Janet Jackson objects to Paris acting

Paris Jackson listens on as grandmother Katherine Jackson speaks during a ceremony honoring Michael Jackson at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles on January 26, 2012. (UPI/Jim Ruymen)U.S. pop star Janet Jackson is not supportive of her 14-year-old niece Paris' decision to act professionally while still a child, sources told UsMagazine.com.Paris is one of the three ch

July 19, 2012

Psy to set up record label next year

K-pop singer and multi-entertainer Psy announced he will set up an independent record label. “I have always dreamed of establishing my own agency and following in the footsteps of S.M., YG and JYP Entertainment,” he told reporters on Monday. He said his record label would be characterized as an affiliate of his agency YG Entertainment. He said he will be in charge of music production and his agency will be doing other responsibilities. “I am not leaving YG Entertainment,” he said. Under the mana

July 18, 2012

Non-verbal performance marks first year in Hongdae

NANTA is celebrating its first anniversary at its newest theater in Hongdae. After a successful 15 years touring almost 300 cities around the world, NANTA is targeting young Korean audiences. “NANTA has an old image so we built a new theater in Hongdae to attract the youth,” marketing director of NANTA Hongdae Baik Hyun-wook, said.“The content of the show is appropriate for all ages, but the comedy and drama of the show is especially appealing to young people.” The non-verbal performance set in

July 18, 2012

Deep Purple’s Jon Lord dies

LONDON (AP) ― British rocker Jon Lord, the keyboardist whose powerful, driving tones helped turn Deep Purple and Whitesnake into two of the most popular hard rock acts in a generation, died Monday. He was 71. A statement on Lord’s official website says the Leicester, England-born musician suffered a fatal pulmonary embolism in London after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. “Jon passed from Darkness to Light,” the statement said. Lord co-wrote some of Deep Purple’s most famous tunes, includin

July 17, 2012

Britain’s Tate Modern gets tanked up

LONDON (AFP) ― Britain’s Tate Modern opens the former power station’s giant underground oil tanks as an art space on Wednesday, vastly increasing the capacity of the world’s most visited modern art gallery.The tanks ― which measure 30 meters in diameter and seven meters high and once held one million gallons of oil ― are designed to accommodate giant installations, as well as host performances and projections.The huge circular areas will help Tate Modern overcome a crippling lack of space for th

July 17, 2012

Full spectrum of images at Leeum

Young Korean artists and Swiss video artist offer snapshots of latest visual art trendLeeum, Samsung Museum of Art presents two special exhibitions featuring still pictures, documentaries and video work created by young Korean artists and an internationally renowned visual artist. The museum is holding a group exhibition of eight young Korean visual artists as part of its biennial ArtSpectrum project and a solo exhibition of the world-famous Swiss visual artist Pipilotti Rist for two months. “We

July 17, 2012

BoA returns with ‘Only One’

The K-pop queen is back. BoA, one of the first generation K-pop stars who led hallyu in the early 2000s will release her new album this weekend, her agency, S.M. Entertainment said.Her seventh full-length album “Only One” will be released on Sunday online and on July 25 offline. It is her first album in two years after her sixth album “Hurricane Venus” in 2010. The 26-year-old star will promote her new album with the lead song “Only One,” which is her first experience in song-writing, S.M. Enter

July 17, 2012

Bringing back Korea’s black soul

Independent artists attempt to revive hip-hop clubs in Hongdae,offer young underground artists chance to performStarting in the late 1990s, Afro-American music, encompassing a wide range of music genres including hip hop, soul, R&B and reggae, swept the country’s music scene. The popularity of hip hop, in particular, brought a huge influx of related culture. Streets were filled with young people wearing so-called hip hop jeans ― baggy and worn extremely low on the waist ― and extra large T-shirt

July 16, 2012

Life of late poet featured in dance-musical

Han Ah-reum, writer of musical ‘Hero,’ returns with period drama about Yun Dong-ju“May I look up into the heaven until the day I die ― without a bit of shame,” poet Yun Dong-ju (1917-1945) famously wrote in his poem “Prologue” in 1941, at the age of 25. The poet, who lived through the turbulent years of Japanese rule, often wrote about the sense of shame in his lyrical and sometimes politically-resistant poems. He was ashamed that his poems were being written “too easily” while many were sufferi

July 16, 2012

France’s far-right National Front to sue Madonna over swastika

France’s far-right National Front said Sunday it plans to sue Madonna over a video at the U.S. pop star’s concert in France showing party leader Marine Le Pen with a swastika on her forehead.“We cannot accept such an odious comparison,” National Front vice-president Florian Philippot said, adding that the legal action would be filed this week.The video, which served as a backdrop for Madonna’s performance of the song “Nobody Knows Me,” flashed a picture of Le Pen’s forehead superimposed with a s

July 16, 2012

Art exhibitions in S. Korea celebrate London Olympics

British-themed exhibitions encompass contemporary artworks to BeatlesArt may not be the first thing to come to mind when you think of the Olympics. But the quadrennial event can be the largest and most effective cultural celebration as many eyes will be on the host country for more than two weeks and the events will be remembered for much longer. With less than two weeks left until the 2012 London Olympics, art galleries in Seoul are celebrating the big sporting event with art exhibitions on Bri

July 15, 2012

Calendar

 Dance“Swan Lake”: Russia’s Novosibrisk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre is presenting Tchaikovsky classic “Swan Lake.” The piece is directed by Igor Zelensky while its stage and costume have been designed by Louisa Spinatelli. The show runs from July 26 to 29 at Seoul Arts Center. Tickets range from 50,000 won to 250,000 won. For more information, visit www.sac.or.kr or call (02) 2650-7481. “Orpheus and Eurydice”: Kim Yong-geol Dance Theater presents its original creative repertory “Orph

July 13, 2012

Eyelike

Zac Brown Band show diversity on new CDZac Brown Band"Uncaged" (Southern Ground/Atlantic)The Zac Brown Band delivers a message with the title of its new album, "Uncaged" -- and the songs back up that statement. Although still likely to be described as a country band, the Georgia group purposely, and admirably, avoids current Nashville conventions on their new collection.Ten years in, the ZBB instead focus on the tight interplay the ensemble has developed through heavy touring, dwelling on instru

July 13, 2012

Coming of age in ‘Romeo and Juliet’

UBC dancer Ahn Ji-eun theatrically impressive in MacMillan’s interpretation of Shakespearean tragedyWhile considered one of the greatest love stories of all time, Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” is also a coming-of-age story.The piece is filled with adolescent rebellion; it deals with first love, loss of innocence, and the characters’ first efforts to separate themselves from their parents. The young lovers’ tragedy largely stems from having patriarchal, controlling parents, who ignore their na

July 12, 2012