IU and BTS, arguably the two biggest music stars of 2017, won the top prizes at the Golden Disc Awards, Wednesday and Thursday. The event, held in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, commended last year’s standout achievements in the music industry by referring to statistics from the Gaon Chart.  (Yonhap)IU won the Grand Prize for digital sales with “Through the Night.” The song, released in March, was the most streamed song of 2017. “(It is) so lucky that the song came to me,” she said, after receiving

AOA’s Jimin is intent to expand as a musician, as she is set to release solo song “Hey” on Jan. 19.FNC Entertainment on Friday announced the K-pop star would release the single at 6 p.m. via local online streaming websites.  Jimin’s teaser image for “Hey” (FNC Entertainment)It is the second leg of the project “#RTJ(Ready To Jimin),” following “Hallelujah” in October last year. The project, jointly conducted with fashion magazine W Korea, is aimed to establish Jimin’s identity as a solo artist th

Korean maestro Chung Myung-whun is to lead the One Korea Youth Orchestra’s debut performance in Seoul on Thursday, as part of efforts to continue his life’s calling to bring South and North Korea together. 　During Thursday’s performance at Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul, Chung’s project orchestra is to perform Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3, in collaboration with pianist Sohn Jeung-beum, the first Korean winner of the piano category at the ARD International Music Competition in September last year.

EXID became a household name with “Up & Down” in 2014, but the K-pop act has more to offer. It plans to re-release songs that were not heavily promoted in the past. Banana Culture Entertainment on Wednesday announced the group would kick off its “Re:flower” project next week, unveiling re-mastered versions of EXID’s previously released songs. The first song will be released at 6 p.m. Monday. A promotional image for EXID’s “Re:flower” project (Banana Culture Entertainment)The agency said that the

(Youtube)Park Kyung, a member of Block B, expressed his gratitude toward fans for helping the K-pop group’s song reach No. 1 on a Korean music chart. He posted a snapshot of the song “Don’t Leave” at No. 1 on the Bugs chart on his Instagram account, along with a comment that said, “Thank you so much for making the song No. 1. We will always try our best to make better music for you guys.”Park Kyung was in charge of producing the song “Don’t Leave,” the lead song of Block B’s latest album “Re:Mon

Ever since K-pop superstar Infinite became a six-member act with the departure of Hoya last August, the group seems to have spent its time preparing for its comeback hoping to prove it is still intact from the blow. Infinite’s latest full-length album “Top Seed,” released Monday, is the group’s first release since its 2016 EP “Infinite Only,” also the first full-length album since 2014’s “Season 2.” “We named the album ‘Top Seed’ as it refers to the highest ranking team in sports. We hope it bec

The ‘90s teenage superstar talks about her turbulent 20-year career

Members of girl group T-ara publicly denied media reports that a Chinese business mogul gave them luxury cars and paid a huge sum of money to the group’s former agency MBK Entertainment to sign the group onto his own media firm.In an Instagram post late Monday, the group said it contacted Banana Culture founder Wang Sicong, who confirmed that such reports were false. T-ara (Yonhap)A Korean news outlet reported earlier that Wang -- reportedly an avid fan of the group -- paid T-ara’s former agency

Yang Hyun-suk, the head of YG Entertainment, issued on Monday a not-so-subtle hint at rapper Mino’s solo album. Yang posted a picture of a long line of fans waiting outside of a hip-hop club in Hongdae, Seoul, where the Winner member was to perform. Accompanying the photos were hashtag “the longest line in Hongdae history,” and “Instructing preparation for a solo album tomorrow.”  Mino (YG Entertainment)“From what we know, he (Yang) has talked to Mino about it (solo album),” said an official fro

Nine trainees who survived Mnet competition “Idol School” are to make their official debut as a K-pop group later this month.Promoters of the unit, named “fromis_9,” said Monday that the girl group will release its debut EP on Jan. 24, the title of which was not yet been revealed. fromis_9The nine-piece group has already been showcased on the public stage, performing its predebut single “Glass Shoes” at the 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Japan.The group consists of the top placers from “Idol Sc

After three years in the K-pop scene, GFriend’s dream has finally come true: The group successfully wrapped up its first solo concerts “Season of GFriend” in Seoul on Saturday and Sunday. The concerts, held at the Olympic Hall at Olympic Park in Seoul, were a testament to the six-piece group’s reputation as one of Korea’s most promising young acts. The event, which ran for more than three hours on each day, featured the group’s hits and individual members’ solo performances for the first time. 

Violinist Yang In-mo expressed confidence in performing Niccolo Paganini’s 24 caprices for solo violin -- notorious for their difficulty -- during a showcase at Kumho Art Hall in Seoul on Monday.“I have always wanted to play the 24 caprices by Paganini. I remember my aunt buying me the album when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I listened and thought that I would also play them someday. Instead of overwhelming me, they encouraged me to play the string instrument,” said Yang, Kumho Art Hall’s artis

Dark clouds are gathering over K-pop act T-ara’s future, with its former agency seeking exclusive rights to the group name. On Monday, local media reported that MBK Entertainment, which had represented T-ara for a decade until the members’ departure last week, had applied to register the group’s name “T-ara” as its trademark at the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Dec. 28 last year, three days before the members’ contract with the agency expired.  T-ara (MBK Entertainment)The application,

K-pop boy group iKon is gearing up for a comeback with its second full-length album “Return,” according to YG Entertainment Saturday. A teaser video for the upcoming album, released on the agency’s official blog Saturday, featured the members in a short film that was dubbed with member Bobby’s short reflective monologue.  iKon (YG Entertainment)“Return” marks the group’s first full-length album in over two years since 2015’s “Welcome Back,” the agency said. Following its debut with the single “M

Minhwan of FTIsland and Yulhee, a former member of Laboum, are to get married in 2018. Minhwan made the announcement through his social media account Thursday, by posting a lengthy letter to his fans. “(My girlfriend and I) plan on bearing the fruit of our relationship,” the post read. “After coming to the life decision of marriage, I am thankful for the congratulations that I have received from so many.”  Minhwan of FTIsland on the right and Yulhee, a former member of Laboum (Instagram)After th