No matter how successful he may be, it is the inevitable destiny of every Korean male K-pop star to halt his career and join the mandatory military service.Megastar group Big Bang is no exception. The group has reaped worldwide success since its debut 10 years ago. Reported to have raked in $44 million this year, the five-member band ranked No. 54 on Forbes’ list of celebrity earnings, becoming the first Korean act to make the list. “It still doesn’t feel real,” said Big Bang’s rapper T.O.P. on

Promotional image for the musical “Death Note,” starring Kim Jun-su (C-JeS Entertainment)Kim Jun-su, often referred to here as the “ticket power king,” has not lost his touch: Tickets for a showcase of the upcoming musical “Death Note” sold out in less than a minute.  　On Monday, tickets for the musical preopening day showcase went up for sale on Interpark at 3 p.m. and all 1,000 seats were booked in under a minute.  　The K-pop star recently wrapped up the musical “Dorian Gray,” which is a Korea

K-pop star Rain (Rain Company)　Singer-actor Rain is gearing for a January return with his first album in nearly three years, according to his agency Rain Company. 　The upcoming album will be Rain’s first music release since his “Rain Effect” album in January 2014, which marked his return since completing his mandatory military service.  　The singer was initially slated to return to the stage in the latter half of this year, but his agency said that the album was not ready yet and decided to push

Up-and-coming cellist Mun Tae-guk has been named as next year’s Kumho Art hall Artist in Residence, which will provide an opportunity to further his musical career.Mun, 22, is currently studying at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts under famed musician Laurence Lesser. He started playing the cello at the age of 4. At 20, he won the Pablo Casals International Cello Competition in Hungary, where he played Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor, op. 129 accompanied by the Hungaria

Next year’s K-pop calendar looks to be dominated by girl groups, ranging from first-generation groups to rookies.One of the earliest sensations, S.E.S. will kick off 2017 with the release of their first album in 14 years on Jan. 2. The group, formed by S.M. Entertainment in 1997, led the first wave of K-pop girl groups, alongside Fin.K.L. and Baby Vox. S.E.S. released the single “Love (Story)” in November and will be holding year-end concerts on Dec. 30 and 31, revving up activities for 2017. S.

LONDON (AFP) -- The Rolling Stones on Friday scored their first British No. 1 album in over 20 years, a day after frontman Mick Jagger became a father for the eighth time, aged 73.“Blue & Lonesome,” a tribute to the blues legends who inspired the iconic British band, sold 106,000 copies, making it the second-highest opening-week sales for an album in 2016, behind David Bowie’s “Blackstar.”“We are absolutely delighted with the success of ‘Blue & Lonesome’ in the UK and around the world,” said the

Childish Gambino“Awaken, My Love!”(Glassnote Records)It’s OK not to “get” Childish Gambino’s third studio album “Awaken, My Love!” With its lush soundscapes and sparse lyrics, one can only gather that the funk-drenched latest release from the multi-talented Donald Glover is a collection that is to be felt first and understood second -- if understanding is possible at all. Outstanding first single “Me and Your Mama” and equally arresting follow-up track “Redbone” are the easiest to digest of the

Kate Bush“Before the Dawn”(Concord Records)Kate Bush gives fans an exquisite souvenir with “Before the Dawn,” a massive live album taken from her series of 22 concerts in 2014. With tantalizingly few chart hits and dominated by two conceptual collections, the triple album conjures its magic spells with Bush’s powerfully expressive voice, her captivating songs and the integrity of an artistic vision that nurtures and challenges the imagination.By all accounts, her residency at London’s Hammersmit

Various artists“The Hamilton Mixtape”(Atlantic)Long before President-elect Donald Trump took on the cultural juggernaut that is “Hamilton” and made it front-page news, creator Lin-Manuel Miranda had been looking for a way to expand the musical’s influence beyond Broadway.With “The Hamilton Mixtape” (Atlantic), which Miranda says is the first of at least two, he and a star-studded cast of collaborators ranging from The Roots to Sia and Miguel employ a variety of strategies to bring the show’s mus

This has been a big year for boy band Bangtan Boys, otherwise known as BTS. After topping music charts at home and abroad upon its release in October, the group’s latest studio album “Wings” was chosen as among the top 20 albums of the year by Fuse -- a US-based music media outlet -- this week. Noting that the album encompasses “the seven different personalities that make up BTS,” Fuse said the boy band is a rare find in K-pop.  “BTS has garnered a wholly passionate fan base around the world, th

MILAN (AP) -- Principal conductor Riccardo Chailly has avenged Giacomo Puccini’s memory with a successful staging of the composer's original version of “Madama Butterfly” for La Scala's gala season-opener Wednesday, 112 year after its hotly contested world premiere on the same stage. The VIP crowd showered Chailly, lead singers, orchestra and chorus with a quarter hour of applause and a cascade of roses for the bold choice of reviving the opera for the first time at La Scala as Puccini originall

Less than a week away from the announcement of its much-anticipated album, Big Bang unveiled a teaser image for the album’s title track “Fxxk It” on Tuesday. The image reveals that two of the group members, G-Dragon and T.O.P, collaborated with YG Entertainment’s leading producer Teddy and composer R.Tree of Teddy’s latest hip-hop project, The Black Label, for the song. “‘Fxxk It’ is one of the two title tracks to be featured on the new album,” said YG Entertainment. The music videos for both of

First-generation K-pop boy band Shinhwa is going retro. Celebrating its 18th debut anniversary this year, the group will be releasing 8,000 vinyl copies of live recordings from its anniversary concert which was held earlier this year in March at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, according to the band’s management agency Shinhwa Company on Tuesday.Containing 10 of Shinhwa’s biggest hits, including “Once in a Life,” “Crazy,” “The Days,” “Voyage” and others, the record is currently available f