Author: Denise Coley
Actor Lee Sun-kyun, 48, was found deceased in his car near Waryong Park, Seoul, on December 27th, amid a drug use investigation. A note resembling a suicide note was mentioned, but its contents remain undisclosed at his family’s request. Lee had faced allegations of using marijuana and psychotropic drugs since October. Despite negative drug tests, the investigation continued, with Lee asserting his innocence and requesting a lie detector test. His death likely concludes the case with ‘no prosecution.’ Lee, a renowned actor known for his roles in ‘Coffee Prince’, ‘My Mister’, and notably ‘Parasite’, which won the Palme d’Or…
2024 is expected to kick off with a high Korean pop vibe in America given the numerous scheduled K-pop tours. Notable K-pop artists are expected to grace several stages across America throughout the first quarter of 2024 in appreciation of their international fans. Below are some of the K-Pop artists having tours across America between January and April of 2024. 1. VAV VAV will start 2024 by taking over the US, from the East Coast to the West Coast, with the ‘Subcönscióus’ tour. This tour, set from 5th to 21st January 2024, is expected to revamp the group’s…
Pop singer/songwriter Mika Hashizume is finally debuting his solo career with his brand new EP, ‘bleached’. The EP’s soulful lead track, characterized by R&B flavors and alternative elements titled “So I Don’t Forget”, was produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Patrick “J.Que” Smith, who is also one of the co-writers of Joji’s “Die For You”. The drifting atmosphere of “So I Don’t Forget” carries a sense of nostalgia, and the fleeting worldview evokes a feeling of transience. The track is not only for listeners with a high sensitivity to music, but also for those close to Western music culture. “In the…
Japanese dance/vocal/rap group LIL LEAGUE have released their new single ‘FeiLong’, the official theme tune of the SoftBank Winter Cup 2023 national high school basketball tournament. FeiLong is the name of a mythical flying dragon from Chinese legend, and LIL LEAGUE’s new single is an up-tempo song that cheers on the young basketball athletes, likening their determination to reach the top with a dragon that soars ever-higher into the sky. Tokyo-based trackmaker KENTZ, who has produced numerous gold and platinum-selling hits, has created a hard-sounding track with its roots in 2000s hip-hop and breakbeat. LIL LEAGUE performed ‘FeiLong’ during…
Legendary artists including Jinusean, Hyolyn, Dynamic Duo to perform Exclusive ticket sales on Interpark with various discounts and package deals Will be held at Jeju Shinhwa World on December 30th and 31st Jeju Shinhwa World, the largest integrated resort in South Korea, is preparing to celebrate the upcoming New Year with a legendary countdown concert. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeju Shinhwa World had scaled down or canceled countdown events in the past, but last year, they successfully hosted an unprecedentedly large countdown concert, attended by over 20,000 people over two days. Thanks to the generous support of residents…
When the hit anime series ‘Initial D’ began broadcasting in 1998, it sparked the street-racing and Eurobeat boom. Now, on December 20, 2023, a dream collaboration album has been released featuring two Eurobeat legends who each created music for ‘Initial D’ – “King of Eurobeat” Dave Rodgers, and m.o.v.e member MOTSU. The album is titled DAVE RODGERS ‘EUROBEAT KINGS feat. MOTSU’. Download and streaming links: https://avex.lnk.to/EURO_KINGS The two legends collaborated on cover versions of m.o.v.e’s hit song ‘Gamble Rumble’ in February 2023 and Rodgers’ hit ‘SPACE BOY’ in July, surprising and delighting fans of Eurobeat, before finally releasing brand-new song…
Rising K-pop sensation, xikers, is set to embark on their inaugural European tour through “2024 xikers WORLD TOUR TRICKY HOUSE : FIRST ENCOUNTER IN EUROPE.” The ten-member boy group, managed by KQ Entertainment, will showcase their talent in seven European cities, including London, Madrid, Berlin, Milan, Amsterdam, Warsaw and Paris. The tour kicks off in London on January 28, 2024 and concludes in Paris on February 10, 2024. Debuting on March 30, 2023, with their first EP, ‘HOUSE OF TRICKY : Doorbell Ringing’, xikers quickly gained recognition as “monster rookies.” Their debut EP secured top positions on various Billboard…
Celebrated artist Phoenix Storm has once again captivated audiences with his latest musical masterpiece, “A Christmas Flavor.” The K-pop sensation, whose illustrious career spans over a decade, teams up with bass music producer JAPANDA to bring a fresh and vibrant holiday spirit to the music scene. Known for his exceptional contributions to the industry, Phoenix Storm has left an indelible mark on the global music landscape. His previous work on Snowman’s “JUICY” music video achieved remarkable success, earning 2x Platinum certifications in Japan and amassing an impressive 55 million views. The album “Snow Mania S1,” on which Phoenix played…
K-Pop solo artist KIM WOOJIN is heading to Europe for his “THE MOMENT TOUR EUROPE”. He is ready to take on five cities in Europe with stops in Paris, Warsaw, Berlin, London, and Madrid. The Europe tour kicks off in Paris on January 17 and continues through three more cities before reaching the last stop in Madrid on January 25. KIM WOOJIN is a K-Pop male solo artist under KREATION Music Rights. KIM WOOJIN made his solo debut in August 2021 with the album ‘The moment : 未成年, a minor.’ and imprinted his name to K-Pop listeners by entering…
Che’Nelle has released ‘I AM’, her first CD and digital single with Japanese lyrics in six years, on December 13. Che’Nelle made her global debut in 2007 on the major US label Capitol Records. Her song ‘Love with DJ’ from her first album was a big hit in Japan, and the album reached No. 1 on the Oricon Western music charts in Japan, and also won the Rookie of the Year award at the Gold Disc Awards. Later, ‘Baby I Love You’, a cover of TEE’s famous song with English lyrics, created a sensation in Japan and made her…
Japanese mannequin duo FEMM will be performing their final show with the collaboration with fancyHIM on Christmas Eve in Tokyo, Shibuya. fancyHIM continues to provide fashionable and exciting nights that transcends gender, they can clearly be titled as “Tokyo’s cutting edge.” FEMM has a long history with them, since fancyHIM were the ones who first discovered FEMM back in 2015, and kept on collaborating. It is truly a “home ground” for FEMM. This event will feature a number of guest artists who have a close relation with FEMM, such as singer-songwriter Yup’in who worked with FEMM in the group…
Japanese band THREE1989, whose three members were each born in 1989 and whose band name is simply pronounced “Three”, have been selected to provide the ending theme tune to the new TV drama ‘kiss×kiss×kiss~LOVE ii SHOWER~’, which began broadcasting on TV Tokyo on Thursdays, November 2. Their ending theme song ‘Aiiro’ was released on November 8. TV Tokyo has teamed up with avex to create a series for broadcast television based on the successful show ‘kiss×kiss×kiss’, which was originally shown on dTV®, racking up some 220 million views and an audience including more than 5 million women. The new…
SEOULCon Announces Official K-Pop Lineup and Programming Details With League of Legends’ World Champion T1 Team Alongside Global Brands Cultural Event Offers Asian Entertainment Diaspora of State-Of-The-Art Technology, Interactive Netflix Programs, and More The world’s largest influencer expo with 3,000 teams from 50 countries participating SEOULCon, a dynamic two-day exhibition, is set to captivate audiences with its celebration of Asian entertainment and culture on December 30 and 31. Organized independently and driven by a passion for promoting diversity in creative expressions, SEOULCon aims to connect various facets of Asian music, media, technology, art, and consumer entertainment entities. In a…
Based on the popular webcomic Pleasant Bullying by Kim Soong-nyoong, writer and director Um Tae-hwa’s Concrete Utopia the world seems to have come to its apparent end. Millions in the once densely populated city of Seoul, South Korea’s capital and social centre have been killed in a massive earthquake that decimated the country, and perhaps the world. But strangely amidst the destruction and impending decay, stands Hwang Gung Apartments. In Hwang Gung Apartments, social collapse has occurred but over time the inhabitants begin to rebuild it one rule at a time but unfortunately not for the better. The residents,…
For the seventh consecutive year, Kcrush America invites you, our readers, to vote for our year-end superlatives. We love to hear from our readers, and we enjoy seeing who you view as the best each year. The past two years have yielded several surprises in each category, so we expect much of the same this year! For 2023, soloists brought their A-games, especially those artists from idol groups who showed us what they’re made of away from their ensembles. Some of the top nominees include BLACKPINK’s Jisoo, BTS’ Suga (Agust D) and Jimin, and OMG’s Jini for their impressive…
Highly acclaimed Japanese artist Vicke Blanka has announced his first-ever headline tour of North America, simply titled ‘Vicke Blanka North American Tour 2024.’ The tour will include a total of 10 shows, launching in Vancouver on January 31st and closing in New York on February 20th. This year, Vicke Blanka has performed at a number of overseas events, drawing a peak attendance of over 5,000 fans per show. In May, he played at Jeddah Events Calendar 2023 Anime Village at City Walk in Saudi Arabia, in July he performed at Riminicomix in Italy and at Japan Expo 22nd Impact…
ATEEZ is back with their second full-length album, THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL. This album has everything– hype tracks, ballads, hip-hop, rap, cinematic tracks, and dance grooves. ATEEZ only continues to thrive and show their talent with each new release. THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL is no different! Here’s how I rank each song. WE KNOW: 8/10 “WE KNOW” ushers in the album with an interesting synth and an almost mysterious sound. This track is great to listen to because it’s unpredictable, with powerful vocals and bold rap around every corner. The chorus is a bit simple, but the song needs…
K-pop girl group EVERGLOW is gearing up to meet their fans, “FOREVER” (official fandom name), in Europe through their highly-anticipated EVERGLOW EU TOUR [ALL MY GIRLS]. This series of shows marks the group’s first Europe tour and is sure to captivate fans in six different cities across Europe throughout January and February of 2024. EVERGLOW is a six-member girl group formed by Yuehua Entertainment on March 21, 2019, consisting of members SIHYEON, E:U, MIA, ONDA, AISHA, and YIREN. The group debuted with their first single album, Arrival of Everglow, and its lead single track, “Bon Bon Chocolate”. Arrival of…
South Korean Singer-Songwriter Zion.T releases the final single and music video “V (Peace) (feat. AKMU)” from his 10-track album titled [Zip] via THEBLACKLABEL. The K-Pop sibling sensations deemed “prodigies’, Akdong Musician (AKMU) link up for a second time after previously featuring Zion.T on their 2021 track “BENCH”. “V (Peace) (feat. AKMU)” is the third single off of the album arriving two days after the release of “UNLOVE (prod. HONNE)” and “Stranger”. The colorful music video finds Zion.T being followed by a group of dancers wearing his face as a mask as he moves through various parts of the city. Throughout the video, a peace sign…
https://windows10spotlight.com/images/30088 Korea… …may look small on a map. And that includes a unified Korea, which comprises a considerably bigger landmass than if we just consider North or South alone. But Korea has a lot going on, North and/or South! Certainly, a reference to Korea as a whole, or one of the two Koreas will bring to mind a whole laundry list of things. The Korean War, K-Pop, K-Dramas, Hallryu, Gangnam Style, nuclear threats, kimchi, K-Beauty, BTS, Squid Game, and much, much more. One thing Korea, at least the South, may be known for is its 24/7 non-stop energy and drive.…