Rain is still on a no-show as a witness in the lawsuit against him by a fashion company investor citing that he is a soldier. But as he has had time to meet his girlfriend Kim Tae-hee, this excuse is not going down too well. This case is related to the debacle back in 2010 … [Read More]
Category: Music interviews features and essays (page 2)
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: it’s going to be one of those years…
It’s going to be one of those years. If you hadn’t already guessed from the propofol and Park Shi Hoo case, the rather dirty side of K-pop and celebrity has started to show itself. The propofol investigation has almost reached its conclusion. Still limited to four celebrities, Hyun Young, who had it administered 42 times, … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: the week of the younger siblings
The Park Shi-hoo scandal, as predicted, still has a lot of mileage. The full Kakao talk conversations between the trainee and her actor friend have been released by his law firm. They indicate the trainee and her friend were in communication after she had filed charges – contrary to her claims they were not. The … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: a packed calendar for new releases, and a focus on sexual harassment in the industry
The main dominating news this week has been the Park Shi-hoo alleged sexual assault case. Netizens and media alike have pounced on the story like a starving dog and there have been a number of stories, gossips and accusations relating to the case (and not to the case). Various text messages have apparently been obtained … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: SHINee and B.A.P battle it out
Welcome to anther week in K-pop – a little delayed thanks to a full working weekend (doncha just love them??). So without further ado… SHINee: Dream Girl – The Misconceptions of You has been released and is being promoted on the usual music shows: http://youtu.be/vhxjEXDAy6s dance version: http://youtu.be/EzNaAY2yn6g. Their album rose to the top of … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Aegyo perfection from Two X, B.A.P’s bank-busting MV, and more
Two X (투엑스, J. Tune Camp, part of JYP Entertainment), a five-member girl group who made their debut last August, have released their second single “Ring Ma Bell” (http://youtu.be/wKp0EdDEl3k). Produced by Rado, the track is an electronic dance song, and the MV differs from their first release “Double Up” (http://youtu.be/zM3KEOzGw6M) and should contain a warning … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: SISTAR19’s sultry single, LEDapple’s covers and more
Teen Top performed in London on Friday as part of their European Tour. Due to release a full length album at the end of February, the concert sounds like it was a success and is sure to herald more acts coming to the UK in the future. They continue to Paris (a sell out date) … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Carry on up the charts
Sorry for the late news this weekend – technical issues with my machine and work related exhaustion. On that note though – if there is anything you would like me to focus on more – please do let me know in the comments. Se7en is holding a series of concerts this month in Japan before … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Tablo on the BBC, more on propofol, and Shinhwa’s comeback
For anyone up in the early hours of Friday morning, Tablo was being interviewed on the BBC about Kpop and what influences him. The interview can be found on the BBC website or YouTube for those of you who, like me, ware asleep at the time. Sadly the clips have been getting some negative comments … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Sweet Dreams for Tiger JK
It’s been a quiet week in comparison to the first two of the year, but it looks like there is some interesting music on its way. Hip Hop legend Tiger JK, his wife Yoon Mi Rae (aka Tasha) and Bizzy are forming a new project group called MFBTY (‘My Fan Better Than Yours’), releasing an … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Rain, Tablo, Psy and Propofol
In 2008 Choi Jin Shil, a popular actress, committed suicide after threats and pressure from netizens and from her personal life. Two years later in March 2010 her brother committed suicide, and now on 6th January 2013 her ex husband Jo Sung Min also took his own life in the same manner. A former basketball … [Read More]
Saharial’s Entertainment Weekly: Block B’s lawsuit and Rain’s National Service Lite
Its only the first week of January and the Korean media is already buzzing with a heap of scandal. First off the bat is Rain who enlisted in the army in March 2012, and joined the Defence Media Agency (DEMA) like many other stars before him. Whilst not having used up his three official holiday … [Read More]
Rachmaninov, Flamenco and Han: LKL meets pianist HJ Lim
LKL is surprised four times in the space of a twenty minute interview with Korean pianist HJ Lim, and ends up an even bigger fan than before. Having enthusiastically listened to HJ Lim’s industry debut at Abbey Road Studios in May, and having purchased her boxed set of the complete Beethoven piano sonatas, we’re really … [Read More]
The MBC K-pop event: HyunA and Queen will shine; EXO K have nothing to lose
The MBC K-pop and culture showcase at the indigO2 sold out in around 3 hours. For those who didn’t get tickets, what are we missing out on? Here’s LKL’s predictions: The headline acts 4Minute Cube Entertainment’s girl band 4Minute came to London last year for the United Cube concert in Brixton. In hindsight, I think … [Read More]
The London Korean Links Awards 2011
The sixth of LKL’s annual unscientific and very personal recognition of the best things of last year. And in the field of film, books and CDs what is encouraging is that there is so much to choose from. There were also plenty of good Korean cultural events in London, Edinburgh and elsewhere, but there was … [Read More]
SHINee Happy People: fans turn out in force to greet their favourite K-pop band
Saharial joins the Shawols in Abbey Road and catches a glimpse of SMTown’s boy band. Abbey Road at 7.45am lies unsuspecting in the morning sunshine of the hundreds of kpop fans that will swarm the area in support of SHINee who are performing “Japan Debut Premium Reception in London“ (http://youtu.be/codeksErVqU) – a live streamed concert … [Read More]