With exposure that any pop artist would kill for, can NCT 127 seize its chance for stardom in the US?

Among K-pop idols equipped with song-crafting skills, G-Dragon remains firmly atop a list of those with the most copyrights under their name. According to rankings released by the Korea Music Copyright Association on Sept. 30, the Big Bang frontman topped the list for being registered with 172 works, which consists of songs that the artist has either composed, produced or written lyrics.  (YG Entertainment)The hitmaker has been mainly in charge of crafting songs for the group’s albums including

Soyou from now-defunct Sistar is returning to the music stage with an EP after a 10-month hiatus. “Part.2 Re:Fresh” set to be released Thursday at 6 p.m. is a follow-up to her first solo EP, “Part.1 Re:Born,” dropped in December 2017.  (Starship Entertainment)The EP features collaborations with well-known producers like Groovyroom and rapper Sik-K, and diverse singers. The tracks span various genres to showcase Soyou’s diversity. The lead track “Black Night” has catchy Latin rhythm and lyrics th

K-pop heavyweight EXO will return to the music scene with a new album in early November.The nine-piece group, which performed at the closing ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, will release its fifth studio album, “Don’t Mess Up My Tempo,” on Nov. 2, its agency S.M. Entertainment announced Thursday.Fans are in for a treat as all the nine members including Chinese member Lay will get together and take part in the making of Chinese work for the album.  (S.M. Entertainment)The group’s

Carla Bruni, an Italian-French singer-songwriter and the wife of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, will throw her first concerts in South Korea next month.    The first of the two performances will take place on Nov. 2 at a concert hall at Seoul's Kyunghee University before moving to Busan's Bexco Auditorium the next day, the events' organizer, Dream Maker Entertainment, said. French model Carla Bruni poses for photographs upon her arrival prior to the Yves Saint Laurent Spring-Summer 201

The massively popular boy band BTS will appear on "The Graham Norton Show," a popular BBC talk show, next week, the group's agency said Monday.The band will appear on an episode of the show at 10:35 p.m. on Oct. 12 alongside actors Whoopi Goldberg, Rosamund Pike, and Jamie Dornan as well as singer Harry Connick Jr., according to Big Hit Entertainment.The seven-piece group will be in Europe from Oct. 9-20 as part of its world tour. Tickets for the upcoming concerts were sold out as soon as their

Singer-songwriter IU is set to commemorate 10 years since her debut on Oct. 10 with the new single “BBI BBI.”On Monday, IU posted a teaser image for the new single on Instagram with the comment, “October 10 (at) 6 p.m. BBI BBI.” (Instagram)The new EP comes after a yearlong hiatus for the singer, who released cover album “A Flower Bookmark #2” in September 2017.“Originally, there was no official plan for the release of the new EP,” said IU’s agency, Kakao M, Monday. “But 2018 is a special year as

Big Hit Shop dominated local search engines Monday, when it started selling merchandise for BTS’ latest world tour.The merchandise shop run by BTS’ agency, Big Hit Entertainment, posted an announcement on its homepage Sunday, indicating that official merchandise for the “Love Yourself” tour would be available at the shop starting Oct. 1. (Big Hit Entertainment)For premium photos, key rings, magnets, picture scrolls and image pickets, the announcement said, sales would be limited to one product p

Swing Entertainment has issued a formal apology for Wanna One’s manager, whose violent act toward a fan has sparked off a storm of criticism.  (Twitter)The incident took place Friday when Wanna One members were on their way to “KCON 2018 Thailand.” A video of the group’s departure from an airport in Thailand captured a manager of Wanna One swearing and pushing a fan with excessive force.  (Twitter)The video went viral and drew criticism. “The man pushing fans in the video is a manager of Wanna O

K-pop group NCT 127 will put up a musical performance at an upcoming American TV event celebrating Disney’s most iconic figure -- Mickey Mouse.The two-hour “Mickey’s 90th Spectacular” will air on Nov. 4 (EST) with appearances by stars from Disney movies and TV such as Kristen Bell, Sofia Carson and Tony Hale. NCT 127 (S.M. Entertainment)NCT 127 will be featured in the musical performance, along with Josh Groban, Leslie Odom Jr., Zac Brown and Meghan Trainor.According to the boy band’s label S.M.

Sunye of the now-disbanded K-pop girl group Wonder Girls insisted via Instagram that she’d “never thought about leaving the entertainment industry,” amid criticism from some fans that she is “being selfish” by making a comeback. After tying the knot with Korean-Canadian missionary James Park in 2013, Sunye went to live in Canada despite the fact that her contract with JYP Entertainment had not expired. It wasn’t until 2015 that the singer officially left the agency.  (Polaris Entertainment)At th

ROME -- A young South Korean cello maker has topped a prominent international competition in Italy for making string instruments in the category.The 28-year-old Jung Ga-wang became the first South Korean to take the gold medal at the 15th International Triennale Violin Making Competition Antonio Stradivari in Cremona, Italy. He is also the youngest award winner ever at the Olympics for violin making held in the hometown of the legendary violin maker Antonio Stradivari. The event closed Wednesday

Now that iKON’s Ju-ne has apologized for the controversy surrounding his Instagram post about a Japanese director, attention is now on whether he will be able to ride out the storm before the group’s imminent return. On Saturday, the iKON member posted a now-deleted image of an autograph he received from Japanese movie director and comedian Takeshi Kitano.But the image attracted criticism, as Kitano is known here for his disparaging comments about Korea.  (Dazed)In an effort to protect Ju-ne fro

Hanbok worn by BTS in its music video for “Idol” will be put on display in Seoul from this week. The Gangnam Tourist Information Center said Tuesday that seven of the Korean traditional garments, one worn by each member, will be displayed at the center in Sinsa-dong in Seoul from Sept. 28 to Oct 7, as a part of “2018 Gangnam Festival.”The hanbok exhibition will take place at the center’s outdoor square on its first floor from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visitors are also able to try on hanbok of the same

K-pop boy band BTS at UNKorean pop singers BTS attend the UN Youth Strategy Conference at United Nations headquarters during the 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York. (Yonhap)(AP-Yonhap)(AFP-Yonhap)(UPI-Yonhap) (Reuters-Yonhap)