Saying rhymes, doing time

Crimes by stars of a popular rap competition program risk tarnishing the genre’s reputation in the countryRapper Jung Sang-soo, who made his name via popular Mnet program “Show Me the Money,” was recently charged with sexual assault, police said Wednesday.According to Ilsan Dongbu Police Station, Jung is accused of sexually assaulting a woman, who was intoxicated, at his home, although he claimed it had been consensual. Investigators have sent the case to the prosecutors, recommending that he be

May 30, 2018

[Album Review] Bolbbalgan4’s toned-down new album is relaxing

Bolbbalgan4“Red Diary Page.2”Loen Entertainment 　Bolbbalgan4 has done it again. As if to nix criticisms about its allegedly self-repeating sonic pattern, the singer-songwriting duo have put out a completely different style of music in their new album “Red Diary Page.2.”And their efforts came to fruition, as the self-made collection is powerfully relaxing. The duo’s biggest hits “Galaxy” and “Tell Me You Love Me” mesmerized listeners with shockingly bubbly melodies that transformed the most conve

May 30, 2018

Top idol groups to perform at ‘2018 Korea Music Festival’

K-pop fans will be able to watch performances by a host of popular girl groups and boy bands including Twice, SHINee and Wanna One at one venue this August.According to the Korea Management Federation on Wednesday, the second Korea Music Festival will be held from Aug. 1-2 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.  (Korea Management Federation)K-pop groups SHINee, Twice, Wanna One, iKON, BTOB, Apink, EXID, Mamamoo, NCT, Momoland, WJSN, Pentagon, Gugudan and SF9 are currently part of the lineup. The KMF also

May 30, 2018

BTS' 'Fake Love' clinches top 10 spot on Billboard Hot 100 chart

BTS ranked among the top 10 on Billboard’s hottest songs chart. Billboard announced Tuesday that BTS’ new track “Fake Love” took the No. 10 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The chart lists the most popular songs across the US, based on radio airplay, audience impressions, sales data and streaming activity.  BTS (Billboard)BTS is the first K-pop group to make it to the chart’s top 10. It was also the song’s debut on the chart. “Gangnam Style” star Psy took the No. 2 spot in 2012, staying ther

May 30, 2018

Kim Sun-wook, Guy Braunstein to highlight brilliance of violin in Brahms violin sonatas

Pianist Kim Sun-wook and violinist Guy Braunstein have teamed up to perform Brahms violin sonatas in Korea this week.Braunstein was the youngest person to be appointed concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic in 2000. He held the position for 13 years until he retired from the post at the end of the 2012-13 season to pursue solo activities.  Pianist Kim Sun-wook (Vincero) Violinist Guy Braunstein (Vincero)As a soloist, Braunstein has performed with acclaimed musicians, including conductors Sir S

May 29, 2018

Great Mountains Music Festival & School seeks to reinvent itself

Great Mountains Music Festival & School -- originally envisioned to promote the PyeongChang Olympics -- has set out to go beyond just outliving the Olympic Games.Festival artistic director and pianist Son Yeol-eum and Gangwon Art & Culture Foundation Chairman Kim Sung-hwan announced the summer festival’s program, as well as future plans at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday.The music festival will continue to hold winter concerts, while keeping the 15-year tradition of the summer music festi

May 29, 2018

Niel of Teen Top to get big screen debut in ‘Swag’

Niel of boy band Teen Top will get his first leading role in the upcoming film “Swag,” marking the big screen debut for the K-pop star.The music-themed film will feature the singer as a rich youngster, who matures through music. Filming started on May 14, and was shot in Korea and in Los Angeles. Niel (TOP Media)“I feel some pressure as I’m starring in my first movie, but I feel a connection (to the role) as he, too, is a singer. I want to depict him growing as a true artist,” he said.The film’s

May 29, 2018

Kendrick Lamar to hold concert in Seoul

One of the hottest and most influential hip-hop icons of today’s music scene, Kendrick Lamar will visit Korea in July for his first concert in the country.The organizers of the Hyundai Card Super Concert on Tuesday announced that the concert would be held at 8 p.m. on July 30 at Jamsil Sports Complex. With 12 Grammys under his belt, Lamar is one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful rappers. He is noted for his storytelling abilities, with his lyrics touching on social iss

May 29, 2018

Overseas orders of BTS album soar

With K-pop sensation BTS’ unprecedented rise in the global music scene, overseas direct purchases of the group’s album are soaring on Korean online retail sites. BTS’ third and most recent album “Love Yourself: Tear” has been sold to over 54 countries from April 18 to May 18 on Gmarket Global Shop, the online retailer operated by eBay Korea announced Tuesday. Orders continue to flood in despite the album’s steep price, 65,000 won ($60.4), Ebay Korea said. BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)The largest p

May 29, 2018

‘Show Me the Money’ star C Jamm arrested for marijuana use

Rapper C Jamm has been arrested and is being investigated for illegal marijuana use, local police said Monday. Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced Monday that C Jamm and another man in his 30s were taken into custody on April 13 for allegedly possessing and smoking marijuana. The rapper is currently being held in Suwon Detention Center and is being investigated by the prosecution.  C Jamm (Just Music)Six more suspects, including a widely-known rapper Vasco, also a former “Show Me t

May 29, 2018

‘K-pop Star 4’ winner Katie Kim to make solo debut

Upon leaving YG Entertainment, Katie Kim, winner of Korean audition program “K-pop Star 4,” moved to a new agency under which she will make a debut as a soloist.On Tuesday, AIXS, a newly established agency Kim has recently signed with, said that the singer has been gearing up for a debut with a plan to release an album under a new stage name, Katie.   Katie Kim‘s concept photo (AXIS)After winning the popular audition program in 2015, the Korea-American singer was signed by YG Entertainment. Howe

May 29, 2018

President Moon Jae-in congratulates BTS for achieving No. 1 on Billboard 200

Amid busy diplomatic talks with North Korea and the US, South Korean president Moon Jae-in took to his official social media account to congratulate BTS for reaching the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart.On Monday, President Moon shared a statement, written in English, on his official Facebook account to express his excitement over the K-pop group’s recent achievement on the chart. BTS on Monday debuted its “Love Yourself: Tear” album at No. 1 on the competitive tally, becoming the first K-p

May 29, 2018

AOA returns stronger after Choa’s departure

After hitting a rough patch with former member Choa’s departure last year, AOA returned even stronger with its summery fifth EP.The EP “Bingle Bangle” is led by a lead track of the same title, a punky retro-pop song that boasts catchy refrains like “Bingle Bangle” and “Shake your hip.” Upbeat and vibrant in its synth and melody, the song is addictive due to its head-bopping whistle sound that augments the hook. Now a six-piece act, the band’s return marks its first official activity since Choa l

May 29, 2018

SHINee returns with new single ‘Good Evening’

K-pop boy band SHINee returned to the K-pop circuit with a new single “Good Evening.”The song, a lead track off its “The Story of Light EP.1,” the first segment of its sixth full-length album “The Story of Light,” was released on Monday evening via local streaming sites. The five-track album includes “All Day All Night,” “Undercover,” “Jump” and “You & I.”  SHINee (S.M. Entertainment)“The Story of Light” is the first SHINee album since the repackaged album “1 and 1” of November 2016, and the fir

May 28, 2018

Joshua Bell, ASMF to perform Piazzolla’s ‘Four Seasons of Buenos Aires’

Celebrated violinist Joshua Bell will conduct and perform with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in Seoul on Thursday at the Seoul Arts Center, marking his first visit to Korea as the music director of the chamber orchestra and the second visit with the ASMF since 2010. 　Together with the orchestra, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, Bell will perform a wide range of classical music, from Baroque to Romantic and contemporary.   Joshua Bell, violinist and the music director of

May 28, 2018

[Newsmaker] BTS becomes first K-pop act to top Billboard 200

K-pop act BTS’ dream has become a reality, topping the Billboard 200 chart only a few days after the group named it as one of its goals.On Sunday, the group’s “Love Yourself: Tear” album, its third full-length album, ranked No. 1 on the Billboard main albums chart, making the seven-piece K-pop powerhouse the first K-pop act to do so.  K-pop boy band BTS performs "Fake Love" at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards. (AP-Yonhap)“Love Yourself: Tear” album, performed mostly in Korean, is the first non-En

May 28, 2018

BTS snatches No. 1 on Billboard 200, first time for Korean artist

The members of the boy band BTS have become the first Korean artists to top the Billboard 200 with their third studio albumThe band's "Love Yourself: Tear" ranked No. 1 on the Billboard main albums chart on Sunday (US time).On the Billboard Hot 100 main singles chart, rapper Psy is the highest-charted K-pop singer as he stayed on the chart for two consecutive weeks for "Gangnam Style" in 2012.The BTS album, released May 18, launched with 135,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States

May 28, 2018

MoonMoon dropped from agency over spycam charge

A local entertainment agency on Friday terminated its contract with singer-songwriter MoonMoon after it was revealed he was convicted of a spycam crime.  MoonMoon (Yonhap)The official statement released by MoonMoon‘s former agency, House of Music, came right after a local news report revealed the previous charge against the singer. According to the local news report, MoonMoon was charged for secretly filming in a public bathroom in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, in August 2016. He was then sentenced to a tw

May 25, 2018

Black Pink’s return in June confirmed by YG head

(YG Entertainment)Black Pink, a popular K-pop group under YG Entertainment, is gearing up for the release of its first EP in June. The surprise announcement was made by the agency’s head Yang Hyun-suk, who took to Instagram on Friday to provide more information about YG artists, including Black Pink, Big Bang and Katie Kim, the winner of “K-Pop Star 4.”Answering a fan’s question about Black Pink’s upcoming album, he wrote, “Black Pink, YG’s one and only girl band, had such a long hiatus. The ban

May 25, 2018

BTS' new album sold more than 1m copies in first week

The latest record by highly popular boy band BTS sold more than 1 million copies within the first week of its release, data showed Friday.A total of 1,003,524 copies of the third BTS LP, "Love Yourself: Tear," were sold in the week following its release last Friday, according to Hanteo Chart, a South Korean sales tracker. (BTS` Instagram)It is the highest opening week in sales for BTS albums. The septet's previous album, "Love Yourself: Her," sold 759,263 copies in the first seven days last year

May 25, 2018