Korea’s acclaimed female jazz musician WoongSan (real name: Kim Eun-young) has launched a concert tour in Japan to celebrate her fifth regular album, “Close Your Eyes.” Her tour starts in Osaka on February 4th, followed by stops in Nagoya, Shizuoka, Yokohama, Hokkaido, Sapporo, and Tokyo. The tour is due last until March 2nd.

WoongSan was the first Korean to perform on the stages of Blue Note and Billboard Live, where she was invited to sing again during the tour. Music experts are saying that she is pioneering a new Hallyu genre with jazz. WoongSan’s fifth album was first released in Japan last December and selected a gold disk by 60-year Japanese jazz magazine Swing Journal. She will introduce her fifth album in Korea in March and hold concerts titled “Windy Spring” at the Sejong Performing Arts Center in Seoul on March 27th and 28th. Her latest work is included in the original soundtrack album of KBS drama “The Slave Hunters.”

Returning to the music business after three long years must not be as easy as she thought. J.ae’s new special album, “Sentimental,” was ruled unfit for broadcasting by KBS and SBS. MBC is currently reviewing the song to announce the result next week. Broadcasting review panels at the leading national networks said that the lyrics of the title song “No.5” contained direct references to commercial brand names, like Chanel and McDonalds. Network stations are concerned that naming certain brands could cause debates over indirect advertising.

“No. 5” was written by Lee Ji-rin of the indie band Humming Urban Stereo, who was inspired to write a song after seeing an ad about Chanel No.5 perfume on a bus. The song may have succeeded in grabbing the interest of listeners with its unique lyrics, but could not escape from the criticism of indirect advertisement. Jae’s agency said that it’s most unfortunate that her year’s work failed to meet the industry standards, but it will apply for another review after changing some parts of the lyrics. J.ae’s latest album will be out on the market on February 10th.

Korean diva Insooni is scheduled to hold two performances at Carnegie Hall in Manhattan, New York on February 3rd and 4th. This will be her second concert in Carnegie Hall since the first one in 1999. She’s the only Korean singer to have been on stage at Carnegie Hall twice.

Insooni have invited very special guests for her American performances. They are 100 veterans of the Korean War and U.N. ambassadors of 16 countries that fought in the Korean War. At the press conference held on February 2nd in New Jersey, Insooni said that although she has never seen her father, she doesn’t blame him and wants him to know that she understands him now. She considers all Korean War veterans as her fathers and that’s why she has invited them to her concert.

Five-member group TVXQ (known as Tohoshinki in Japan) became the bestselling foreign artists in Japanese music history with the group’s latest single album “Break Out!” Oricon News reported that TVXQ’s 29th single in Japan has sold roughly 25,600 copies in the first week out in the market, rising to No.1 spot on the Oricon weekly single chart. Japanese fans have eagerly waited for the release of “Break Out!” It has been proven by the fact that the album was placed first in the most anticipated album list.

The group’s album sales have surpassed the record set by Elton John in September 1997 when he released “Candle in the Wind” in memory of the late Princess Diana. They have also become the first foreign artist to sell more than 200 thousand copies in the first week since the album’s release. Meanwhile, TVXQ will market on February 17th their best album comprised of the songs introduced in Japan. However, it is not known when the group will resume their activities in Korea, since the legal dispute between three of the members and their agency hasn’t been resolved yet.