Garth Brooks makes a return to musicGarth Brooks“Man Against Machine”(RCA Nashville)As would be expected, Garth Brooks strives for an epic statement on his re-entry into full-time recording, after a 13-year hiatus.Unlike most modern male country stars, Brooks looks beyond partying and celebrating rural life on “Man Against Machine.” Like U2 or Bruce Springsteen, Brooks positions himself as a cultural figurehead who speaks for, and to, the common man.To his credit, Brooks represents the middle cl

Jan. 30, 2015

2PM2PM has topped Oricon chart with the new single “Guilty Love” since its release on Wednesday, the group’s agency said. According to JYP Entertainment, the group also held the first and second spot on Japan’s leading music streaming service charts RecoChoku and Dwango, respectively. The single has also won the top-tier spot in the list of record sales at Tower Record. “We are glad 2PM started the year with their success on major music charts. They send their appreciation to their fans,” said t

Jan. 30, 2015

PHOENIX (AP) ― Katy Perry says her American football championship Super Bowl halftime performance will make you “Roar” ― with animals.The singer told reporters at a press conference that her performance Sunday will include “a lion and sharks.”“It’s going to be wild out there,” Perry teased.Perry, 30, said she feels blessed to perform on the Super Bowl stage “at such a young age.” She said she enjoyed past Super Bowl performances from Beyonceuro and Madonna, and what she adds “is some lighthearte

Jan. 30, 2015

Kuhyun (left) and Yoseob star in the musical “Das Musical Robin Hood” (OSEN)Yoseob of K-pop idol group BEAST has joined the Korean rendition of the German musical “Das Musical Robin Hood.” He will play the protagonist Prince Phillip, sharing the role with Kuhyun of idol group Super Junior and musical actor Park Sung-hwan. “It was difficult to play a role that requires (one) to be childish,” said Yoseob at a press event in Seoul on Friday. “Contrary to my image, I am not immature,” he said with a

Jan. 30, 2015

Kim Young-gyui had spent nearly 16 hours a day in a car for the past 30 years. The 66-year-old veteran taxi driver rode about 750,000 kilometers, more than twice the distance an average car travels in its lifetime. Recently, he had to bid farewell to his car upon retirement and was about to send it to a junkyard to be scrapped. As luck would have it, he got a chance to keep his faithful companion with Hyundai Motor’s campaign “Brilliant Memories” that transforms old, used cars into objects that

Jan. 29, 2015

Up-and-coming violinist Zia Hyunsu Shin ventures into a new terrain, playing Latin American folk songs on a new album. “Canto Antigo,” released Tuesday by Universal Music, is a collection of 16 folk pieces ― mostly from Latin America ― played on a rare combination of instruments ― one violin and two classical guitars. “At first, I was a little worried about the combination, but it turned out very nicely. The sounds (of violin and guitar) go really well together, adding a warm feel to the music,”

Jan. 29, 2015

Legendary American jazz pianists Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock will make their way to Korea in May to stage a joint performance at this year’s edition of Seoul Jazz Festival, organizers announced Thursday.The two legends will be performing a piano duet in Seoul as part of their world concert tour. It has been 37 years since Corea and Hancock last toured together ― the last time being back in 1978.“Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock are top-notch jazz artists. Their music has stood the test of time,

Jan. 29, 2015

Big Bang. (YG Entertainment)K-pop hit idol group Big Bang will make a comeback in the coming months, almost two years since it released its album “Still Alive,” a local media outlet said Wednesday.Yang Hyun-seok, the CEO of YG Entertainment, confirmed in a recent interview that Big Bang is putting the finishing touches on its new album.Big Bang fans have been waiting for a new album since early 2014, when the five members had a concert tour of Japanese cities.YG chief also said confirmed the lau

Jan. 28, 2015

Poster for “Live Club Day.” (Yonhap)An iconic Hongdae music festival will start up again after a four-year halt, a music industry official said Wednesday. According to the music agency Company F, the “Live Club Day” festival will resume on Feb. 27 with the participation of 10 live clubs and 40 teams of musicians. Live Club Day, which will be held on the last Friday of every month, will offer music lovers access to different clubs in the Hongdae area with the purchase of a single 20,000 won ($18)

Jan. 28, 2015

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Placido Domingo will take on his 146th role when he sings the title character of Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi” in a Woody Allen production on Sept. 12, the opening night of the Los Angeles Opera 2015-16 season. Allen will return to direct his staging, which premiered in 2008, the company announced Tuesday. Domingo will conduct the second half of the double bill, a revival of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1996 production of Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” featuring Marco Berti as Canio.  Placido

Jan. 28, 2015

In Korea, one of the world’s most wired and tech-savvy countries, music and entertainment mingles with futuristic gimmicks. Holograms and virtual reality technologies are being increasingly deployed as an alternative to live performances as Seoul seeks to entertain the burgeoning group of K-pop fans visiting the home country of their idols. Although it may sound creepy to some, hologram concerts and virtual spaces where fans can digitally interact with their idols are a real business here, with

Jan. 26, 2015

NEW YORK, (AFP) ― Rihanna, who has topped the charts with a pop-driven R&B sound, has unveiled a new acoustic song in a collaboration with Beatles legend Paul McCartney.Rihanna unexpectedly late Saturday released the new single, “FourFiveSeconds,” which features the Barbados-born singer’s signature robust voice but has a minimal backdrop of McCartney’s guitar strumming without percussion or electronic elements. The song also features verses sung by rapper Kanye West. The track is the latest coll

Jan. 26, 2015

CHICAGO (AP) ― Fans of the Grateful Dead want a campout-style atmosphere during three 50th anniversary concerts in July at Chicago’s Soldier Field, but whether the venue will allow it is another question.Jeremy Davis, of Florida, started an online petition ― which had about 8,000 signatures by Saturday ― asking that overnight parking be allowed in lots surrounding the stadium along Lake Michigan.Davis said it would keep the anticipated tens of thousands of fans from crowding downtown streets and

Jan. 25, 2015

On April 19, 2013, a satellite was launched into space at Baikonur Cosmodrome, the international space launch site in Kazakhstan. The event went mostly unnoticed by the media, but the take-off was celebrated by a South Korean who became the first individual to launch his own satellite. Usually, satellites are launched for specific purposes. They are used to monitor cloud patterns for weather, give GPS signals, or send back information about space or the Earth’s atmospheric conditions. This satel

Jan. 23, 2015

Foo Fighters’ ‘Sonic Highways’ is a worthwhile tripFoo Fighters“Sonic Highways”RCA RecordsTwenty years into their career as one of the leading rock bands in the world, Foo Fighters continue to find ways to challenge both themselves and their listeners.On “Sonic Highways,” a companion to the similarly named HBO television series, the Dave Grohl-fronted band, with assistance from producer Butch Vig, tasked itself with touching down in eight U.S. cities, exploring each town’s music history, and the

Jan. 23, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) ― Jazz greats Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock share much in common, but the last time they toured together was 37 years ago, when Jimmy Carter was in the White House and Sony had just introduced the Walkman. The performers announced a world tour of duo piano concerts on Thursday. It kicks off March 14 in Seattle. “Chick and I have always had an open door toward the possibility of touring again,” Hancock said in an email. “We both felt that enough time has passed since our last major

Jan. 23, 2015

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Finnish conductor with an enthusiasm for modern, U.S.-inspired works, was Wednesday named composer-in-residence at the New York Philharmonic.The New York Philharmonic announced the appointment as it unveiled its 2015-16 season, which will also include prominent roles for the American bass-baritone Eric Owens and the Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov.Salonen, who will write a new piece for the philharmonic, was named composer-in-residence for the next three s

Jan. 22, 2015

EXO. (SM Entertainment)March will see a battle of K-pop titans, as EXO and Big Bang are both preparing to make their return. The 10-member group EXO plans to drop a new album in March, after dominating year-end music awards with its third EP, “Overdose.” The exact date of its album release is not yet fixed, but the boys did schedule the date of their stage return ― the “EXO PLANET #2 ― The EXO’luXion” concert series, to be held on March 7, 8, 14 and 15 at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in eastern

Jan. 22, 2015