Hyolyn of girl group Sistar will release a new album at midnight, her management agency said Monday, marking the artist’s solo return after a three-year hiatus.The mini album, titled “It's Me,” will be unveiled at 12 a.m. Tuesday, featuring six songs, including the title track “Paradise,” “Love Like This” and “One Step,” according to Starship Entertainment.Well-known musicians, including American composer Melanie Joy Fontana and European composers Erik Lidbom and Andreas Oberg, took part in its

NEW YORK (AFP) - Tired of an opera repertoire in which women are so often portrayed as young and vulnerable, Renee Fleming is premiering an original piece on Georgia O'Keeffe, the painter whose life was momentous and multidimensional.Fleming, often considered the greatest US soprano of her generation, has increasingly branched out from the traditional canon as she strives to challenge herself and ensure the contemporary relevance of opera.“Letters from Georgia,” a song cycle by rising composer K

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Jean-Jacques Perrey, the French composer and pioneer of electronic pop music who was best known for co-writing “Baroque Hoedown” used as the music for the Main Street Electrical Parade at Disney theme parks, has died at age 87.　 Perrey died in Lausanne, Switzerland, Friday “from a very quick and violent lung cancer,” his daughter, Patricia Leroy, said.　 Electronic music composer Dana Countryman, in a tribute to his frequent collaborator posted on Facebook, noted tha

Folk rock icon Neil Young has relented and returned his music to leading streaming sites, a year after declaring that the fast-growing format was grating to his ears.The vast catalog of the prolific 70-year-old rocker including his latest, the hard-charging environmental album “Earth,” was available as of Friday on leading streaming site Spotify and rivals such as Apple Music.Young had previously streamed his music only on Tidal, the upstart service led by rap mogul Jay Z that boasts of higher-q

Multiple K-pop management agencies are facing fast-spreading rumors about their alleged links to powerful political figures, including the recently arrested presidential confidante Choi Soon-sil. In response, many are denying these rumors. The influence-peddling scandal stemmed from a four-decade friendship between President Park Geun-hye and Choi. It is spilling over to the Korean entertainment industry. One example involves a celebrity football club, named Hoeori, which has been accused as ser

The members of veteran K-pop group g.o.d will be gathering again to tour the country next January and February.The group will kick off the tour from Jan. 6-8 at Seoul’s Jamsil Arena and subsequently perform in Incheon, Daegu, Ilsan, Gwangju, Busan and other cities, concert planner SJ Entertainment announced Friday. K-pop band g.o.d (Sidus HQ)“Fans can look forward to the five members dressed up in elegant tuxedos,” the agency said. It added that g.o.d will be performing some of its biggest hit s

YG Entertainment on Thursday refuted rumors that the company and its singer Psy are connected to Choi Soon-sil, who is under investigation for meddling in various areas of President Park Geun-hye’s administration.“We are releasing this official statement due to rumors that have been generated relating to ‘Choi Soon-sil Gate’ and certain media outlets that are reporting the rumors as if they were true,” YG said in a statement.  Singer Psy (YouTube)The agency added, “Psy is not acquainted at all w

Returning with another EP just three months after its debut, YG Entertainment’s newest girl group Black Pink hopes to differentiate itself from other female K-pop performers through its dance skills. “We practiced on our performances a lot during our time off,” Jennie, 20, told reporters at a press interview Wednesday in Samcheong-dong, Seoul.The four-member group’s second album, “Square Two,” was released Tuesday with two new tracks, “Playing with Fire” and “Stay.” The album comes after the gro

More K-pop stars are returning with new releases this month.Coming out with a new release next week is rookie boy band Astro, which debuted in February with the single “Hide & Seek.” In the run-up to the group’s return, the six-member act had released teaser images for the upcoming album “Autumn Story” and its title track “Confession” on social media Thursday.  The five-track album will be available online from midnight on Nov. 9.Meanwhile, another boy band Snuper is gearing up for the release o

Singer-songwriter IU is set to return to the stage next month.　Known for her girl-next-door image, the musician will be holding a solo year-end concert at Olympic Park’s SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Bangi-dong, Seoul from Dec. 3-4.“The upcoming concert is an opportunity to look back on the past 24 years of IU’s life,” according to the artist’s agency Fave Entertainment on Thursday. “She will also be performing never-before-heard tracks.”　 Although she has held concerts abroad in China, Taiwa

Park Bo-gum, the star of TV series “Love in the Moonlight,” will soon travel across Asia to meet with fans, his management agency said Thursday.Park, who played the charming Crown Prince Lee Yeong, will kick off his tour in Malaysia and then travel to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and China, Blossom Entertainment said. The tour will wrap up with a fan meeting in South Korea before the end of the year.Details of his visits to each country will be announced through Bloss

FRANKFURT (AFP) -- One of the world’s most restrictive countries on access to music videos opened up Tuesday as YouTube announced a deal with musicians’ body GEMA to pay when people stream music in Germany.YouTube users in the country had for years been confronted with a red sad-face emoticon and messages announcing “this video is not available in Germany” when trying to view videos ranging from the latest pop clips to films with GEMA-controlled background music.Now the blockages should largely

TOKYO (AFP) -- Sony Music and the producer behind a Japanese girl band that performed in military-style costumes resembling Nazi uniforms apologized Tuesday following a protest lodged by the Simon Wiesenthal Center.Teeny-boppers Keyakizaka46 had sparked anger with their black one-piece dresses and capes -- complete with peaked caps bearing a golden bird symbol resembling the Nazi eagle above a swastika -- donned at a Halloween concert in Yokohama on Oct. 22.The Jewish documentation, monitoring a

Global K-pop sensation Psy has announced the dates and venue for his annual year-end concert.　Titled “All Night Stand 2016 -- Psadrenaline,” the concert will take place at Gocheok Sky Dome in Gocheok-dong, Seoul, on Dec. 23 and 24 at 11:50 p.m.Now in its 13th year, Psy’s annual concert is known for its surprise guest appearances, flashy visuals and laser light shows.  The K-pop star, who released his seventh studio album “Chiljip Psy-da” last year, will perform a new, never-before-heard single a