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  • Pop Base: WATERBOMB Festival 2024 makes waves in Seoul!

Pop Base: WATERBOMB Festival 2024 makes waves in Seoul!

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WATERBOMB Festival 2024 makes waves in Seoul!

WATERBOMB 2024 kicked off its South Korean run with a successful 3-day music festival in Seoul, starring Kpop acts like TWICE’s Nayeon, SHINee’s Taemin and Minho, ASTRO’s Cha Eun Woo, MAMAMOO’s Hwa Sa, KISS OF LIFE, fromis_9, P1Harmony, Zico, Jay Park, Sunmi, Jessi, Loco, Bibi, Chung Ha, Lee Youngji, CHUU, BAEKHO, and more.

Deadpool and Wolverine also made a surprise appearance. Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman soak fans–literally–in their “Marvel Special Stage.” Instead of sporting their usual katanas and claws, the two antiheroes wielded water guns and competed against one another in a squirt gun competition. 

“When @thehughjackman told me we were going to a Waterboarding Festival, I was confused, scared and also pretty damn scared,” Reynolds quipped in an Instagram post. “You can imagine my relief when we arrived at the WaterBOMB Festival in Seoul, South Korea: The coolest, most charming mix of K-pop, water-fights, dancing and joy,” he added.

On top of that, the festival set the stage for phenomenal collaboration stages. For instance, Nayeon and KISS OF LIFE’s Julie wowed the audience in their live performance of “Magic.” Later on, Julie shared that Nayeon gifted her a luxury Prada bag to commemorate the experience.

Another rising star from KISS OF LIFE, Natty, also shared the stage with hip-hop sensation Jay Park in a captivating rendition of their duet “Taxi Blurr.” Natty even danced along while the latter was singing his hit song “MOMMAE.”

Alas, this is just the beginning. The WATERBOMB Festival has a lot more in store–as they have already announced tour dates for their Asia Tour spanning Japan, Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai, Manila, Taipei, Ho Chi Minh, and Bali over the rest of the year.

‘Thank you, Cena’: John Cena retires from WWE

Source: Getty Images

Wrestling legend John Cena declared his impending retirement from the ring during his guest appearance on WWE’s Money in the Bank tournament.

“I want to set the record straight right now: I’m done, this is it,” he announced. 

Cena proclaimed that the upcoming Elimination Chamber, Royal Rumble, and WrestleMania 41 in 2025 will be his last matches. 

“If you ever wanted to be a part of this one last time, we’re going to do it as big as we can, and we’re fighting everybody. We hope you come [and] enjoy the fun.” 

Cena first entered the world of WWE in 2002. Since his debut, he has grown into a 16-time world champion, an actor, and a title as “Doctor of Thuganomics.”

As he bid farewell, the stadium reverberated with cries of “Thank you, Cena,” which the 47-year-old wrestler took as an “incredible gesture of kindness.” 

The More You Know

  • ASH ISLAND and CHANMINA shared news of marriage and pregnancy on Instagram. “My heart is overflowing with joy. I feel incredibly fortunate to share this happiness with all of you,” says ASH ISLAND. In the same post, the rapper also proclaimed his departure from Ambition Musik, while still assuring that more music would be coming soon.

  • Save the date! Hyolyn revealed that her much-anticipated comeback titled “Wait” would be officially released on August 12, 6 pm KST. 

  • In a video, Cardi B once again teased fans with snippets of new music. The rapper had hinted since May that her sophomore album would be released this year. Just last week, July 2, she also posted on her Instagram story a video of her sampling Janet Jackson’s “Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun).”

  • On July 5, Oscar-winning producer Jon Landau died of cancer at the age of 63. He was known for his work in box office hits like “Titanic” and “Avatar.” 

  • Barbie star Margot Robbie and her director husband Tom Ackerley are expecting their first child, People reports. The couple have been married since 2016. Their love story began in 2013 when they met on a set for a drama titled “Suite Française.” Back then, Robbie was still a rookie actress while Ackerley worked as an assistant director.

  • After a 10-month hiatus, ITZY Lia is set to rejoin the group in a YouTube live to celebrate their 5th anniversary. The singer had been inactive since September 18, 2023 due to health concerns. Lia, however, left a promise that she would “return to good health in order to repay how much MIDZYs waited and worried.” It seems that she’s finally back to honor her promise.

  • Central Cee and Ice Spice had been spotted together again, this time in a hookah lounge, amidst dating rumors. In the past week, the two rappers were also seen side by side while shopping and driving around London. They have been friends since last year, with Cee even recording a remix of Ice Spice’s hit song “Munch (Feelin U).”

  • Imagine Dragons drew flak after performing in Israel and Azerbaijan. Their frontman, Dan Reynolds, justified the gig and argued, “I don’t believe in depriving our fans who want to see us play because of the acts of their leaders and their governments.” In response, System of A Down vocalist Serj Tankian countered, “Respectfully, I draw the line at ethnic cleansing and genocide… I have nothing against this guy nor his band. I just hate artists being taken advantage of to whitewash Genocidal dictatorships.”