Good evening. There may not be a song of the summer this year, but one genre is making a strong case for the sound of the summer—K-pop, a style of popular music originating from South Korea.

• K-pop star ROSE, who sings “Apt.”with Bruno Mars, was among the most-nominated artists for the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), snagging eight nods when the list was released last week.
• KPop Demon Hunters, an animated family film featuring a female group of demon-slaying heroes, has been either #1 or #2 on Netflix’s Top-10 list since its release in late June. The soundtrack also boasts multiple songs by the movie’s fictional supergroups peppering Billboard’s Hot 100 list (even the top spot), as well as Spotify’s daily charts.

The trend is being driven by younger people, whom listener data shows consume the genre at a much-higher rate than older folks. So if you run into any old heads poo-pooing the sound, just tell them: “It has a lot of Seoul, mmmmK-pop?”

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Each of the following events happened on August 13. Your challenge is to put them in the order in which they occurred by year, earliest to latest. Answers at the bottom!

• A) R&B singer Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton records the song “Hound Dog,” four years before Elvis Presley would make it his longest-running #1 hit. Since Presley's version ran 11 weeks at the top of the pop music charts, it's often mistakenly assumed to be the original.
• B) The Aztec Empire officially comes to an end as Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés captures Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City) after a 93-day siege, winning Mexico for the crown of Spain.
• C) Cuban political leader Fidel Castro, who transformed his country into the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere, is born.
• D) US President Ronald Reagan signs the Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA), a package of tax-and-budget reductions that set the tone for his administration’s trickle-down economic policy.

Hint: “R&B” rhymes with its own place

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^The first step if you want to shoot two pointy-tipped rods with feathers from a bow—and also a great hint for today’s Conjoiner sequence.

The first clue of today’s sequence is: “Shot out of a bow (singular)”...

Mini

Today’s mini crossword definitely has the approval of Pete Davidson and Timothée Chalamet. See why👇.

• Play today’s puzzle here.

Sudoku

Single? Everyone knows playing with numbers is proven to get you more numbers (#nerdsrule). Hone your skills with today’s sudoku puzzle.

• Play today's puzzle here.

Click to play any (or all) of the three GOATWars’ challenges below, then pick the GOAT through a series of head-to-head matchups. This data-driven process was developed to create definitive best-of-all-time lists using a more objective approach than random bloggers just publishing controversial opinions for clicks.

• 🎤 THE GREATEST RAPPERS OF ALL TIME
• ⚽ THE GREATEST SOCCER PLAYERS OF ALL TIME
• 📺 THE GREATEST ‘SNL’ CAST MEMBERS OF ALL TIME

👠 THE GREATEST FASHION DESIGNERS OF ALL TIME

1. Coco Chanel
2. Christian Dior
3. Ralph Lauren

Explore the full list.

😂 THE GREATEST STAND-UP COMEDIANS OF ALL TIME

1. Robin Williams
2. George Carlin
3. Eddie Murphy

Explore the full list.

🍕 THE GREATEST PIZZA TOPPINGS OF ALL TIME

1. Pepperoni
2. Sausage
3. Mushrooms

Explore the full list.

B, C, A, D

• B) 1521: The Aztec Empire officially comes to an end as Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés captures Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City) after a 93-day siege, winning Mexico for the crown of Spain.
• C) 1926: Cuban political leader Fidel Castro, who transformed his country into the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere, is born.
• A) 1952: R&B singer Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton records the song “Hound Dog,” four years before Elvis Presley would make it his longest-running #1 hit. Since Presley's version ran 11 weeks at the top of the pop music charts, it's often mistakenly assumed to be the original.
• D) 1981: US President Ronald Reagan signs the Economic Recovery Tax Act (ERTA), a package of tax-and-budget reductions that set the tone for his administration’s trickle-down economic policy.