BTS' J-Hope drops first solo mixtape

J-Hope of popular boy band BTS has released his much-anticipated first mixtape, his management agency said Friday.The singer uploaded the music of the mixtape titled "Hope World" and the video for its title song "Daydream" on social media and SoundCloud at midnight, according to Big Hit Entertainment.Mixtape is a homemade compilation of self-produced recordings, which is free of charge to the public. J-Hope became the third BTS member to drop a mixtape after RM in 2015 and Suga in 2016. BTS` J-H

March 2, 2018

Singer Heo Young-ji confirms relationship with Guckkasten’s Ha Hyun-woo

Heo Young-ji of the defunct girl group Kara has been in a relationship with Ha Hyun-woo of the indie-rock band Guckkasten for around six months, Heo’s agency said Thursday. The two began their relationship in the second half of last year according to DPS Media.“After meeting through mutual friends, Ha Hyun-woo and Heo Young-ki contacted each other and recently began to have feelings for one another. They are cautiously getting to know each other,” it said. Heo Young-ji’s InstagramHeo and Ha repo

March 1, 2018

BTS wins Musician of the Year at 2018 Korean Music Awards

K-pop group BTS on Wednesday won the Musician of the Year award at the 2018 Korean Music Awards, an independent music award show that focuses on both mainstream and genre music by South Korean artists.BTS was chosen winner of the award by the KMA's selection committee, composed of 56 judges who are music journalists, radio and television music program producers, columnists and critics. BTS was nominated earlier this month along with singer-songwriter IU, indie rock band Hyukoh and folk musician

March 1, 2018

[Album review] Is it Sunggyu‘s album or Kim Jong-wan’s?

Sunggyu“10 Stories”Loen Entertainment　When offstage, Sunggyu of Infinite has always been an upfront man unafraid of expressing his deep, sophisticated feelings. And it’s a good thing to see his trait bloom musically, with the help of his mentor Kim Jong-wan, the singer with indie band Nell. Sunggyu’s first full-length solo album, also his third solo release, shows a lot of influence from Kim, who produced all of the album’s 10 tracks. It’s not surprising to see the Nell frontman’s fingerprints a

Feb. 28, 2018

iKon makes surprise announcement for new song

Fans of iKon are in for an unexpected treat, as the boy band on Tuesday announced an unscheduled release of a new song for Monday.A teaser image for the song, whose title and concept have not been revealed, was released on YG Entertainment’s official blog (www.yg-life.com) with an image of a red rubber band being pulled on both sides. A teaser image for iKon’s new song (YG Entertainment)The release will come just a little over a month after iKon released its second full-length studio album “Retu

Feb. 28, 2018

SHINee pays tribute to Jonghyun in Japan concert

Standing before avid fans in Japan, the members of SHINee expressed love and respect for their former bandmate Jonghyun, whose premature death last year shocked the Asian music scene.The K-pop act on Monday and Tuesday held concerts at Tokyo Dome to wrap up its Japan tour, which kicked off with performances at the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka from Feb. 17-18. The concerts brought together an accumulated 180,000 fans. SHINee (S.M. Entertainment)But the highlight of the tour was when the members pa

Feb. 28, 2018

WJSN works on making ‘Dreams Come True’

Back with a brand new concept, WJSN wishes to work some magic as it tries to encourage fans to achieve their dreams. The 13-member girl band dropped its fourth EP “Dream Your Dream” on Tuesday. A few hours before the release, the band held a media showcase at Gwangjin-gu in eastern Seoul.  WJSN performs “Dreams Come True” at a media showcase Tuesday at Yes24 Live Hall, Gwangjin-gu of Seoul. (Yonhap)With the title song “Dreams Come True,” the EP contains six songs in total --“Love O’clock,” “Rena

Feb. 28, 2018

Universal Ballet Company to hold gala performances this week

Universal Ballet Company will hold its second gala premiere from Friday to Sunday. Celebrating its 34th anniversary this year, the ballet company will give special performances comprising 11 scenes from works it has produced over the years. They include major scenes from “Swan Lake,” “Onegin,” “Giselle,” “Le Corsaire,” “Don Quixote,” “The Love of Chunhyang,” “Multiplicity, Forms of Silence and Emptiness,” and Mariinsky Ballet Company’s version of “Romeo and Juliet” and “Ballet 101.”A scene from

Feb. 28, 2018

Crush, KARD, 3rd Line Butterfly among Korean artists to perform at 2018 SXSW, TGE

Up-and-coming Korean musicians will showcase a wide range of genres at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) and The Great Escape music festivals.They will perform in this year’s “Korea Spotlight,” which consists of annual showcases for Korean talent hosted by the state-run Korea Creative Content Agency at SXSW and TGE.  Musicians who are to perform at the “Korea Spotlight” showcase event of the South by Southwest music festival pose during a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday. (Korea Creative

Feb. 27, 2018

TIMF 2018 to celebrate return of Yun I-sang

“Now 23 years after his death, he will finally return home and find his last resting place in Tongyeong,” said Florian Riem, CEO of the Tongyeong International Music Festival, during a press conference at the Goethe-Institut in Seoul on Tuesday. The TIMF 2018 is slated to kick off on March 30, along with the reinterment ceremony for Yun I-sang scheduled on the same day. Originally developed from a concert titled “‘Night of Yun I-sang’s Music” in 1999, TIMF this year will become a special tribute

Feb. 27, 2018

G-Dragon of Big Bang joins military

Big Bang’s G-Dragon has enlisted in the military. Rapper-singer Kwon Ji-yong, widely known by his stage name G-Dragon, began his mandatory military service by joining the five-week basic training camp Tuesday. Military service is compulsory for all able-bodied men in Korea.  G-Dragon enters the basic training camp at Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Tuesday.(Yonhap)His management agency YG Entertainment previously announced that it would not hold any official farewell events for fans, adding that the

Feb. 27, 2018

Infinite’s Sungkyu fills new solo album with 10 stories

Veering away from the aggressive dance he once did with his bandmates, Sungkyu of K-pop boy band Infinite returned as an emotional soloist with “10 Stories,” the singer‘s first solo full-length album. “This is my third solo album, and I feel more nervous than if it were Infinite’s comeback. When I was part of Infinite, we’d told stories of the members, but today, I feel nervous as I have to talk alone,” said Sungkyu during a media showcase for his new album “10 Stories” in Seoul on Monday. The 1

Feb. 27, 2018

[Trending] CL’s ‘Bad Girl’ performance sparks mixed reactions

When the lights went down at PyeongChang main stadium Sunday night, CL appeared on stage to get the crowd going. However, her fierce performance to her hit song “The Baddest Female” didn’t seem in-line with the much-anticipated closing ceremony show. As soon as the K-pop diva appeared on stage, the name “CL” shot to the first spot of the real-time trending bar on Naver and stayed on the rankings until the end of the day. CL performs at PyeongChang main stadium on Feb. 25. (Yonhap)“I wanted to in

Feb. 26, 2018

H.O.T. relives heyday through MBC’s ‘Infinite Challenge’

Legendary K-pop act H.O.T. presented fans with the best present they had been waiting for: Reuniting after 17 years through MBC’s “Infinite Challenge.”Saturday’s episode of MBC’s variety program featured the five-piece band throwing a concert attended by about 2,500 fans at the Olympic Hall in Seoul as a part of the program’s special edition “ToToGa 3: Return of the Kings,” which chronicled the group’s process for its reunion. The actual concert was recorded earlier on Feb. 15. H.O.T. performs a

Feb. 25, 2018

Rapper under fire for sexually harassing underage fan

Rapper Don Malik has admitted to sexually harassing a high school student. On Wednesday, the rapper, whose actual name is Moon In-sub, was accused of sexually assaulting a high school student fan. The victim said through social media that the rapper demanded sexual acts against her will. Later in the day, the rapper’s management agency, Daze Alive Music, admitted to the accusation and announced that Don Malik would immediately be expelled from the label.  Don Malik (Daze Alive Music)Don Malik is

Feb. 23, 2018

[Weekender] ‘What’s your flashing green light?’

“Gatsby and I, it was such a perfect coincidence. I just immediately related to him.” When PH-1, a 25-year-old rapper from the US, finished recording two tracks for his latest EP -- both of which take critical aim at society -- he couldn’t find an overarching theme for the album. And while flipping through Netflix, he stumbled upon “The Great Gatsby” film based on F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s 1925 novel. And a light bulb switched on. “I thought of Gatsby as a person who has everything but at the same t

Feb. 23, 2018

[Weekender] Hip-hop: More than music

In the summer of 2013, Korea was set ablaze by a series of “diss tracks” shot out rapid-fire by local hip-hop artists. Rapper Swings kick-started it with a track attacking the entire Korean hip-hop scene to the beats of “Control” by Big Sean. It soon spread to engulf the scene within a month.Put aside the head-butting of the rappers, the amount of attention it got -- making headlines and being parodied by comedy shows, video games and celebrities across the country -- was a reminder that when so

Feb. 23, 2018

BTS' rapper J-Hope to release mixtape next month

J-Hope, a rapper from the K-pop boy band BTS, will release a mixtape next month, the group's agency said Friday. Big Hit Entertainment said the 24-year-old artist will put out a solo mixtape on March 2 for the first time since the group's debut in 2013. He will be the seven-strong act's third artist to do so, after leader RM in 2015 and Suga in 2016.  (Big Hit Entertainment)A mixtape is a self-produced, experimental album that is released free of charge to share an artist's own musical taste and

Feb. 23, 2018

K-pop boy band Seventeen to debut in Japan in May

The K-pop boy band Seventeen will make its debut in Japan in May, its agency said Friday.Fledis Entertainment said the 13-member act broke the news while holding a concert titled "SEVENTEEN 2018 JAPAN ARENA TOUR SVT" in front of some 15,000 fans at Yokohama Arena in Japan on Thursday."Will you follow our dream? We are debuting in Japan," the band said after singing a series of songs in Japanese. (Yonhap)The group's latest album "Director's Cut," out on Feb. 5, gained popularity in the country, r

Feb. 23, 2018

Rock singer Yoon Do-hyun returns with two new singles

Rock singer Yoon Do-hyun has returned with two new digital singles “Song Calling for You” and “Cold” Thursday. According to his agency Dee Company, the two songs have been produced by Yoon himself, and the entire recording process, as well as the shooting for the music video, was completed in London. An image for Yoon Do-hyun‘s new single “Song Calling for You” (Dee Company)　Yoon recorded “Song Calling for You” with the London Symphony Orchestra at Air studios in London, which was founded in 196

Feb. 22, 2018