. Anchored by superstar headliners Doja Cat, David Guetta, Gwen Stefani and Meghan Trainor, it also shows the next phase of global pop’s U.S. infiltration with a wave of very exciting and very eclectic, new-generation acts.

Beachgoers will see K-pop girl groups NMIXX and Hearts2Hearts, performance-heavy boy band xikers, HYBE America and Universal Music’s pop group KATSEYE, and the freshly formed China-based A2O May. In the Wango Tango Village ahead of the full festival, soloist KINO from boy band PENTAGON, as well as Indian-American singer Rhea Raj, who is actually the sister of KATSEYE’s Lara Raj, will both perform.

Interestingly, the bill features SM Entertainment’s newest act, Hearts2Hearts, who debuted in late February, which marked the first female group to debut after SM’s founder and namesake, Lee Soo Man, was ousted in what came to be a controversial proxy battle over control of the company. Lee has since set up shop in China and has been building his A2O Entertainment centered around “Zalpha Pop,” which the company calls a “distinctive musical style showcased by A2O Entertainment’s artists, primarily from Generation Z [Gen Z] and Generation Alpha [Gen A].” With its first music released in December last year, A2O MAY is the label’s first group entering the global market, coming to Wango Tango after the recent release of their single “BOSS.”

I’ve heard there might have been minor tussles about the order in which the two artists were placed on the bill to indicate who the more senior artist was, but iHeart listed all the international acts in terms of who released music first, which makes sense. Also, any worries about who would be performing first (and potentially signaling them as the more “junior” group or as an opening act for the other), should be absolved because NMIXX needs to go first in the lineup due to the girl group performing with a live band with them, which will require some additional setup. (Side note: That should be awesome to see live; I can’t wait.)

But Hearts2Hearts at Wango Tango is just one aspect of SM’s busy weekend. The company is celebrating its 30th anniversary by hosting its SMTOWN Live World Tour! overseas, hitting Mexico City on May 9, and then Los Angeles on May 11 (I’ll be at the latter). I’ve seen online chatter moaning about the ticket prices and lack of sales (which, from what I’ve seen, doesn’t seem to have majorly affected the LA crowd as there’s few seats left and many sections sold out) but I suppose such a stacked lineup had most expecting instant sellouts with its 17 artists — er, make that 16. As I wrote this, SM Ent announced that its youngest boy band NCT WISH will not participate in the LA concert due to visa issues.

The company wrote on social media, “In preparation for this performance, we thoroughly completed all necessary steps to secure visa approvals, including submitting the required documents and attending interviews. However, despite our best efforts, there was an unexpected delay in the approval process, and the visas were ultimately not issued in time. At present, the exact reason for the delay remains unclear. We made every possible effort to resolve the matter, but unfortunately, it was not enough to ensure NCT WISH’s appearance on stage.” No word about refunds from the company, but I assume fans can process those via AXS if they deem it necessary.

Here’s the full lineup at the moment: TVXQ!, Super Junior, SHINee’s Key and Minho, EXO’s Suho, Chanyeol and Kai, Red Velvet, NCT 127, NCT DREAM, NCT WISH, WayV, aespa, RIIZE, Hearts2Hearts, and some curious/unique inclusions like their virtual artist naevis and “trainee group” SMTR25.

Even more interestingly, the following day, May 12, the new Lee Soo Man: King of K-Pop documentary premieres in Los Angeles. The trailer for the Amazon Prime doc features many current SM artists (including BoA, Super Junior’s leader Leeteuk, EXO’s leader Suho, NCT’s leader Taeyong, as well as the full group of aespa). It also seems to show Lee revisiting or at least touching on the lingering controversies and boardroom battles roiling SM today.

One last layer of intrigue for you, one high‑profile SM Entertainment alum who opted not to renew his solo contract last year while remaining active with his group, is rumored to attend the VIP premiere of the Lee Soo Man documentary. Is it a subtle rebuke to the company? Will we see other artists in town, like Suho and Leeteuk, also come out to support the documentary? Super curious. I’ll be on the ground there too.

Get in touch with tips or other things you’re hearing, and stay tuned for dispatches from the weekend.

—Remember the dreamy pandemic viral hit “Cupid”? Three of the four singers behind the Fifty Fifty hit song have re-debuted as ablume with the uplifting, cheery anthem “Echo” that is reminiscent to their airy, soulful vocals they showcased in “Cupid” and comes complete with a key change on the final chorus. As People writes, “Sio, Aran, both 20, and Saena, 21, officially reintroduced themselves as ablume with their debut single ‘Echo.’ The song is filled with lush synths and harmonies reminiscent of their past work as the four-piece girl group Fifty Fifty, which they left following months of public legal disputes with their record label…’ It was like going through a long dark tunnel,’ Saena says of the tumultuous years. ‘They were like a single beam of light in that darkness.’”

I will share more on the ongoing battle between the artists, managements and companies behind Fifty Fifty and ablume soon. But for now, I think both groups are making some of the best music of their careers and it’s a shame that many fans feel the need to be pulled to only support one or neither. There are still a lot of questions that both sides need to answer and the press so far hasn’t scratched enough of it, but we’ll get there.

—” Jackson Wang and Diljit Dosanjh unveiled their highly anticipated collaboration, ‘BUCK,’ igniting excitement among fans worldwide. The track seamlessly blends Wang’s signature Magic Man intensity with Dosanjh’s vibrant Punjabi flair, resulting in a genre-defying anthem that celebrates cultural fusion.”

Super cool to hear when the Punjabi beats drop in and unexpected move from Jackson! He just got me that much more excited for Magic Man 2, which he recently announced drops on July 18. (Bandwagon)

—Super promising girl group VVS is sampling old school video games in their new music and video for “Purrfect” — which sounds like it has loads of potential, plus a co-write from Lay Bankz. “The agency MCMZ described the song as a hip-hop track with synth sounds and jersey club beats. The song also sampled the soundtrack for the Japanese fighting game Street Fighter.” (Korea JoongAng Daily)

—HitsDailyDouble wrote how “ROSÉ shuts down Vegas Strip for ‘F1’ vid” for her contribution to the soundtrack, “Messy.” HDD wrote, “Produced by Lostboy & Burns, the song arrives with a video featuring the film F1’s co-stars, Brad Pitt and Kerry Condon, in exclusive footage from the racing drama. “Messy” follows F1: The Album lead single “Lose My Mind,” by Don Toliver featuring Doja Cat, which has already amassed more than 15 million combined audio and video streams since its release on 4/30.”

What I was more interested in when it came to HDD is what they mentioned in a Warner Music Group update. The outlet shares that in Warner Music Group’s investors call, sharing their Quarter 2 financials, CEO Robert Kyncl said, “against the backdrop of global uncertainty, music is the most resilient art form and currently the least expensive.” HDD also wrote that he “touted high-profile upcoming WMG releases by Ed Sheeran, Lizzo, ROSÉ and Benson Boone, among others.”

Sheeran, Lizzo, and Boone have all confirmed that new albums are on the way. Unless he strictly referred to “Messy” (which was released via WMG’s Atlantic Records), did he let slip that Rosie has more on the way?

Don’t forget BLACKPINK’s comeback tour starts in July and recently confirmed they’ve been in the studio. I’ll look more into this and share more soon.