The Korea Herald

Domingo to close iTunes fest

Sept 2, 2014

LONDON (AP) ― Placido Domingo will be the closing act at this year’s iTunes Festival in London. The famed Spanish tenor will perform Sept. 30 at the Roundhouse ― the last performance of a month-long, starry line-up, festival organizers announced. Deadmau5 kicks off the concerts on Monday night, followed by headline sets from pop names like Pharrell Williams, Calvin Harris, The Script and Ed Sheeran. Kylie Minogue, Kasabian, Mary J. Blige, Blondie, Maroon 5 and Robert Plant are also playing the f
Festival to bring finest wind bands to Korea

Sept 1, 2014

A weeklong festival of wind music will take place next week, bringing together some of the world’s finest musicians in the field, such as German Brass. Set for Sept 12-18, the 5th Korea International Wind Band Festival is a combination of free and joyful outdoor events taking place at various venues in Seoul and surrounding cities and a series of high-quality concerts at Seoul Arts Center, for which tickets must be purchased. “Many people dismiss wind music as something like a cliche soundtrack
Hip-hop moves as force in Ferguson

Sept 1, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) ― Rappers are making their voices heard in the Missouri city where a white police officer killed an unarmed young black man, channeling hip-hop’s earlier roots when the genre worked as a voice for the oppressed and spoke out against injustice. “It’s really important to see hip-hop’s role of being some grown-ups and doing some really stand-up, grown-up stuff,” Public Enemy’s Chuck D, one of rap’s most powerful voices, said in a recent interview. “These people have actually stood up
Mariah Carey to hold first solo concert in S. Korea in 11 years

Sept 1, 2014

Mariah Carey will hold a solo concert in South Korea next month for the first time in 11 years, an agency said Monday.The pop diva will perform in Seoul's Olympic Park on Oct. 8 as part of her Asian concert tour to promote her 14th studio album, "Me. I Am Mariah ... The Elusive Chanteuse," Yescom Entertainment said. The tour will also take her to Japan, China, Singapore and the Philippines, it added.It would mark the singer's first solo concert in South Korea since 2003 and her first overseas co
Made in America music fest rocks L.A.

Aug 31, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Thousands flocked to downtown Los Angeles’ inaugural outdoor music festival Saturday despite concerns from residents about possible security and traffic issues. The Budweiser Made in America concert, which featured three large stages dotting Grand Park in front of City Hall, kicked off under a blazing sun and thumping beats. The event marks the West Coast expansion of the two-day festival that rap mogul Jay Z launched in Philadelphia in 2012. Mayor Eric Garcetti has championed
Eyelike: ‘Smokey & Friends’ duets nice, not vital

Aug 29, 2014

‘Smokey & Friends’ duets nice, not vitalSmokey Robinson“Smokey & Friends”(Verve Music Group) Smokey Robinson doesn’t want to be a relic and that‘s understandable. He deserves for people to know his role as a chief architect of the Motown Sound and bard of the American romantic songbook, while remaining a vital, inspiring voice today.Therein lay the catalyst and challenge of “Smokey & Friends,” which finds him pairing with artists young and old on classics he composed, performed or both. Some due
Megan Fox returns to Korea in a turtle franchise

Aug 28, 2014

Hollywood actress Megan Fox arrived in Seoul on Tuesday to promote the Korean release of action comedy film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Fox was joined by director Jonathan Liebesman and producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller at the press conference on Wednesday at a hotel in Seoul. The 28-year-old actress plays April O’Neil in the film, an intrepid reporter in New York City who teams up with four teenage anthropomorphic turtles to fight against the evil villain Shredder and his organized crim
Prince to release new albums after record label bust-up

Aug 27, 2014

PARIS (AFP) ― U.S. pop star Prince will release two new albums at the end of September, his record label said on Tuesday, marking the end of one of the longest-running employment disputes in musical history.Prince ― whose 1984 album “Purple Rain” sold over 13 million copies in the U.S. ― fell out with Warner Bros. Records in the early 1990s, prompting him to change his name to an unpronounceable symbol and appear in public with the word “slave” daubed across his face.The name change bewildered f
Chung Myung-whun traces his musical roots

Aug 25, 2014

Maestro Chung Myung-whun will hold his first-ever solo recitals as a pianist this fall, playing the complete Chopin ballades and other short piano pieces. The five-city concert tour, which includes a stop at Seoul Art Center on Oct. 16, will mark the celebrated conductor’s return to his musical roots after a nearly four-decade career at the podium. “I always dreamed of doing my own music when I turn 60 ― real music, not music as work,” he said of the upcoming recitals. “Piano is, for me, real mu
Bow down: Beyonce owns the Video Music Awards

Aug 25, 2014

Bow down: Beyonce was the reigning queen of Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards. The diva closed the awards show with an epic nearly 20-minute performance. She was joined onstage by her beaming husband and daughter, which brought her to tears, amid the numerous rumors surrounding her marriage. Beyonce sang and danced in a metallic leotard while Blue Ivy and Jay Z watched from their seats as the diva declared: “MTV, welcome to my world.” As Beyonce accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award at
Stardium: One night, one venue, five different stages

Aug 24, 2014

Heineken Korea, the organizers that brought the Amsterdam-born annual house music festival Sensation to Korea for the first time in 2012, is gearing up to present its latest EDM production ― Stardium. Much implied by its name, the upcoming one-day electronic music festival next month will feature a unique star-shaped stadium that allows for five separate DJ sets to be performed simultaneously without music clashing in between stages. This presents a festival where “everyone’s attention is not re
Eyelike: Amy Grant shows another side with remixes

Aug 22, 2014

Amy Grant shows another side with remixesAmy Grant“In Motion -- The Remixes”(Sparrow/Capitol)Amy Grant never has shied away from experimentation and change. Having transformed herself from devout singer-songwriter to upbeat pop star more than 20 years ago, she now leaps from the reflective tone of recent work to the electronic dance music beat of “In Motion -- The Remixes,” which gives a glow-stick tweak to her catalog of hits. A Christian music star who balances sensitive reflection with positi
Madonna clothing, lyrics to hit auction block

Aug 20, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Madonna memorabilia including nude photographs of the Queen of Pop will go on sale in November at an auction that will also include some of her most famous outfits and some of her lyrics.The Marilyn Monroe-inspired gown and jewelry that Madonna donned in her 1984 “Material Girl” music video will also be up for grabs, Beverly Hills-based Julien’s Auctions said Tuesday.Highest bidders will also be able to take home some of the many awards won by Madonna, as well as handwritten
Taylor Swift to release new album on Oct. 27

Aug 19, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) ― Taylor Swift is saying goodbye to country music, for now: The singer says she’s releasing her first full-length pop album on Oct. 27. The 24-year-old revealed in a livestream via Yahoo! on Monday that “1989,” named for her birth year, is her “first documented official pop album.” The first single is the upbeat jam “Shake It Off,” which she debuted during the livestream and was released Monday. She danced happily in a cropped white top and skirt with the audience as the song playe
Michael Cera releases ‘honest’ folk album

Aug 17, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) ― Michael Cera released an indie folk album last week ― quietly, in a way almost as unassuming as the actor himself. “I would record a lot of the songs in the middle of the night just at home. I never thought anyone would ever listen to them,” he said in an interview Thursday. “It’s really nice that people are paying any attention to it because there’s a lot of stuff to listen to.” The 26-year-old, whose TV and film credits include “Arrested Development,” “Juno” and “Superbad,” dro