T.O.P’s long-awaited return is hitting a major snag: he’s still under KBS broadcast restrictions nine years after his marijuana case.
As of April 8th, the artist remains on KBS’s restricted list. While bans are sometimes lifted when artists resume promotions, T.O.P has not been cleared—effectively limiting his ability to appear on major broadcast music shows.
The restriction dates back to 2017, when he was indicted without detention for marijuana use and later received a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He stepped away from the industry afterward, announcing his retirement and leaving BIGBANG.
He began his return in late 2024 with Netflix’s Squid Game Season 2 and dropped his first full-length album in 13 years, Another Dimension, on April 3rd.
But the rollout hasn’t been smooth. Seven out of 11 tracks—including “BE SOLID,” “FOR FANS,” “SEOUL CHAOS,” “Another Dimension Holy Dude!!!!!!!,” “ZERO-COKE,” and “SELF CRUCIFIXION” and the title song “Studio54”—were deemed unfit for broadcast by KBS, citing explicit lyrics, certain brand mentions, and references that could be seen as promoting illegal activity.
His agency, Topspot Pictures, said they have no plans to seek a re-evaluation, adding they respect the decision as “another dimension.”
Still, T.O.P is seeing strong global traction. The album pulled about 1.47 million Spotify streams on day one—the biggest first-day tally for a K-pop soloist this year—and topped iTunes album charts in 15 countries.
As of the 4th, the album debuted at No. 3 on the Worldwide iTunes Album Chart and No. 16 on the Apple Music global chart. It topped iTunes album charts in 15 countries, including Indonesia and the Philippines, and ranked high in major markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan—signaling a successful global comeback despite ongoing restrictions at home.
>> T.O.P Breaks 10-Year Silence with Comeback: ‘I Focused Only on Music’
In the meantime, watch trending K-dramas for free on Amasian TV.
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