K-pop supergroup BTS is opening its first pop-up store in Taiwan. Located in the Huashan 1914 Creative Park in Taipei, the “BTS Pop-up: Map of the Soul” store featuring over 300 BTS-themed products opened on Tuesday last week and will run until Oct. 24.
Not long ago, Billboard ran a report to accuse the group’s fans, known as “ARMY,” of chart manipulation through crowdfunding efforts. In response to the chart’s accusation, group leader RM said “it’s up to them [Billboard] to change the rules. Slamming us or our fans for getting to No. 1 with physical sales and downloads, I don’t know if that’s right. It just feels like we’re easy targets because we’re a K-pop act.”
Meanwhile, K-pop sensation Blackpink passed Justin Bieber for the most subscribers on YouTube last week. The popular girl group now claims 66.9 million subscribers, beating the Canadian pop singer by 1.6 million users. In addition, BANGTANTV, the official YouTube channel for BTS, currently boasts 58.2 million subscribers.
Photo: EPA-EFE 照片：歐新社
(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)
韓流天團防彈少年團(BTS)日前進軍台灣，其首家快閃店「BTS Pop-up: Map of the Soul」，在台北華山1914文化創意產業園區展店，熱賣超過三百種相關主題商品。該店上週二盛大開幕，預計營運至十月二十四日。
而近日《告示牌》排行榜在報導中，指控BTS的粉絲群「阿米」，透過群眾募資等手法企圖操控排行榜。針對這項指控，隊長RM反擊說︰「是否更改規則，這要由《告示牌》來決定。但抨擊我們或歌迷透過實體銷售及下載奪冠，這好像不太對。感覺我們是容易受攻擊的目標，只因為我們是個韓團。」
此外韓流女子天團Blackpink則在上週，超車小賈斯汀成為全球最高YouTube訂閱數藝人。該團擁有六千六百多萬訂閱戶，比這位加拿大小天王還多一百六十萬。BTS的官方影音頻道BANGTANTV，也有多達五千八百多萬訂閱戶。
(台北時報張聖恩)
Chinese startup DeepSeek’s launch of its latest AI models, which it says are on a par or better than industry-leading models in the US at a fraction of the cost, is threatening to upset the technology world order. The company has attracted attention in global AI circles after writing in a paper last month that the training of DeepSeek-V3 required less than US$6 million worth of computing power from Nvidia H800 chips. DeepSeek’s AI Assistant, powered by DeepSeek-V3, has overtaken rival ChatGPT to become the top-rated free application available on Apple’s App Store in the US. This has raised doubts about the reasoning
Recently, the Iraq parliament’s preliminary approval of a controversial proposal to drastically lower the legal marriage age for girls from 18 to nine has sparked widespread concern. This move has drawn strong reactions both domestically and internationally, as many worry it will exacerbate child marriage issues and severely infringe upon women’s rights. At the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1994, Iraq explicitly prohibited the legalization of child marriage. Currently, the legal marriage age for both men and women is 18, although women can marry at 15 with a guardian’s consent. The newly proposed amendment to the Personal
A: Any plans for Valentine’s Day tomorrow? B: I’ll go to karaoke with a group of fans to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the late pop diva Whitney Houston’s debut. A: Sounds like fun. B: She released her eponymous album “Whitney Houston” on Feb. 14, 1985, launching a glorious career that spanned over four decades. A: Can I join you for karaoke? A: 明天情人節你要幹嘛？ B: 我要和一群歌迷去KTV，慶祝流行天后惠妮休斯頓出道40週年！ A: 哇好像很好玩。 B: 她在1985年2月14日發行同名專輯《惠妮休斯頓》，並開啟了輝煌的40年演藝生涯。 A: 我能跟你一起去KTV嗎？ （By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times／台北時報張聖恩）
A: I remember that the late pop diva Whitney Houston’s 1985 debut album “Whitney Houston” is a diamond album, meaning it sold over 10 million units in the US. B: Her 1987 album “Whitney” and 1992 soundtrack “The Bodyguard” have also reached diamond status, making her the only black singer with three diamond albums. A: Many people think that her songs are difficult to sing. B: I challenge you to sing her megahit “I Will Always Love You” at tonight’s karaoke party. A: OK, challenge accepted. A: 我記得流行天后惠妮休斯頓的1985年出道專輯《惠妮休斯頓》還是一張鑽石唱片呢，表示在美國狂賣超過1千萬張。 B: 她1987年的次張專輯《惠妮》、1992年的電影《終極保鑣》原聲帶也獲得鑽石唱片認證，使她成為唯一擁有3張鑽石唱片的黑人歌手！ A: 而許多人覺得她的歌都很難唱。 B: 那我挑戰你在今晚的KTV派對唱她的名曲《我將永遠愛你》。 A: 好啊我接受你的挑戰。 （By Eddy
RSS