Ryewook and Sunggyu join Immortal Song 2

Just when I thought I will never smile this week, this news suddenly appears! Happiness to the nth power! Idols Ryeowook of Super Junior and Sunggyu of Infinite have officially announced that they’ll be joining Immortal Song 2 as fixed members.

The two will be starting in the first week of June featuring a special on Yang Hee Eun. Ryeowook in particular is known for his sweet voice as well as his vast experience in musicals and radio DJ-ing. Sunggyu himself is the team’s leader and main vocalist.  He is one of those few idol members that Korea can be truly proud of with his obviously outstanding vocal talent.

As they are both part of groups at the forefront of the Hallyu wave, fans (like me) are excited and looking forward to how well they’ll fair every week on the show. Their first stage will broadcast on June 16th.

The best of luck to these two amazing singers! They truly deserve to be in it.

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EXO-K and EXO-M joint stage performances

EXO-K and EXO-M, who got to finally stand on the same stage after their debut showcase on March, shared their feelings about performing together as EXO. The boys shared,  “As compared to when we promote separately in Korea and China, being able to stand on one stage like this really gives us strength”.

EXO-M’s leader Kris stated, “It was quite difficult and we were all nervous since we don’t have any experience promoting in Kore. However, the EXO-K members guided and supported us so we could get strength”.

EXO-K’s leader Suho added, “Since our teamwork is usually good when we practice, joining and adjusting were done naturally. We’re really happy to get to stand on one stage after the showcase, it brings back old memories”. 

These rookie groups from powerhouse SM Entertainment already performed on Korean broadcast stages twice, much to the delight of many fans, to express their gratitude for having more than 100,000 CD sales though they’re only rookies. After having these stages together this week, EXO-M are going to go back to China to continue their promotions.

“We support each other when we promote together to give us strength.”


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Wonder Girls' comeback teaser photos

The lovely ladies of the Wonder Girls are making a disco comeback. Wonderfuls, prepare!

Popular Wonder Girls are set to make a comeback on June 3 with their mini-album Wonder Party. Last week, the group released a series of comeback photos through their official Facebook account featuring themselves in lovely and bright party clothing. Each of the photos was accompanied with the text The Wonder Girls invite you to a Wonder Party.

Are you ready the Wonder Party?

Hyoyeon reveals her beauty secret

 

Kim Hyoyeon was once an underrated member of the famous SNSD (Girls' Generation) who debuted in 2007. However, things have turned lovely for her when her group started promoting overseas and international fans mostly favored her among the rest of her members. And up until now, she has been making a name for herself with her impressive dancing skills and eye catching looks.

On a recent episode of Dancing With The Stars 2, MC Kim Gyu Ri asked Hyoyeon the secret to her beauty. The charming dancer smiled bashfully as answered, “I’m not sure…“.

After giving it some thought, and seeing partner Lee Hoon standing next to her, she joked, “It’s because of Lee Hoon oppa. I think it’s because I’ve been receiving a lot of love that I’ve become prettier."

 

In related news, Hyoyeon recently claimed first place on last week’s episode of Dancing with the Star 2.

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Happy 4th anniversary, SHINee

Idol group SHINee recently celebrated 4 years of active promotions in the Korean entertainment industry on the 25th of May. The group debuted back in 2008 and have been getting tremendous love and support from fans not just in Korea but also overseas.

Member Minho posted a picture in his me2day account saying, "We are for years old".

Anchorman and variety star Jun Hyun Moo displayed his unchanging support and love for the group on his twitter account. He wrote, “I’d like to genuinely congratulate shiny shiny SHINee on their fourth anniversary since their debut. The first song I’ll be playing for Jun Hyun Moo’s Gayo Plaza will be SHINee’s debut track. I hope that they’ll always remember their roots and continue to shine."

Meanwhile, label mate and senior Heechul of Super Junior shared a humorous photo comparing himself to Taemin on twitter, his own funny way of congratulating the group. He wrote, "The first time I saw Taemin was when he was only 16 years old. The managers said he was my 'angelic version', but now he's already 20 years old. He's grown so much. But the problem is, I am already 30."

The grateful SHINee boys also didn't forget to leave a video message for their loyal fans. In the video, Jonghyun stated that it’s already been 4 years and how time flies by fast. Taemin mentioned on how he was only 16 years old when they first debuted and he’s now already 20. They stated that they will continue to work hard and will greet their fans once again next year on May 25, 2013 for their 5th anniversary.

From humble beginnings to top Kpop stars, SHINee has indeed come a long way. Happy anniversary, boys turned men!^_____^

Possible relationship for Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo

Actress Yoo In Na gave a reply on the possibility to have a romance relationship with co-star Ji Hyun Woo in actual. During a press conference in Jangchung-dong, Seoul, she said, “There are infinite possibilities.”

Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo have staged various romantic scenes of earplug kiss, foamed hand kiss, finger interlocked kiss, library kiss and more in the drama Queen In-hyun’s Man, causing a lot of topics. In addition, the warm and romantic visual effecst shown by their 22-centimeter difference in height, longed for by many females, undoubtedly causes the start of ‘in romance relationship gossip,’ giving people the opportunity to fantasize.

During the interview, when asked about a possible romantic relationship with the actor, Yoo In Na embarassingly answered with a smile. “ I am not sure. There are endless possibilities. To a youthful man and a woman who aren’t married yet, everything is possible.”

Hyun Woo replied, “ She has a very flexible side. I am not quite sure myself.” Then he added, “I’ve always thought of her as special. I have this feeling of wanting to take care of her. She produces a radio program so she records 7 to 8 hours a day, and that’s very tiring. Because I am hosting a radio show, I sometimes give her suggestions on what should be done specially doing double DJ and actor.”

Moreover, these two recently shared a sweet tiptoe kiss that started their relationship  in the 11th episode of the drama. This beautiful scene captured viewers’ hearts, making it look like as if it was from a movie. And due to this romantic episode, the drama received the highest audience rating among TV dramas airing at the same time and became the most searched words on several online major portal sites.

Weeeeee!!!^____^

MBC explains why Leeteuk delivered the closing speech instead of Tiffany at Korean Music Wave in Google

Super Junior leader Leeteuk has been receiving flak from some netizens after delivering the final speech at MBC‘s ‘Korean Music Wave in Google‘ concert recently held in California. On May 21st, Google and YouTube hosted MBC ‘Korean Music Wave in Google‘ in Mountain View, California and the concert was streamed live through YouTube.

Towards the end of the concert, all the artists came on stage together to sing the customary traditional Korean song, Arirang. When the song came to a close, Leeteuk grabbed his microphone and closed the event saying, “Our languages and our faces may be different, but the music has united us as one.” But netizens began criticizing Leeteuk for delivering the closing speech, as SNSD members Taeyeon and Tiffany were the MCs for the event. They felt Leeteuk hindered Tiffany from giving the final speech, and staff members from the event who heard about the misunderstanding stepped forward to defend Leeteuk’s actions.

A representative from MBC who was at the event remarked, “The misunderstanding had spread amongst netizens, because they did not completely understand the situation at hand. The head director had specially asked Leeteuk to deliver the closing speech, as he is exceptionally talented and experienced when it comes to leading such events. The director had simply wanted to neatly and efficiently end the large-scale show.”

“It makes no sense to say that he had interrupted Tiffany from making her speech. The fact that Leeteuk stepped onstage with a mic already in his hand proved that everything was pre-meditated.”

Leeteuk also attempted to relieve any misunderstandings by writing on his Twitter page, “Towards the end of Arirang, a cue card went up asking me to deliver the closing comment. If it was wrong of me to respond to the producer’s cue and deliver a speech during a show that was streamed live all over the world, then I apologize. I will respectfully reject any gifts of criticism that are given without reason.”

Source & Image : MoneyToday StarNews via Nate

Video: TheSONE4ever

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Shindong shares dating technique

With a series of Korean idols revealing their relationship status publicly for the past months, a few others still seem to be having difficulties doing the same. In an episode of Korea's Mnet, Super Junior member Shindong revealed his secret dating technique.

“I had a dating technique that allowed me and my girlfriend to go on movie dates without being noticed. I would let her carry things for me so she would look like my stylist. It went on for three years and no one ever asked “Is she your girlfriend?".”

On the other hand, U-KISS’s member Soohyun commented “I wish I could go on a date with my girlfriend just like any other ordinary couple, shopping hand in hand and having a casual conversation over a cup of coffee.” 

Shindong said, “Once the relationship has gone public, you would no longer be able to do such things because everyone will be looking at you. My girlfriend very much dislikes being seen as “Shindong’s girlfriend”. Before our relationship went public, I was the one who would always refuse to go out. But when our relationship was revealed, she started disliking dating me in public instead." 

Viewers and online users who have watched the show expressed:“Shindong’s method of disguising his girlfriend as his stylist is too cool”, “It is really difficult for celebrities to date”, “Shindong’s girlfriend has been pretending to be his stylist for three years, that is so commendable” etc.

SM Entertainment artists on TAXI

The latest episode of variety show Taxi featured quite a rare mix of SM Entertainment's popular talents namely Luna of f(x), Jessica of Girls' Generation and Sungmin of Super Junior. During one of the segments, MC Lee YongJa asked, “Among all the members of your respective group, which member gets along least well with the rest?”

Jessica gave Seohyun as her answer, “The rest of the members enjoy eating snacks, hamburgers and others, but Seohyun only eats the sweet potato and persimmon that she packs herself."


Sungmin then revealed, “In terms of food, our members get along really well with each other. We are not choosy when it comes to food, we have cheap taste and we eat everything that is given to us.”  He continued, “Yesung is responsible for the high notes in our songs, so he would start to warm up his vocals early in the day. He would always do it when we are travelling to our schedules. Because everyone is really tired on most days, we would rest or sleep on the way, but when he starts practicing so loudly, we would sometimes feel really upset."


Jessica then added, “Seohyun is exactly the same. She has several methods when it comes to practicing her vocals. She would turn on the music of the song that we will be singing on that day and sing along to it. But she is our baby, so we think it’s cute.”

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Selina Jen goes night cycling

Last night, S.H.E. member Selina Jen went cycling with her father, her first ever since she was injured in a filming accident more than a year ago and shared her happiness with her fans.

While she is on the road to recovery, Selina is starting to attend endorsement events and taking small steps back into the entertainment industry. Last week, S.H.E. made an appearance for a charity auction together and Selina even got teary after seeing the passionate fans present. However, even though the starlet is recovering well, she cannot stay under the sun for long and therefore chose to go cycling with her father in the evening.

Unable to hide her happiness to be out and about with her father, the 30-year-old expressed that "after being into cycling for a long time, my father finally could bring me out to experience this." The singer then gave her thanks by expressing that "along with the breeze and the setting sun, I felt happiness."

Concluding her experience, Selina expressed that she felt touched when the elderly in the park cheered for her when they saw her cycling.

Rolling Stone picks 10 K-pop groups 'most likely to break in America'

Popular US based magazine Rolling Stone has picked 10 KPop groups that have the potential to break into the US music scene. The website noted that while K-pop artists BoA and Se7en failed in their American debuts in the past, K-pop has garnered a strong following without the help of any major American backing.

"K-Pop is a mixture of trendy Western music and high-energy Japanese pop (J-Pop), which preys on listeners' heads with repeated hooks, sometimes in English. It embraces genre fusion with both singing and rap, and emphasizes performance and strong visuals. It can penetrate the US' Top 40 Market if correctly targeted at children and teenagers and as long as they're allowed to keep the same sounds and concepts that made them popular in Asia." the magazine said.

And the top 10 groups that are most likely to make it in America are:

2NE1 - 2NE1’s genre-hopping and large personalities bring Nicki Minaj’s rap/singing approach to mind. Several of the members have strong English skills, and the group won the award for 'Best New Band In The World' for MTV Iggy, an MTV initiative that showcases music from all over the world.

Girls' Generation - Girls' Generation have proven to be one of the top acts in Asia topping the charts in both South Korea and Japan. With concepts that range from adorable to sexy, Girls' Generation has both a versatility and coherence that define their broad appeal.

Big Bang - Despite a nearly two-year hiatus, boy band BIGBANG continues to be one of K-Pop’s most established and popular groups. Big Bang's new album "Alive" entered the Billboard 200 chart despite no physical release or active promotion in America.

Wonder Girls - The five-member Wonder Girls stands as one of the few Korean acts to have a single chart on the Billboard Hot 100 with English-language single 'Nobody.'  The track peaked at Number 76 in 2009 following their opening for a Jonas Brothers tour as well as performances on 'Wendy Williams' and 'So You Think You Can Dance'.

After School - After School, the Korean version of Pussycat Dolls, was also the very first winner of the Billboard Japan award for K-Pop New Artist of the Year.

BEAST - BEAST embodies a new wave of boy bands shaking things up and focuses on vocals.

Ailee - Ailee is a Korean American who released her first single in Korea early this year. Her debut single 'Heaven,' a huge, long-lasting hit in South Korea, is actually similar to 'Halo,' with big R&B beats amid both soft and powerful vocals.

SISTAR - High-energy female group Sistar may have gotten one of the best platforms for U.S. attention when they earned the inaugural Number One for the launch of Billboard’s new Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart.

SHINee - With the recent success of boy bands like One Direction and The Wanted, it would be foolish not to take a group like SHINee as serious contenders for American crossover. SHINee's latest single "Sherlock" is comparable to the vocal stylings of the Jackson 5.

Miss A - This four-member girl group has a versatile sound, from the earworm 'Goodbye Baby' to sexy tracks 'Touch' and 'Lips.'

Noticeably absent from the list are K-pop boy bands Super Junior and TVXQ.

SNSD members top Friday night

Hallyu superstars Girls’ Generation, who are no strangers when it comes to the art of winning, have set a unique yet impressive record as its members swept all three major networks with wins in various shows in just one night.

On Friday May 18th, Girls’ Generation unit group TaeTiSeo won their second consecutive number 1 on KBS's Music Bank, in which Tiffany proudly gave thanks by saying, “I am happy for the love that led to this number 1, and I am extremely happy to be Girls’ Generation!”

In another broadcast station, SBS, Girls’ Generation’s youngest member Seohyun made her own mark by winning the MVP on 100 Million Quiz Show. Her win was all the more impressive when it is taken into account that she was the first winner who made it through without missing a single question. Her flawless performance proved that her charming beauty was matched by an equally impressive brain.

The domination of Girls’ Generation did not end there, thanks to their group's dancing queen Hyoyeon and her win on Dancing With the Stars 2 at MBC. Her sexy tango routine not only showed off her versatility in dance, but also moved the audience to acknowledge her skills as world class.

It seems Girl’s Generation once again made the fans and viewers of the Friday night broadcasts “feel the heat”.

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INFINITE on their comeback and new image

Fast-rising idol group INFINITE just had their comeback a few days ago and they honestly shared their nervousness on starting promotions after a long time.

Dongwoo shared, “Because our period of absence was this long for the first time, we were really pressured. Although we did a concert during our absence, music broadcasts have an addictive feel to it, so we missed it and was worried that we wouldn't meet up to the expectations."

Continuing on, they explained about their title song, The Chaser, by adding, “To be unique, we decided to go towards a classic feel. We wanted to show the Korean-style of emotions through music. Among the recordings we’ve done till now, this recording was the hardest.”

The group also discussed the visual changes within their group since their debut. Member Woohyun stated, “Many have complemented us that our looks have improved since our debut.” He continued, “We weren't too concerned about our looks when we made our debut. However, right now we all receive special skin treatments and our make-up artists also pay more attention to details than before to help us look even better.”

Member L also added, “All the members are gradually finding their own style. Now each member has a hairstyle and stage oufit that suit them well.”

Regarding the question on who changed the most since their debut, leader Sunggyu answered, “I think it would be Sungjong, who recently turned legal. Not only his looks, but also his personality has grown more manly and mature.”

In related news, INFINITE released their mini-album, ‘INFINITIZE‘, on May 15th. The album contains a total of 7 tracks with the title-song The Chaser, a fast-paced song consisting Korean-style emotions and a refined melody.

Sandara Park shares an old photo

2NE1’s 4D Sandara Park recently released a picture of herself taken a few years back during her trainee days in YG Entertainment, in commemoration of the group's 3rd anniversary.

On May 15th, Sandara uploaded the above photo on her me2day and wrote, “This was me when I started as a trainee in Korea! I was cold and hungry then. At that time, I thought that my struggles would end. This point of time when I am relieving the feelings during debut, just before our third year anniversary! Every time we prepare for a new album, we always work even harder than ever for it! To all of you who are always there, I am really greatful! All the Blackjacks really restore me from my fatigue! Truly.”

She then added, "Darong who is throwing a picture during trainee days to celebrate 2NE1′s third year anniversary since our debut on May 17! So young, young.”

Netizens commented, “Time goes so fast”, “She still looks exactly the same. What’s her secret?”, “I can see some bruises and scratches on her arm. I hope that she’s more careful when practicing”, "Congratulations on your 3rd anniversary" and more.


dkpopnews

Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo's perfect chemistry

Ever since the first airing of tvN’s Wednesday drama Queen Inhyuk’s Man, lead actors Ji Hyun Woo and Yoo In Na have been immediately put into spotlight regarding their surprisingly obvious on-screen chemistry. Since then, speculations that the two are actually dating for real started spreading like wild fire around town.

As the drama’s ratings continue to soar, heated discussions about the two’s real relationship status do so, too. The two are said to display a close friendship on set even when the cameras are not rolling. The bright and cheerful Yoo In Na and the well-mannered and hard-working Ji Hyun Woo constantly receive the praises of the staff members. Even the drama’s director (PD), Kim Byung Soo, also joined in the discussion and shared his thoughts and praises about the two.

He started, “This is the first drama that Hyun Woo chose himself and In Na’s first leading role, so they’re both very enthusiastic. Even when we are shooting all night, the whole atmosphere is great. If the full mark is 100 points, they show cooperation that exceeds 100.”

He went on,  “When the filming officially began, everybody was joking that they’re really romantically involved with each other since they actually look very comfortable and matching.” The he jokingly added, “I always tell them that they have to really love each other, at least during the filming, in order to capture beautiful scenes. Recently I read all these news about them, and I realized they have indeed seriously immersed into their roles.”

And so the questions continue. Nevertheless, dating or not, the drama is absolutely worth-watching and the lead stars and both adorable.  Let's just wait and see what happens to both of them in the next days and when the drama ends.

 

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Ai Hashimoto is the new Sadako

Say what you will about how tightly controlled Japanese movie publicity is, but they sure know how to keep a secret. Just one day from the theatrical release of Tsutomu Hanabusa’s Sadako 3D in Japan, the young actress playing the latest incarnation of Sadako has finally been revealed: Ai Hashimoto.

There was actually a preview screening held back in April, but the 12 minutes of end footage that would have revealed her identity was left out. The casting puts her in good company. Although the first Sadako was played by kabuki actress Rie Inoo for her ability to move creepily, subsequent Sadakos were played by famous actresses such as Yukie Nakama and Tae Kimura. Anyone who follows mainstream Japanese films should be pretty familiar with Hashimoto at this point. She’s appeared in a slew of movies since her debut in 2009. Most notably, her performance in Tetsuya Nakashima’s critically-adored 2010 film Confessions made her the ultimate “it” girl of teen film actresses over the past two years.
 

In the newest installment of the Ring series, Sadako’s curse is spreading faster than ever thanks to internet video sharing, and her essence floats around in the cloud waiting for an appropriate person to posses by climbing out of their computer monitor. Unlike the first version of Sadako, who was portrayed as hideous and waterlogged after climbing out of a well, Hashimoto’s version remains a pretty girl, supposedly to entice people who see her into even more fear. 

Sadako 3D opened in Japan last Saturday.

asianfanatics 

Infinite's comeback teaser

Infinite fans (me included) better be ready this month. Woolliment Entertainment finally uploaded official teaser videos for Infinite's grand comeback this month, and they're starting to go viral. 


Infinite rose to stardom last year because of their hits Be Mine and Paradise, even beating popular groups Leesang, Sistar, Davichi and Super Junior. This year, these lovely boys plan to take over the music charts and live stages once again with their new album.


The teaser video shows sexy but manly images of the boys. The song gives all of us a hint of pop-rock beats and guitar riffs, which I personally think is the groups own musical tag. It also shows a bit of sports concept since they are all seen in what seems to be a dressing room full of football helmets. And from the looks of it, they have finally moved on from their boyish charms and return with more attitude and edge.

The Chaser teaser

YT videos: Woolliment and pcdkl18

Hyoyeon's Love Potion No. 9

Kim Hyoyeon of SNSD (Girls' Generation) once again proved herself to be a true dancing queen. On the recent broadcast of Dancing With The Stars, she and partner Kim Hyung Suk danced to Love Potion No. 9.

With their powerful jive, they drew attention for their performance that was on par with the Choi Yeo Jinand Park Ji Woo couple. Both Hyoyeon and Kim Hyung Suk earned a total of 21 points from the judges. The judges on the show include Korea Musical Association’s director Song Seung Hwan, World Dancesport Federation’s international referee Alex Kim, and prima ballerina Kim Joo Won.

Check out Hyoyeon’s most recent performance below!

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