BTS' new album tops iTunes charts in 65 nations

The new album by BTS has dominated the iTunes charts globally, within hours of its release, its agency said Saturday. Big Hit Entertainment said the seven-member act's third full-length album, titled "Love Yourself: Tear," claimed the top spot on iTunes' Top Albums charts in 65 countries including the US, Australia and Brazil. The main track, "Fake Love," ranked top of the iTunes' Top Songs chart in 52 nations including Denmark, Finland and Chile. All 11 songs made it into the top 20 songs of th

May 20, 2018

[Eye] Cho Yong-pil, king of Korean pop music

Before there was BTS, Psy, Girls’ Generation or Big Bang, there was Cho Yong-pil. Widely referred to as “Gawang,” which literally means the king of singing, Cho occupies a unique place in the popular music genre in Korea as the O.G. idol singer, pioneer of many genres and the most influential figure in the scene today.  Cho Yong-pil (Yonhap)Last week’s concert in Seoul commemorating the 50th anniversary of his debut was a reminder of his prominence in the Korean music scene. The tickets sold out

May 18, 2018

GD, Taeyang’s ‘Good Boy’ hits 200 million views

The official music video for “Good Boy” by Big Bang’s G-Dragon and Taeyang hit 200 million views on Friday. The video, released in November 2014, has gained popularity with its flashy neon images and unique camera movement, according to YG Entertainment.  (YG Entertainment)Along with the music video’s popularity, a video of the two-member unit’s performance for “Good Boy” at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards was the K-pop video with the most views around the world at the time.Other songs by Big B

May 18, 2018

[K-Talk] BTS’ new album sent early by mistake

BTS’ third full-length album “‘Love Yourself: Tear” was shipped out earlier than scheduled due to a mistake by the US-based shipping company.  BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)According to BTS‘ agency company Big Hit Entertainment, American commerce company Amazon made a shipping mistake with BTS‘ new album scheduled to be released at 6 p.m. local time, Friday. The case was found as individual fans started to upload images of the boy band‘s physical album on their social media pages saying that they s

May 18, 2018

Whoops! Foreign BTS fans get hands on new album before release date

BTS’ third regular EP “Love Yourself: Tear” was allegedly leaked before the promised release time of 6 p.m. Friday, due to an error by US retail website Amazon, according to a Korean media report. A screenshot of the teaser from 'Fake Love''s music videoHankook Ilbo reported Friday that foreign fans of BTS have started updating pictures of the new BTS album to their social media accounts since Thursday. It seems Amazon had already distributed the EP, but the official release date was not until n

May 18, 2018

Claims continue against use of Imperial Japan’s Rising Sun flag

While Steven Yeun’s “flag controversy” has yet to settle down, a music video from Puerto Rican singer Ozuna also stands accused of using the disputed symbol of the former Japanese Empire.Seo Kyoung-duk, professor of general education at Sungshin Women’s University, said Thursday that he has sent a letter of protest to Ozuna’s official Instagram and Facebook accounts regarding the official video of his song, “Siguelo Bailando.” A screenshot taken from the official music video of Ozuna's song, "Si

May 17, 2018

Big Bang’s Seungri becomes Tinder model

K-pop star Seungri has become a model for the online dating app Tinder in Korea, YG Entertainment announced Thursday. In one of the ads, Seungri is dressed in a suit and holds a champagne glass. In another, he is dressed casually with a smartphone in his hand.  (Tinder)“Friends of many nationalities that I meet through tours abroad and business use Tinder a lot,” said Seungri in a press release. “It’s a good fit for me, as I enjoy meeting new people,” he said on modeling for the app. Larger vers

May 17, 2018

SHINee to release three-part album

SHINee’s upcoming sixth album -- its first as a quartet -- will be released in three parts on three different dates.According to S.M. Entertainment, the boy band will release “The Story of Light EP.1,” the first segment of “The Story of Light” album, on May 28. The second and third parts will be released on June 11 and June 25, respectively. A teaser image for SHINee’s new album (S.M. Entertainment)Each part will consist of three songs and separate lead tracks, on which the group will focus its

May 16, 2018

[Album Review] Dreamcatcher’s metal rock sound is rebellious yet unfamiliar

Dreamcatcher“Escape the Era” InterparkDreamcatcher is a name that sticks out in the K-pop scene as an act whose sound is not familiar to most K-pop listeners: Its songs are heavy and rich with blaring metal elements, often referred to as the so-called Japanese anime style. As an act that values consistent concept in each album, Dreamcatcher’s recent EP “Escape the Era,” follows in the footsteps of the group’s past works. The only difference is that the act is in full-swing in revealing its rebel

May 16, 2018

Park Yu-chun splits up with fiance

　K-pop singer-cum-actor Park Yu-chun has split up with his fiance, his agency said Tuesday.    　The 32-year-old Park had been dating a granddaughter of the founder of dairy giant Namyang Dairy Products Co. since 2016 and announced a now-cancelled plan to marry the woman, who is surnamed Hwang, for September last year.　“Park Yu-chun recently ended his relationship with Hwang,” an official at C-JeS Entertainment said.　Reasons for the breakup were not given, with the official only saying that “I be

May 15, 2018

Ultra Korea adds more artists to lineup

With this year’s Ultra Korea just around the corner, the organizers for one of the largest EDM festivals in the world announced a lineup change that added Ice Cube, Modestep and RL Grime to their list of headliners.In addition to the five headliners, Carl Craig, Nicole Moudaber, Andrew Rayel, Coyu, Fedde Le Grand, Julian Jeweil, Kris Kross Amsterdam, Nastia, Popof, and Technasia were added to perform on stage on June 6-10 at a venue yet to be confirmed. Last year’s event was held at Jamsil Olymp

May 15, 2018

Lee Hi, Zion T added to Summer Sonic lineup

Lee Hi and Zion T will perform at this year’s Summer Sonic, one of Japan’s most renowned music festivals.According to the two singers’ agency, YG Entertainment, they have been added to the list of artists who will perform at Summer Sonic 2018 in Tokyo on Aug. 19. Summer Sonic is held every year simultaneously in two metropolitan cities, Tokyo and Osaka, for two days. It is scheduled to be held this year on Aug. 18 and 19.   Singer Lee Hi (top) and Zion T (YG Entertainment)Top Korean groups such

May 15, 2018

Seoul Spring Festival features less well-known music

The 2018 Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music will continue to highlight various chamber music pieces, including those that are less well known.Starting Tuesday, the Seoul-based chamber music festival will run until May 27, featuring a total of 16 concerts at venues including Seoul Arts Center, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and the preserved traditional Korean house of former President Yun Bo-sun in Anguk-dong. Violinist and the artistic director of the SSF Kang Dong-suk speaks during

May 15, 2018

Anchor apologizes to Twice for ‘service’ comment

Anchor Lee Jung-pyo has apologized to Twice for his inappropriate comment at a university festival. Last Friday, Twice performed some of its hit tracks, including “What is Love?” and “Likey,” at a festival organized by Sungkyunkwan University. After its performance, Twice left the stage. Lee, who was hosting the festival, said to the audience, “Everyone, Twice won’t come back (by just shouting) for an encore. At a time like this, (shout) ‘service.’”He repeated the comment, encouraging the audien

May 14, 2018

BTS hints more on return

BTS dropped the track list for its upcoming album “Love Yourself: Tear.” According to the band‘s agency Big Hit Entertainment on Monday, there will be 11 tracks in total, with the lead track called “Fake Love.” One of the songs will be a collaboration with Steve Aoki. The band has worked with the world-class DJ, making a remix version of its hit track “Mic Drop” last year. BTS is set to release the new album on Friday, ready to perform “Fake Love” for the first time at the 2018 Billboard Music A

May 14, 2018

Hwanhee to release new single on May 22

Hwanhee of Fly to the Sky will release a new single next week, resuming his solo career after the rhythm and blues duo’s EP last year.H2 Media announced Monday that his new digital single will be released at 6 p.m., May 22, marking the first time in 14 months for him to release a song as a solo artist. The agency said the new track will show “a radically different musical style” than demonstrated by Hwanhee previously. Hwanhee (left) and Jung Il-hoon (H2 Media)Rapper Jung Il-hoon of boy band Bto

May 14, 2018

Black Pink’s ‘As If It’s Your Last’ tops 300m views

The official music video for girl group Black Pink’s latest single “As If It’s Your Last” surpassed 300 million views on YouTube.The video, released in June 2017, reached the mark at around 3 a.m. Monday, the group’s management agency, YG Entertainment, said Monday. The video has gained the most views among K-pop music videos uploaded on YouTube last year.  (YG Entertainment)YG chief Yang Hyun-suk also congratulated Black Pink via Instagram, while apparently announcing an upcoming return for the

May 14, 2018

EXO-CBX kicks off first Japanese arena tour in Yokohama

Having recently wrapped up its “Blooming Days” promotions in Korea, EXO-CBX has kicked off its first Japanese arena tour.  EXO-CBX performs at a concert in Yokohama on Friday. (JYP Entertainment)The subunit of EXO, consisted of Chen, Baekhun and Xiumin, successfully held its first leg of “EXO-CBX Magical Circus Tour 2018” at Yokohama Arena on Friday, drawing about 13,000 concertgoers. For about two hours, the band performed 21 songs, including tracks from its first Japanese full-length album “Ma

May 13, 2018

Day6 to release new Japanese single in July

Day6 is set to drop a new Japanese single in July.The band’s agency JYP Entertainment said Saturday that the act’s second Japanese single, “Stop the Rain,” will be released on July 25. The upcoming record has been produced by Shinichi Ubukata, a guitarist known for his activities as a member of Japanese rock band Ellegarden and Nothing’s Carved in Stone.  Poster for Day6’s upcoming Japanese single “Stop the Rain” (JYP Entertainment)Day6 has also participated in writing and composing the new song

May 13, 2018

Korean production of megahit Broadway musical Chicago sets its own records

Since its launch in 1975, the Broadway musical Chicago has set a string of boundary-pushing records: the show was revived Broadway in 1996 and the ongoing revival became the longest-running American musical in Broadway history.In South Korea, the show was first staged in 2000 with local casting. Since then, the South Korean production has set its own share of unprecedented records in the South Korean musical market and the history of Chicago.For one thing, Park Kolleen, after directing the local

May 11, 2018