[Design Forum] Chris Riggs paints mural in Herald Square

Chris Riggs works in Herald Square on Thursday. (The Korea Herald)Chris Riggs, a New York-based artist famous for creating the art toy “Dunny,” paints a mural on the wall of Herald Design Forum headquarters in Herald Square in Seoul on Nov. 27. Riggs creates art mostly with a single theme -- love and peace. He gave a lecture on art toys at the Herald Design Forum 2014 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Nov. 26. The theme of the mural is also love and peace.(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Nov. 27, 2014

Cirque show scene returns after performer’s death

LAS VEGAS (AP) ― A key battle scene near the end of Cirque du Soleil’s “Ka” show is returning more than a year and a half after a performer fell 30 meters to her death when a wire rope snapped during the stunt. Cirque du Soleil officials have invited reporters to a Dec. 3 preview of the scene’s return at the MGM Grand hotel-casino on the Strip. Cirque expects to add the scene intermittently to regular performances for the ticket-buying public starting next week, and it will be part of every perf

Nov. 26, 2014

Cyndi Lauper, Michael Buble to perform in Seoul next year

Iconic 1980s pop star Cyndi Lauper will be making her way back to Korea for the first time in 26 years, hosting two solo shows at the Seoul Olympic Park’s Olympic Hall on Jan. 23 and 24. Often compared to the likes of Madonna, Lauper’s 1983 debut album, “She’s So Unusual,” became the first debut album by a female artist to have four Top 5 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” “Time After Time,” “She Bop” and “All Through The Night.” The singles made Lauper one of th

Nov. 26, 2014

Top K-pop agency denies Alibaba investment report

South Korea’s biggest K-pop entertainment firm on Tuesday denied a report that it was the target of a major investment deal worth at least $90 million from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.“We are discussing potential partnerships with many companies in order to diversify our businesses in China,” SM Entertainment said in a regulatory filing.“But the report on the investment deal with Alibaba is not true,” the company added.The Korea Economic Daily had cited unnamed industry sources saying Aliba

Nov. 25, 2014

[Herald Review] Mraz captures his niche live, pared back and unplugged

Sharing more popularity in the country than almost any other international pop star on the planet, Jason Mraz returned to Seoul for his seventh concert performance here in eight years ― only this time around, the singer left his amps at home. Invigorating thousands with his signature earthy, groovy beats in two sold-out acoustic concerts at the Sejong Center on Monday and Tuesday, an acoustic evening with Mraz and friends was an unexpected revelation, speaking as someone who has seen the singer

Nov. 25, 2014

Sangmyung University exhibits photos by visually impaired

A female photographer reads braille text on a work in an exhibition of photographs by the visually impaired at Sangmyung Art Hall Gallery in Seoul. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)Sangmyung University is holding an exhibition of photographs taken by the visually impaired in Sangmyung Art Hall Gallery in Seoul until Nov. 30.The exhibition, “The World Seen Through Mind,” in its eighth year, is showcasing about 70 works, with scenes from Seoul that include Itaewon alleys, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, C

Nov. 25, 2014

1D, Katy Perry win big at American Music Awards

American girls love British boys: One Direction won artist of the year at the American Music Awards, taking home three honors and was the night’s big winner next to Katy Perry, who didn’t attend the show. One Direction also won favorite band, duo or group ― pop/rock and favorite album ― pop/rock for “Midnight Memories” at the fan-voted show on Sunday night. “This has been a real perfect day. ... America feels like a second home to us,” Liam Payne said onstage with his band mates when they won th

Nov. 24, 2014

Gay singers test country music’s appeal

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Church, pickup trucks and dive bars ― the imagery of classic country songs evokes “traditional” small-town American life. Now a rising number of openly gay crooners are testing just how inclusive that vision can be.Two prominent singers came out of the closet within hours of each other on Thursday. Ty Herndon, who rose to stardom in the 1990s with both love ballads and Christian songs, declared himself to be an “out, proud and happy gay man.”Herndon, who at 52 has been married t

Nov. 23, 2014

Eyelike: Florida Georgia Line fun on 2nd album

Florida Georgia Line fun on 2nd albumFlorida Georgia Line“Anything Goes”(Republic Nashville)Busting out with a record-breaking country single, as Florida Georgia Line did with its multiplatinum smash, “Cruise,” doesn’t always ensure long-term success. But “Anything Goes,” the duo’s second album, suggests they have enough talent and ideas to get past the backlash that comes with overexposure. Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley keep the mood fun and grooving, with producer Joey Moi bringing plenty of

Nov. 21, 2014

Singer-songwriter Choi Gonne talks ‘I was, I am, I will’

After releasing her debut EP in 2010, local indie singer-songwriter Choi Gonne has spent the last four years bringing her music around the world and taking all the leisurely yet methodical steps she needed to perfect her soon-to-be-released first full-length album, “I was, I am, I will.” Gonne unveiled a number of her newest singles during a press showcase held at the KT&G Sangsang Madang on Thursday, where she admitted to having recorded the entire 13-track album using only one-take sessions wi

Nov. 21, 2014

Han Young-ae returns after 15 years

It has been 15 years since classic rock singer Han Young-ae released a new album. Yearning to tackle the arduous task of adapting her original ’80s psychedelic music style to today’s more eclectic music scene, Han admitted to adding a new word to her repertoire to help jumpstart her upcoming sixth studio album, “Shakipo.” “‘Hybrid’ ― have you ever heard of this?” asked Han, during a press showcase Wednesday for her new album. “This is a new term that I didn’t know until recently.” Han Young-ae p

Nov. 20, 2014

[Herald Interview] Bringing heaven down to earth

For pop-opera singer Lim Hyung-joo, 2014 has had some unexpected turns. At the start of the year, the 28-year-old musician had high hopes for his fifth full-length album, “Finally,” which came out at the end of 2013.Those hopes were crushed when the ferry Sewol sank on April 16. The country’s entire cultural scene came to a virtual standstill, as the nation mourned the loss of over 300 lives, mostly of them teenagers, in the tragic accident. Then, suddenly a song from his 2008 EP “My Hero” toppe

Nov. 19, 2014

‘Side Show’ a soaring, must-see musical

NEW YORK (AP) ― After the favorably reviewed musical “Side Show” closed its original three-month Broadway run in 1997, swallowing a $7 million loss for its producers, it still garnered four Tony Award nominations. Potential audience members stayed away because the idea of seeing the story of real-life British conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton onstage seemed disturbing. Seventeen years later, so-called “freaks” are in vogue on TV and “The Elephant Man” is about to begin a Broadway revival.

Nov. 19, 2014

10cm gets risque on new ‘3.0’ album

The lighthearted lyrical masterminds of acoustic duo 10cm have finally unveiled their third studio album, “3.0,” a release that will surprise some fans with songs of a more sexual nature. Kwon Jung-yeol and Yoon Cheol-jong, the duo that helped catapult indie music into the mainstream by singing good-natured songs about Americanos and loving someone even if they smell, claim they are slowly starting to shift toward more risque topics on their new 10-track album, which dropped Wednesday. “To be pe

Nov. 19, 2014