Hwanhee of R&B duo Fly to the Sky will return as a soloist on Tuesday, according to the artist’s agency H2 Media. The agency recently said that the singer’s upcoming single will be titled “Obvious” (working title) and feature rapping by BTOB’s Ilhoon. He will be resuming his solo career for the first time in 14 months.  Hwanhee (H2 Media)“Hwanhee, who has showcased sensitive vocal before, sought a dramatic musical change with the upcoming single,” an agency official said.Hwanhee debuted as a mem

K-pop heavyweight BTS once again reached a new milestone by entering Spotify’s Global Top 200 Chart at No. 17, the highest ranking for any K-pop act to date.According to the global music streaming service Sunday, “Fake Love,” the group’s single from its recently released “Love Yourself: Tear” album, was the top ranking song from the album. BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)With the new ranking, BTS also broke its own record on the list. Its previous hit “DNA” made it to No. 41 in September last year, m

The new album by BTS has dominated the iTunes charts globally, within hours of its release, its agency said Saturday. Big Hit Entertainment said the seven-member act's third full-length album, titled "Love Yourself: Tear," claimed the top spot on iTunes' Top Albums charts in 65 countries including the US, Australia and Brazil. The main track, "Fake Love," ranked top of the iTunes' Top Songs chart in 52 nations including Denmark, Finland and Chile. All 11 songs made it into the top 20 songs of th

Before there was BTS, Psy, Girls’ Generation or Big Bang, there was Cho Yong-pil. Widely referred to as “Gawang,” which literally means the king of singing, Cho occupies a unique place in the popular music genre in Korea as the O.G. idol singer, pioneer of many genres and the most influential figure in the scene today.  Cho Yong-pil (Yonhap)Last week’s concert in Seoul commemorating the 50th anniversary of his debut was a reminder of his prominence in the Korean music scene. The tickets sold out

The official music video for “Good Boy” by Big Bang’s G-Dragon and Taeyang hit 200 million views on Friday. The video, released in November 2014, has gained popularity with its flashy neon images and unique camera movement, according to YG Entertainment.  (YG Entertainment)Along with the music video’s popularity, a video of the two-member unit’s performance for “Good Boy” at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards was the K-pop video with the most views around the world at the time.Other songs by Big B

BTS’ third full-length album “‘Love Yourself: Tear” was shipped out earlier than scheduled due to a mistake by the US-based shipping company.  BTS (Big Hit Entertainment)According to BTS‘ agency company Big Hit Entertainment, American commerce company Amazon made a shipping mistake with BTS‘ new album scheduled to be released at 6 p.m. local time, Friday. The case was found as individual fans started to upload images of the boy band‘s physical album on their social media pages saying that they s

BTS’ third regular EP “Love Yourself: Tear” was allegedly leaked before the promised release time of 6 p.m. Friday, due to an error by US retail website Amazon, according to a Korean media report. A screenshot of the teaser from 'Fake Love''s music videoHankook Ilbo reported Friday that foreign fans of BTS have started updating pictures of the new BTS album to their social media accounts since Thursday. It seems Amazon had already distributed the EP, but the official release date was not until n

While Steven Yeun’s “flag controversy” has yet to settle down, a music video from Puerto Rican singer Ozuna also stands accused of using the disputed symbol of the former Japanese Empire.Seo Kyoung-duk, professor of general education at Sungshin Women’s University, said Thursday that he has sent a letter of protest to Ozuna’s official Instagram and Facebook accounts regarding the official video of his song, “Siguelo Bailando.” A screenshot taken from the official music video of Ozuna's song, "Si

K-pop star Seungri has become a model for the online dating app Tinder in Korea, YG Entertainment announced Thursday. In one of the ads, Seungri is dressed in a suit and holds a champagne glass. In another, he is dressed casually with a smartphone in his hand.  (Tinder)“Friends of many nationalities that I meet through tours abroad and business use Tinder a lot,” said Seungri in a press release. “It’s a good fit for me, as I enjoy meeting new people,” he said on modeling for the app. Larger vers

SHINee’s upcoming sixth album -- its first as a quartet -- will be released in three parts on three different dates.According to S.M. Entertainment, the boy band will release “The Story of Light EP.1,” the first segment of “The Story of Light” album, on May 28. The second and third parts will be released on June 11 and June 25, respectively. A teaser image for SHINee’s new album (S.M. Entertainment)Each part will consist of three songs and separate lead tracks, on which the group will focus its

Dreamcatcher“Escape the Era” InterparkDreamcatcher is a name that sticks out in the K-pop scene as an act whose sound is not familiar to most K-pop listeners: Its songs are heavy and rich with blaring metal elements, often referred to as the so-called Japanese anime style. As an act that values consistent concept in each album, Dreamcatcher’s recent EP “Escape the Era,” follows in the footsteps of the group’s past works. The only difference is that the act is in full-swing in revealing its rebel

　K-pop singer-cum-actor Park Yu-chun has split up with his fiance, his agency said Tuesday.    　The 32-year-old Park had been dating a granddaughter of the founder of dairy giant Namyang Dairy Products Co. since 2016 and announced a now-cancelled plan to marry the woman, who is surnamed Hwang, for September last year.　“Park Yu-chun recently ended his relationship with Hwang,” an official at C-JeS Entertainment said.　Reasons for the breakup were not given, with the official only saying that “I be

With this year’s Ultra Korea just around the corner, the organizers for one of the largest EDM festivals in the world announced a lineup change that added Ice Cube, Modestep and RL Grime to their list of headliners.In addition to the five headliners, Carl Craig, Nicole Moudaber, Andrew Rayel, Coyu, Fedde Le Grand, Julian Jeweil, Kris Kross Amsterdam, Nastia, Popof, and Technasia were added to perform on stage on June 6-10 at a venue yet to be confirmed. Last year’s event was held at Jamsil Olymp

Lee Hi and Zion T will perform at this year’s Summer Sonic, one of Japan’s most renowned music festivals.According to the two singers’ agency, YG Entertainment, they have been added to the list of artists who will perform at Summer Sonic 2018 in Tokyo on Aug. 19. Summer Sonic is held every year simultaneously in two metropolitan cities, Tokyo and Osaka, for two days. It is scheduled to be held this year on Aug. 18 and 19.   Singer Lee Hi (top) and Zion T (YG Entertainment)Top Korean groups such

The 2018 Seoul Spring Festival of Chamber Music will continue to highlight various chamber music pieces, including those that are less well known.Starting Tuesday, the Seoul-based chamber music festival will run until May 27, featuring a total of 16 concerts at venues including Seoul Arts Center, Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and the preserved traditional Korean house of former President Yun Bo-sun in Anguk-dong. Violinist and the artistic director of the SSF Kang Dong-suk speaks during