K-pop made fresh inroads on Thursday when
Lady Gaga revealed that South Korean girl group Crayon Pop will open her
upcoming summer concerts in Canada and the United States.
“I’m excited to announce June
26 through July 22 of Lady Gaga’s artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball will be
opened by CRAYON POP!,” the ‘Mother Monster’ announced on her @ladygaga
Twitter feed.
The candy-coloured quintet topped the K-pop charts last year when their danceable ditty Bar Bar Bar — featuring their signature helmets and piston-style line dancing — went viral on YouTube.
South Korean pop music has an avid cult following in the West, but it broke into the mainstream in November 2012 when Gangnam Style by Psy became, and remains, the most-viewed video ever on YouTube.
Lady Gaga’s tour kicks off on May 4 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but Crayon Pop will join the star’s cavalcade seven weeks later in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and remain until the scheduled finale in Los Angeles.
Lady Gaga’s tour kicks off on May 4 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but Crayon Pop will join the star’s cavalcade seven weeks later in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and remain until the scheduled finale in Los Angeles.
Last week, Lady Gaga, who
turns 28 next week, raised eyebrows during a club gig at the South by
Southwest (SXSW) festival in Texas when she had a British “vomit artist”
regurgitate coloured soy milk onto her cleavage.
That
prompted New Jersey resident Chris Wolverton to launch an online
petition at Care2.com accusing her of “glamourising bulimia” and
demanding she halt using “imagery” that could impact on teens with
eating disorders.
Lady Gaga herself said in
2012 that she wrestled with bulimia and anorexia from the age of 15,
prompting a debate on social media.
