HyunA to host free fan meeting in Seoul

K-pop singer HyunA will be hosting a free fan meeting in Seoul to celebrate 10 years in the business.Titled “Fantopia, HyunA Land,” the event will take place on Feb. 17 at Sogang University’s Mary Hall in Mapo-gu, Seoul.A total of 200 tickets, free of charge, are available at HyunA’s official fan cafe, cafe.daum.net/cube-hyuna.HyunA performs at Club Button on Saturday. (Official Facebook)HyunA debuted in 2007 with girl group 4Minute, which rose to fame through hit songs including “Hot Issue” and

Feb. 7, 2017

BTS unveils track list of new album

BTS released the track list for its new album “Wings: You Never Walk Alone” on Tuesday. The news was revealed on their official website and other social media channels. Their new single has 18 songs with four new additions: “Spring days,” “Not today,” “Outro: Wings” and “A supplementary story: you never walk alone.”K-pop group Bangtan Boys (Yonhap Photo)Big Hit Entertainment said the new album is both a follow-up and extended version of BTS’s previous album “Wings,” which was released in October

Feb. 7, 2017

Stolen Van Goghs on show in Naples

NAPLES, Italy (AFP) -- Two Van Gogh masterpieces stolen in Amsterdam in 2002 and recovered last year in Italy will be on show in Naples from Tuesday until Feb. 26.The brief exhibition at the Capodimonte museum has been organized as a thank you to the southern city for the local police‘s role in tracking down the two small but hugely valuable and historically significant oil paintings.The works had gone unheard of from the time they were stolen in a daring raid on the Van Gogh Museum until they t

Feb. 7, 2017

Vibrant Tate show traces of David Hockney’s artistic journey

LONDON (AP) - It’s not often an artist finds himself occupying 12 rooms of London’s leading museum of British art and the front page of populist tabloid The Sun. But David Hockney is unique. For curators of a major retrospective opening this week at Tate Britain, Hockney is an innovator whose 60-year career has taken in sketching, painting, printmaking, photography and digital iPad experiments. His depictions of sun-dappled Los Angeles swimming pools and wooded Yorkshire hills are among the best

Feb. 7, 2017

Apple Music gives nod to Zion.T and G-Dragon’s ‘Complex’

Singer-producer Zion.T’s song “Complex,” from his recent album “OO,” was selected among the “Best of the Week” by the US’ Apple Music on Sunday.“Complex,” a moody tune that sings about personal insecurities, features rapper-producer G-Dragon of K-pop group Big Bang.Every week, the “Best of the Week” list selects new tracks released by artists from around the world. Also listed among the 50 songs were Eminem’s “No Favors” and Imagine Dragon’s “Believer.”  Album cover image of Zion.T’s new album “

Feb. 6, 2017

Lady Gaga delivers a show big on flash and inclusiveness

NEW YORK (AP) - Lady Gaga dropped from the top of Houston’s NRG Stadium to open her halftime show and dropped the mic at the end, offering a program that delivered high-energy hits and an inclusive theme.With the nation on edge politically, the NFL had little taste for a show that would ruffle feathers, as Beyonce did in some circles last year with the Black Power messaging of “Formation.” Gaga was patriotic from the start, opening with snippets of “God Bless America” and “This Land is Your Land

Feb. 6, 2017

Dutch city unveils ‘largest ever Mondrian painting’

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) -- Dutch officials unveiled Friday what they called “the largest Mondrian painting in the world” to celebrate the Netherlands’ best-known abstract artist, who helped found an influential art movement a century ago.The replica “painting” made from thin stick-on plastic sheets features Piet Mondrian’s famous design of straight black lines and striking red, yellow and blue blocks and has been displayed on the sides of the city hall in The Hague. “The Hague’s city counci

Feb. 6, 2017

Rodin Museum fetes sculptor with passion-themed installation

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Auguste Rodin’s sensuous piece “The Kiss” will, fittingly, form the core of an installation at Philadelphia’s Rodin Museum centered on the theme of passion to mark the 100th anniversary of the French sculptor’s death.“The Kiss,” in marble, portrays a couple forever locked in an amorous embrace. The new installation’s marble, bronze and plaster casts feature pairings including men and women, mothers and children, a woman clutching a dead lover -- and others that are playful, a

Feb. 6, 2017

Art star Anish Kapoor wins $1m Jewish prize

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor was named on Monday as this year's winner of the million-dollar Genesis Prize, awarded for commitment to Israel and Judaism, organizers said.British-Indian Kapoor “is one of the most influential and innovative artists of his generation,” they said in a statement.He won the prestigious Turner Prize in 1991 and was knighted in 2013. “Kapoor will use this award, and the global platform provided by the Genesis Prize, to raise awareness of the plight of ref

Feb. 6, 2017

Black Sabbath say last rites on touring in homecoming

LONDON (AFP) - Black Sabbath, the pioneers of heavy metal, ended their last-ever tour with a final concert in Birmingham, their home town where it all began nearly 50 years ago.The godfathers of the genre bowed out on Saturday with a farewell show at the 16,000-capacity National Exhibition Centre Arena in the central English city.Guitarist Tony Iommi, singer Ozzy Osbourne, bass guitarist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward got together in 1968 and created a sound filled with the brooding menace

Feb. 6, 2017

Mozart meets his match: Stage hit ‘Amadeus’ comes to screen

LONDON (AP) -- For a play that makes audience members contemplate their own mediocrity, “Amadeus” is quite the crowd-pleaser.Britain’s National Theatre has a sold-out hit with a revival of Peter Shaffer’s play about bad-boy genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his jealous rival Antonio Salieri, composer to the 18th-century Viennese court.The production, which mixes actors, opera singers and a 20-piece onstage orchestra, is being broadcast in movie theaters around the world Thursday as part of the

Feb. 5, 2017

Veteran singer Lee Hyori gears up to return to spotlight

K-pop diva Lee Hyori is preparing to return to the spotlight after a four-year absence. Lee left for Australia to shoot a fashion pictorial on Jan. 26 which many have taken as a signal of her long-awaited comeback. Lee Hyori (Swarovski)Kiwi Media Group, which represents the singer, on Thursday denied that the photo shoot was tied to an album release. “The artist has been recording her album since January but the exact release date has yet to be confirmed,” the company said.  Lee signed with the

Feb. 3, 2017

Lady Gaga says Super Bowl halftime show is ‘for everyone’

Lady Gaga said she hopes her Super Bowl halftime show will celebrate ``inclusion’‘ and the ``spirit of equality’‘ during a time of national division.``This performance is for everyone. I want to, more than anything, create a moment that everyone that’s watching will never forget,‘’ she said in a press conference Thursday in Houston. Lady Gaga answers questions at a news conference for the NFL Super Bowl 51 football game Thursday in Houston. (AP-Yonhap)Gaga wouldn‘t reveal what songs she would si

Feb. 3, 2017

Twice drops teaser image ahead of Feb. 20 album release

K-pop icon Twice on Thursday announced via Twitter and Facebook that its new album will be released on Feb. 20.The group posted a teaser image of the new album with the words “Twice 02.20 0 AM Knock Knock” at midnight Wednesday. Teaser image for Twice’s new album (Twice’s official Twitter account)Having debuted in October of 2015, Twice had sold some 627,000 records as of the end of last year, becoming the best-selling all-female K-pop band of 2016.Coming off the success of debut album “The Stor

Feb. 2, 2017

Zion.T talks about two sides of fame with ‘00’

Many say bad publicity is better than complete obscurity; just ask US President Donald Trump, the walking embodiment of controversy.But fame and success often have strings attached, and what follows can include unwanted attention about personal issues and judgement from onlookers.Zion.T described the bitter irony in “The Song,” a single from his latest album “00.” The lyrics “I don’t want this song to be popular. I don’t want people to remember the lyrics to this song,” depict the conflicting th

Feb. 2, 2017

Jazz and classical come together at snowcapped PyeongChang

The PyeongChang Winter Music Festival, the winter edition of the annual Great Mountains Music Festival, returns this year once again with an offering of jazz and classical music.Launched last year to promote the area as a hub of cultural activities ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the music festival will be held Feb. 15 - Feb. 19 at the Alpensia Concert Hall. This year’s program will kick off with a unique piece that brings together traditional pansori, a narrative song sung to dru

Feb. 1, 2017

Bassist Nathan East to perform in Korea

Bassist Nathan East, founding member of jazz quartet Fourplay, will perform in Korea on Feb. 26. The legendary bass player’s performance comes after the Jan. 27 release of his second solo album “Reverence,” featuring collaborations with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Chick Corea.  Nathan East (U&I Communications)The album debuted at No.1 on Billboard‘s jazz albums and contemporary jazz albums charts.East has recorded numerous works with the likes of Clapton, Collins, Whitney Houston, Michael Jac

Feb. 1, 2017

Zion.T sweeps charts with new album, says G-Dragon ‘helped sound cool’

Hip-hop artist Zion.T made a splash on the local charts with his new album “00” on Wednesday, notching up top spots in major online music charts.“The Song” by Zion.T debuted at No. 1 in eight music charts including Mnet, Genie and Melon after its midnight release and held on to its throne as of Wednesday afternoon. On its heels at the No. 2 spot was “Complex” from the same album, featuring G-Dragon of Big Bang. Zion.T (YG Entertainment)On working with the K-pop icon, Zion.T said in a recent inte

Feb. 1, 2017