Apple TV+ to Produce K-POP Competition Series 'KPOPPED' Starring Psy and Megan Thee Stallion

Apple TV+ has decided to produce the K-POP competition series "KPOPPED." Announced officially on February 5, the show features Psy, the internationally famous star behind "Gangnam Style," and Megan Thee Stallion, a three-time Grammy-winning rapper, as its lead actors. Comprising eight episodes in total, "KPOPPED" sees each Western pop icon reinterpret one of their hit songs and then collaborate with top-tier K-POP idols to deliver spectacular battle performances. The best new "K-popped" version is determined by live audiences in Seoul. Megan Thee Stallion will perform her hit song "Savage" in one of the episodes and also serves as an executive producer for the project. Ryan-Lee Rich, a legendary figure in the American music industry who has been a judge on ABC’s "American Idol" since 2018, is listed as another executive producer. The production is handled jointly by Fox’s "I Can See Your Voice," CJ ENM, the South Korean entertainment company known for the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," and Eureka Productions, part of Fremantle, which created Netflix’s "The Mole" and Fox’s "The Floor." In addition to Lionel Richie, Moira Ross, Megan Thee Stallion, Greg Foster, Harry H.K. Shin, and Jake Hong also serve as executive producers, while Ki-woong Kim from CJ ENM and Chris Culvenor, Paul Franklin, Wes Dening, David Tibballs, and Bruce Eskowitz from Eureka Productions are in charge of production. Apple TV+ previously collaborated with Reese Witherspoon and Kacey Musgraves on the domestic music series "My Kind of Country" and released the K-POP documentary series "K-Pop Idols" last year. "K-Pop Idols" was a six-episode series that followed the daily lives of K-POP stars such as Jessi, Cravity, and Blackswan. Megan Thee Stallion has also appeared in Max’s baking competition series "Legendary" before and released a teaser for Hulu’s dance competition series "Playground" last July. That series was filmed at Playground LA, run by current dancer and Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin and choreographer Kenny Wormald. Psy achieved global crossover success with "Gangnam Style" in 2012 and has since participated in various series such as "Heroes of Remix" and "Loud." Lionel Richie has accumulated experience in reality television by serving as a judge on "American Idol" for many years. Although the official release date for the series has not been determined yet, Apple TV+ has expressed its intention to deepen the exchange between K-POP and global music culture through "KPOPPED."