EXO to drop special winter album 'Universe' next week

K-pop boy group EXO will release its seasonal winter album "Universe" next week, its agency said Thursday."Universe" will be released Dec. 21 in digital and physical formats, and will feature seven songs, including the lead rock ballad track "Universe," according to S.M. Entertainment. The group has put out seasonal winter albums each year since 2013. (S.M. Entertainment)EXO released its fourth studio album "The War" and its repackaged deluxe edition "The War: The Power of Music" this year, sell

Dec. 14, 2017

Korean actress Song Hye-kyo to attend summit dinner of Moon, Xi

BEIJING (Yonhap) -- South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo will attend a state dinner to be hosted by Chinese Presidet Xi Jinping for President Moon Jae-in, an official from the South's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Wednesday.The dinner, set for Thursday, will mark Song's first public appearance since her wedding late October. The 35-year-old star of the 2016 hit drama "Descendants of the Sun" tied the knot with another Descendants of the Sun star, Song Joong-ki. Song Hye-kyo (UAA)Thursday's

Dec. 13, 2017

[Album review] Taeyeon’s Christmas ballads heaven to ears

Taeyeon“This Christmas - Winter Is Coming”Genie MusicWho would have imagined that songs by a member of Girls’ Generation would be the perfect fit for the festive Christmas spirit? Also a soloist, Taeyeon’s breezy and sugary voice has always been appreciated by K-pop fans. And combining such a dulcet voice with the holiday season has resulted in the most sophisticated Christmas tunes of this year. “This Christmas - Winter Is Coming,” Taeyeon’s first seasonal effort, is not like Mariah Carey’s cla

Dec. 13, 2017

‘As If It’s Your Last’ most viewed K-pop video of 2017

Black Pink’s “As If It’s Your Last” music video is so popular, even the Flash cannot get enough of it. The video, which made a cameo appearance in the film “Justice League,” was ranked the most viewed K-pop related video of this year on YouTube. The video-sharing platform tallied the views from Nov. 24, 2016, to Nov. 23, 2017, during which the Black Pink’s 2017 single outperformed other K-pop stars like BTS and Twice. As of Wednesday, the video has over 198 million views. Black Pink (YG Entertai

Dec. 13, 2017

BTS to bid US fans ‘happy new year’ on ‘Dick Clark’

BTS will celebrate New Year’s Eve by making a guest appearance at the annual US television special “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.”Big Hit Entertainment on Wednesday confirmed the boy band’s appearance on the show via its official SNS pages. The show, created by the legendary television personality Dick Clark, is broadcast live from New York City’s Times Square, and prominently covers the annual dropping of the Times Square Ball.The show also features live and pre-recorded performances by

Dec. 13, 2017

[Video] Rebellious Swings is ‘confident’ despite ‘haters’

[Herald Interview]Admittedly, Swings, whose real name is Moon Ji-hoon, is one of the most talked-about, controversial and rebellious figures in the Korean music scene. This outspoken rapper, whose words are often unpolished and raw, is used to being a target of public criticism for fearlessly unleashing his rough nature. To name a few, he cusses in front of a camera, talks about sex and was once slammed by the media for revealing that he had kissed random girls in a club in the past. But still,

Dec. 12, 2017

[Newsmaker] Year of BTS? Group makes impact both in and out of Korea

For BTS, the year 2017 marked the year it became a global pop icon, smashing records and making milestone achievements locally and internationally. While it has always been among the popular K-pop groups, this year saw BTS solidifying its position as the clear frontrunner in the scene.The boy band‘s latest feat came on Monday when Billboard ranked BTS as No. 10 in its annual year-end top 10 artists list. The list was led by Ed Sheeran, trailed by Bruno Mars, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, Th

Dec. 12, 2017

EXO’s ‘Ko Ko Bop’ tops 100 million views on YouTube

The music video for EXO’s “Ko Ko Bop” has been viewed over 100 million times on YouTube. The video for the lead track off “The War,” the group’s fourth full-length studio album released in July, hit the milestone Tuesday morning, becoming the group’s sixth video to surpass 100 million views on the global video-sharing website.  (S.M. Entertainment)The K-pop sensation had already broken the mark five times, with “Overdose,” “Growl,” “Call Me Baby,” Monster” and “Wolf.”According to monthly album c

Dec. 12, 2017

Twice tops music streaming charts with 'Heart Shaker'

Idol group Twice on Tuesday conquered all major music streaming charts with its newest release "Heart Shaker."The lead song for Twice's new album "Merry & Happy" ranked No. 1 on eight music streaming services, including Melon, Genie, Olleh Music, Mnet.com, Bugs and Naver Music. The music video has racked up more than 7.6 million views on YouTube. "Heart Shaker" became Twice's seventh No. 1 song since the band's debut. Enjoying wide popularity in Asia, the nine-member female act has delivered hit

Dec. 12, 2017

BTS becomes top-10 artist on Billboard's year-end chart

K-pop group BTS has made the list of the top 10 musicians in the United States for 2017, according to American music publication Billboard.BTS ranked No. 10 on Billboard's Top Artists year-end chart this year, as seen on the company's website Monday (local time). Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars led the chart, trailed by Drake, Kendrick Lamar, The Weeknd, the Chainsmokers and Justin Bieber.The chart ranks artists based on their performance on the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200 and Social 50 charts, a

Dec. 12, 2017

EXO’s ‘The War’ goes platinum, and beyond

EXO has gone 4-for-4 with its studio albums, achieving platinum status with all four full-length albums as of Monday.According to monthly album charts on Gaon, EXO has sold 1.086 million copies of “The War,” its fourth studio album. The repackaged version “The War: The Power of Music” has sold an additional 506,485 copies,The combined sales figure of nearly 1.6 million records is more than that of any other EXO record.  EXO (S.M. Entertainment)The K-pop juggernaut splashed onto the music scene o

Dec. 11, 2017

HyunA tops China's QQ Music charts for 'Lip & Hip'

HyunA, a former member of the now-disbanded girl group 4minute, topped four charts of QQ Music, the largest music streaming and downloading service in China, for her new single "Lip & Hip," her management said Monday.The song ranked No. 1 on QQ Music's general new songs chart, general music video chart, K-pop chart and K-pop music video chart, according to Cube Entertainment.The general new songs chart includes all songs from China, Korea, Japan and America. (Cube Entertainment)Released last Mon

Dec. 11, 2017

BTS presents tearful, beautiful finale of ‘Wings’ tour in Seoul

On its epic journey since 2013, BTS has risen like a phoenix. Once a rookie group struggling to survive in the stormy K-pop scene, the group is now called a world-dominating super star, hitting the US charts, grabbing global headlines and mesmerizing fans all over the world. After leaving their footprints around the globe, the K-pop superstar finally landed on its home turf, where it put an end mark on its monthslong “Wings” tour that kicked off in Seoul in February. And its retrospective “grand

Dec. 11, 2017

BT21 character products to launch in Seoul, New York

BT21, a set of characters created by K-pop boy band BTS and Naver’s Line Friends, will launch its character products in Seoul and New York.Line Friends said Monday that it would open a pop-up store for the character merchandise at Boon the Shop in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul from Saturday to Jan. 14, 2018. It will also open “BT21 Zone” in its flagship store in New York on Saturday. Character-related merchandise such as dolls, cushions and fashion items will be available at the stores. The Seoul pop-up

Dec. 11, 2017

Back home, BTS takes aim at top 10 of Billboard Hot 100

It’s been a history-making year for BTS, the K-pop sensation that has made ripples around the globe with its recent US debut and everything in between. Having left footsteps across several continents with its “Wings” world tour that kicked off in Seoul in February, BTS finally returned home to wrap up its monthslong global journey in Seoul at Gocheok Skydome on Sunday. And the ever-growing K-pop act expressed its ambition to enter top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and debut at No. 1 on Billboard 2

Dec. 10, 2017

Twice’s ‘Knock Knock’ tops most popular music video on YouTube

The music video for “Knock Knock,” the lead track off Twice’s February album “Twicecoaster: Lane 2,” ranked as the most popular music video on YouTube for 2017 in Korea, the video sharing platform revealed Thursday.It marked the second consecutive year that the group topped the list after it snatched No. 1 spot on the list with its music video for “Cheer Up” last year.Following “Knock Knock” on this year’s list was another music video from the group, “Signal,” which is the lead track off the gro

Dec. 8, 2017

[Herald Interview] Choi Gonne reflects on last year’s ‘Candlelight Revolution’ in ‘Highlander’

Months have passed since hundreds of thousands of candle-holders declared victory for people power after months of protests to oust President Park Geun-hye in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square.  The air was icy, but what Choi Gonne remembers from the demonstrations is neither hatred nor rage. What she saw were people united, regardless of age or gender, bundled up in coats, singing and chanting tunes calling for Park’s ouster, street vendors selling mattresses and hot snacks and young students marching

Dec. 8, 2017

BTS’ new Japanese single tops Oricon chart

BTS again proved its popularity in Japan, with its eighth Japanese single “Mic Drop/ DNA/ Crystal Snow” notching the No. 1 spot on Oricon’s daily singles chart. The album, released on Wednesday, landed the top spot with a total of 269,861 Oricon points on the first day of release, making this the fifth time the group has shot to the top of the Japanese charts.  “Drop/ DNA/ Crystal Snow” (Big Hit Entertainment)BTS first topped the Oricon charts in June 2015 with its fourth Japanese single “For Yo

Dec. 7, 2017

[Album review] Day6 completes puzzle with ‘Moonrise’

Day6“Moonrise”Genie Music　When Day6 announced its yearlong monthly song release project “Every Day6” in December last year, a spell was cast. Fans have been waiting for the group’s new songs every day for the past year, sharing the joy of filling in the 12-piece puzzle along with the band. And with the year-end album “Moonrise,” Day6 has finally completed the world it has been dreaming of with one last remaining piece.As a band known for its versatility, the self-written and composed 18-track al

Dec. 6, 2017

Super Junior’s web reality show ‘SJ Returns’ to air on TV

K-pop act Super Junior’s web reality show “SJ Returns,” which chronicled the group’s comeback preparations, is now being shown on TV. The show, which was initially streamed on the Naver TV Cast channel and the V Live channel in October, started its six-week run on the cable channel JTBC2 on Wednesday at 9 p.m. “SJ Returns” had topped Naver V Live channel’s monthly chart with more than 24 million views. It showed how the members prepared for the new album over 120 days after a two-year break as a

Dec. 6, 2017