BTS tops brand reputation chart

South Korean boy band BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, topped the brand reputation chart for May in a survey by the Korea Reputation Center.The agency collected data from April 12 to May 13 to analyze consumer behavior. BTS came in at No. 1, followed by Sechs Kies and Winner.  South Korean boy band BTS (The Korea Herald)BTS has kept the top spot for seven consecutive months since last November. Its seventh Japanese single “Blood, sweat, tears” topped the Oricon Daily Single Chart in Japan. T

May 14, 2017

EXID to tour Asia

Girl group EXID is embarking on it first Asia tour in June, its agency Banana Culture Entertainment announced Friday.EXID will kick off the tour with a Hong Kong concert on June 17, and proceed to Singapore and other countries, the agency said.The girl group has been rising in popularity throughout Asia. Its recent song “Night Rather Than Day” topped the Chinese YinYuetai charts, the iTunes KPOP charts, the Malaysia iTune KPOP chart and the Vietnamese iTunes charts upon its April release.  Promo

May 12, 2017

‘K-pop Star 6’s Kriesha Tiu to debut on May 24

Kriesha Tiu, a contestant on the SBS competition show “K-pop Star 6,” is set to make her solo debut on May 24, according to the singer’s agency Urban Works Entertainment. “Tiu will put an end mark on her two years of training and release her first album on May 24. Please send your warm support to the singer who embarks on a new career in Korea,” said an agency official.  Promotional photo for Kriesha Tiu‘s upcoming debut album (Urban Works Entertainment)In a promo photo for the upcoming album ac

May 12, 2017

[Herald Interview] HyunA-led Triple H goes us-against-the-world with ‘365 Fresh’

“Us-against-the-world” spirited trio Triple H, a new group to the Korean music scene, stood firm in the face of a controversy surrounding its recently released debut single “365 Fresh.” The collaborative group, consisting of HyunA of disbanded girl group 4Minute and her Cube Entertainment labelmates Hui and E’Dawn of boy band Pentagon, opened up about the new track from debut album “199X” that is being assailed for its controversial music video, at an interview in Seoul on Wednesday. Triple H (C

May 11, 2017

Psy nails it on music charts

Global K-pop star Psy has been going strong both in Korea and abroad with his long-awaited eighth full-length album.Since its release on Wednesday, “4X2=8” has been dominating the top 10 across all eight local music charts, including Mnet, Genie, Naver Music and Melon. K-pop star Psy (Yonhap)As of 11 a.m. Thursday, one of the double lead tracks on the new album “I Luv It” shot straight to the top spot, while another main track “New Face” landed at No. 2 on the charts. The music videos for “I Luv

May 11, 2017

Banks’ Seoul concert scheduled for July

Singer-songwriter Banks will hold her first concert in Korea on July 8 in Seoul, the artist’s promoters said Thursday.According to production agency AIM, the concert will be part of Banks’ international tour promoting her second studio album “The Altar.” The album was released in September last year, and debuted at No. 17 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The 28-year-old’s music has been described as alternative R&B and pop, sometimes being compared to the likes of British chart-topper Ellie Gouldi

May 11, 2017

Seventeen announce May comeback

Boyband Seventeen confirmed its comeback for May 22 on Thursday, and released a teaser video of one of its members on its Naver V Live account. In the video, Vernon appears to look for something in the plains with a compass. He then meets up with his bandmate Woozi and hands him the compass. “The video is a way of announcing a comeback in a different way from the past. It hints at the new aspect of Seventeen that will be shown in the new album,” Pledis Entertainment said. Teaser video for Sevent

May 11, 2017

BTS drops ‘Blood Sweat & Tears’ in Japan

Bangtan Boys released the Japanese version of its single “Blood Sweat & Tears” along with its music video Wednesday.It is the seven-member band’s third single to be released in Japan. In addition to the lead track, it also has Japanese versions of “Spring Day,” and “Not Today.” The music video for the song’s original Korean version was released last October and reached 100 million hits on YouTube in just four months.  Images from the music video of BTS’ “Blood Sweat & Tears” (Big Hit Entertainme

May 10, 2017

SF9 confirms Asia tour in June

Rookie group SF9 is set to tour five Asian countries in June, its agency said Wednesday. “The tour will be titled, ‘2017 SF9 Be My Fantasy Asia Fan Meeting Tour,’” FNC Entertainment said. “Starting with June 16 in Bangkok, SF9 will visit Manila on June 18, Singapore on June 30, Taipei on July 9 and Hong Kong on July 16.” K-pop group SF9 (FNC Entertainment)Since debuting in October 2016 with its first single “Feeling Sensation,” SF9 has enjoyed popularity here and abroad. Within five months of it

May 10, 2017

Idol competition 'Produce 101' confirms vote rigging scandal to be true; will block Chinese IPs

Mnet’s popular audition program “Produce 101” officially confirmed that there had been foul play involved in voting for the show’s contestants, with some fans attempting to rig the process. According to the show’s creator CJ E&M, transactions of CJ ONE accounts -- which allow users to vote on the show -- had occurred at China-based websites. Some of the accounts had been sold on the condition that the buyer vote for a specific candidate.A screengrab shows the 101 contestants of “Produce 101” per

May 9, 2017

Black Nut lyrics -- sexual harassment or just hip-hop?

Rapper Black Nut has come under fire for the lyrics of his rap song “Too Real,” which contains sexually explicit lyrics directed at female rapper KittiB.　The song has become a highly controversial issue on social media since its release April 30. 　Many netizens heaped criticism on the incendiary rapper, who has received flak in the past for his outrageous lyrics and actions. 　KittiB, who appeared on the female rap competition program “Unpretty Rapstar 2” last year, posted on Instagram on Saturda

May 9, 2017

MC the Max’s Isu to drop new solo album on May 16

Isu of MC the Max is set to return with a new solo album, “Inhale,” on May 16, according to agency 325 E&C, Monday. Isu (Isu‘s Facebook page)The singer recently released a short promotional video of the upcoming album via his official social media account. The black-and-white video featured a lyrical piano melody played by Isu himself.The upcoming album marks the singer’s first solo album since his 2008 solo album “I Am.” The singer received a suspended indictment for buying sex from a minor in

May 8, 2017

T-ara album delayed as 2 decide to bolt amid contract terminations

 Idol group T-ara has delayed the release of a new album as its management agency failed to persuade two members -- whose contracts expire next week -- to promote the record together with their remaining teammates, according to the company Monday. T-ara (MBK Entertainment)“Boram and Soyeon’s contract expires on May 15. We had planned to release an album and hold a concert to mark the eight years of the six-member lineup, but failed to reach an agreement with the two members,” MBK Entertainment s

May 8, 2017

FT Island embarks on Japan tour

FT Island kicked off its Japan tour, entitled “FT Island Arena Tour 2017-United Shadows,” in Aichi, Saturday, according to agency FNC Entertainment.  FT Island (FNC Entertainment)The agency said Saturday that after the Aichi concert, the group will visit Osaka on May 12 and hold concerts in Tokyo on June 1 and 2.At the concert, the five-member group will mainly perform tracks from “United Shadows,” its seventh Japanese album released April 12. The album consists of 11 tunes, with lead track “Sha

May 7, 2017

Shin Hye-sung celebrates 12 years of solo career

Shin Hye-sung celebrated 12 years of his solo singing career with a fan meeting Saturday at Kyung Hee University Grand Peace Palace in Seoul. Some 3,000 fans attended the event, according to the agency Liveworks Company. The show kicked off with “Mirror,” a track from “Love of May,” the singer’s first solo album released in 2005.Songs like “Buen Camino (Good Path),” “A Song for You” and “Don’t Leave” followed. Shin Hye-sung performs at a fan meeting at Kyung Hee University on Saturday. (Livework

May 7, 2017

Original productions of hit musicals to land in Seoul

Smash hit musicals with Broadway casts have been landing in Korea to the excitement of musical lovers. Friday marks the final opening for online sales of tickets for “Dreamgirls,” being staged at Charlotte Theater in Jamsil-dong, southern Seoul. Produced jointly by local OD Company and Lotte Entertainment, the cast includes Broadway actors including Bre Jackson, Brit West and Candice Marie Woods.The Broadway musical, first produced in 1981, won six Tony Awards and was later adapted into a motion

May 7, 2017

Psy’s upcoming album to feature YG artists

K-pop star Psy’s upcoming eighth album will feature notable artists from the singer’s agency YG Entertainment.  Psy (YG Entertainment)The track list for Psy’s new album, “4X2=8,” unveiled Sunday, showed Big Bang’s G-Dragon and Taeyang, Tablo of Epik High, iKON’s B.I and Bobby and actress Lee Sung-kyung, all from YG Entertainment, participating in the album. “Only YG artists have worked with Psy this time, while the singer’s seventh album in 2015 featured artists from other agencies such as Zion.

May 7, 2017

Hip-hop artist Swizz Beatz to judge preliminary round of ‘Show Me the Money’ in New York

American rapper and producer Swizz Beatz was set to judge the preliminary round of season six of Mnet’s hip-hop competition “Show Me the Money” in New York on Saturday, according to Mnet. Swizz Beatz is joining the preliminary audition as a special judge at Brooklyn Studios.  Swizz Beatz (Yonhap)The global rapper, who is married to singer Alicia Keys, has produced songs for artists such as Madonna, Britney Spears, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Kanye West and Beyonce. He received a Grammy Award for “Best Ra

May 5, 2017

BoA to release live performance of ‘Spring Rain’

BoA on Friday was to release a live performance of her new song “Spring Rain” at 6 p.m. According to S.M. Entertainment, BoA’s song was to be released via it SM Town Channels on Naver TV and YouTube. “This video will allow fans to experience firsthand BoA’s singing skills and her mellow voice, and will feature a different charm compared to music videos,” the agency said.  BoA (S.M. Entertainment)The song, released on April 28, is a rhythm and blues number written by local artist Kenzie. He has w

May 5, 2017

“Enough is enough!” K-pop star hits back at online trolls

Singer Baek Ye-rin said she will be able to “deal with” the malicious comments and online rumors against her, on the heels of her agency vowing legal actions against such acts.“I can’t press actions against them (commenters) immediately, but it will be possible soon. I will be able to deal with the issue of people posting malicious speculation and rumors via internet communities,” she said via a message posted to her Instagram page.JYP Entertainment previously said it was mulling legal actions a

May 5, 2017