Lady Gaga, Psy to perform at South Korea festival
Lady Gaga and Psy FILE PHOTO
SEOUL — US pop diva Lady Gaga is slated to perform at a summer music festival in South Korea, where her first show two years ago received an adult-only rating from state censors.
The festival, to be held at Seoul’s Olympic stadium on August 15-16, will feature a host of K-pop stars including “Gangnam Style” rapper Psy, the YG entertainment agency said.
Lady Gaga will appear on the second day of the festival, to be co-hosted by YG and a local music production agency.
When the 28-year-old singer last performed in Seoul in April 2012, religious groups called for the concert to be cancelled on the grounds that she advocated homosexuality and pornography.
The show went ahead — but only after a state ratings board judged it unsuitable for younger audiences, prompting a ban on under-18 fans.
It was not immediately clear if her show at this year’s festival would be subject to similar restrictions.
“It’s too early to say because we have yet to see the contents and details of her concert here,” a spokeswoman for the state rating board told AFP.
“All we can say now is that our board could make a similar decision as in 2012, if her upcoming concert is seen as unsuitable for young, teenaged audiences,” she added.
In typically eccentric style, Lady Gaga raised eyebrows last month during a gig at the South by Southwest festival in Texas when she had a “vomit artist” regurgitate colored soy milk onto her cleavage.
Other headliners at the Seoul festival include top K-pop boy band BigBang and girl group 2NE1.
Reflecting the increasing global popularity of K-pop, South Korean girl band Crayon Pop will open a series of Lady Gaga concerts in Canada and the United States in June and July.
RELATED STORIES
Lady Gaga wows S. Koreans as global tour kicks off
PSY’s ‘Gangnam Style’ wins Korean top song award
