Pop Radar Asia

LISA's Press Play EP follows SaWaDiKa's 200m YouTube views

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMT

LISA released her first solo EP, Press Play, with six tracks worldwide on 23 October 2026 through LLOUD Co. and RCA Records.
The SaWaDiKa music video drew 70.8 million YouTube views in its first 24 hours and passed 200 million on 8 October 2026, about 34 days after release, Gulf News reported.
SaWaDiKa entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 69 in September 2026, which Sony Music Japan describes as LISA's highest debut on that chart.
LISA's VIVA LA LISA residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas has six shows between 12 and 29 November 2026.

LISA released Press Play, her first solo EP, at midnight Korea time on 23 October 2026, which was 10pm on 22 October in Bangkok. The six tracks went out worldwide through LLOUD Co. and RCA Records, Bandwagon Asia reported. Sony Music Japan lists a digital release, an imported CD and a Japanese CD.

The EP caps a seven-week run for the Thai artist: a single named after the Thai greeting and shot in Bangkok, a documentary in cinemas and extra Las Vegas dates. That single, SaWaDiKa, produced most of the numbers.

Six tracks built like a film

Yonhap's report, carried by Malay Mail, lists the tracks as Tarantino, SaWaDiKa, V12, Cobra, Cut U Off and Sweat. Press Play is LISA's first release in one year and eight months and follows her debut album, Alter Ego, which came out in February 2025.

In the video for the lead track, Tarantino, LISA fights her way through a hotel to deliver a note to the director Quentin Tarantino, Bandwagon Asia reported. Sony Music Japan says the EP was made to be enjoyed like watching a film once the listener presses play.

Japan gets its own campaign from Sony Music Japan. The Japanese CD sells for 3,080 yen including tax. From 24 to 31 October, five Thai restaurants in Tokyo and Yokohama are giving a sticker to customers who say "Sawadika! Press Play".

SaWaDiKa by the numbers

The SaWaDiKa video went live at 7am Bangkok time on 4 September 2026 (3 September in the Americas), going by the release time Gulf News gave. It drew 70.8 million YouTube views in its first 24 hours. Among LISA's solo videos, only her 2021 debut LALISA, at 73.6 million, did better on day one.

It passed 100 million views just over 48 hours after release and debuted at No. 13 on Spotify's Daily Global chart with 2.787 million streams, Bandwagon Asia reported. On 8 October, about 34 days in, it passed 200 million views. Gulf News reported it was the first music video released in 2026 by a K-pop act to reach that mark.

On Billboard, the song entered the Hot 100 at No. 69, which Sony Music Japan and Sports Kyunghyang describe as her highest debut on that chart, then fell to No. 93. It also entered the Billboard Global 200 at No. 23 and the Global Excl. US chart at No. 13, then slipped to No. 54 and No. 35, Soompi reported. It is her third solo song to stay on the Hot 100 for more than one week, after MONEY in 2021 and BORN AGAIN in 2025.

A Bangkok shoot with a tourism tie-in

Director Bang Jae Yeob shot the video in late July 2026 at six Bangkok locations with more than 100 Thai crew members, The Nation reported. They include Hua Lamphong railway station, the Dib Bangkok art museum in Khlong Toei and Chaloem Khet 1 Road. Because a foreign company holds the copyright, the shoot counted as a foreign production and needed permission from the Department of Tourism, whose Thailand Film Office published the location list.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand, which has LISA as an Amazing Thailand ambassador, posted a four-stop tuk-tuk route from the Grand Palace to Yaowarat Road. On 5 September, Sony Music Thailand shared pictures of a tuk-tuk convoy, decorated with images and the song's title, driving around the city, Thansettakij reported. None of the reports we read gave a figure for visitors or spending linked to the video.

A documentary at the Thai box office, then Las Vegas

Always Lalisa, a documentary directed by Sue Kim, premiered at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival and opened in cinemas worldwide from 12 October.

VIVA LA LISA at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace was announced for 13, 14, 27 and 28 November. Those four shows sold out in under ten minutes, and on 29 September two more dates, 12 and 29 November, were added for six in total, Fox5 Vegas reported. Fox5 and Sony Music Japan both describe LISA as the first K-pop artist to hold a Las Vegas residency.

The next number to watch is Billboard's album chart covering Press Play's first full week of sales and streams, due in early November. The residency opens on 12 November.

FAQ

When did LISA release Press Play?

Thai content firms log 767m baht in projected Busan deals

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Thailand's Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) says Thai companies at the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) 2026 in Busan logged 767.21 million baht in projected trade value from 396 business-matching appointments.
DITP expects 52.36 million baht of the ACFM 2026 total immediately, 189.89 million baht within one year and 524.96 million baht within two to five years.
At ACFM 2025, Thai companies logged 544.39 million baht in projected trade value from 244 matched pairs, Thansettakij reported.
The 2026 Thailand Pavilion in Busan held 20 companies in 144 square metres: 12 film producers and distributors, six TV and drama producers and two film and video service firms.
DITP held Thai Night Busan on 11 October 2026 at Park Hyatt Busan, the first since the event was put on hold in 2020 because of COVID-19.

The Thailand Pavilion at the Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) in Busan logged 767.21 million baht in projected deals over four days, the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) said in results reported on 13 October 2026, the market's last day. That is about US$22.6 million at DITP's own conversion, from 396 business-matching appointments, Naewna reported.

The figure is up about 41% from 2025, when Thai companies at the same market logged 544.39 million baht from 244 matched pairs, according to Thansettakij. It also clears the target DITP set before the trip: at least 500 million baht within five years.

ACFM ran from 10 to 13 October 2026 alongside the Busan International Film Festival. This year Thailand was the market's first Country of Honor, DITP's English release said.

Most of the money is years away

The 767.21 million baht is an estimate of what the talks could be worth, not a total of signed contracts. DITP splits it by when the money is expected to arrive, according to Naewna:

52.36 million baht immediately
189.89 million baht within one year
524.96 million baht within two to five years

The long-dated part is about 68% of the total. In 2025 the split was 67.08 million baht immediately, 164.77 million baht within a year and 312.54 million baht in two to five years, Thansettakij reported. So the immediate figure fell by about 22% this year, while the two-to-five-year estimate rose from 312.54 million to 524.96 million baht.

That pattern fits the kind of business on the table. DITP lists content sales, licensing, co-production and taking Thai intellectual property into foreign markets, and the target Thansettakij reported also covers production services. Co-productions and remakes take years to finance and shoot, and a projected value can shrink before anything is signed.

Twenty companies and five remake pitches

DITP ran the 144-square-metre pavilion with Thailand's Department of Cultural Promotion. Its 20 companies were 12 film producers and distributors, six TV programme and drama producers, and two firms providing film and video services.

Five Thai films were presented at the Busan Story Market to sell remake rights and meet producers, investors and foreign partners, Naewna reported. None of the reports named the five titles.

The Commerce Ministry's permanent secretary said the ministry would act as a bridge between Thai companies and buyers abroad, Thansettakij reported on 12 October. DITP's English release aimed the pavilion at buyers in film, television, series and animation, and pointed to South Korea's own content exports, which it put at more than US$12 billion a year.

Thai Night Busan is back

DITP also revived Thai Night Busan, held on 11 October 2026 in the ballroom of Park Hyatt Busan under the theme "Reimagining Thailand". The department supported Thai film and entertainment companies at ACFM from 2012 to 2019, and Thai Night had been on hold since 2020 because of COVID-19, the release said.

Kim Thitisan Goodburn hosted the evening, and actors Mew Suppasit Jongcheveevat and Tul Pakorn Thanasrivanitchai joined to promote Thai content, according to DITP.

Four companies, World Premier Art, Waga Creative, Mojo Living and Dream Dimension, presented showreels and live performances from their casts. A networking reception followed for talks on licensing, co-production and new markets, Thai Post reported. The permanent secretary said the night was part of the ministry's work to promote the image of Thai entertainment businesses, Naewna reported.

What to watch

The useful test is how much of the projection turns into signed contracts. None of the reports gave a figure for how much of the 544.39 million baht projected in 2025 was later signed, so the immediate 52.36 million baht is the closest thing to a hard number from this year's market.

The other thing to watch is the five remake pitches, whose titles the reports did not give. None of the reports named a signed deal from the market either, so a remake announcement for any of the five would be the first named deal to come out of Thailand's year as Country of Honor.

FAQ

What is ACFM?

Thailand wins PUBG MOBILE gold at the 2026 Asian Games

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Thailand won PUBG MOBILE gold at the 2026 Asian Games on 29 September 2026 with 128 points, ahead of China on 114 and Pakistan on 100.
The PUBG MOBILE final at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname had 12 national teams playing 12 matches on 28 and 29 September 2026, on the Erangel and Miramar maps.
Thailand won three esports medals at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, gold in PUBG MOBILE, silver in Naraka: Bladepoint and bronze in Puyo Puyo Champions.
Esports had 11 medal events at the 2026 Asian Games, and the Olympic Council of Asia said on 28 September 2026 that esports will remain a medal sport at the Games.
Thailand finished the 2026 Asian Games seventh overall with 18 gold, 13 silver and 21 bronze medals, the best result in Southeast Asia.

Thailand won gold in PUBG MOBILE at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, finishing the two-day final on 29 September with 128 points. China took silver on 114 and Pakistan bronze on 100, according to the publisher's results release and Inven Global. Indonesia and Vietnam tied on 95, five points short of a medal.

The publisher called it Thailand's first podium in PUBG MOBILE esports. It was also Thailand's first esports gold of these Games, Time Out Bangkok reported. A month on, with the Games over, it remains the top result of a three-medal esports run.

How the final was won

Twelve national teams played 12 matches at Aichi Sky Expo in Tokoname on 28 and 29 September, six a day, the publisher said before the event. The first four matches each day were on Erangel and the last two on Miramar. Standings added placement points and elimination points across both days.

China opened by winning Match 1 on Erangel with 10 eliminations. Thailand answered with two wins and two second places in the next five matches, including a Match 6 win on Miramar with 13 eliminations. After the first day, Thailand led on 75 points, ahead of China on 61, Indonesia on 55 and Vietnam on 51.

Thailand won Match 8 on the way to 128 points and finished first in three of its 12 matches overall, Time Out Bangkok counted. Pakistan scored 61 points on the second day to climb into bronze.

Who Thailand beat

Four teams went straight to the final: hosts Japan, plus China, South Korea and Chinese Taipei, who took gold, silver and bronze at the 2022 Hangzhou Games, where PUBG MOBILE made its Asian Games debut. The other eight, Thailand among them, came through a qualifier in Ho Chi Minh City in June, where 23 teams played over three days and Pakistan finished first. Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Jordan made up the rest of the field.

So the gold came against all three 2022 medallists. Counting the qualifier, 27 national teams entered, which the publisher says made PUBG MOBILE the most widely represented esports title at the Games.

The win was one of three Thai golds on 29 September, alongside Kunlavut Vitidsarn in men's singles badminton and the men's sepak takraw team. The Nation reported that the day lifted Thailand to fifth in the overall table that evening, with 12 gold, nine silver and 12 bronze.

Silver and bronze the week before

Thailand had two esports medals before the PUBG MOBILE final began. On 24 September it beat Vietnam 3-2 in the Naraka: Bladepoint semi-final, Vietnam's VOV reported, then lost the final to China. Naraka has no bronze match, so both beaten semi-finalists, Vietnam and Chinese Taipei, took bronze, as Focus Taiwan reported for the Taiwanese team.

Two days later, Tanarak Wongkitikun won bronze in Puyo Puyo Champions, a puzzle title in its first Asian Games as a medal event. He lost his semi-final 10-1 to Japan's Yuki Kurihara, Databoks recorded. Kurihara beat South Korea's Kang Dong-shin 10-2 for gold, and Chinese Taipei's Kuo Tzu-ang shared bronze, Focus Taiwan reported. The Thai daily Naew Na lists all three Thai esports medals in its record of the Games.

Where Thai esports stands now

Esports had 11 medal events in Aichi-Nagoya, the Olympic Council of Asia said, against seven gold medals at Hangzhou, according to Xinhua copy carried by The Star. Thailand came away with one medal of each colour in esports. South Korea, a long-time esports power, won two gold, one silver and two bronze, its federation announced, Inven Global reported.

Across all sports, Thailand finished seventh with 18 gold, 13 silver and 21 bronze, the best result in Southeast Asia, VietnamNet reported.

The open question is where Thai teams play for medals next. On 28 September the OCA rejected reports that esports would leave the Asian Games after Aichi-Nagoya, and Director General Husain Al-Musallam said it would stay, Inven Global reported. It did not say which esports events Doha 2030 will hold. Before that, Kuwait hosts the first Asian Esports and Mind Sports Games in 2027, under a host city contract signed on 19 September. Its list of titles is the next one for Thai teams to watch.

Pop Radar Asia

LISA's Press Play EP follows SaWaDiKa's 200m YouTube views

Six tracks built like a film

SaWaDiKa by the numbers

A Bangkok shoot with a tourism tie-in

A documentary at the Thai box office, then Las Vegas

FAQ

When did LISA release Press Play?

Thai content firms log 767m baht in projected Busan deals

Most of the money is years away

Twenty companies and five remake pitches

Thai Night Busan is back

What to watch

FAQ

What is ACFM?

Thailand wins PUBG MOBILE gold at the 2026 Asian Games

How the final was won

Who Thailand beat

Silver and bronze the week before

Where Thai esports stands now

FAQ

Who won PUBG MOBILE at the 2026 Asian Games?