The Korea Herald

McCartney headlines queen‘s jubilee concert

Feb 8, 2012

LONDON (AFP) - Beatles legend Paul McCartney will headline a large concert in front of Buckingham Palace to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s diamond jubilee, organiser Gary Barlow said Tuesday.Barlow, the frontman of pop band Take That who has been tasked with putting together the June 4 tribute to mark the monarch‘s 60 years on the throne, said the London gig would “transcend multiple decades of music.”Elton John, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey and Chinese virtuoso pianist Lang Lang will join McCartne
Scholar dreams of taking pansori to the world

Feb 7, 2012

Korean literature professor leads English translation of all pansori lyricsPansori, a traditional form of narrative music performed by a solo singer, was added to UNESCO’s world heritage list nearly 10 years ago. But promoting pansori overseas has not been easy ― partly because there was no way for the foreign audience to understand the words during the performance.To facilitate better appreciation of pansori performances, Choe Tong-hyon, Korean Language and Literature professor at Kunsan Nation
Chris Brown to perform at the Grammy Awards

Feb 7, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) ― Chris Brown will perform at this year’s Grammy Awards, the event where his career almost ended three years ago.Brown admitted to assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna at a pre-Grammy party in 2009 and is serving five years of probation for the felony attack. A source told The Associated Press on Monday that Brown will hit the stage at Sunday’s show. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because Brown’s performance has not been officially announced.After the attack, Brown’s repu
N. Korean accordion players are a YouTube hit

Feb 6, 2012

SEOUL (AFP) ― A group of North Korean accordion players is proving to be an unlikely hit on YouTube, attracting nearly 320,000 viewings in five days with their spirited version of a 1980s pop song.Five students of Pyongyang’s Kum Song School of Music are seen performing the mid-80s hit “Take on Me” by Norwegian group a-ha, a rare performance of popular Western music in the reclusive communist state.The performance last December was filmed by visiting Norwegian artist Morten Traavik, who posted t
M.I.A. makes rude gesture in Super Bowl show

Feb 6, 2012

For all the pomp and excess of Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime extravaganza a single rude gesture by guest singer M.I.A. is likely to be the most remembered piece of the show.The gesture, accompanied by a barely disguised expletive, came during a performance of Madonna’s new single, “Give Me All Your Luvin.’’’ At the end of her lines, British singer M.I.A. appeared to sing “I don’t give a (expletive),’’ although it was hard to hear clearly. The incident was reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s infamous
Madonna headlines Super Bowl halftime show

Feb 6, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Madonna positioned herself as the queen of a new generation of pop stars at the Super Bowl halftime show -- complete with throne -- but didn‘t have complete control of Sunday night’s show.Guest singer M.I.A. flipped the middle finger to the audience after uttering a barely disguised expletive during a performance of Madonna‘s new single.M.I.A. was one of two guests who contributed vocals to the bubblegum pop song, ``Give Me All Your Luvin’,‘’ along with Nicki Minaj. Dance ro
Feb 6, 2012
Asia’s K-pop clones dance to Korean beat

Feb 5, 2012

SINGAPORE (AFP) ― Twelve-year-old Sabrina Kaur does not understand the lyrics of her favourite South Korean boy band Big Bang’s songs and, until recently, had never met Koreans in real life.But that did not stop her from joining more than a thousand other Singaporean girls at an audition in the city-state in January to discover a new pan-Asian Korean pop (K-pop) band to be promoted by a talent firm across the region.“I want to be the first Indian (Singaporean) girl to join a Korean girl group,”
Box Office

Feb 3, 2012

Love Fiction (Korea), Opening Feb. 29Comedy. Directed by Jeon Gye-soo. Thirty-one-year-old writer Joo-wol (Ha Jeong-woo) has never dated before ― the idealistic and picky man has been searching for the “perfect woman.” That perfect woman appears to be Hee-jin (Gong Hyo-jin), a successful, career-driven woman working in the film industry. He instantly falls for her the first day they meet, and desperately tries to win her heart. When he finally does, however, he begins to see Hee-jin’s hidden fla
‘I’m a Singer’ season 1 ends in controversy

Feb 2, 2012

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation, producer and distributer of hit TV program “I’m a Singer” announced on Wednesday that it would end the first season of the show next week. “We will run the last episode of ‘I’m a Singer’ season one on Feb. 12. We’ll introduce a reformatted show after taking a break,” MBC said in a statement. It didn’t elaborate on when the second season will start or who will take charge. The broadcaster is expected to replace the current producers and staff of the program.MBC is
Bjork makes foray into music education

Feb 1, 2012

NEW YORK ― Americans may know Bjork Gumunsdottir best for that strange swan dress she wore at the 2000 Oscars. But now, after selling millions of recordings and videos ― not to mention being named best actress at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival for “Dancer in the Dark” ― at the age of 45, the Icelandic musician is turning into a teacher.In February, she is presenting 10 New York performances ― sold out already ― of “Biophilia,” her interactive iPad app musical science project. It’s interactive bec
Matching fans to music tops agenda for record industry

Feb 1, 2012

CANNES, France (AFP) ― After a decade-long battle against file-sharing, music and technology giants are now pushing users to share to their hearts’ content, with online music recommendations a key issue at the MIDEM trade fair that wrapped up Tuesday.Record industry executives were in a buoyant mood for the four-day Riviera event, boosted by figures suggesting music lovers are slowly turning their backs on piracy and that legal digital music is finally taking off.Last year saw a jump in the reac
Tried-and-true K-pop stars return with albums, shows

Feb 1, 2012

Big name K-pop artists are returning to their fans with new albums this year, breaking their silence on the stages. Boy band Big Bang is expected to release a full album this month and hold “2012 Big Bang Concert ― Big Show” on March 2 at the Olympic Park Gymnasium in Seoul. The group will also resume activity in Japan as well, according to reports. Its agency YG Entertainment hasn’t released the group’s full schedule yet. But it has already unveiled the list of six songs from the anticipated al
Se7en tops iTune’s R&B chart in U.S., 2nd in Canada

Feb 1, 2012

Korean singer Se7en has surprised the country’s music scene on Wednesday as his new mini-album topped Apple’s iTunes online music charts.According to iTunes Chart operated by U.S. IT giant Apple, Se7en’s album was ranked at the top of its R&B/Soul chart in the United States and second place in the same category in Canada.“Se7en has not even made a comeback show yet, but his new album is drawing attention from in and out of the country,” his agency YG Entertainment said.His new album features the
Re-crafting a violin masterpiece

Jan 31, 2012

ST. PAUL, Minnesota ― Stradivarius violins are so prized that their name is synonymous with perfection. Three Minnesota men say they have come close to re-creating that ideal using a mix of modern technology and old-school artistry.Dr. Steve Sirr, a radiologist from Minnetonka, Minnesota, teamed with two St. Paul violinmakers, John Waddle and Steve Rossow, to make replicas of a 308-year-old violin known as the Betts Strad, owned by the Library of Congress. Sirr, who works at FirstLight Health Sy