Wednesday, January 26, 2011
“SM Town Live in Tokyo” adds two more concerts due to explosive popularity
Although the concerts were held on weekdays this year, fans still experienced a fierce competition to grab tickets, as over 400,000 K-pop aficionados in
Because of the numerous amounts of fans who held up placards requesting for additional concert dates, SM Entertainment decided to go ahead and add two more concerts at the
The Tokyo Dome will be able to seat 50,000 fans.
Rewinding back to the “SM Town LIVE IN TOKYO” concerts (held on January 25th and 26th), the three-hour musical bonanza brought together Kang Ta, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, SNSD, SHINee, f(x), Trax’s Jung Mo, J-Min and many others.
Super Junior’s Yesung, Ryeowook, and SHINee’s Onew earned an especially explosive response from the audience for teaming up with a Japanese tenor artist, Masafumi Akikawa, to perform “Sen no Kaze ni Natte.”
Super Junior’s Eunhyuk looking good with a new haircut
On January 26th,
The picture of him shows a brand new Eunhyuk with his hair moussed skyward, and it looks like he’s feeling pretty confident about his new do.
He wrote, “I don’t get to have my hair flip around when I dance, which looks cool, but this isn’t bad!”
Netizens wrote, “He looks so much better looking now that he’s showing his forehead,” “I never knew he was so good looking,” and “He looks like Jang Woo Hyuk of H.O.T”.
Do you guys like it?
Photos of Heechul for “GQ”
China’s Ministry of Culture bans Super Junior’s Bonamana
The report states:
Banning a boyband takes some doing but Chinese officials are more than capable of crushing such rebellion. The most recent song on our poll is one of a handful from the 13-strong South Korean act to be blacklisted by the nation’s rather strict Ministry of Culture earlier this month. It is now illegal to buy, download or listen to the song, despite it being about as dangerous to know as a Labrador puppy.No further information has been released regarding the Ministry’s reasons behind this all-round ban. Although unfortunate for fans in
[UPDATE]
According to the official government statement, the songs have been banned because they were never filed for a mandatory government review, implemented as a crackdown on illegal online music products and business activities. This means that the ban was based upon procedure, not of the content of Bonamana itself. Because SM Entertainment didn’t apply for the regulation review, version C of the Bonamana CD was subsequently deemed illegal for online distribution. Among other artists whose songs failed to pass the review are Bruno Mars, S.H.E, Jay Chou and many other artists from both China and around the world.
Hangeng defends SM Entertainment in ‘Marie Claire China’
Many were under the impression that Korean entertainment companies are strict and rigid with their artists, but the former Super Junior star came to the defense of SM Entertainment and denied that his former agency would ever utilize such a system.
The following is an excerpt from his interview:
“The day of the interview was also the day he won his lawsuit against SM Entertainment, which had been going on for a year prior to its close. A year ago today, he had filed to terminate his contract and thus angered his agency. Although a portion of his Super Junior members expressed their dissatisfaction with his decision, such things could not hold him back.
Throughout the year, he’s appeared in many TV programs, as well as released one solo album. While holding his first solo concert, he became closer with the media, and stimulated public interest.
His brimming schedule was probably to blame for such abnormal sentiments. It was only until a year ago today that he reminisced of the time he signed his contract. If there was one thing he was hesitant or scared of at the time, it was probably fundamental change. “If I hadn’t gone to Korea and remained in Beijing, I would’ve probably lived a normal life teaching students.”
[The reporter] asked, “Have you ever resented your father? Although it was your own decision, he never blocked you from signing the contract.” Hangeng replied, “No, even if he was against it, I would’ve still signed the contract. It was an opportunity.”
He grabbed the opportunity, and took a flight to Korea.
There are reports that trainees endure strict training, are prohibited from dating, have their personal feelings ignored, are taught a sense of group consciousness, and sometimes are even charged by their companies to ‘entertain’ outside of their normal schedules with liquor.
When [the reporter] mentioned the report, Hangeng denied the statement and explained, “SM is never like that. I’m not sure how other companies work, but SM would never do that.”
I wonder if this, too, was a trace left inside of him by his company, as he never says anything impulsively.”
Super Junior’s Siwon introduces his new family member
On January 25th, the Super Junior star revealed a picture of an adorable puppy, and wrote:
“New family Beckham! Although this was my first time meeting you because uncle was busy, grow healthily! Love you so much!”Fans can see this ‘uncle’ beaming happily as he throws up a thumbs-up sign for his new family member. This tiny
Fans spazzed over the adorable photo, as they wrote, “Totally cute! I want to raise a dog like this ㅜㅜ Is it a Maltese?” “So pretty~ it looks like a doll!” and “Doesn’t match with your appearance, this dog is so small and cute.. keke”
Choi Siwon has been busy playing the role of ‘Kim Junho’ in the SBS drama, “Athena.”
Leeteuk’s sister battles Jo Kwon in a ‘kkab’ dance-off for “Strong Heart”
Park then engaged in a dance off with the King of ‘kkab‘ himself, 2AM’s Jo Kwon! Leeteuk, who was embarrassed about having his older sister on air with him from the very beginning, couldn’t take it anymore and shouted: “Nuna (older sister), don’t do that!” – bringing much laughter.
After the episode aired, viewers commented, “Her dance made even Jo Kwon’s dance look colorless” and “Leeteuk’s reaction was funnier.”
SBS’s “Athena” suffers a drop in viewer ratings
According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, the January 25th episode recorded only a 5.4% in viewer ratings, which is a 9.4% drop from its 14.8% record on the 24th.
Meanwhile, MBC’s “Queen of Reversals” recorded 13.8%.
But the 2011 AFC Asian Cup was not the only reason for the drama’s dismal ratings.
“Athena’s” main actors, Jung Woo Sung and Jung Chan Woo, suffered injuries from a recent car accident on set, forcing shooting to be stopped. The drama was thus forced to air a side story special, featuring behind-the-scenes footage as well as memorable scenes chosen by the cast themselves.
Meanwhile, the 2011 AFC Asian Cup recorded 37.7% in viewer ratings due to the intense match between South Korea and
Korea will face Uzbekistan in the 3rd place playoff on January 28th after the latter was trashed 0-6 by Australia in the other semi-final. The final will take place a day later.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Dream High ranks in at #1!
JYP and Bae Yong Joon have been able to create a remarkable synergy, and with leading roles played by 2PM’s Taecyeon and Wooyoung, miss A’s Suzy, Kim Soo Hyun, IU, and T-ara’s Eun Jung, it’s no surprise that this drama is on fire.
Viewers have been extremely impressed with everyone’s acting skills and as every episode airs, we at allkpop are getting hooked onto this drama even more. So if you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, you definitely should!
Additional plans include airing Dream High in over 5 countries, including Japan and China.
Super Junior’s Donghae injured while filming SBS’s “Lunar New Year Special”
While they were recording a game that the idols were playing, Super Junior’s Donghae fell off a platform and bruised up his face.
ELFs, no need to worry too much as Donghae has been reported to being just fine, and his minor injuries will naturally heal up in a matter of a couple weeks.
Heechul confirms that Super Junior has renewed contracts with SME
On the January 19th radio broadcast of MBC’s Golden Fishery, Heechul stated, “Not long ago, I re-signed my contract with my agency.” Kim Gu Ra inquired, “Is that good news?” and Yong Jong Shin enviously quipped, “It means he’s received a lump sum. A lump sum,” drawing laughter.
Heechul also revealed that the rest of Super Junior had also decided to re-sign their contracts with SM Entertainment last November on his SBS radio program, Kim Heechul’s Young Street. The idol expressed his faith in SME, stating, “A man must live with loyalty.”
Heechul isn’t the first SME artist to talk about their statuses with SME; a few weeks ago, fellow bandmate Siwon and singer BoA spoke up about their hard work as artists and discomfort with the term ’slave contract.’
SHINee’s Jonghyun received surgery on his left leg
Jonghyun previously injured his left ankle on October of 2010, after the group was rushed by fans at the Jakarta airport upon their arrival. Although he thought it was okay, further examinations showed that he required surgery.
Jonghyun received surgery on his left leg at a hospital in Seoul on January 17th. Through Star News, a representative of SM Entertainment revealed on the 20th, “Jonghyun received surgery on the 17th, and it concluded safely. He’s currently in good condition.”
Due to his recovery, he will not be performing at the “20th Seoul Music Awards” (scheduled for the 20th), and SHINee will be performing as a four-member group.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Leeteuk and Shindong release their trot track, “Please”
Like all of Super Junior’s trot songs, “Please” is quite hilarious. ELFs will be thrilled at getting to hear Shindong sing a lot more as well, something that is usually quite rare.
The song begins with a little sound sketch of Leeteuk and Shindong talking about ordering something, and then develops into a spunky track that seems to best fit the summer beaches.
By far, the best part of the track is when Shindong exclaims, “Oh, my baby! Oh, my lady! Yo come on come on come onnnn~~”
Super Junior’s Heechul celebrates Kangin’s birthday
Through his personal Twitter, the singer wrote on January 17th, “I landed in Korea and it’s my dongseng Kim Young Choon’s (nickname) birthday ^-^ Suddenly remembering ‘Kangin and Heechul’.” Heechul also uploaded a picture of Kangin alongside the tweet.
Fans commented in response, “Happy birthday~,” while wishing Kangin good luck and hoping that he completes his service safely.
Five idol taboos broken by the ‘Big Space Star’ Kim Heechul
Heechul first debuted as a member of Super Junior back in 2005, and caught everyone’s attention with his pretty boy looks. Producers from the acting industry were quick to cast this handsome rookie, which eventually landed him a role in KBS’s “Banolim.” From the start of his career, Heechul doubled his potential by walking on dual paths as an actor and a singer.
But it’s not only his career choices alone that made his star rise.
Perhaps it’s because he was born in the natural and carefree city of Kwangwon-do, but Heechul has never hesitated to express his thoughts nor compromise his bright and outgoing personality. Although this soon became the reason why he’s developed a strong fanbase, it’s also given birth a lot of anti-fans as well.
Despite it all, he’s managed to reach the sixth year of his career today, and is still the same confident person fans fell in love with from the start; now the general public is finally beginning to recognize his genuine merit.
He’s managed to turn his antis into fans, all the while breaking the taboos laid against idol singers. Star News came up with the ‘Top 5′ taboos that Heechul’s moved against, which are as follows:
1. He calls himself the ‘Big Space Star,’ and managed to go up against gagman Kim Gura.
Before the arrival of Heechul, the virtue of idols was strict modesty. Idols were expected to scream “No!” once complimented, whether it be for their looks, talents, or whatever else was being referred to.
But Heechul was different. He confidently declared, “I am kind of handsome.“ Although this statement brought him many antis, his ‘consistent cockiness’ through the past five years has ironically engrained a sense of sincere honesty; something that even antis couldn’t argue against.
Now, when he declares himself as a ‘big space star’ on broadcast programs, nobody crinkles their face in disagreement, but laughs along, amused.
His confidence was even seen before Kim Gura, who’s notorious for his harsh remarks. Heechul regarded him with respect, while at the same time, expressing all that he wanted. Such confidence earned him an honorable high five from the gagman.
Heechul commented, “I’m not really a respectful child, but I never hide myself from others. It’s the same from when I addressed Gura-hyung. He does give way for me a lot, but what I think is personally weird is that I’m a great fan of the harsh criticisms Gura and Myungsu-hyung dishes out. Maybe because they’re confident as well? (laughter)”
2. The first voice imitation of SM’s Lee Soo Man, was of course, done by none other than Heechul.
Heechul’s fearlessness has made even SM representatives surprised over his actions. Moments after his debut, Heechul did a voice imitation of SM’s producer, Lee Soo Man, that not only surprised his manager, but representatives alike, as it was the first time any star attempted such an act.
He explained, “On a broadcast show, I did once imitate his voice. I did it to have some fun, but my manager hyungs acted really shocked and discussed in length with the PDs about whether to let it go out on broadcast or not. I called Lee Soo Man and asked, ‘I imitated your voice in a positive way. This can be aired, right?’ He said, ‘Sure, I trust that our Heechul is a respectful child. I could say no, but that will make you do it more, so just let it air.’ Ever since then, many different SM stars have imitated his voice (laughter).”
3. Despite being an SM star, he’s often seen on broadcast programs saying, “YG and JYP, fighting!“
The rivalry between the top three, SME, JYPE, and YGE, is known by any Korean music fan. Although it’s a competition created with good will, artists have always been seen rooting for their own labels in public programs.
Asked about his favorite girl group member, Heechul didn’t choose an SM labelmate, but the Wonder Girls‘ Sohee from JYPE. SNSD’s Yoona later retorted, “Oppa, why do you only like Sohee?” He replied back, “You’re closer with 2PM than you are with me!”
Recently, at his “Young Street” radio program, he even sang a song from 1TYM and shouted out, “YG Family, peace! Fighting!“ Because fans know that he loves the SM family more than anyone else, they’re able to laugh off such cute antics in good humor.
4. Being an idol himself, he once claimed, “There’s too much idol music. I hope band music makes a comeback.“
Although he’s nearly 29 years old now, Heechul is still one of the representative idol figures. But for such an idol to exclaim on a radio broadcast, “In our country’s broadcast industry, idol music is too strong. I hope band music and other varieties of genres will receive much love as well.”
As a radio DJ, he comes across not only popular music, but a wider variety of genres as well. Through his experience, he claimed that he realized the only way for people to genuinely love and become interested in idol music is for other genres to receive just as much love.
5. The public easily understands why he calls himself BoA’s brother and labels IU as a “singer song student.”
It’s rare to see anyon treat Asia’s star, BoA, with such fearlessness because of her stature. As you’ve guessed by now, Kim Heechul is the exception. He once claimed on a radio show that BoA has impressive drinking skills, which BoA was able to laugh off because she knows his personality better than anyone else. To music fans, they’ve become affectionately known as the ‘angry siblings.’
Heechul’s fearlessness doesn’t end there, though; his new target is the nation’s new little sister, IU. Before IU hit it big with “Good Day,” she used to appear as a fixed guest on his radio program. She received the nickname “singer song student” by Heechul, which he explained to mean a high school student with exceptional talents in music.
Heechul commented, “BoA is like my little sibling. When we’re together, we treat each other with both warmth and swears (laughter). And IU used to have a difficult time regarding me, but now she’s become a great little sister. It might be hard to believe, but I do get shy around new people. Even so, once I get close with someone, I stick by them until the end. This personality has worked well in getting close with BoA and IU (laughter).”
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Super Junior’s Heechul takes a shower selca in Thailand
Super Junior’s Heechul took the shot from his hotel bathroom in Thailand, and he posted,
“Shower Selca. Kkkkkkkk~“Fans immediately flooded the photo with comments saying, “You are really beautiful !!! ^^*“ ”Here you go teasing everyone with a technically “not” misleading title XD <3” and “OMG >.< ,,, Heenim so handsome without makeup <3”
SHINee, Shin Seung Hoon & Son Ho Young perform at the “Korea Friendship Concert” in Australia
SHINee, Shin Seung Hoon, and Son Ho Young attended the concert as representatives of Korea and showed off the charms of K-pop music with their performances.
Fans were reported to have crowded the Town Hall since the early morning in order to catch glimpses of the stars before their performances, and over 30 different news agencies, including broadcast channel SBS, attended the press conference held before the concert. The concert managed to gather a 2,500 member audience of all ages for a ‘mini-concert’ style performance from each of the attending artists.
The fact that the Town Hall even opened its doors to Korean pop music, as it only allows classical concerts, is an exceptional feat in itself that shows the power of K-pop.
The concert will broadcast through Arirang TV’s “The M Wave” in over 188 different broadcasting stations around the world at 6 PM on January 23rd.
RazorTV features One Way in Singapore
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Asian Cup 2011 – Qatar Arab ELF supports Korea & Super Junior :)
Koreans and Arab ELF were there to support the South Korea team. they were holding a banner to support Super Junior and Korea :D and Congratulations Korea win!!!
well well theres even ELFs in football world !!! :D hope SUJU will see this XD
Super Junior to attend ‘The 4th KPOP Super Live’ in Japan!
Super Junior’s Kim Kibum joins Twitter!
Although it hasn’t even been a full day since he created the account, Kim Kibum has already started gaining followers and engaged in tweet-conversations with his celebrity chums. People he’s been conversing with on Twitter so far has been WAWA’s Park Su Min, Baby VOX’s Shim Eunjin, actress Kim Ha Eun, and movie director Wonsuk Chin.
His Twitter account has been confirmed by Shim Eunjin who tweeted, “Super Junior’s Kim Ki Bum said he didn’t like his former Twitter account’s name so he deleted it and made a new one~ Please follow it~ kk @ikmubmik”
Jang Geun Suk comments on his own news articles regarding the airport chaos
The actor left for China on January 2nd, and he was greeted at the arrival section by hundreds of fans who were waiting with gifts. After wrapping up filming in China, Jang Geun Suk made his way over to Thailand on the 5th, where he was greeted by hundreds of fans once more.
Jang Geun Suk directly commented on the articles, “From the 2nd to the 5th, from China to Thailand, busy with filming for local ads and I felt paralyzed at the airports.”
He later added, “I really wanted to try some of the kimchi stew, but it was just too crazy.”
Netizens questioned the validity of the comments, and if they really came from Jang Geun Suk himself. Agency officials replied back, confirming that it was indeed himself writing the comments.
Kim Hyun Joong is the new model for “Hang Ten Korea”
Director Jung Yong Ha of “Hang Ten Korea” revealed on January 12th, “Kim Hyun Joong was chosen for the brand because they felt that his image and public popularity would fit well in expressing the casual quality of the clothing. His warm and trendy charms allow him to depict a variety of different styles and fashions. His worth as a global Hallyu star will greatly help the brand increase its popularity.”
Kim Hyun Joong’s year-long contract will begin with their Spring photoshoot. He’s also going to participate in the brand’s annual environmental campaign, “Save the Earth“.
Aside from his advertisement filming, Kim Hyun Joong is currently enjoying his break from “Playful Kiss“, while preparing for his solo album.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Ticket sales for SuJu’s “The 3rd Asia Tour Super show 3 in Taipei” are a big hit
Ticket reservations were initially only restricted to people with memberships, but the reservations were all sold out after only a few days. Tickets for general fans without memberships began selling on January 10th.
Fans used ticket sale systems online and ticket shops to purchase their tickets, which quickly led to selling a total of 6000 tickets.
However, due to the vast influx of ticket orders, many fans are currently experiencing difficulties in trying to get hold of a concert ticket through the online ticket sales system. Fans have expressed their dissatisfaction with the concert management service, as the online system is taking $5 USD more than the original price.
“We lost control of the sudden situation and the ticket sales system is currently suffering some difficulties. We are cooperating the best we can to call each consumer regarding replacement tickets. The total number of admission tickets has not changed, and the concert has not yet been sold out,” stated a representative.
It seems like the chance of a fan getting hold of a ticket has been greatly reduced, as the representative said, “Currently, it is difficult for fans to purchase a concert ticket.”
SBS to take 20 idols to Thailand for Lunar New Years special
The show will be hosted by MC Kim Jae Dong and will feature an ‘X-Man’ and ‘Love Letter’-like format. Idols participating include SS501’s Park Jung Min, KARA, 4minute, T-ara, After School, SECRET, 2AM, 2PM, CNBLUE, FT Island, Super Junior, SISTAR and others.
They’ll be spending three days starting January 17th in Thailand, and representatives have revealed that there is a high chance the program will focus on pairing the idols up for a fun night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)