K-pop group BTS has been named entertainer of the year by Time magazine, capping a breakthrough year in the United States for the South Korean boy band.
The seven-member band, which made its debut in 2013, has become one of the world's most popular thanks to its upbeat dancey songs, army of adoring fans, and positive non-controversial messages.
Last month, the band got the first major Grammy Award nomination for a K-pop band, and in the summer its English-language single Dynamite became the band's first to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
"BTS isn't just the biggest K-pop act on the charts. They've become the biggest band in the world - full stop," Time writer Raisa Bruner wrote in a profile of the group on Thursday.
"And they did it in a year defined by setbacks, one in which the world hit pause and everyone struggled to maintain their connections."
Twitter said this week that BTS "Continues to Reign as Most Tweeted About Musicians" in the United States for a fourth straight year.
BTS will perform later on Thursday in a television special when Time magazine's Person of the Year will be announced.
Kpop supergroup BTS performed to tens of thousands of fans in Seoul on Saturday in their first concert in more than three years, which saw authorities shut down the city's historic downtown, though turnout was far smaller than expected.
Chuck Norris, the former martial arts champion and 1980s action-film hero who fought the bad guys in "Code of Silence," "Missing in Action" and "The Delta Force" and upheld the law in the TV series "Walker, Texas Ranger," died on Thursday, his family said in a statement on his Instagram account on Friday.
Netflix anticipates more opportunities for live events in South Korea, the company said on Friday, as the US streaming platform prepares to livestream a highly anticipated BTS comeback concert in Seoul.
Labubu's toothy grin will be coming to the big screen after toy maker Pop Mart 9992.HK and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced plans to develop a feature film based on the ugly-cute monster.