Bieber looks to shed his ‘Baby’ imageJustin Bieber“Journals”Island Def Jam/UniversalThe Canadian teen pop sensation has dropped his latest studio album, looking to put his “Baby” days behind him by upping the sexual innuendo in his new 15-track album “Journals.” The 19-year-old pop star is shying away from the cutesy pop songs of his first album and energetic electro beats of his previous album “Believe” and is showing a bit of maturity in his move to more R&B-inspired tunes. His new album has

Rapper and record producer Kang Dong-chul ― best known by his stage name Brave Brothers ― has announced that he will be releasing a special collaborative album in commemoration of his 10th anniversary of his debut. As one of the country’s most famed producers, Brave Brothers has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry and is behind some of K-pop’s biggest hits including Lexy’s “Wipe My Tears And Put On Make Up;” Big Bang’s “Last Farwell;” Son Dam-bi’s “Crazy” and “Saturday Night;”

Actor and singer Rain expressed his fondness toward his girlfriend, actress Kim Tae-hee, in a recent interview. “My girlfriend is someone I can rely on and trust when I am down,” said the 32-year-old star, who just released his 6th album, titled “Rain Effect,” on Thursday.“We are on good terms, but we cannot go on dates frequently as both of us are too busy. We are keeping in contact by phone.”He drew a clear line between love and work, however. “I don’t want love to be mixed with work. I don’t

With news earlier in the year of Psy’s collaboration with American rock legend Steven Tyler of Aerosmith as well as local rap star G-Dragon’s announcement that he had indeed recorded a track with international pop superstar Justin Bieber, it appears as though K-pop artists are looking to expand their presence in the international music realm and continue to snatch any collaborative opportunities that come their way. In August, Big Bang leader G-Dragon released his second solo album, “Coup d’etat

NEW YORK (AP) ― “Call Me Maybe” singer Carly Rae Jepsen has had her calls returned by Broadway.Producers of “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella” said Sunday that the Canadian singer-songwriter will take over the role of Cinderella starting Feb. 4 for 12 weeks. She’ll take over from Tony Award nominee Laura Osnes.The Grammy Award nominee began performing in musical theater in high school. She starred in “Annie,” “The Wiz” and “Grease” before attending the Canadian College of Performing Arts.She’l

Hip-hop duo hopes to find own sound after military service

The monster newbies of EXO are continuing to pile on to the group’s endless list of accomplishments as one of the nation’s most popular boy bands and have become the first in 12 years to enter into the elite “1 million club,” selling more than a million copies of “XOXO (Kiss & Hug),” its debut album.According to a statement released by SM Entertainment, as of Friday EXO had sold approximately 471,570 copies of “XOXO (Kiss & Hug),” which was released in June, and around 536,007 copies of the grou

Thursday marked 10 years since the then five-member group TVXQ made its official entrance into the K-pop scene, performing the single “Hug” on a TV showcase for BoA and Britney Spears. The two remaining members of TVXQ reminisced about their most memorable moments during a press conference held at the Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday, hours before taking the stage for an anniversary concert. “In the 10 years that we have been holding concerts in Korea and Japan, we have been told tha

The legendary rock group Deulgukhwa, dubbed the Beatles of Korea, has reportedly decided to disband, just one year after reuniting with a sold-out concert series.The death of drummer Joo Chan-gwon earlier this year is seen to have played a major role in the band breaking up, insiders said. According to sources, the band, originally with three members but now consisting of lead vocalist Jun In-kwon and bassist Choi Sung-won, has been under great stress since Joo’s sudden death in October. Joo, co

Pop star Justin Bieber on Wednesday announced via Twitter that he is retiring.“My beloved beliebers I’m officially retiring,” he wrote on his Twitter account. “The media talks a lot about me. They make up a lot of lies and want me to fail but I’m never leaving you, being a belieber is a lifestyle.” The announcement was re-tweeted more than 200,000 times in just four hours of being posted. Bieber has nearly 48 million followers. No official reaction has been made by his record label or management

JYP Entertainment, one of the three most influential showbiz agencies in the country, on Tuesday announced a set of plans to launch three new K-pop groups next year. In January, a seven-member boy band consisting of singers and dancers from the U.S., Thailand, Hong Kong, China and Korea will be unveiled. Tentatively named “Post 2PM,” the group will be an “enhanced version” of the megahit group 2PM, the agency said. The members are reportedly planning to present martial arts performances on stage

A host of K-pop singers have been included on “The 100 Most Beautiful Faces 2013” list by U.S.-based film review website IndependentCritics.com. The list was announced on Monday. A total of 14 South Koreans made the list, on which the Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard was named the most beautiful face of the year.The South Korean highest on the list was Nana at No. 2, a singer and former model who is best known as a member of girl group After School. Despite being little-known in the

LONDON (AFP) ― Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is to co-produce a British stage show about the boy wizard’s early years living with his cruel non-magical aunt and uncle, she announced on Friday.Rowling said she would work with the writer on the new play, charting Harry’s lonely childhood when he was forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs, but would not script it herself.She will start the project early next year, working with producers Sonia Friedman ― who has brought a string of hit sh

“Are you ready?” was projected onto the giant stage screens as the 12,000 fans who flocked to Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium on Sunday night screamed in deafening unison while awaiting K-pop sensation Psy’s entrance. Thousands upon thousands of flashing LED headbands lit up the stadium as part of Psy’s “All Night Stand” winter solo concert series that began on Friday night. The K-pop star pulled out all the stops for the event, returning to his local fans in his first concert in Korea in eight