Articles by Hong Yoo
Hong Yoo
yoohong@heraldcorp.com-
[Herald Interview] Trendz targets takeoff with 2nd single album ‘Blue Set Chapter: New Dayz’
A “stepping stone” is what K-pop boy band Trendz hopes for with their second single album, “Blue Set Chapter: New Dayz.” “We are now in the second year of our career as Trendz. Last year was a blessing for us because we could do a lot of performances and appearances. But we have this mindset that, just like the title track of this album ,'New Dayz,' we will start anew," said Havit of Trendz during the group’s interview with The Korea Herald on T
K-pop March 15, 2023
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EXO’s Kai releases 3rd mini album ‘Rover’
Kai of EXO returned to the K-pop scene with his third mini album, “Rover,” Monday. The solo effort comes a year and four months since his second mini album, “Peaches," which was released in November 2021. The album consists of six tracks led by the eponymous jam, along with “Black Mirror,” “Slidin’,” “Bomba,” “Say You Love Me” and “Sinner.” Different from his previous albums that were centered on groovy R&am
K-pop March 13, 2023
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Aespa the 1st K-pop band to perform at Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival
K-pop girl group aespa is taking part in the American outdoor music festival Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, the first K-pop band to do so. The festival consists of around 90 different performances on six different stages to be held on Aug. 11 to 13 at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The festival also hosts diverse events and booths with foods representing different regions in America. More than 220,000 people flock to the annual festival which, this year, will feature Kendrick Lamar
K-pop March 8, 2023
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Ravi's arrest warrant refused after he admits draft dodging
The application for an arrest warrant for rapper Ravi charged with trying to dodge mandatory military service by faking epilepsy was dismissed on Monday. According to Seoul Southern District Court, the arrest warrant was rejected as the judge who held an investigation to determine the warrant’s validity decided that the accused is unlikely to run away or seek destruction of evidence. The court saw that there was no need to hold him in custody for investigation as Ravi has pleaded guilty to
K-pop March 7, 2023
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[Herald Review] Onew of SHINee marks spring at 1st-ever solo concert with mellow, warm voice
Onew of SHINee welcomed the beginning of spring with his first-ever solo concert, “O-New Note,” filling the space with different fragrances while his mellow voice warmed things up. The concert, which was held for three days starting Friday at Olympic Hall in Seoul, was lit with the aqua-colored fan lights of SHINee’s fan community, Shawol. As soon as the concert began with the main stage opening up, everyone in the hall stood up ready to enjoy the gig to the fullest. Onew, dres
K-pop March 6, 2023
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[Photo News] Pianist Cho Seong-jin and Maetro Chung Myung-whun's performance
Young Korean pianist Cho Seong-jin and Maestro Chung Myung-whun hug after a passionate accompanied performance with the German orchestra Staatskapelle Dresden on Friday at the Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul. Around 2,000 attendees rose to their feet and broke into applause when the concert was adorned with the finale Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1. (Yonhap)
Culture March 4, 2023
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K-pop artists to celebrate coming of spring
The K-pop scene welcomes back some familiar faces in March that have been missed, just as spring begins. First on the list of much-celebrated returns is Onew of SHINee, with his first solo full-length album “Circle” coming on Monday. "Circle" will be released some 11 months after the artist's second mini album “Dice.” The album comprises 10 tracks across diverse genres, with the lead track “O.” The main track is an R&B song in which the soun
K-pop March 2, 2023
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J-Hope to release single before military service
J-Hope of BTS is set to release a solo single before heading off to serve his mandatory military duty. The K-pop superstar announced Monday that he will unveil the single “On the Street” on March 3. “On the Street" is a lo-fi hip-hop song with a downtempo vibe that combines elements of hip-hop and chill-out music. J-Hope took part in composing and writing the lyrics to the single giving the track a personal touch, interlaced with messages of hope and warmth. It was the con
K-pop Feb. 27, 2023
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SM allots right to distribute albums and tracks exclusively to Kakao Entertainment
SM Entertainment is allotting the right to distribute its albums and music exclusively to Kakao Entertainment, the subsidiary of the IT giant Kakao, with whom it has recently formed a strategic partnership to foster its new business project SM 3.0. The K-pop powerhouse revealed the details of the business partnership formed early this month on Wednesday via its official YouTube channel. Under the deal, Kakao is to acquire a 9.05 percent stake in SM through a paid-in capital increase of 217.2 bil
K-pop Feb. 23, 2023
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Minnie of (G)I-dle and Anne-Marie to release collab track ‘Expectations’
The collaboration between the K-pop star Minnie of (G)I-dle and the global pop star Annie-Marie is official. The two vocalists dropped the cover image of their collaboration track “Expectations” Wednesday on their respective social media feeds. The collaboration, to be unveiled on March 9 at 6 p.m., was produced with Warner Music Korea. Warner Music Korea has continuously served as a bridge between K-pop and foreign artists. Previous collaborations it has forged are Crush and Pink Sw
K-pop Feb. 23, 2023
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SM announces IP monetization strategy
SM Entertainment on Tuesday announced its intellectual property monetization strategy, a business it sees as a core growth area and the first part of the company’s ambitious SM 3.0 business project to be unveiled. Under the plan, the K-pop powerhouse targets at reaching 1.2 trillion won ($926 million) in revenue with an operating margin of 35 percent by 2025. This would be a 134 percent growth in sales compared to the 512.1 billion won in preliminary sales last year. SM plans to achieve s
K-pop Feb. 22, 2023
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Twice to set off on world tour in Spring
K-pop girl group Twice is getting back on the plane this April to embark on its fifth world tour, “Ready To Be." This comes a year and four months after their last world tour, with this tour to it be held on the largest scale yet. Twice will kick off the tour in Seoul at the KSPO Dome on April 15 for two days, according to a statement by JYP Entertainment on Tuesday. As of now, they are scheduled to play 17 shows in 14 different cities across South Korea, Australia, Japan and North Am
K-pop Feb. 22, 2023
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The Boyz returns as fallen angels for 8th mini album "Be Awake"
The Boyz unveiled their eighth mini album, “Be Awake,” on Monday during a media showcase in Seoul. The full-unit return comes six months after the group released its seventh mini album “Be Aware.” Eric is back with the group after a year of hiatus that he had taken due to health issues. The new album “Be Awake” tells the story of boys that fight for love after realizing they have fallen in love. The Boyz transformed into fallen angels, showing their dark insti
K-pop Feb. 21, 2023
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NewJeans debut album "New Jeans" sells 1M copies
NewJeans became the first K-pop female act to sell more than one million copies of a debut album with their EP "New Jeans." The album sold a total of 1,036,811 copies by Feb. 11, according to data collected by Circle Chart. This is the first time since Circle Chart’s record began in 2011 that a K-pop act’s debut album has sold more than a million copies. NewJeans came out with its namesake debut EP on Aug. 1 and took the music world by storm as “Attention” and &
K-pop Feb. 20, 2023
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SM raises concern over K-pop industry monopolization
SM Entertainment raised concerns over the K-pop industry monopolization that could result from Hybe’s acquisition of SM. SM Entertainment’s Chief Financial Officer Jang Cheol-hyuk took to the company’s official YouTube Channel on Monday to lay out the reasons why the company opposes Hybe’s “hostile” merger and acquisition. The video was titled "The reason why SM is against HYBE's hostile takeover." “SM and Hybe are the largest entertainmen
K-pop Feb. 20, 2023
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