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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(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

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

Monsta X is set to meet fans around the world this week with the group embarking on its second world tour.The act’s agency Starship Entertainment on Thursday said that the group would kick-start its upcoming world tour “2018 Monsta X World Tour The Connect” starting from Seoul from Saturday to Sunday at Jangchung Arena in Seoul.  Monsta X (Starship Entertainment) 　According to the Monsta X’s world tour schedule, shared recently on the group’s official web site, the act will then head to Europe a

Girl group Momoland is set to debut in Japan as well as make a comeback to Seoul next month.The group’s agency, Dublekick Company, said Thursday that Momoland will return with an upbeat dance track on June 26 in Korea. According to the company, Momoland again partnered with the producer of “Bboom Bboom,” which was released on the group’s third EP in January. The song gained much popularity, with its music video topping 100 million views on YouTube in April. (Dublekick Company)Prior to its comeba