To little surprise, the YouTube sensation Psy dominated the K-pop singles rankings in the U.S. this year, taking three of the top 10 spots on Billboard’s list of 2013’s Biggest-Selling K-pop Songs in America.Psy’s mega international hit singles “Gangnam Style” and “Gentleman” were listed at the No. 1 and 2 spots, respectively, as 2013’s biggest-selling K-pop singles in the U.S. The Korean rapper’s past-time single “Right Now,” which was released in 2010, also came in at No. 8, passing the locall

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― French electronic dance act Daft Punk will play at the 2014 Grammys show next month, organizers said Thursday, confirming a rare performance by the elusive duo.Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons will also take the stage at the Jan. 26 show, music’s version of the Oscars, said organizers the Recording Academy.Daft Punk have not played since the release of their smash hit album “Random Access Memories” in May, despite persistent rumors of a tour. They canceled a planned TV appe

LONDON (AFP) ― A rare Stradivarius violin, which was once stolen and offered for just 100 pounds ($162) by thieves, sold at auction in Britain on Wednesday for 1.3 million pounds.Thieves took the antique instrument, which was made in 1696, and two valuable bows from Korean-born violinist Min-jin Kym as she ate a sandwich at a cafe in London’s Euston station in 2010.It was recovered unscathed from a house in central England in July, but by that time the violinist had obtained a new instrument. Th

K-pop legend Cho Yong-pil was selected as South Korea's best singer of 2013, beating out global star Psy in an annual poll released on Thursday.Cho received the most votes at 17.6 percent in a survey conducted by Gallup Korea on 4,263 people aged 13 or older across the country for three times from July through November.Voters could choose up to three favorite singers among those who were active this year.The 63-year-old singer, dubbed "the king of singers" in South Korea, has made a splash in th

JYP Entertainment, a major talent agency in South Korea, is set to launch a new K-pop girl group next year, local news outlets reported Thursday.“We are preparing a six-member team, and are aiming to make its debut next year,” a JYP official told Star News. According to the official, the team’s qualifications will be “the best ever.”Another JPY official said the group is the result of an intense training program that is “more systematic than programs the agency provided for any other team.”The a

JERUSALEM (AFP) ― A young man on Tuesday disrupted a conference in Jerusalem on Richard Wagner, considered Hitler’s favorite composer, Haaretz newspaper said on its website.The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra was marking the 200th anniversary of the German composer’s birth with a symposium on his music and whether an unofficial Israeli ban on performances of his work should be upheld.According to Haaretz, the man burst onto the stage of the Jerusalem theater where the discussion was taking place, s

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Nirvana swept into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of eligibility, the musical museum said, welcoming it and other groups like glam outfit Kiss.Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens and Linda Ronstadt join Nirvana and Kiss ― known for Gene Simmons’ famously wagging tongue ― among the new members announced Monday. They will be inducted next year.The Cleveland, Ohio institution said Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967, wi