Singer Psy plans to release his U.S. debut album this summer.He revealed his plans for the new album release on Saturday during an appearance on the “Ask Anything” segment of “Saturday Night Online Live with Romeo.” “After promoting ‘Gentleman’ I’m about to make an album, so it’s going to be my seventh album in Korea and it’s going to be my debut album in the United States and I’m going to do a lot of collabo(rations) in the album,” said Psy. “Hopefully I can release that during the summer seaso

May 6, 2013

Pre-“Gangnam Style,” there had been many attempts by Korean talent agencies to spread K-pop beyond the bounds of Asia and finally infiltrate the oh-so-competitive American music market. Before Korean rap sensation Psy’s “Gangnam Style” music video exploded onto the global music scene, the “big three” Korean entertainment agencies ― S.M., YG and JYP ― had all sent some of their most prominent and successful artists to the U.S. with the hopes that one of their own could make an impression in the W

May 5, 2013

Korean-American singer Michael Lee’s performance as the agonizing Jesus during his final week in Jerusalem was received with a standing ovation Thursday, leaving the audience cheering with passion at Seoul’s Charlotte Theater. One of the most anticipated musicals of this spring season, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary rock-opera “Jesus Christ Superstar” recently opened its current run in Seoul, six years since it was last staged here in 2007.For its current run, the show’s local organizer Seol &

May 5, 2013

What’s his name? “Snoop Doggy Dogg!” Thousands joined the king of West Coast hip-hop Snoop Lion, formerly Snoop Dogg, at Olympic Park on Saturday night for his first-ever live concert in Korea. The iconic American rapper has been in the music game for more than 20 years and expressed his thoughts on finally making his way to Korea for the first time, at a press conference at the Ritz Carlton in Seoul before his concert.  “It feels good to actually be in South Korea for the first time. I have ear

May 5, 2013

Korean pop sensation Psy will lecture at Harvard and dance at a Russian music festival in the near future, aiming to keep the “Gangnam Style” fever going. The singer, who released his single “Gentleman” in April and is now holding a worldwide promotion to reprise his “Gangnam Style” success, will give a speech at the Korea Institute of Harvard University on Thursday, about his music and life, the school said last Friday. Psy, a Boston University dropout, has reportedly made his appearance a sold

May 5, 2013

James Blake shines in electronic gloryJames Blake``Overgrown‘’(Universal Republic)If you weren‘t convinced of his talent by James Blake’s debut album, his sophomore release, ``Overgrown,‘’ will do the trick.The London-born singer-songwriter-producer returns with an album that shines a light on his 2011 self-titled dubstep debut, which earned him a Mercury Prize nomination. ``Overgrown‘’ is a collection of songs that will break ground in electro soul, and Blake does so impressively in a 40-minute

May 3, 2013

“The King of Music” Cho Yong-pil won first place in a television music program for the first time in 23 years. Although he did not make a personal appearance on Wednesday’s live broadcast show, Cho’s title song “Hello” was ranked first in MBC’s “Show Champion.” Cho had last won first place in a TV music program in 1990, on MBC’s “Show Network” for his hit song “Reunion in Memory.” After winning a number of awards with his single “Dream,” the legendary singer retired from the public eye and rarel

May 3, 2013

Psy is back in action promoting his latest single “Gentleman” in the U.S., making his way back to the NBC morning program “The Today Show,” where he performed live at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City on Friday morning. During the interview with the morning show hosts, Psy talked about the key choreography points while teaching them the new hip-swaying and pelvic-thrusting “arrogant dance” moves that go with his new single. The Korean rap star later took the stage to perform live and show off b

May 3, 2013

South Korean boy band SHINee ranked No.1 on Billboard’s world music chart.SM Entertainment said on Friday that SHINee’s third full album "Chapter 2 Why So Serious? – The Misconceptions of Me,” released online on April 26, topped the World Albums chart on Billboard, reflecting its worldwide popularity.The album also ranked first the same day in Hanteo Information System where overall sales of physical albums released in the country are recorded.With its unique sound and zombie-like dance moves, t

May 3, 2013

The infamously R-rated theater play, “Caligula_Remix,” with the famous line “I am God! Worship and blame me!” will open the 12th Uijeongbu International Music Theater Festival on May 4 as its Asian premier. “Caligula_Remix,” an adaptation of Albert Camu’s “Caligula,” tells the real-life story of Roman emperor Caligula’s suffering over the death of his sister and lover Drusilla as well as conflict between the tyrant and his rebel forces. Although there is no nudity involved, explicit verbal descr

May 2, 2013

The 2013 International Modern Dance Festival, one of the oldest modern-dance festivals in Korea, unveiled its lineup for the upcoming edition scheduled for later this month.Under the theme “Dance and Life,” a total of 18 works, both from home and abroad, are to be featured during this year’s festival. Among them, five are from overseas, including the festival’s highly anticipated opener “Babel.”A work by renowned Belgian choreographers Damien Jelet and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, “Babel” is based on t

May 2, 2013

After a three-year hiatus, K-pop diva Lee Hyo-ri is making her long-awaited comeback with a self-composed title song. On Thursday, she released a 33-second teaser for her title song, “Miss Korea,” prior to her upcoming album release. In the retro style-teaser the chanteuse repeats “Because I’m a Miss Korea,” while dressed in figure-hugging costumes. Lee’s management agency B2M Entertainment announced on the same day that the full version of “Miss Korea” would be released next Monday before the f

May 2, 2013

Singer Lee Hyori released a teaser of her new music video “Miss Korea” through her agency, B2M Entertainment’s official YouTube channel and music websites in South Korea on Thursday. The 34-year-old singer appears in the video as a winner of North Chungcheong Province’s beauty pageant with glamorous makeup and outfits reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980. The use of black-and-white in the video adds to the retro feel. Lee flaunts a seductive and playful image in the 33-second teaser, eliciting resp

May 2, 2013

The Camarata Music Company Chorale and Orchestra, a group of mainly expats living in Seoul, will hold a concert featuring J.S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor on May 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Chungdong First Methodist Church. Bach’s Mass in B Minor, a compilation of 24 small pieces arranged in five acts, is called “one of the pinnacles of human achievement” by novelist Douglas Adams and “the greatest work of music of all ages and of all peoples” by critic and publisher Hans-Georg Ngeli. It was one of the German

May 1, 2013

Ballerina Fang Meng-ying arrived in Seoul from China at the age of 17, all by herself, not knowing many people in the foreign city. Leaving the Beijing Capital International Airport, she avoided looking into her parents’ eyes, knowing she’d burst into tears if she did.“I think that’s one of the reasons why I can really relate to Shim Chung, especially when she agonizes as she decides to leave her blind father,” said Fang in an interview with The Korea Herald on Tuesday. The 23-year-old is ahead

May 1, 2013

The nine members of the up-and-coming K-pop girl group 9Muses have announced plans to release their newest EP “Wild” on May 9. The group released a teaser image showing off part of a bare female chest and the phrase “OH!9 Project” with the “!9” graphic circled in red, possibly hinting that the ladies’ upcoming album may receive a 19-and-over rating. The girl group officially made its debut in August 2010 with the release of its first single album “Let’s Have a Party” and the lead track “No Playb

May 1, 2013

The four members of the K-pop girl group Secret have returned to their fans after four months with the group’s third EP titled “Letter from Secret,” which was released Tuesday. The bubbly, upbeat four-track album includes the lead track “YooHoo” and other singles “Daddy Long Legs,” “Only U” and “B.O.Y. (Because of You).” Upon its release, the new album’s track “YooHoo” took the top spot on many local music real-time charts including Mnet, Bugs, Olleh, Soribada and others. The single was composed

May 1, 2013