Standing before avid fans in Japan, the members of SHINee expressed love and respect for their former bandmate Jonghyun, whose premature death last year shocked the Asian music scene.The K-pop act on Monday and Tuesday held concerts at Tokyo Dome to wrap up its Japan tour, which kicked off with performances at the Kyocera Dome Osaka in Osaka from Feb. 17-18. The concerts brought together an accumulated 180,000 fans. SHINee (S.M. Entertainment)But the highlight of the tour was when the members pa

The Korean-Chinese girl group releases new EP “Dream Your Dream”

Up-and-coming Korean musicians will showcase a wide range of genres at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) and The Great Escape music festivals.They will perform in this year’s “Korea Spotlight,” which consists of annual showcases for Korean talent hosted by the state-run Korea Creative Content Agency at SXSW and TGE.  Musicians who are to perform at the “Korea Spotlight” showcase event of the South by Southwest music festival pose during a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday. (Korea Creative

“Now 23 years after his death, he will finally return home and find his last resting place in Tongyeong,” said Florian Riem, CEO of the Tongyeong International Music Festival, during a press conference at the Goethe-Institut in Seoul on Tuesday. The TIMF 2018 is slated to kick off on March 30, along with the reinterment ceremony for Yun I-sang scheduled on the same day. Originally developed from a concert titled “‘Night of Yun I-sang’s Music” in 1999, TIMF this year will become a special tribute

Big Bang’s G-Dragon has enlisted in the military. Rapper-singer Kwon Ji-yong, widely known by his stage name G-Dragon, began his mandatory military service by joining the five-week basic training camp Tuesday. Military service is compulsory for all able-bodied men in Korea.  G-Dragon enters the basic training camp at Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, Tuesday.(Yonhap)His management agency YG Entertainment previously announced that it would not hold any official farewell events for fans, adding that the

Veering away from the aggressive dance he once did with his bandmates, Sungkyu of K-pop boy band Infinite returned as an emotional soloist with “10 Stories,” the singer‘s first solo full-length album. “This is my third solo album, and I feel more nervous than if it were Infinite’s comeback. When I was part of Infinite, we’d told stories of the members, but today, I feel nervous as I have to talk alone,” said Sungkyu during a media showcase for his new album “10 Stories” in Seoul on Monday. The 1

When the lights went down at PyeongChang main stadium Sunday night, CL appeared on stage to get the crowd going. However, her fierce performance to her hit song “The Baddest Female” didn’t seem in-line with the much-anticipated closing ceremony show. As soon as the K-pop diva appeared on stage, the name “CL” shot to the first spot of the real-time trending bar on Naver and stayed on the rankings until the end of the day. CL performs at PyeongChang main stadium on Feb. 25. (Yonhap)“I wanted to in

Legendary K-pop act H.O.T. presented fans with the best present they had been waiting for: Reuniting after 17 years through MBC’s “Infinite Challenge.”Saturday’s episode of MBC’s variety program featured the five-piece band throwing a concert attended by about 2,500 fans at the Olympic Hall in Seoul as a part of the program’s special edition “ToToGa 3: Return of the Kings,” which chronicled the group’s process for its reunion. The actual concert was recorded earlier on Feb. 15. H.O.T. performs a

Rapper Don Malik has admitted to sexually harassing a high school student. On Wednesday, the rapper, whose actual name is Moon In-sub, was accused of sexually assaulting a high school student fan. The victim said through social media that the rapper demanded sexual acts against her will. Later in the day, the rapper’s management agency, Daze Alive Music, admitted to the accusation and announced that Don Malik would immediately be expelled from the label.  Don Malik (Daze Alive Music)Don Malik is

Korean-American rapper PH-1 talks about Gatsby-inspired album and faith

Subculture of hip-hop has grown to claim place in hearts of Koreans as way of life

J-Hope, a rapper from the K-pop boy band BTS, will release a mixtape next month, the group's agency said Friday. Big Hit Entertainment said the 24-year-old artist will put out a solo mixtape on March 2 for the first time since the group's debut in 2013. He will be the seven-strong act's third artist to do so, after leader RM in 2015 and Suga in 2016.  (Big Hit Entertainment)A mixtape is a self-produced, experimental album that is released free of charge to share an artist's own musical taste and

The K-pop boy band Seventeen will make its debut in Japan in May, its agency said Friday.Fledis Entertainment said the 13-member act broke the news while holding a concert titled "SEVENTEEN 2018 JAPAN ARENA TOUR SVT" in front of some 15,000 fans at Yokohama Arena in Japan on Thursday."Will you follow our dream? We are debuting in Japan," the band said after singing a series of songs in Japanese. (Yonhap)The group's latest album "Director's Cut," out on Feb. 5, gained popularity in the country, r

Rock singer Yoon Do-hyun has returned with two new digital singles “Song Calling for You” and “Cold” Thursday. According to his agency Dee Company, the two songs have been produced by Yoon himself, and the entire recording process, as well as the shooting for the music video, was completed in London. An image for Yoon Do-hyun‘s new single “Song Calling for You” (Dee Company)　Yoon recorded “Song Calling for You” with the London Symphony Orchestra at Air studios in London, which was founded in 196

Tiger JK has confirmed his participation in the upcoming South by Southwest in Texas, and is looking for up-and-coming hip-hop musicians to take to the stage with him at the festival.His agency Feel Good Music announced Wednesday that the rapper will handpick two hip-hop musicians through the MMT Korea Festival to be held on March 2 at Konkuk University in Seoul. The winning musician will share the stage at the SXSW with Tiger JK and rapper Junoflo, who will also participate in the selection pro