K-pop legend Cho Yong-pil working on comeback album: sources Korean singer, Cho Yong-pil / Courtesy of YPC Production Cho Yong-pil, a living legend on the Korean pop scene, will likely make a comeback with his first new album in nine years, sources in the music industry said Wednesday.The sources said the 72-year-old singer has recently begun working on a new album in earnest."Cho is working on the new album faster than before," an aide to Cho told Yonhap News Agency. "(He's) working with the goal of releasing a new album within this year."The singer reportedly is considering including various songs on the album without limiting them to a certain genre or concept.If the album rolls out within this year, it would be the first since his 19th full-length album "Hello" was released in 2013. Although not much is known about the new release, if it is a full-length album, it will be Cho's 20th.Cho debuted as a member of the rock band Atkins in 1968. After working for a decade in several bands, including the Kim Trio, he debuted as aApr 20, 2022
Girl group aespa to perform at Coachella music festival Korean girl group aespa / Courtesy of SM EntertainmentKorean girl group aespa will perform at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the largest outdoor music festival in the United States, the group's agency said Tuesday. The quartet will make its Coachella debut Saturday (local time) during the second week of the festival, SM Entertainment said.Since the festival's lineup did not include the name, the group is expected to appear as a surprise guest.The group will be the first K-pop girl group to perform on Coachella's main stage, with its hit singles such as "Savage," "Next Level" and "Black Mamba" as well as an unreleased song, SM said.In 2019, BLACKPINK became the first Korean girl group to perform at Coachella but on a sub-main stage.Last October, aespa hit the Billboard main albums chart for the first time, as its first EP "Savage" debuted at No. 20. It became the highest-charting first album by a K-pop girl group.Coachella 2022 will feature about 120 artists, including big names such as Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Conan Gray and Pink Sweat$.Aespa's upcoming sApr 19, 2022
BTS' Jimin, Ha Sung-woon collaborate on song for tvN's 'Our Blues' BTS' Jimin, left, and singer Ha Sung-woon will release a new song to be featured in the soundtrack for the tvN series "Our Blues." Courtesy of HYBE, BPM EntertainmentBy Lee Gyu-leeJimin of BTS and singer Ha Sung-woon have collaborated on a song to be featured in the soundtrack of the star-studded new tvN series “Our Blues.” Nyam Nyam Entertainment, the label responsible for producing the series' soundtrack, announced Tuesday that the two have joined hands to release a new song, although its title has yet to be revealed.“Jimin's soft vocal tone and Ha's attractive, engaging tone are weaved together in this song and their harmony made it even more beautiful,” the label said in a release. The song is produced by Song Dong-woon who previously composed music for hit series such as Ailee's “I Will Go to You Like the First Snow” and Crush's “Beautiful” from the 2016 fantasy series “Goblin: The Lonely and Great God.”“I've gone through countless songs to find the one that suits Jimin and Ha Sung-woon's voices and 'Our Blues,' aApr 19, 2022By Lee Gyu-lee
BTS returns home after live concerts in Las Vegas BTS members arrive at Incheon International Airport, April 19, after performing four concerts in Las Vegas. Yonhap K-pop supergroup BTS returned home Tuesday after wrapping up live concerts in Las Vegas that drew about 620,000 fans. Six members of the septet ― Jin, Jimin, V, J-Hope, Jungkook and Suga ― arrived at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, about 40 kilometers west of Seoul, in the early hours.Their return came three weeks after they left for the United States, March 28.The singers in masks walked silently out of the airport, occasionally waving to fans who had been waiting there since early in the morning.Team leader RM did not travel with them. He reportedly is scheduled to stay longer in the U.S.While in Las Vegas, BTS took the stage at the 64th Grammy Awards as performers and held four "Permission to Dance on Stage - Las Vegas" concerts at the 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium, while streaming the last one online to an even larger audience. The group wApr 19, 2022
BTS to drop new album in June BTS poses during the last day of their "Permission to Dance on Stage" performance in Las Vegas, Saturday. / Captured from BTS' twitter pageK-pop sensation BTS is ready to drop a new album in June, its agency here said Sunday."BTS will be back with another new album on June 10, 2022," Big Hit Music said in a statement posted on the K-pop group's fan community Weverse. "Details on the new album will be provided in a separate notice at a later date."The septet's next release has been predicted as Big Hit Music said in December last year that the group was planning to focus on preparations for a new album and a concert after the monthslong vacation.Moreover, the group unveiled the schedule on the last day of its "Permission To Dance On Stage - Las Vegas" concerts held Saturday, showing the phrase "We Are Bulletproof" on the screen at the very end of the event, with the date "2022.6.10."The upcoming album will be BTS' first official release since its second English single "Butter" in July last year, which sold nearly 2 million copies in its first week of release.If the new album contains Apr 17, 2022
INTERVIEW How chef Akira Back brought life to 'BTS menu' in Las Vegas Akira Back, a chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant / Courtesy of Akira BackMichelin-starred chef delights ARMY with BTS members' favorite foodsBy Dong Sun-hwaSEOUL/LAS VEGAS ― K-pop juggernaut BTS is having a hectic time staging a series of sold-out concerts in Las Vegas, but chef Akira Back is just as busy as the seven superstars at the moment. Also known by his Korean name, Back Sung-ook, the Korean American chef has been serving a “BTS menu” for fans at the Sea Breeze Cafe in Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, which consists of the members' favorite Korean foods like gimbap (seaweed rice roll with various fillings), tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cakes) and bibim guksu (spicy cold noodles). His fully booked pop-up restaurant is slated to run until April 17 (local time), one day after BTS' “Permission to Dance on Stage ― Las Vegas” concert tour wraps up.K-pop boy band BTS held its “Permission to Dance on the Stage ― Las Vegas” concerts at Allegiant Stadium on April 8 and 9, and is set to hold two more shows at the same venue on April 15 and 16. CourtesApr 15, 2022By Dong Sun-hwa
Seventeen drops first English-language single K-pop group Seventeen /Newsis K-pop supergroup Seventeen rolled out its first English-language song "Darl+ing" Friday, seeking to expand its presence in the global music market.The digital single hit online music services at home and abroad at 1 p.m. ahead of its appearance on the band's fourth full-length album that will come out in May. Co-written and co-composed by Woozi, a vocalist of the band, with singer-producer Bumzu, "Darl+ing" is a pop genre song characterized by its minimal but addictive chorus and unique synth sounds.The use of a plus sign in the song's title has a meaning, "We are united as one only when we are together," according to the band's agency, Pledis Entertainment.In this sweet song that could be interpreted to be about a love interest or its dedicated fanbase Carat, the band sings, "You know without you I'm so lonely/ If you won't be here 911 calling/ Falling to you I'm always diving/ Darling you Darling you baby."Debuting in May 2015, the 13Apr 15, 2022
Over 2.8 million people expected to attend K-pop concerts abroad in 2022 K-pop boy band BTS performs during its concert at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, April 9 (local time). Courtesy of Big Hit MusicBy Dong Sun-hwaSome 2.85 million people are projected to attend K-pop concerts in other countries in 2022, as the world seeks to transition from a pandemic to an endemic, according to Hyundai Motor Securities.In its latest report, the brokerage house forecast HYBE, home to K-pop stars like BTS, Tomorrow X Together (TXT) and ENHYPEN, to attract 1.27 million concertgoers outside Korea this year, with SM Entertainment ― which houses NCT, EXO and aespa ― drawing some 630,000 spectators. JYP and YG Entertainment are likely to garner 500,000 and 300,000 audience members, respectively. The former represents TWICE, ITZY and Stray Kids, while the latter manages BLACKPINK and TREASURE. “The 2.85 million figure is approximately 43 percent of the total number of global concertgoers in the pre-pandemic year of 2019,” the securities company said, adding that there were more than 6 million spectators three years ago.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, K-pop singers Apr 14, 2022By Dong Sun-hwa
TXT to return next month with new album K-pop boy group Tomorrow X Together (TXT) / Courtesy of Big Hit MusicRising K-pop group Tomorrow X Together (TXT) will roll out a new album next month.The group managed by Big Hit Music announced on the fan community platform Weverse on Thursday that its fourth EP, titled "minisode 2: Thursday's Child," will come out on May 9. Since its debut in 2019, the band has gained traction with its "The Dream Chapter" and "The Chaos Chapter" series albums. "The Chaos Chapter: Freeze," its second full-length album released last year, was the only K-pop album ever to appear on the Best Album of the Year lists by British music magazine NME and Rolling Stone in the U.S.The group's upcoming album comes nine months after the release of "The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Escape," a repackaged version of the second full-length album. (Yonhap)Apr 14, 2022
The Boyz to launch first world tour next month K-pop group The Boyz / Courtesy of Cre.ker Entertainment K-pop group The Boyz will begin its first-ever world tour, encompassing North America and Europe, next month, its management agency said Thursday.The 11-piece group will kick off the tour titled "The Boyz World Tour: The B-Zone" in Los Angeles, May 29, IST Entertainment said.It will mark the band's first live concerts in front of overseas fans in about two years and five months after a tour of major European cities such as Berlin and Paris in 2019. But the boys have never had a bigger tour of North America and Europe.After Los Angeles, the band will perform in five other U.S. cities, including Chicago and Newark, before moving to Europe for shows in four major cities including London and Rotterdam.Seoul will be the tour's last stop with the band set to hold four concerts at the KSPO Dome from Aug. 5 to 7.The group debuted in 2017 and rose to fame by finishing first place in Mnet's music competition program "RoApr 14, 2022
