BTS's Jungkook makes history with solo single 'Euphoria'

K-pop supergroup BTS have rapidly become one of the most popular boybands in the world, but it looks like the members have a lot of star power as individuals too.

The band are used to breaking records: they have dozens under their belt, including the fastest time to reach one million followers on TikTok and becoming the first K-pop group to perform on a major US awards show, and now one of its seven members Jungkook has broken a record of his own.

Thanks to his 2018 solo single Euphoria re-entering the US charts this week, he has just become the longest-charting K-pop solo artist, racking up an impressive 26 weeks near the top of the pops.

In total, Euphoria has sold more than four million international copies, making it the best-selling B-side in K-pop history, too.

Just this month he broke the record for becoming the only person to receive more than two million likes on five of his Twitter posts, showing that his powers extend far beyond music.

And it looks as though it will continue to be a record-breaking year for him, as he was also named the most-searched Idol on Google and YouTube for 2020 so far, a title he also held in 2019.

K-pop is incredibly popular in the GCC, and so Jungkook has many fans in the Gulf.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how the K-pop craze first arrived in the UAE. But it’s been around for a while – K-pop bands such as Super Junior, Big Bang, 2ne1, SHINee and TVXQ were big in the mid-2000s, after becoming popular on YouTube.

One of the first major K-pop performances in the UAE was in 2011, when pop star Seo In-young and girl group Nine Muses performed as part of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix celebrations. Five years later, there was the game-changing KCON held at du Arena.

The event brought big names to town, such as BTS (who were less famous then but still a big deal) and solo artists Taeyeon (formerly of Girls Generation) and Kyuhyun (a former member of Super Junior). It was also the same year the Korean Cultural Centre opened in the capital.

THE LOWDOWN

Romeo Akbar Walter

Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

If you go

Flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.

The stay

Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.

What is safeguarding?

“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.