K-Pop

New K-pop group BabyMonster will debut with one less member than expected -- YG Entertainment just announced Ahyeon has left the ensemble to focus on her well-being.

The label addressed the news in a press release Wednesday ... saying, "Although we are saddened to be unable to introduce Ahyeon as a member of BabyMonster, we made this decision for the sake of the artist's health."

"We will spare no support so that Ahyeon can recover fully and return in good health."

There was speculation 16-year-old Ahyeon was leaving the group for months ... but YG remained tight-lipped on her status up until now.

BM -- which now consists of Asa, Chiquita, Haram, Rora, Pharita and Ruka -- will be YG's first new girl group since BLACKPINK's debut in August 2016.

There's been a ton of hype surrounding BabyMonster ... the group has raked in millions of views on YouTube despite not releasing any original songs.

The remaining members' ages range from 14-21 ... and hail from Korea, Thailand and Japan.

Latto has a whole lot to celebrate after her track with Jung Kook broke a record for fastest to reach a billion streams on Spotify ... and she told us why she's HYPED about the big news.

We got Latto Wednesday at LAX and congratulated her on the huge accomplishment for "Seven" ... and the one word she used to sum up her reaction to it is "crazy."

Latto says the track's record-breaking success has made her really grateful. She choked up as she told us about recently losing a dear friend, and said she feels this Spotify record is a sign her late pal still has her back from the afterlife.

In terms of what's next, Latto is more than ready to collab with the BTS member on another hit -- saying she's even got something in the works that'd be perfect for Jung Kook.

She also gives a shoutout to his army of fans -- in the U.S. and abroad -- telling us they've been showing her nothing but love and support, and she's all for making them happy again.

Latto tiene mucho que celebrar después de que su canción con Jung Kook rompiera el récord de ser la más rápida en alcanzar los mil millones de streams en Spotify y nos contó lo que se siente vivir semejante éxito.

Nos encontramos a Latto el Miércoles en LAX y la felicitó por el enorme logro de "Seven" y la única palabra que utilizó para resumir su reacción a la misma es "loco".

Latto dice que el éxito de la canción la ha hecho sentirse muy agradecida. Se le heló la sangre al hablarnos de la reciente pérdida de un querido amigo y dijo que siente que este disco de Spotify es una señal de que su difunto amigo todavía la tiene de vuelta desde el más allá.

En cuanto a lo que está por venir, Latto está más que dispuesta a colaborar con el miembro de BTS en otro éxito, e incluso ha dicho que está preparando algo que sería perfecto para Jung Kook.

Ella también da un saludo a su ejército de fans en los EE.UU. y en el extranjero, diciéndonos que han estado mostrando nada más que amor y apoyo y ella esta con todas las ganas de hacerlos felices de nuevo.

K-pop star Moonbin, of the popular boy band Astro, has died.

Astro's label Fantagio shared the tragic news with fans Wednesday ... saying the singer "left us and became a star in the sky." The company says it's "deeply mourning" the shocking death alongside his family, droves of fans, and fellow artists.

Fantagio says the family will hold a private funeral with close family, friends, and colleagues.

An official cause of death has yet to be revealed, but South Korean police reportedly found him dead in his apartment in Gangnam-gu, Seoul after allegedly not showing for a recent rehearsal.

Fans of Moonbin know he started working as a model in 2004 when he was just a child ... then transitioned into acting, first grabbing a role in 2009 on the Korean drama "Boys over Flowers."

He then debuted with Astro in 2016 with 5 others -- MJ, Jinjin, Rocky, Cha Eun-woo, and Yoon San-ha. They went on to come out with some hits, including "Candy Sugar Pop" and "Baby." Rocky left the K-pop group in late February of this year.

Moonbin took a brief pause from the band in 2019 due to health-related reasons but made his return the following year. The group had a concert scheduled for mid-May, but that's reportedly been canceled.

He was only 25.