'Wings: You Never Walk Alone' of K-pop boy band BTS ranks on Billboard chart K-pop boy band BTS (Bangtan Boys) ranked on Billboard's main albums chart for the fourth consecutive time, setting a record for a South Korean act, the group's management said Thursday.The seven-member act's latest album "Wings: You Never Walk Alone" hit No. 61 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart to be updated on March 4, according to Big Hit Entertainment.This marks the group's fourth time on the chart, following "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2" released in December 2015, "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever" in May 2016 and "Wings," which hit the record-high No. 26 in October of the same year.The album also ranked on other Billboard charts. It snatched the top spot on the Social 50 list and the World Albums charts, ranked No. 15 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and landed at No. 21 in the Artist 100 chart. Moreover, it also placed high on the Canadian Hot 100.In Billboard's World Digital Song Chart, four tracks from the album took the top four spots. The lead song "Spring Day" soared to No. 1 and "Not Today" ranked second."The feat is truly unprecedenteFeb 23, 2017
Pianist Cho's Carnegie Hall debut tickets sold out Cho Seong-jin performing at the Lotte Concert Hall in January. / Courtesy of Lotte Concert Hall By Yun Suh-youngPopular Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin's solo recital at New York’s Carnegie Hall scheduled for Feb. 22 (local time) has created much excitement among fans with tickets for the concert virtually being sold out.On the Carnegie Hall homepage Wednesday morning (KST), a day before the concert, clicking on the icon "buy tickets" led to a screen showing all five tiers of the audience seats _ Parquet, Blavatnik Family First Tier, Second Tier, Dress Circle and Balcony _ sold out. Minutes later when returning to the homepage, there were five available seats in two of the tiers, presumably from those who canceled their tickets in the mean time. The screen showed the words, "limited availability."Other than searching online with the eyes of an eagle, there may be chances for locals to grab last minute tickets at the box office where they may sell cancelled tickets.According to fans, there are people flying to New York to see Cho's debut.Cho had said during a press event last Feb 22, 2017
Pianist Kim Sun-wook returns with Beethoven Pianist Kim Sun-wook speaks during a press conference held Tuesday at the Kumho Art Hall in central Seoul. Courtesy of Vincero By Yun Suh-young"If you say, 'Oh it's Beethoven again,' I can only answer, 'yes, so it is,'" said pianist Kim Sun-wook, a widely acclaimed Beethoven specialist, opening his speech at a press event Tuesday, to introduce his new album "Sunwook Kim: Beethoven Piano Sonatas." Kim's new album "Beethoven Piano Sonatas"His new album, released this month, contains Beethoven's three most popular scores _ Piano Sonatas No. 8 Op. 13 Pathetique, No. 14 Op. 27/2 Moonlight, and No. 23 Op. 57 Appassionata. He also has a recital scheduled at Lotte Concert Hall on March 18 performing pieces from the album.When asked why he chose to release his third solo album with the most popular series of Beethoven, Kim said, "This time around, I wanted to play pieces that were beloved by the public. Until now I had done programs based on my own preferences, but this time I wanted to share pieces popular among the people."Kim, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, bFeb 21, 2017
VIDEO Vinyl comes back from near-extinction New generation enters vinyl culture, boosts sales By Kwon Mee-yooPlacing a needle in the groove of a black vinyl record and listening to the scratchy analog sounds was common a few decades ago when vinyl was the major distribution vehicle of popular music. Vinyl records were ousted by the rise of smaller and more convenient cassette tapes, then CDs and then digital music.However, vinyl records have been spinning again since the late 2000s, sparking nostalgia of those who miss the analog sound as well as those who haven't seen vinyl before, but are curious enough to try out the retro tech.The vinyl revival is sweeping the world and Korea is no exception. Last year, K-pop singers such as Girls' Generation's Taeyeon, Big Bang, Wonder Girls and A-Pink's Jung Eun-ji released vinyl editions of their album.Collecting vinyl records has become a new hip hobby among people in their 20s and 30s as well. Kim Mi-jin, 29, recently bought a limited edition blue vinyl of the soundtrack of "La La Land," the latest addition to her vinyl collection."Most colored records are limited and it is hard Feb 16, 2017
Lotte Concert Hall releases live concert album By Yun Suh-youngThe Lotte Concert Hall releases a live recording album Friday from its opening concert held Aug. 19, 2016. This is a first for a local concert hall to release a live album from an opening concert held in its halls. The release of the album signifies the concert hall's confidence in its carefully designed acoustics.The album includes Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3, Op. 72a, Saint-Saens' Symphony No. 3 in c minor, Op. 78 "Organ" and Choi Sung-hwan's Arirang Fantasias performed by Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of maestro Chung Myung-whun."Many performers and conductors who have participated or listened to performances at the hall lauded the concert hall’s acoustics. It is extremely meaningful that we are releasing our second album even before our one year anniversary of opening. We hope to establish our hall as the optimum recording venue for classical music,” said Han Kwang-gyu, president of Lotte Concert Hall.Sound engineer Choi Jin, who directed the opening concert recording of Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 with Gyeonggi PhilharmoniFeb 15, 2017
Violinist Lee Moon-kyung releases Tchaikovsky recording By Yun Suh-youngViolinist Lee Moon-kyung released her first Tchaikovsky recording earlier this month on Navona Records. The album, "Tchaikovsky Works for Violin & Orchestra," was recorded at Angel Studios in London with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Miran Vaupotic and directed by double-Grammy winning sound engineer Steve Price.The album includes recordings such as Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, Meditation in d minor from Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42, and Serenade Melancolique in b-flat minor for violin and orchestra, Op. 26.Lee has a bachelor's degree from Boston's New England Conservatory, a master's from Yale University and a Ph.D. from New York University. She was the first classical string performer recipient of the NYU/Steinhardt Doctoral Fellowship. She is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Seoul.She has performed in various global venues, such as Berlin Konzerthaus, Dvorak and Smetana Halls in Prague, and the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, as well as at music festivals such as the International Summer Academy Mozarteum in SalzbFeb 15, 2017
Two iconic K-pop girl bands leave legacy Wonder Girls / Courtesy of JYP EntertainmentBy Kim Jae-heunWonder Girls of JYP Entertainment and 2NE1 of YG Entertainment have undoubtedly been the two most iconic girl bands in recent K-pop history. However, the two bands were also unable to break a jinx that most girl groups break up within a decade. The break-ups of Wonder Girls and 2NE1 were both abrupt but the former was surprising while latter was somewhat expected. Wonder Girls walked an uncertain path from the beginning with former member Hyuna leaving the team less than a year after they debuted in 2007. Sunye also left the group to get married and Sohee left to pursue an acting career in 2015.Still, JYP Entertainment managed to bring in two additional singers Yubin and Hyerim to maintain its group that was writing new history to become a legendary K-pop girl group.It was popular singer-songwriter Park Jin-young’s first girl group ambition after he took the boy band g.o.d. and R&B singer Rain to unprecedented successes. Some doubted Park’s ability to produce a girl group, which is totally different from Feb 13, 2017
'In chaotic world, Journey is certain music for uncertain times' American rock band Journey. / Courtesy of Live Nation Korea‘Open Arms’ band sings hope and loveBy Park Jin-haiAmerican rock band Journey, best known for its classic hits “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Open Arms,” will hold its first live Seoul concert, Wednesday.Coming to Korea as part of their 2017 world tour, Jonathan Cain, the band’s keyboard player, said, “In the eighties we played Japan. But we didn’t have a promoter contact us who would book Journey in Korea. Since we have had Arnel, we have had many more opportunities in Asia since he is from Manila,” during the e-mail interview with The Korea Times.The five-member band, initially formed in San Francisco in 1973 with former Santana and Frumious Bandersnatch members, is regarded as one of the best-selling acts in rock and roll history. The 1988 greatest hits album, which remains the band’s best-selling record, spent 411 weeks on the Billboard 200 album chart.Their songs have been frequently covered by artists worldwide, including K-pop singer Younha and Feb 12, 2017
Former idol weds amid criticism from fans Moon held a press conference before his private wedding ceremony and made an official apology. / YonhapBy Lee Han-sooMoon Hee-joon, a member of first K-pop generation boy band H.O.T, married K-pop girl band Crayon Pop member Soyul on Sunday with fans criticizing Moon for being disloyal to them.They claim Moon raised money for his wedding by asking unreasonable ticket prices for his 20th anniversary concerts last November.Criticizing Moon for thinking of his fans as an “ATM,” fans have expressed disappointment.Moon told his fan club, he was distressed about the accusations.“My heart is filled with sorrow and distress over the accusations me,” he said in a letter to fans.“However, nothing saddens me more than the accusation about the 20th debut anniversary concert being a ploy to raise money for my wedding.”Moon said he had never thought of his fans as an ATM.“I’m afraid to even perform a concert,” Moon added. “I can’t bare the criticism that I used my concert to raise money for my wedding.“I have always Feb 12, 2017
Wonder Girls' farewell song 'Draw Me' sweeps charts Wonder Girls said goodbye to fans Friday by releasing its farewell song "Draw Me."The song, released at midnight through major music streaming services, soared to No. 1 on six music charts including Mnet, Olleh Music, Genie and Naver Music as of 9 a.m.The group's agency JYP Entertainment announced last month that its members -- Hyerim, Yubin, Sunmi and Yeeun -- decided to break up after being together for 10 years following a discussion with management."It's a farewell no words nor anything can make up for, but the best form of salutation for us has always has been music," Yeeun said on her Instagram. "Again, I want to thank everyone who have loved Wonder Girls," she added.Hyerim shouted "Truly truly thank you!" on her social media.The group enjoyed considerable popularity after starting off as a five-member team in 2007. When the group attained stardom in 2009, it flew to the U.S., seeking to make inroads into the world's top pop market. With "Nobody," Wonder Girls rose to No. 76 on Billboard's singles chart, but failed to make further gains.The team underwent some changes in memberFeb 10, 2017
