The long-awaited Melon Music Awards are just around the corner, with a star-studded lineup now in place. Returning as an in-person event after a nearly three-year hiatus due to COVID-19, big-name artists are set to grace the renowned musical event. The 14th edition of the awards show will be held at its usual venue at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, southwestern Seoul, at 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to Kakao Entertainment, which runs Melon, the country’s largest music streaming platform

K-pop Nov. 24, 2022

Leading music sales tracker Hanteo Chart will host its first-ever offline music awards next year to commemorate its 30th anniversary, the chart's operator said Wednesday. The “Hanteo Music Awards 2022” ceremony will take place at the Jamsil Arena of the Seoul Sports Complex in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Feb. 10-11, according to operator Hanteo Global. Awardees will be selected based on data collected in real time by Hanteo Chart. Starting with next year’s ceremony, it plans to h

K-pop Nov. 23, 2022

Rookie boy group Tempest made a speedy comeback with its third EP, “On and On,” on Tuesday. The new release marked the act’s return to the stage just three months after the release of its second EP “Shining Up” in August. The septet aims to show a strong will to achieve its dreams through the latest EP, the band’s leader Lew said at a press showcase event held at Sungshin Women's University in Seoul ahead of the EP’s release at 6 p.m. “Listene

K-pop Nov. 22, 2022

As the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Qatar on Sunday, South Korea united to cheer for the national team, chanting and singing songs together. Local artists release World Cup-themed songs every season to add to the festive spirit. “For Victory” and “The Shouts of Reds” are among the popular cheering songs released by veteran modern rock band TransFixion. “We went on a hiatus for about four years after releasing our debut album ‘Come Back to Me' in 2002

Performance Nov. 21, 2022

About six months after becoming the winner of NBC’s “American Song Contest" singer AleXa has returned to the K-pop scene with a new EP, “Girls Gone Vogue,” aiming to show her multi-faceted sides to a global audience. The K-pop singer held a press showcase to talk about the new release and its production at Ilchi Art Hall in Seoul, Friday, ahead of the EP's release at noon, the same day. She made a comeback with more seasoned music and diverse tones. “I wan

K-pop Nov. 11, 2022

While the sky in Korea was graced by a mesmerizing total lunar eclipse, the 12-time Grammy-award winning singer-songwriter and guitarist Jack White flooded a Seoul concert hall on Tuesday night with a light haze and shades of blue with rock ‘n’ roll energy. The concert, held at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul, was part of the American rock musician’s global "Supply Chain Issues Tour” and his first show in the country. Although the event was scheduled late on a weekd

Performance Nov. 9, 2022

K-pop diva BoA will make a grand return with her third EP on Nov. 22, the singer’s agency SM Entertainment announced on Tuesday. The agency preceded the official announcement by dropping a teaser image for BoA’s new album “Forgive Me” at midnight Tuesday on the artist’s official social media. It will mark her first album release in nearly two years since “Better” came out in December 2020 in celebration of the artist’s 20th debut anniversary. Al

K-pop Nov. 8, 2022

The Korea Music Copyright Association, the biggest music copyright manager in the country, with some 46,000 songwriters and composers’ music works trusted to the association, said Wednesday that it ranked ninth in terms of music royalty collections among 142 societies in the same sector around the globe. Citing data from the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers, the France-based world’s largest network in the creative sectors with 228 member societies i

Performance Nov. 2, 2022

Among the victims from last weekend’s Halloween disaster in Itaewon are foreign exchange students, tourists and overseas fans of Korean culture on a much-anticipated trip here after the pandemic. Major media outlets around the world have shared the stories of those who perished in Seoul when Halloween celebrations turned deadly. Anne Gieske had just turned 20 Saturday was one day after Anne Gieske’s 20th birthday. A nursing student at the University of Kentucky, she was in Ko

Social Affairs Nov. 1, 2022

Jin of K-pop sensation BTS is hitting the ground running as a soloist. Since the release of his first solo EP “The Astronaut” on Friday, the boy band member has proven his global popularity by setting numerous records on the music scene. “The Astronaut” sold a total of 700,754 copies on the first day of its release according to his agency Big Hit Music, quoting data from local market tracker Hanteo Chart. It marked a significant sales figure for a single-track album. The

K-pop Oct. 31, 2022

A series of cultural events and concerts scheduled for the remaining Halloween weekend and into early November have been canceled following Saturday’s deadly crowd crush in Itaewon. The Culture Ministry announced that the first two sessions of the four-part classical concert series scheduled to be held at Cheong Wa Dae’s Yeongbingwan on Tuesday and Friday have been canceled. A Gucci fashion show expected to be held with some 500 guests visiting from in and outside the country on Tues

Culture Oct. 30, 2022

Rookie boy group ATBO made a speedy comeback with its second EP, “The Beginning: Start,” on Wednesday. The new release marked the act’s return to the stage about three months after its debut with “The Beginning: Blossom” in July. “We’re overjoyed to make a comeback with new songs not long after our debut showcase. We’ve upgraded (our performing skills) so please look forward to our improvements,” Seok Rak-won said at a press showcase event he

K-pop Oct. 26, 2022

K-pop boy group Enhypen released its first Japanese full-length album, “Sadame,” on Wednesday, signaling the act’s full-fledged activities there. The 10-track package is about boys who are aware of their fates and pledge to make a new future based on their own will. Fronted by the main song, “Future Perfect (Pass the MIC),” the full-length album includes the Japanese version of “Blessed-Cursed,” which was featured on the group’s first repackaged LP

K-pop Oct. 26, 2022

Jo Yu-ri might have made her name as a vocalist in project girl group IZ*ONE, but her more recent solo career has taken her further, to a point where she is comfortable with herself. Jo debuted solo with the single “Glassy” in October last year and released her first EP, “Op. 22 Y-Waltz: in Major” in June. After a four-month break, the singer returned to the stage with her second single, “Op. 22 Y-Waltz: in Minor” on Monday. In a recent interview with a group

K-pop Oct. 24, 2022

The 11th season of “Show Me the Money,” the longest-running hip-hop competition on Mnet, is set to premiere at 11 p.m. on Friday. As it is about to kick-start a new season, the program hopes to contribute positively to the local hip-hop scene. “‘Show Me the Money’ has long been associated with hip-hop. Beyond creating a virtuous circle, the two have coexisted with each other,” Choi Hyo-jin, the program’s chief producer, said during an online conference

Television Oct. 21, 2022