Gong Min-young, the older sister of 2NE1’s Minzy, debuted Friday as a singer with her first album “Rebirth.” The album consists of eight tracks, most of them self-composed contemporary Christian music. Gong tried an unconventional music style by mixing religious songs with contemporary genres such as jazz, hip-hop and rhythm and blues, her agency Sony Music Entertainment said. Track titles such ...

Group S, a trio of first-generation K-pop singers, released an EP on Friday after an 11-year hiatus. The group, which debuted in 2003, consists of vocalists of popular boy groups of the late 1990s: Kangta of H.O.T, Shin Hye-sung of Shinhwa and singer Lee Ji-hoon. Their latest EP “Autumn Breeze” has five songs, which are composed and produced by Kangta. The title track “Without You” is an acous...

American pop star gears up for nationwide acoustic concert series

In his first full-length album return in four years, R&B veteran Bobby Kim overcomes personal struggles and reflects on his past. The new album, “Mirror,” was released on Wednesday. Marking his first full album release since his third album, “Heart & Soul” (2010), the singer admits that the past four years had their shares of ups and downs, and that on his new album he wanted to encompass these ...

K-pop veteran unveils family-inspired ninth album

TVXQ will begin their concert tour, “TVXQ! Special Live Tour -- T1ST0RY,” at Seoul Olympic gymnasium on Dec. 6-7. The tour title, “T1ST0RY,” is the combination of TVXQ, “HISTORY,” and the numbers 1 and 0, which imply their 10th anniversary. The group had successfully finished their last world wide tour, “TVXQ! Live Tour ‘Catch Me’” that took place in major world cities such as Seoul, Los Angele...

Seo Taiji, one of the country’s most influential musical figures and ’90s icons, finally made his long-awaited return to the music scene with his extravagant live production of “Christmalowin,” the singer’s first concert performance in five years. In commemoration of his upcoming ninth full-length album, “Quiet Night,” Seo’s comeback show at the Jamil Sports Complex’s Olympic Stadium was anythin...

Five-member K-pop boy band DaeGukNamA is returning to the stage in jungle fashion and showing off the group’s animalistic side with its latest EP “Rilla Go!” Under the concept of “bring out your animal instinct,” Hyunmin, Jay, Karam, Injun and Mika have slapped on some face paint and channeled their inner warriors with the release the group’s latest four-track EP on Wednesday. The group’s lates...

Chinese media outlet Teng Xun reported on Tuesday that former EXO member Luhan is willing to appear in the Chinese drama “Zhu Xian.” According to the news reports, Luhan said to Yang Mi, a colleague at his management agency, H&R Century Pictures, that he wants a main role in the drama “Zhu Xian.” Yang Mi, one of the top actresses in China, is most famous for her role in the drama series “Pala...

Sungmin, a member of K-pop boy band Super Junior, confirmed Tuesday that he will marry actress Kim Sa-eun in December, hours after Kim denied news reports about their betrothal. Sungmin himself announced his plan to marry Kim on Super Junior’s official homepage, apologizing to his fans for the fact that they had first heard the news through the news reports. “I met a good woman and will marry h...

South Korean singer-actor Kim Hyun-joong will join the military in March to serve his two-year duty, a source in the advertising industry said on Tuesday. Kim’s decision comes after he came under fire for allegedly beating an ex-girlfriend, an incident that led to a police investigation. The source said Kim is currently rearranging his advertisement schedules and contracts for his military serv...

Actress Kim Sae-Eun’s agency denied reports that she and Super Junior member Sungmin will get married in December. A local news outlet stated on Tuesday that Sungmin and Kim will tie the knot on Dec. 13 at a luxurious wedding hall “The Raum” in southern Seoul. However, Kim‘s management agency denied the reports as untrue. “Kim and Sungmin are still dating, but the rumor of the two getting marr...

Lee Joon, member of the popular boy band MBLAQ, has announced his plans to leave the idol group in order to focus on his acting career, news reports said Monday. According to the reports, Lee’s contract with entertainment agency J. Tune Camp was recently terminated and the singer opted not to renew his contract so he could pursue other interests. Despite the end of his contractual obligation wi...

Officials at YG Entertainment have finally answered the question of “Who’s Next?” as it was announced on Monday that Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz of hip-hop trio Epik High will be lacing up their sneaks for the release of the group’s eighth studio album, “Shoebox.” For weeks, YG had been releasing a string of “Who’s Next?” teaser posters, baiting fans with its mysterious taunts about which on...

Boy group MBLAQ member Lee Joon plans to leave the idol group to focus on his acting career, news reports said Monday. According to the reports, the contract between Lee and his agency, J. Tune Camp, was recently terminated. The singer decided not to renew his contract to pursue acting. Despite the contract termination, Lee is to participate in the MBLAQ concert “MBLAQ Curtain Call,” which is s...