Category Archives: Music

Music executive behind K-pop group BTS faces arrest in South Korea

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Police seek warrant for Bang Si-Hyuk over allegations he illegally gained millions in investor fraud scheme

South Korean police are seeking to arrest Bang Si-Hyuk, the chair of the agency behind the K-pop band BTS, as they expand an investigation into allegations that he illegally gained more than $100m (£74m) in an investor fraud scheme.

The Seoul metropolitan police agency confirmed it had asked prosecutors to request a court warrant for the arrest of Bang, the founder and chair of HYBE.

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Singer D4vd charged with murder of 14-year-old girl found in car

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Musician has been charged after the dismembered and decomposing body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found in abandoned Tesla

The singer D4vd has been charged with the murder of Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the teenage girl whose dismembered and decomposed body was found in the artist’s apparently abandoned Tesla in September.

The Los Angeles county district attorney’s office said the 21-year-old, whose legal name is David Burke, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Rivas Hernandez, who was reported missing by her family in 2024, when she was 13. Authorities say she was 14 when she died.

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Charlize Theron joins chorus of disapproval over Timothée Chalamet’s ballet comments

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The former ballet dancer said Chalamet’s comments were ‘reckless’ in an interview with the New York Times in which she also discussed her violent childhood

Actor and former ballet dancer Charlize Theron has joined the chorus of disapproval aimed at Timothée Chalamet over his remarks that appeared to disrespect performers of ballet and opera.

In an interview with the New York Times, Theron said: “Oh, boy, I hope I run into him one day,” adding: “That was a very reckless comment on two art forms that we need to lift up constantly because, yes, they do have a hard time. But in 10 years, AI is going to be able to do Timothée’s job, but it will not be able to replace a person on a stage dancing live.”

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Kanye West’s European tour in doubt as more concerts cancelled in Poland and Switzerland

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FC Basel and Polish stadium stop US rapper’s upcoming shows, after similar cancellations in France and UK over antisemitic comments

Kanye West’s upcoming concerts in Poland and Switzerland have been cancelled, as a growing number of European countries have stopped or postponed the US rapper’s performances amid a furore over his past antisemitic comments.

Swiss football club FC Basel, which is responsible for concerts and events that take place at its St Jakob-Park ground, told Reuters on Saturday that after reviewing a request for West to perform there in June, it decided against it.

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US Live Nation and Ticketmaster verdict triggers calls for Australian investigation into ticketing rules

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One insider estimates Australians pay A$10 in fees per ticket, with fans bearing the burden of monopolised music tour schedules and inflated artist values

Australia is being urged to improve ticketing transparency after a US federal court found Live Nation Entertainment had a harmful monopoly over big concert venues.

This week, a New York jury found the global entertainment giant and its subsidiary Ticketmaster liable for systematically stifling competition to extract excessive profits from concertgoers. The jury identified a baseline overcharge of US$1.72 for every ticket sold by Live Nation since 2010 – totalling an additional US$595m in 2025 alone.

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Kanye West postpones Marseille concert as France considers blocking him from performing

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Interior minister is ‘highly determined’ to block US rapper from performing in the southern city in June due to his past antisemitic remarks, sources say

Kanye West has announced he will postpone an upcoming concert in France, just after reports emerged that France’s interior minister is seeking to block the US rapper from performing due to his antisemitic remarks.

“After much thought and consideration, it is my sole decision to postpone my show in Marseille, France until further notice,” the rapper, legally known as Ye, wrote on X.

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Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja among 500 arrested at Palestine Action protest

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Musician says he wanted to attend the protest despite the consequences a potential arrest could have on his music career

Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja has been arrested on suspicion of showing support for a proscribed organisation after attending a mass protest against the ban on Palestine Action in central London on Saturday.

Del Naja, also known as 3D, was among hundreds of fellow demonstrators in Trafalgar Square on Saturday afternoon, holding a sign that read “I Oppose Genocide, I Support Palestine Action”.

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Indian music legend Asha Bhosle dies aged 92

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Two-time Grammy nominee was one of Bollywood’s most versatile and celebrated voices

The Indian singer Asha Bhosle, whose voice defined Bollywood cinema and whose career spanned almost eight decades, has died in Mumbai at the age of 92.

Bhosle, who recorded more than 12,000 songs, became her country’s pre-eminent exponent of playback singing – recording tracks that were then lip-synced on film by actors. She also boldly embraced cabaret and western-influenced melodies to forge a distinctive musical identity.

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Hit New Zealand comedy duo Flight of the Conchords reunion gigs sell out in minutes

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Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement announce four shows at Wellington venue Meow Nui from next week – their first gigs since 2018

New Zealand’s self-described “fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo-a cappella-rap-funk-comedy-folk duo” Flight of the Conchords sold out their first shows in eight years in minutes this week, sparking a frenzy among fans.

Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement formed the musical comedy act in 1998, soaring to worldwide fame off the back of their HBO comedy series of the same name with tunes including Business Time and Hiphopopotamus vs Rhymenoceros.

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Pepsi drops Wireless sponsorship amid criticism of Kanye West booking

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Sponsor pulls out after Keir Starmer calls decision to book rapper who wrote song titled Heil Hitler ‘deeply concerning’

Pepsi has said it is withdrawing its sponsorship of a UK music festival that is due to be headlined by Kanye West after Keir Starmer joined criticism of the event.

The musician is understood to have not yet made an application to come to Britain and could be blocked under powers allowing the authorities to do so if his presence is deemed not conducive to the public good.

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Hegseth says suspensions lifted for helicopter crews who hovered over Kid Rock home

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Pentagon chief’s remarks come after US army said crews suspended amid investigation into incident in Tennessee

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth said the crews of two US army AH-64 Apache helicopters that hovered next to the singer Kid Rock’s swimming pool while he clapped and saluted on Saturday are no longer suspended.

“No punishment. No investigation,” Hegseth wrote on social media. “Carry on, patriots.”

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‘A place where music fills the air’: Bangkok to host Eurovision’s first Asia song contest

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Spin-off launched with 10 nations, as original event remains mired in protests and boycotts over Israel’s involvement

Eurovision is seeking to expand into the Asian market by hosting a version of its song contest in Bangkok this year, just as the original annual event is being buffeted by discord and boycotts on the eve of its 70th anniversary edition.

The grand final of the inaugural Eurovision song contest Asia will take place in Thailand’s capital on Saturday 14 November, the Switzerland-based organisation announced on Tuesday. Broadcasters from 10 countries have confirmed their participation.

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Billy Bragg calls for big turnout at London march against far right

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Musician urges public to send clear message at what is expected to be UK’s biggest ever multicultural rally

Billy Bragg has encouraged people to send a clear message to those seeking to divide the country by turning out to support what is expected to be the biggest multicultural march in UK history on Saturday.

Speaking to the Guardian before the Together Alliance’s march against the far right in central London, the musician and political activist said participants hoped to “send out a message to our fellow citizens that we are willing to take a stand against [the politics of hate] being imported into the UK”.

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Lebo M sues comedian Learnmore Jonasi claiming Circle of Life misrepresentation

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Grammy winner seeks more than $20m in damages over mistranslation of The Lion King chant

A Grammy-winning South African composer who wrote and performed the opening chant in Circle of Life for Disney’s The Lion King is suing a comedian for allegedly damaging his reputation by intentionally misrepresenting the song’s meaning on a podcast and in his standup routine.

Lebohang Morake’s lawsuit accuses the Zimbabwean comedian Learnmore Mwanyenyeka, known as Learnmore Jonasi, of intentionally mistranslating the chant, which launches the 1994 movie and is central to staged versions as well as Disney’s 2019 remake.

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US man pleads guilty to defrauding music streamers out of millions using AI

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Michael Smith, 52, charged after flooding platforms with thousands of AI songs and boosting them with bots

A North Carolina man has pleaded guilty to defrauding music streaming platforms and his fellow musicians out of millions in royalties by flooding the services with thousands of AI-generated songs – and using automated “bots” to artificially boost the number of listens into the billions.

As part of a deal with federal prosecutors in New York’s southern district, 52-year-old Michael Smith pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

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Justin Timberlake’s DWI arrest video is released despite his attempt to block it

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Footage shows US musician struggling with field sobriety tests he calls ‘really hard’ before his 2024 arrest in New York

Justin Timberlake struggled to perform field sobriety tests requiring him to walk a straight line and stand on one leg after the pop star was pulled over in New York’s Hamptons in 2024 by police officers who suspected him of driving drunk, according to video footage released on Friday.

Timberlake tells officers at one point: “These are, like, really hard tests.”

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BTS release new album Arirang ahead of comeback concert

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Boyband drops album that speaks to its Korean roots ahead of Seoul comeback concert, with more than a quarter of a million fans expected to attend

K-pop stars BTS released a new album on Friday billed as reflecting the maturing boy band’s Korean roots and identity, as buzz built ahead of their open-air comeback concert in the heart of Seoul.

The Saturday night gig, which is expected to draw around 260,000 people, will be BTS’s first after a hiatus of almost four years while all seven members served compulsory military service. It comes ahead of an 82-date world tour.

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Seoul raises terror alert as it prepares to host BTS comeback concert

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Thousands of police prepare to deploy to South Korea’s capital ahead of K-pop’s most anticipated comeback

Seoul has stepped up security ahead of BTS’s huge comeback concert on Saturday, which more than a quarter of a million fans are expected to attend, with authorities raising the terror alert in the area and preparing to deploy thousands of police to the capital.

South Korean president Lee Jae Myung warned at a cabinet meeting this week that “the issue is safety” and urged heightened vigilance by the interior ministry and emergency services to prepare for every possibility. He described the concert as an important occasion to reaffirm the country’s global cultural standing.

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Romania’s Eurovision song criticised for ‘glamorising sexual strangulation’

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Calls for Alexandra Căpitănescu’s Choke Me to be banned as campaigners say lyrics are ‘dangerous’ and ‘reckless’

Romania’s Eurovision entry Choke Me has been labelled “dangerous” and “reckless” for appearing to glamorise sexual strangulation, an unsafe practice that can lead to brain injury and death.

Campaigners against sexual violence said the entry, in which the words “choke me” are repeated 30 times during the three-minute song, was “playing fast and loose with young women’s lives”.

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Morrissey cancels Valencia concert after being left in ‘catatonic state’ by city noise

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After latest concert cancellation, singer also describes Valencia hotel as ‘indescribable hell’ that will require ‘one year to recover’ from

British singer Morrissey has cancelled a concert in Valencia after being left sleep-deprived during the city’s notoriously noisy Las Fallas festival.

A statement on his website said: “Having travelled for two days by road, Morrissey reached the hotel in Valencia late on Wednesday. Any form of sleep or rest throughout the night was impossible due to festival noise/loud techno singing/megaphone announcements.”

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