The Korea Herald

Psy's 'Hangover' most-viewed K-pop music video in U.S. last year

Jan 15, 2015

South Korean rapper Psy's "Hangover" was the most-viewed K-pop music video in the United States last year, a U.S. music service said Thursday.Released in June, "Hangover" topped the ranking of the most-viewed K-pop music videos in the U.S. for 2014 recently announced by Billboard magazine based on YouTube views. The video recently topped 170 million views on YouTube.This marks the third consecutive year that the rapper topped the yearly ranking, following 2012 and 2013 when he gained global fame
K-pop stars see earnings rocket

Jan 12, 2015

Girls’ Generation (SM Entertainment)As K-pop continues to lead the Korean Wave, singers are enjoying their sharpest ever increase in income, government statistics show.According to the National Tax Service, the average yearly income of singers rose 72.2 percent in three years between 2010 and 2013, by far the sharpest hike among all Korean celebrity groups. The average annual salary came in at 46.74 million won ($42,000) in 2013, more than doubling from 26.97 million won in 2010. Over the same
Eyelike: Criminal Designer

Jan 9, 2015

Minaj’s ‘Pinkprint’ delivers grown-up complexityNicki Minaj“The Pinkprint”(Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records)Maybe we knew -- even in 2010 -- when Nicki Minaj released her debut set that beneath the fluorescent wigs and zany accents, there resided a real-life grown-up. On some level, we surely understood that the now 32-year-old rapper had complex emotions and a past, and all the things that make stars more like regular people and less like characters.But not until now, with her third rele
‘Deja-Boo’ is my musical color: Jonghyun

Jan 9, 2015

Jonghyun, a member of the K-pop band SHINee, said the song “Deja-Boo” best captures his musical style and color. “I personally like this song a lot, and that is the reason behind selecting it as one of the two title songs of the album,” the singer told the media before a live showcase on Thursday at the SMTOWN Coex Atrium in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul. “That is also why I decided to prerelease it.” The singer wrote lyrics to every song on his first solo EP, “BASE,” which consists of seven tra
Singer Bobby Kim questioned by FBI for alleged in-flight brawl

Jan 9, 2015

Bobby Kim, a popular R&B singer in South Korea, was questioned by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after his alleged sexual harassment of a cabin crew member in a flight from Incheon to San Francisco, Korean Air Lines Co. said Friday.The 42-year-old is accused of inappropriately touching a female crew member as well as hurling sexual insults while intoxicated on the U.S.-bound Jan. 7 flight, according to the South Korean carrier.The singer was later taken in for questioning by FBI
‘Deja-BOO’ is my musical color: Jonghyun

Jan 8, 2015

Jonghyun, a member of the K-pop band SHINee, said “Deja-BOO” best captures his musical style and color. Jonghyun of SHINee sings during a showcase for his first solo EP, “BASE,” on Thursday at the SMTOWN Coex Atrium in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul. (Yonhap)　“I personally like this song a lot, and that is the reason behind selecting it as one of the two title songs of the album,” the singer told the press before a live showcase on Thursday at the SMTOWN Coex Atrium in Samseong-dong, southern Se
’90s icon So Chan-whee relishes return to spotlight

Jan 7, 2015

After hitting it big in the ’90s with her debut album “Cherish,” solo female rock vocalist So Chan-whee seemed to have fallen prey to the so-too-often cliched stigma of music icons unable to maintain the spark of their heyday. However, unbeknownst to her, one televised performance was enough to change her life once again.The rocker recently appeared on an episode of Infinite Challenge’s “Saturday, Saturday is for Singers (TOTOGA)” ― a segment of the MBC hit reality show that invites ’90s stars t
TVXQ is Oricon Chart’s top-selling foreign artist in 2014

Jan 4, 2015

Veteran boy band TVXQ recorded the most annual album sales among non-Japanese artists on Oricon Chart in 2014.According to the chart, the Korean duo ― Changmin and Yunho ― ranked No. 13 in Annual Album Sales in 2014 with “Tree,” which was released in March.The soundtrack of popular Disney animation “Frozen” was the only foreign album which was ranked higher than “Tree,” bagging the second spot on the chart.Some other K-pop artists ― Girls’ Generation, Big Bang, 2PM, Daesung, Taeyang and SHINee ―
Eyelike: Lackluster tribute to Paul McCartney

Jan 2, 2015

Lackluster tribute to Paul McCartneyVarious artists“The Art of McCartney”(Arctic Poppy)This two-disc Paul McCartney tribute is a decade-in-the-making labor of love by one man, producer Ralph Sall. So it would be churlish to throw cold water on it, right?Sorry. Sall’s interest in chasing down marquee names, rather than marquee performances, makes this a gigantic missed opportunity. Sall enlists McCartney’s current backup band to fill the same role on this 34-song effort (42 with the deluxe packag
Vinyl sales rare bright spot for U.S. music industry

Jan 2, 2015

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Vinyl sales and music streaming both soared by more than 50 percent in 2014 in the U.S., even as overall sales kept declining, a music industry monitor said.With few blockbuster releases and streaming becoming more mainstream, consumers in the world’s largest music market bought 257 million albums last year, a drop of 11 percent from 2013, Nielsen SoundScan said in data released late Wednesday.The music industry saw one bright spot in the strong growth of vinyl which in recent y
[Herald Interview] The mind behind ‘Pop Danthology’

Dec 29, 2014

From the humorously trend-setting era of hammer pants to the present day hip-hop infused electro-psychedelic pop, the music world is certainly no stranger to the constantly changing and ever-so-inventive modern fads and phases. Much thanks to YouTube, technological innovation and sheer musical genius, the art of mash-ups is becoming one of the hottest trends in the music industry today. The 2012 Hollywood blockbuster “Pitch Perfect” helped rocket song mashing into the global, mainstream limeligh
35,000 fans hail FNC’s family concerts in Japan

Dec 29, 2014

K-pop artists under FNC Entertainment’s banner, including FT ISLAND and CNBLUE, staged a series of family concerts in Japan, attracting about 35,000 fans in total.The singers wrapped up the final concert in Osaka on Saturday, nine days after the first concert in Tokyo on Dec. 20.K-pop boy band FT ISLAND was up first on “Emerald” stage, which was installed for the matinee performances. As the concert scene heated up, the boy band’s main vocalist Lee Hong-gi jumped down the stage and boasted power
Jazz great Buddy DeFranco dies at 91

Dec 28, 2014

PANAMA CITY, Florida (AP) ― Renowned jazz clarinetist Buddy DeFranco, who led the way on his instrument in the transition between the swing and bebop eras, has died at the age of 91, his family said Friday. DeFranco’s family told The Associated Press that the famed musician died Wednesday evening at a Panama City hospital. His wife, Joyce, said he had been in declining health in recent years. The couple lived in Panama City. DeFranco, who began his professional career as a teenager in the late 1
Cyndi Lauper cancels Korea concerts

Dec 28, 2014

Cyndi Lauper, an American pop star of the 1980s, has canceled her planned concerts in South Korea to mark the 30th anniversary of her debut solo album, a local organizer said Sunday.Lauper planned to hold two concerts at Seoul’s Olympic Park on Jan. 23-24 as part of the “She’s So Unusual: 30th Anniversary Tour” that began in June 2013 and has taken her to 56 cities around the world.“The decision has been made in consultation with the artist,”YESCOM Entertainment said, without giving a specific r
Eyelike: Tuneful tunes with touch of twang from Colerick

Dec 26, 2014

Tuneful tunes with touch of twang from ColerickBrad Colerick“Tucson”(Back 9 Records) Brad Colerick opens his fourth solo album with the title cut, which reminds us the road does not actually go on forever. Colerick goes on to examine his trip down that road in tuneful tunes with a touch of twang.Colerick’s stories are worth hearing, in part because he makes singing sound so easy. His warm, sunny, homey tenor brings alive the characters, places and relationships in these 11 songs. Guitars, banjo,