The highly respected veteran singer-songwriter-pianist You Hee-yeol is slated to host his first solo concerts in more than seven years, commemorating his recently released seventh full-length album, “Da Capo.” You, who performs under the name Toy, will put on three concerts at Seoul Olympic Park’s Gymnastics Stadium next year from April 2 to 4. As of Friday morning, Toy was ranked No. 1 in the country in terms of ticket sales.  You Hee-yeol. (Antenna Music)Toy’s latest album marked a monster com

South Korean music band EXO pose for the photographers after winning the Album of the Year at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong on Thursday. (AP-Yonhap)South Korean boy band EXO proved its stature as a K-pop sensation across Asia by nabbing four awards at the 2014 Mnet Asian Music Awards held in Hong Kong on Wednesday. EXO won four major prizes ― Best Asian Style, Best Male Group of the Year, Asian Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for its third EP, “Overdose.”The Asian Artist

Shannon. ( YouTube screen capture)Almost five years since making her local TV debut, Shannon Williams, a U.K.-born British-Korean singer, finally released her debut solo single, “Daybreak Rain,” on Monday. To commemorate her official solo debut, Williams unveiled two music videos for her new single: the original version and the “black edition.” The second version of her music video is the same as the original, but is in black and white to give the song a darker and more mournful feel. The 16-yea

Infinite F. (Woolliment Entertainment)Infinite F, a trio subunit of the popular K-pop idol boy band Infinite, dropped its first EP, “Love’s Sign,” on Monday. Although L, Sung-jong and Sung-yeol had initially debuted the album in Japan last month, the group decided to release the Korean versions of the EP’s three singles, marking its official Korean debut. The new EP includes the album’s lead pop-ballad single, “My Heart is Beating,” as well as the singles “I Like You” and “My Girl.” The music vi

CNBlue. (FNC Entertainment)FNC Entertainment, home to big-time K-pop groups CNBlue, FT Island, AOA and soloist Juniel, will host its “FNC Kingdom” family concert event in Japan this month. Members of the FNC family will hold four shows in Japan including two concerts in Chiba, just outside of Tokyo, on Dec. 20 and two performances in Osaka on Dec. 27. According to officials at FNC, the concert will not only feature performances by each of its idol groups, but will also include a number of never-

K-pop boy band B.A.P. (TS Entertainment)TS Entertainment on Friday refuted accusations by the K-pop boy band B.A.P that they were working under a “slave contract.” “The artists have not been mistreated, and there are no unfair clauses in the contract,” the label said in a press release, countering the boy band’s allegations. The response comes two days after the rookie K-pop singers filed a lawsuit against their agency, demanding the termination of their exclusive contracts. All six members of B

Apink. (Yonhap)Returning to the stage with the group’s new “Pink LUV” EP, the ladies of Apink have knocked the good boys G-Dragon and Taeyang off their throne, topping all the local music charts on Monday with their new lead single, “LUV.”Although the new six-track, EP dropped a week later than originally scheduled due to unforeseen production needs, the album’s lead track “LUV” managed to quickly climb its way to the No. 1 spot just hours after its release on all the major online music charts i

Gayoon of 4Minute. (Cube Entertainment)Gayoon of K-pop girl group 4Mintue has taken a stab at showing off her melancholy vocals with her cover of label mates BEAST’s latest chart-topping single “12:30.” Unlike the electro-dance beat and drum heavy original version of the popular BEAST track, on Monday Gayoon released her own solo take of the single, stripping out the pop feel of the song and turning it into a softer, more soulful ballad. The lead single “12:30” was first released by BEAST in Oct

The show that launched the careers of Park Ji-min, Lee Hi, brother-sister duo Akdong Musician and Bernard Park has finally returned for its fourth season. The popular reality survival K-pop audition program “K-pop Star 4” aired its first episode on Sunday, and is looking to up the excitement by featuring an all-new guest judges format. A screen capture of the first episode of “K-pop Star 4.” (YouTube)Similar to last year’s show, this season will include the program’s three main judges ― Yang Hyu

The seven members of GOT7 are taking another stab at solidifying their identity with the release of their first full-length album, “Identify.” This time around, the boys are leaving behind the high-flying martial arts dance moves that they so enthusiastically highlighted when they debuted, referring to their complex choreography as one of the aspects that made them different from other K-pop boy bands. The 11-track album, which includes GOT7’s previously released singles “A” and “Girls Girls Gir

Sandara Park and Steven Yeun stars in the video. (BeFUNNY Studios)A video series featuring Sandara Park, a member of the K-pop girl group 2NE1, and actor Steven Yeun has received a total of more than 1 million views just four days since its release.Released last week under the title “What’s Eating Steven Yeun?” by BeFUNNY Studios, the video series gained immediate attention from viewers.The series, composed of three parody videos and a highlight episode, tells the comical yet serious story of Ye

Lovelyz. (Woollim Entertainment)Despite being the target of a number of nasty online rumors, new K-pop girl group Lovelyz has made its debut official with the release of its first album, “Girls’ Invasion.”Looking to bounce back after malicious online rumors about group member Seo Ji-soo led her to suspend her debut with the eight-member group, Lovelyz finally unveiled its entire nine-track debut album on Monday, including the official music video for the girls’ lead single “Candy Jelly Love.” Ea

The official poster for YG Entertainment’s upcoming hip-hop project. (YG Entertainment)Big Bang leader G-Dragon, one of the biggest names in K-pop, will be taking part in his agency’s upcoming hip-hop collaboration team, according to a statement by YG Entertainment on Monday. Officials at YG revealed that the mega K-pop star will be one of the five artists participating in the agency’s next line of music projects. Titled “YG Hiphop Project 1,” the collaboration will feature two YG artists, inclu

Nicole. (Nicole official Facebook)Nicole, a former member of the K-pop girl group Kara, will be dropping her first solo album, titled “First Romance.”The upcoming album will not only be her first solo release since her departure from Kara, but also her first release under her new management B2M Entertainment, home to K-pop diva Lee Hyori. Nicole recently unveiled the track list for her upcoming album, which will feature a total of six tracks including the lead single “MAMA.” The new album is sla