A captured image from Psy's "Daddy" music video. (The Korea Herald)Psy released music videos for his long-waited seventh album “Chiljip Psy-da,” and we think this is going to go viral worldwide, and live up to the “Gangnam Style” fame. During a press conference held in Seoul on Monday, Psy unveiled music videos to “Napal Baji” and “Daddy,” both of which have a bouncy techno beat and a wacky mix of Korean and English lyrics. The album title plays on the name of a popular beverage in South Korea,

BTS performs their concert “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life On Stage” at the SK Handball Gymnasium in Seoul. (Big Hit Entertainment)The arena at boy band BTS’ concert “BTS Live: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life On Stage” was lit more brightly than most K-pop concerts, and it was clear why.At their first concert in Korea in 11 months, the members of BTS gleefully ran around the main stage and the protruding T-shaped stage as well as the aisles between the audience floors, making it impossible

Canadian pianist and composer Steve Barakatt and the Herald Philharmonic Orchestra are combing forces once again in performance of the musician’s new visually revamped 16-movement symphony “Ad Vitam Aeternam” in January. 　Canadian pianist and composer Steve Barakatt poses during an interview with The Korea Herald at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. (Chung Hee-cho/The Korea Herald)Barakatt’s upcoming concert follows the pianist’s previous concert in March, in which he celebrated 20 years since his debut

Psy will dedicate a song on his upcoming album to the late Korean rock legend Shin Hae-chul, whom the “Gangnam Style” star was particularly close to, and Kim Jun-su of K-pop boy band JYJ will participate in the song. Psy revealed Wednesday night on Naver’s V app that the song was written “in memory of Shin Hae-chul.” Psy (YG Entertainment) “It’s a collection of the many things (Shin) used to tell me when we drank together,” said Psy. “It’s a song with a very sad personal story. It was difficult

Singer and actress Suzy said that before she joined JYP Entertainment, she used to perform on the streets as part of a dance crew.According to the Miss A member, she did it to show her parents how much she really loved to perform. Suzy (JYP Entertainment)“I had to convince my parents (to let me be a singer),” she said in an interview at a cafe in Seoul Monday. “They thought that more than singing and dancing, I was attracted to the glamour.”Suzy said that she walked by a dance crew performing on

Pianist Cho Seong-jin will join the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Chung Myung-whun to perform Chopin in a Seoul concert next year in a widely anticipated union of Korea’s classical music icons. At the concert, to be held at Seoul Arts Center on July 15, the pianist who shot to local fame after being crowned as the first Korean to win the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition will be performing Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4. The performance

This year saw worldwide accolades of unprecedented proportions for classical music artists from Korea.From the first Koreans to win the top prizes at the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition and Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, to the first Asian to take home the crown at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition, 2015 has cast a light on local classical scene talent like never before. Cho Seong-jinAs the newest classical music icon in Korea, Cho Seong-jin has forever cem

Setting off for an interview with singer Choi Baek-ho on a windy late October day, with dry, fallen leaves swirling about my feet, I thought, “What a perfect day for a meeting with Choi.” “Please don’t leave in autumn, but, if you must, please leave in the white winter,” goes a line in Choi’s first hit song from the late 1970s, and he has been known as the quintessential man of autumn ever since. I met Choi at Musistance, an underground music space ― literally underground as it is located in a c

(YG Entertainment)　YG Entertainment said Wednesday that 2NE1’s CL would release her solo track “Hello Bitches” on Saturday.  The release is rather unexpected as CL has been preparing for her solo debut in the U.S., signing a contract with Scooter Braun’s SB Projects. She also took part in Skrillex’s “Dirty Vibe” and Diplo’s “Doctor Pepper.” The 24-year-old entered the international spotlight when she performed at the music festival “Mad Decent Block Party” with global artists. 　“Hello Bitches” w

With two more hit tracks, YG’s newest boy group continues to fly high

Iconic hallyu star Kim Soo-hyun ranked among the five most influential figures in Chinese show business, according to a survey conducted by a Chinese broadcaster.  Kim Soo-hyun (Yonhap)The survey put together five categories: media attention, influence on the public, reputation, frequency of media exposure and overall impact.　Kim, who shot to stardom through mega-hit SBS drama series “My Love from the Star,” making millions of female hearts flutter in the process, sets trends in whatever he wear

K-pop girl group April, downsized from a sextet after Somin left the group, will return to the music scene with five members on Nov. 25, its agency DSP Media said Monday.  (DSP Media)The agency uploaded a teaser video via its official YouTube channel, with April’s logo under a pink background. The forthcoming album’s title will be “Boing Boing.”Former member Somin recently withdrew from the group. “Somin will move on with her new life, leaving April. She has been mulling over the future of her c

YG’s new boy group iKON spoke about what labelmate Big Bang means to them.As the newest boy group from YG Entertainment, iKON faces the big task of continuing in Big Bang’s footsteps while differentiating themselves at the same time. iKON (YG Entertainment)“They’ve given us a lot of help since ‘WIN,’ and they’re our idols to a certain extent,” said leader B.I in a group interview at a Seoul cafe on Monday. “WIN” refers to the survival TV program “WIN: Who is Next,” where the team’s members went

Bobby and B.I of idol group iKON say that they make the best duo.“We’re a duo who really care for and like each other,” Bobby said during a group interview in Seoul Monday, talking about the two iKON rappers’ single “Anthem.”“At the end of the song, there are lyrics that talk about how great we are together, like ‘Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun Fat.’ We hope fans will really hear those lyrics.”Other lyrics compare the duo to “cabbage and radish” and “beer and chicken.”B.I and Bobby (YG Entertainment