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BLACKPINK Comeback Speculation Leads to Drop in YG Shares Amid Overall K-Pop Stock Decline

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K-pop stocks’ poor showing highlighted another down week for music stocks. For the week ended Oct. 17, South Korean companies were a major reason why losers outnumbered winners. 

The 19-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) fell 0.5% to 2,885.17. The three-year-old BGMI last posted four consecutive weeks of declines in July and August 2024. The index also suffered four straight down weeks in July and August 2023. Even after dropping 7.0% over the last four weeks, the index’s year-to-date gain stands at 33.8% — more than double the 2025 gains of the Nasdaq composite and S&P 500. 

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Music stocks underperformed some major indexes, although results were mixed globally. In the U.S., the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.1% to 22,679.97 and the S&P 500 gained 1.7% to 6,664.01. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 fell 0.8% to 9,354.57. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index jumped 3.8% to 3,748.89 and hit a record high on Thursday (Oct. 16) after the International Monetary Fund raised its growth forecast for South Korea and the U.S. appeared close to wrapping up a trade deal with the Asian country. China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.5% to 3,839.76. 

Bucking the KOSPI’s upward trend, YG Entertainment fell 9.6% to 90,000 KRW ($63.30) after the company, reacting to South Korean media reports that BLACKPINK will release new music before the end of the year, stated that no decision about the group’s comeback has been made. Earlier in the week, Hana Securities raised its price target on YG by 12% to 145,000 KRW ($101.99). YG Entertainment shares are up 95.9% in 2025, third-best among music stocks behind Netease Cloud Music (up 117.1%) and Tencent Music Entertainment (up 100.5%).

Three other K-pop stocks also posted losses. SM Entertainment, which fell 7.8% to 116,400 KRW ($81.87), has dropped 23.9% in the past four weeks, although it’s still up 60.3% year to date. JYP Entertainment declined 4.5% to 71,700 KRW ($50.43), bringing its year-to-date gain to 5.8%. HYBE slipped 1.1% to 269,500 KRW ($189.56), though shares have risen 34.1% this year and stand to rise even more when BTS returns from its three-year hiatus with new music and a global tour. 

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Music streamer LiveOne was the week’s greatest gainer, rising 13.1% to $4.50. On Tuesday (Oct. 14), the company announced that it had regained compliance with the Nasdaq listing requirements for minimum share prices. LiveOne conducted a 10-to-1 reverse stock split on Sept. 26, which increased its share price by reducing the number of outstanding shares.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment climbed 5.1% to $43.90. Sister company Sphere Entertainment Co. fell 0.5% to $58.70, about the same price as five weeks ago, after the success of The Wizard of Oz caused the stock to spike 46% over four weeks. Sphere shares have cooled off since Sept. 12, though, and have fallen 3.7% in the last two weeks. 

Warner Music Group (WMG) rose 2.8% to $32.99. On Tuesday (Oct. 14), Wells Fargo upgraded WMG shares to “overweight” with a $39 price target, citing the performance of Atlantic Records in Q3 U.S. market shares reported last week by Billboard. Led by hits from Alex Warren and Twenty One Pilots, and helped by the new inclusion of 10K Projects’ market share, Atlantic was No. 3 behind REPUBLIC and Interscope/Geffen/A&M. 

Live Nation snapped a four-week losing streak, rising 1.5% to $155.19. The concert promoter and ticketing company will announce Q3 earnings on Nov. 4. 

Universal Music Group rose 1.9% to 23.60 euros ($27.52). The company will announce Q3 earnings on Oct. 30.

Spotify, the BGMI’s most valuable component, fell 2.0% to $671.52. The streaming company’s share price is now more than $110 below its all-time high of $785.00 set on June 27. Still, Spotify is up 43.9% year-to-date and remains one of the year’s best-performing music stocks of 2025. The company will announce Q3 earnings on Nov. 4. 

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Sombr & Olivia Dean to Make ‘Saturday Night Live’ Debuts, With Glen Powell Set to Host for First Time

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A few of music’s biggest rising stars are getting big breaks this fall, with Saturday Night Live announcing Friday (Oct. 17) that Sombr and Olivia Dean will make their musical guest debuts on upcoming episodes.

Sombr will perform on the episode airing Nov. 8, which Nikki Glaser will host. The week prior, Miles Teller will helm an episode airing Nov. 1, with Brandi Carlile serving as musical guest for the third time in her career.

Then, Dean will perform at 30 Rock on Nov. 15. Teller’s Top Gun: Maverick costar Glen Powell is set to host for the first time.

The news comes as both Sombr and Dean’s careers are taking off. The former’s breakout hit “Back to Friends” made him a Gen Z alt-pop sensation, peaking at No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100. He’s currently riding the success of his debut album, I Barely Know Her, which helped propel him to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Songwriter’s Chart.

The latter is one of the most promising singer-songwriters of 2025, earning critical acclaim for her new album, The Art of Loving. So far, the project has reached a peak of No. 7 on the Billboard 200, and Dean is currently on tour in support of the LP.

The trio of new musical guest announcements mark just the latest stars SNL has booked for this season. This weekend, Sabrina Carpenter will make her debut as host in addition to performing tracks from her Billboard 200-topping album Man’s Best Friend.

Bad Bunny also returned to SNL to host for a second time on Oct. 4, while Role Model recently made his musical guest debut.

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Taylor Swift Dominates U.K. Albums & Singles Charts for Second Consecutive Week

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Taylor Swift has retained the top spots on the U.K.’s Official Albums and Singles charts for a second consecutive week on the tallies dated Friday (Oct. 17).

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The Life of a Showgirl holds on to the top spot on the Albums chart, while its lead single, “The Fate of Ophelia,” extends its stay at the summit of the Singles chart for a second consecutive week. The latter is the first time in three years that one of Swift’s singles has enjoyed a run of multiple weeks in the top spot. “Anti-Hero” from 2022’s Midnights earned six weeks at No. 1, while “Fortnight” (2024) and “Is It Over Now?” (2023) lasted just a single week.

The Life of a Showgirl broke numerous records on its way to No. 1 in the U.K. The record had the fastest selling opening week (423,00 units) since Ed Sheeran’s 2017 LP Divide (672,000). It also became the fastest selling album on vinyl this century in the U.K., and fastest ever since records modern Official Chart records began in 1994.

The Life of a Showgirl is her 14th U.K. No. 1 album; she also extends her lead with the most No. 1s on the U.K. Albums Chart for an international artist, and is tied for second overall with The Rolling Stones (14). The top spot is also currently a tie between The Beatles and Robbie Williams, who both have 15 apiece.

Olivia Dean takes the runner-up spot on both the Official Albums Chart and Singles Chart with The Art of Loving and its breakout song, “Man I Need,” both topping out at No. 2. Earlier this month, Dean achieved a rare double for a British artist with No. 1s on the aforementioned charts.

Fresh off his Oasis support slots, former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft earns the No. 3 spot on the Official Albums Chart with Lovin’ You. Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend closes at No. 4, and The Weeknd’s greatest hits compilation The Highlights lands at No. 5.

On the Singles Chart, “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters ends the week at No. 3, having already enjoyed an eight-week run at the summit. Swift’s “Opalite” (No. 4) and “Elizabeth Taylor” (No. 6) continue to see success, while RAYE’s “Where Is My Husband!” lifts one place to No. 5.

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Morgan Wallen Notches Fifth Country Airplay No. 1 From ‘I’m the Problem’ With ‘I Got Better’

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Morgan Wallen delivers his 19th career No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “I Got Better” rises two spots to top the Oct. 25-dated survey, up 13% to 32.7 million audience impressions Oct. 10-16, according to Luminate.

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The Joey Moi-produced single — with seven cowriters including Wallen, Ernest, HARDY and Blake Pendergrass — becomes the fifth No. 1 from Wallen’s album I’m the Problem, released in May. One more chart-topper from the set and he’d match the six from his 2023 LP, One Thing at a Time, which remains tied for the one-album record (discounting deluxe editions) with Luke Bryan’s 2015 Kill the Lights.

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I’m the Problem has led Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart for its first 21 weeks, followed at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, on the Oct. 18-dated ranking by One Thing at a Time and Wallen’s 2021 release, Dangerous: The Double Album. Together, the three projects form one of the most formidable runs in modern country music history, combining for 205 weeks at No. 1 (with a record 97 frames at the summit belonging to Dangerous).

Before topping Country Airplay, “I Got Better” completed a full-format sweep, hitting No. 1 on the Oct. 18 Hot Country Songs chart thanks to 13.2 million official U.S. streams, 31 million in radio audience and 1,000 sold. The win gave I’m the Problem four leaders on the list, equaling the output of One Thing at a Time.

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Lainey Wilson breaks into the Country Airplay top 10 (12-10) with “Somewhere Over Laredo” rising 9% to 16 million in audience. The song, which interpolates “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from the iconic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, is her ninth top 10. It’s from the September deluxe edition of her 2024 album, Whirlwind.

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