Korean rap star Psy has been selected as the goodwill ambassador with the initiatives of promoting hallyu and YouTube as tools for “creative economy” at the upcoming 44th World Economic Forum, which was to be held from Jan. 22 to 25 in Davos, Switzerland. The World Economic Forum attracts some of the world’s most influential international business leaders. About 2,800 figures are slated to attend this year, including around 30 Korean business leaders such as Hur Chang-soo, chairman of the Federa

G-dragon disclosed a selfie of himself wearing a Korean traditional costume with multiple stripes and a mop-headed wig, which was posted on photo-sharing service Instagram on Jan. 10.By Ock Hyun-ju, Intern reporter(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)　

GOT7 unveiled a teaser video for their upcoming album’s title track “Girls Girls Girls” on Monday. The video features the seven members skating through the city on “Wheelman,” a unique foot bike suited to their carefree concept. The boy band members range in nationalities, including non-Koreans. The group is also planning a simultaneous overseas debut after rising to the attention of famous international record labels. The new boy group specializes in martial arts performances called “tricking,”

NEW YORK (AP) ― Bruno Mars will have help from the Red Hot Chili Peppers when he performs at the Super Bowl next month.Mars announced Saturday that the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers will join him as part of his halftime show at the National Football League championship game. Super Bowl halftime performers often have collaborators. Last year, Beyonce had Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams from her Destiny’s Child days join her onstage, and two years ago Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. joined Madonna for h

 TVXQ marks 10th anniversary with ‘Tense’TVXQ “Tense” (KT Music)K-pop legend TVXQ has returned to the music scene, celebrating the 10th anniversary of its debut with its new album, “Tense.” Although the duo has managed to produce an album that explores a wide range of musical genres, it has yet to overcome the void left behind by the three original members who left and formed a separate group, JYJ, in 2010.The album begins with “10 Years,” which notably fuses lyrics from former hits by TVXQ incl

This year marks the 10th year that mp3 music files have outsold physical albums in Korea, leading the local market in music sales. Although the early stages of the mp3’s history involved free online streaming and file sharing that was later deemed a copyright violation, in 2004, MelOn and Soribada ― some of the nation’s most popular online music sites ― launched for the first time with K-pop star Se7en’s “Crazy” becoming the first official Korean digital single that was purchased for download. D

Over the past few years, more and more K-pop idol acts have been eager to add more concert locations outside of Asia, spurring a flurry of world tours that have included a number of performances in Europe, South America and the United States. In the past, big name K-pop idol groups such as Big Bang, 2NE1, Girls’ Generation, Infinite, CNBlue and others ventured to the States performing shows across the country. This month, popular local acoustic pop duo band 10cm is also looking to join the Korea

HyunA and Jay Park will be joining the lineup of artists representing the Korean music industry at this year’s South By Southwest music showcase in Austin, Texas. The two artists are recent additions to a handful of Korean bands that have been selected to perform at the upcoming music festival in March. HyunA and Jay Park are expected to represent K-pop music, which has become popular both at home and abroad.Although the two artists differ greatly from the 16 Korean acts that have already been a

Akdong Musician, the amateur winning team of SBS’ music reality competition “K-pop Star 2,” plans to make an official debut at the end of February, a local media outlet reported. 　 The teenage duo, consisting of siblings Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Soo-hyun, will debut as professional singers through the SBS TV audition program “K-pop Star 3” after a nine-month training period at YG Entertainment, the report said. 　 The sibling stars took the No. 1 spot in the competition in 2013, garnering a

JYP Entertainment, run by one of the nation’s most successful music producers Park Jin-young, will be launching its new boy band “GOT7” next week. Coming a year after the debut of duo JJ Project, who since its launch has released only two singles to little success, officials at JYPE announced plans to do away with the group and move the two members into the seven-member K-pop idol boy group. The public has already glimpsed a number of the members in action during the airing of YG Entertainment’s

One of the nation’s iconic veteran solo artists, Lee Sun-hee, will make a comeback next month with the release of her 15th studio album, her first in five years, in commemoration of her 30th year in the music industry. “This year marks the 30th anniversary so it’s very meaningful,” stated a representative from the singer’s agency Hook Entertainment. “She is currently working on the upcoming album, which will feature all new songs. The album will pay tribute to her music from the past 30 years.”

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Bruce Springsteen’s 18th studio album “High Hopes” went online in the United States Sunday, 10 days before its general release ― and on the 41st anniversary of The Boss’s debut outing.Television network CBS had announced it would host the Internet-only pre-release after the conclusion of this week’s episode of “The Good Wife” at around 10 p.m. in a unique tie-in with the top-rated legal drama.But American fans of the New Jersey-born rock ’n’ roll voice of blue-collar America w

Scottish rock band Travis is making its return to Korea, putting on its first solo concert in Seoul in five years with a live performance at the Olympic Hall in March. Led by Fran Healy on vocals, Travis formed in the early 1990s in Glasgow, and made a name for itself as one of the most well-respected rock bands from the U.K. Although Travis has always seemed to skirt away from the main spotlight, the rockers are still often credited for having influenced iconic British bands such as Coldplay an