China rappers to Seoul: 'Big brother' opposes missile shield

BEIJING (AP) _ A rap group backed by China's government is warning South Korea in a music video that "you're going too far" with the deployment of a US missile defense system, as Beijing seeks to bring its state-supported cultural forces to bear in the international dispute. A member of the group CD REV said government officials worked with them on the video and helped to promote it on foreign websites, many of which are blocked in China by official censors emboldened by the ruling Communist

May 17, 2017

Black Pink to debut in Japan this summer

Black Pink will be taking its first step into the global music scene with a Japanese release, the group’s agency YG Entertainment said Wednesday. The K-pop quartet will be holding a showcase at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan arena on July 20. The showcase will be funded by Tokyo Girls Collection, a semiannual fashion festival launched in 2015 and Japan’s largest fashion event. The group will release an album in Japan on Aug. 9. The Japanese debut EP will include Black Pink’s hit tracks, including the re

May 17, 2017

BTS tops weekly Oricon Charts with ‘Blood’

BTS’ seventh single “Blood, Sweat and Tears,” released in Japan on May 10, has topped the weekly Oricon Charts, Japan’s largest music chart.The album ranked No. 1 on the list with a total of 238,795 Oricon points.Having debuted in Japan in June 2014, BTS broke the mark of 200,000 points on the Oricon charts in the shortest amount of time ever, according to the boy band’s agency Big Hit Entertainment. BTS first topped the Oricon charts in June 2015 with its fourth Japanese single “For You.”  Prom

May 16, 2017

Foo Fighters, Liam Gallagher to rock out in Korea

Rock legends Foo Fighters and Liam Gallagher will land in Korea on Aug. 22 for a concert in Seoul, the show’s promoters said Tuesday.According to Live Nation Korea, the two acts will take the stage in a concert “Live Forever Long” along with Korean band The Monotones. It will be the Foo Fighters second Korean performance in as many years. The band, founded by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, is one of the most successful alternative rock bands in the world. It has won multiple Grammy Awards fo

May 16, 2017

Boy band iKON to drop new song next week

Idol band iKON will release a new single album next week, its management agency said Wednesday. (Yonhap)YG Entertainment said the band will put out the as-of-yet unnamed album on Monday, its first brand-new release since "What You Doing" from May of last year. The company uploaded a teaser image on its official blog."The new song is iKON's best song to date," YG founder Yang Hyun-suk was quoted as saying by the company.iKON has gained a solid fandom and is widely expected to be the successor of

May 16, 2017

Twice sends ‘Signal’ with fourth EP

Nine K-pop darlings came back with a powerful “Signal” that another Twice sensation would hit the country and the world hard.  Twice, the K-pop girl group that has taken Asia by storm, dropped its fourth EP “Signal” Monday, with a lead track also titled “Signal.” The song marked the first collaboration with Park Jin-young, the founder and head producer of their label JYP Entertainment.  “If there is a big difference from our previous projects, it is that we attempted powerful choreography for th

May 16, 2017

‘G-Dragon’ forest opens in Jeju

A special forest to celebrate G-Dragon’s birthday opened on Jeju Island. Forest Kwon Ji-yong (Yonhap)The forest, named after the artist’s real name Kwon Ji-yong, had its opening at the Citrus Museum in Seogwipo Sunday. A total of 50 citrus trees have been planted in the forest located within the museum. The project was co-organized by G-Dragon’s official fan site Always-GD and Tree Planet, a Seoul-based crowdfunding service for forest planting.The two organizations began the project in August la

May 15, 2017

Netflix will not be demise of theaters: ‘Okja’ director Bong Joon-ho

Upcoming movie “Okja” has sparked heated debate about how films released almost exclusively online will affect the film industry, but the film‘s visionary director, Bong Joon-ho, doubts platforms like Netflix will replace theaters. Controversy brewed over Netflix‘s refusal to screen “Okja” at French cinemas after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and the festival organizer’s announcement that from next year, any film that screens in competition will have to first commit to showing in Fren

May 15, 2017

YG stars take a walk for the kids

Cha Seung-won, Kim Sae-ron, Son Ho-jun, Sean of hip-hop duo Jinusean and other stars from YG Entertainment laced up their shoes and went for a stroll in a charity event held Sunday to help children.Musicians and actors from YG took a four-kilometer walk around Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul in the first YG X UNICEF Walking Festival held at Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul. “I’m proud to take part in such a meaningful event. I think I’m giving back some of the love we (Jinusean) got during ou

May 15, 2017

[Herald Review] Taeyeon mesmerizes fans at solo concert

Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon captured the hearts of some 9,000 fans at her second solo concert Sunday with a dynamic performance that made the most of her powerful vocals. Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon performs at Olympic Hall of Seoul Olympic Park on Sunday. (S.M. Entertainment)The singer kicked off the third day of the 180-minute “Taeyeon solo concert: Persona” with a soft rendition of “U R,” the lead track of her first mini album “I” released in October 2015.Taeyeon showed off her famed vocal pr

May 15, 2017

VIXX seeks ‘Shangri-La’ with 5th anniversary project

Since its 2012 debut, VIXX has been noted for its on-stage concepts -- from vampires and voodoo dolls to even cyborgs.But its concept for upcoming EP “Shangri-La/Paradise on Earth” is about its search for the fictional utopia, which the band says has a special meaning to them.“To us, Shangri-La is when we are on stage. It’s when we communicate with the fans and share mutual love between each other. How we accomplish things one-by-one is our paradise,” said Leo during a press conference in Seoul

May 14, 2017

Seventeen to launch first world tour in July

Korean boy band Seventeen will kick off its first global tour concert series “2017 Seventeen 1st World Tour Diamond Edge,” with events in Seoul from July 14 to 16. Seventeen’s agency made the announcement via Seventeen’s official website Saturday.  (Pledis Entertainment)“In this year’s world tour, Seventeen will visit 13 cities. Members will perform various songs and performances in the unique way of Seventeen’s style,” Pledis Entertainment said in a statement. After the first concert, the tour

May 14, 2017

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