Beast holds second official fan meeting

On April 22, boy band Beast held its second-ever fan meeting for members of its official fan club B2UTY.

The event, which took place at Jamsil Indoor Stadium in eastern Seoul, was the first since the inauguration ceremony event a year ago at Korea University.

More than 5,000 fans flocked to the event which consisted of various segments. The boy band members separated into three teams in order to interact with fan club members. Presents were given out and members took to the stage to showcase their individual talents.

Comedienne Kim Shin-young also appeared on stage to add a vibrant mood to the event.

The band launched its world tour, “Beautiful Show,” back in February and is currently performing overseas.

Despite their hectic schedule, the boy band is looking to release a new album for Korean fans in the coming months.

By Carla Sunwoo [carlasunwoo@joongang.co.kr]

Source: Korea Joongang Daily

DSP Boys confirms its name—A-JAX—and debuts in May

A pre-debuted idol star, which has previously been known as DSP Boys, has confirmed its name—A-JAX.

On April 25, its agency, DSP Media announced the confirmed name of the group—A-JAX, which is a rookie group represented by the agency after a five-year break.

A-JAX refers to a heroic horse, which contributes the victory of the war of Greek and Roman mythology and denotes the group is to be a heroic figure in a cut-throat competition of K-pop world.

The seven-member group reportedly has stunning looks and strength in fantastic performances, which are essential for an idol group. Hyung Gon received a lot of attention when he appeared as Nicole’s partner at Kara’s concert held in last February.

The group released a teaser footage, in which the members appear with their faces covered under masks, on YouTube and MBC Music on April 2. Thereafter, the members unveiled their faces one-by-one, receiving a lot of attention and even cast in a endorsement model for Spris, a sports casual brand.

The group is to appear in MBC Music’s reality program, titled Making the Star-DSP Boys and make it official debut late in May.

Source: TV Report

B2ST’s Son Dong Woon releases his first solo

B2ST’s Son Dong Woon recently released his first solo.

Son sang “In the Cloud,” which is included songwriter Sinsa Dong Tiger’s project album Supermarket Another Half. Sinsa Dong Tiger has been working as a producer for the group.

The song is a refined medium tempo ballad about a happy man who fell in love with a girl. It was released online on April 24.

Son, who has sweet and heavy voice, showed off his abundant vocal talent and ability to express himself through the song.

B2ST’s agency, Cube Entertainment, says, “Son is working hard to show various charms through the group’s new album as well.”

B2ST successfully held a fan meeting with their official fan club Beauty on April 22 and met over 5,000 fans. They are currently preparing for their new album, which will be released in the first half of this year.

Source: Starnews

TVXQ holds a successful finale for their concert tour in Japan

TVXQ recently finished a successful concert tour in Japan, setting a record of gathering 550,000 audiences and proving their unsurpassed popularity.

TVXQ held a successful finale at the concerts held at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka from April 21 to 23, gathering 135,000 audiences.

The group set a remarkable record of gathering 550,000 audience in total through the concert TXXQ Live Tour 2012 Tone, which consisted of 26 concerts and lasted for 97 days with a kickoff in Yokohama on January 18. The number of the audience is the biggest for a single Korean act and is not easy to be attained by Japanese acts, either.

The concert consisted of hit-singles in Japan, individual performances of each member, as well as the songs from their Japanese album TONE, released in last September.

The group not only overwhelmed but also triggered laughter from the Japanese audience.

Filling the arena with red lights, the huge number of fans enjoyed the concert, standing all the way, and showed explosive responses.

In the latter part of the concert, the two stars traveled through the inside of arena by a vehicle to greet their fans, throw them autographed balls at random, and most importantly interact with their dear fans. When it was time for the last song for the day, “Somebody To Love,” it reportedly seemed as if the whole area was exploding.

Source: TV Report

Jay Park to promote his album in five Asian countries

Jay Park will soon start to promote his album in five Asian countries including Singapore.

On April 25, Sidus HQ, Park’s agency, reported that Park will soon start to promote his album in five Asian countries.

Starting from Singapore on April 27, Park will visit the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia in May. He will visit Japan in June.

This promotion has been planned to commemorate the release of Park’s first full-length album New Breed,released in February. It’s particularly special as it’s been planned personally by Park for his overseas fans.

Park has recently been invited to Star Awards in Singapore, which is equivalent to Korea’s Entertainment Awards. The part two of Star Awards, at which Park will appear as a guest, will be held at Marina Bay Sands on April 28 at 5:00 p.m. (local time). He will walk on the red carpet and give a special performance at the awards.

Park was also named an honorary ambassador for R-16 KOREA 2012, sponsored by the Korea Tourist Service, Inc. on April 23. He’ll do various activities in order to spread the B-boy culture to the world.

Source: Starnews

JYJ’s Park Yoo Chun has great legs

JYJ’s Park Yoo Chun is getting a lot of attention thanks to old pictures.

An online community posted pictures with the caption, “Park Yoo Chun has great legs.”

The pictures were taken in 1997 when he was a little boy. Even though he is an elementary school kid, he is taller than the other boys.

The pictures from SBS’s series Rooftop Prince also feature Park wearing a training suit. He shows off his beautiful long legs through his pictorial.

People responded: “Park’s beautiful legs are from his parents.” “He was a tall elementary school kid.” “He is skinny but tall.” “I’m surprised at the pictures. He is such a tall man.”

Park appears on the series with Han Ji Min, Jung Seok Won, Choi Woo Sik, Lee Min Ho, Jung You Mi, and Lee Tae Sung.

Source: TV Report

Lee Joon Gi releases his album on April 25

Actor Lee Joon Gi will release his third mini album Praise Me as a singer.

The album includes 4 songs and 8 tracks, including songs from his Japanese single Deucer, which ranked first on the Oricon daily chart in March. A mini photo album and special video will also be included.

The songs will be released online starting on April 25 in both Korea and Japan. Lee will show off his talent as a singer through the album, which includes a variety of genres, ballads, modern rock, and dance. Many famous musicians also participated in the making of the album.

Producer and songwriter Steven Lee, who has over 35 platinum gold records abroad, famous songwriter JP, who worked for Japanese diva Misia, Beau Evans, and Sean Alexander helped Lee to release the album.

Songwriters Choi Gap Won, Yoon Sa Ra, and Joy Factory also complemented on the album.

The title song “Praise Me” is written by Mad Soul Child, who worked with top K-pop singers, including, Kim Jong Gook, Jo Sung Mo, BMK, Tei, Lee Hyo Ri, Shinhwa, and Lim Jae Beom. The Song is an emotional ballad, including refined melodies and Lee’s sorrowful and sweet voice.

Lee will hold a fan meeting in Shanghai, China, on April 28. Then he will start shooting a TV series in mid-May.

Source: TV Report

KARA action figures on sale soon

KARA members will be made into action figures.

KARA’s agency, DSP Media, said that KARA’s action figures will be on sale on April 24. The concept for the action figures is their hit song “Mr.”

Famous stars, including Seotaiji and Ryu Si Won, have been made into action figures but a Hallyu girl group has never been made into action figures before.

KARA’s action figures will so on sale in two different styles, a bound set and a single set. The action figures are 12 inches long and they look like the group members.

DSP Media says, “The action figures will pre-sell in Korea and then they will be on sale in other countries, including Japan. KARA is the first girl group to release their action figures and we all wonder how the public will respond.”

The action figures will sell on Mobilux’s website (www.characterm.com).

Source: Starnews

CNBLUE’s Jung Yong Hwa produces new diva Juniel

A new female singer named Juniel is getting a lot of attention.

The April 21 episode of MBC’s special program K-pop Star Captures the World – Just Rock CNBLUE aired Jung Yong Hwa giving Juniel a song and producing her.

After seeing Jung advising the new singer as a veteran singer and as a producer, Jung and Juniel ranked high in several portal sites’ real time search word lists.

People who watched the show responded: “Who is Juniel?” “I envy her because Jung takes care of her.”

Juniel, who was produced by Jung, will debut in Korea at the end of May.

Juniel is the winner of Niziiro Supernova (the Japanese version of Super Star K). She is a very talented singer and songwriter who has worked in Japan.

Source: Xportsnews

Big Bang shoots a pictorial with Terry Richardson

Big Bang recently shot a pictorial with famous American photographer Terry Richardson.

YG Entertainment released the sensational pictorial on Big Bang’s official fan club and for YG’s official application users on April 24. Terry previously posted a picture that he took with Big Bang and made people curious.

Terry has worked with many Hollywood top stars, and is considered one of the best photographers in the United States . He has also taken unconventional and fresh pictorials for famous fashion brands and has become a beloved fashion and cultural icon.

This is not the first time Big Bang and Terry have worked together. They took an arena pictorial together in 2009. Terry emphasized Big Bang’s sexy charms through the fashion pictorial and received many favorable reviews.

When Terry shot the pictorial, he said, “I’ll never forget how innocent the Big Bang members are.”

Terry is well known as a person who is well known as a private person, but he invited Big Bang to his personal studio in New York to shoot a pictorial. Even though the group visited the United States to shoot their music video, they enjoyed the photo shoot with Terry.

Source: Xportsnews

Big Bang strikes the Italians with its style

On April 23rd Big Bang appeared on the MTV Italy Style Blog , confirming once again its great aesthetic sense .

From their debut , their music has changed and grown more powerful than ever , showing to their VIPs also a style and look change . In fact G-Dragon , T.O.P. , Taeyang , Daesung and Seungri  have gone through various fashion phases : in 2006 each memeber showed a hip hop style , with their first mini-album  ”Always” they started wearing tighter clothes, due also to the introduction of  electronic music in their songs and now, they have a glamorous and charismatic look,which inspires lots of fans all over the world .

Step by step these five artists are capturing the attention of the Italian public (VIPs and no-fans) : they have their own page on the Mtv Italy Artists section (which provides also some videos) , they are nominated in the Best Fan category at the Mtv Italy Trl Awards 2012 and finally they became Fashion Icons for the Mtv Italy Star Style.

Who would not want to be and appear like them? Certainly they will influence our look with their unique and attractive style but , meanwhile, keep on supporting and voting them at the MTV Italy Awards http://trlawards.mtv.it/vota/  , what are you waiting for? You can vote ten times a day!

Source : MTV.It

Kim Hyun Joong takes up the challenge to high-five all 3,000 members in the audience, aiming to break the record for any artiste performing in Singapore

Kim Hyun Joong has taken the challenge to high-five all 3,000 members in the audience at the Kim Hyun Joong Asia Fan Meeting 2012 in Singapore on 4 May 2012, aiming to break the record by any artiste performing in Singapore so far to offer the closest fan interaction for audiences during a concert. Previously only open to 500 lucky fans in the audience, Kim Hyun Joong has now personally requested to high-five all concert attendees at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, a feat never undertaken before at any concert or fan meeting.

Kim Hyun Joong will also give away one set of T-shirt and brooch of his own design, encompassing the U:ZOOSIN character, a cartoon avatar created by Kim Hyun Joong himself to everyone in the audience. This will be specially made for this fan meeting tour. Kim Hyun Joong’s official animated character U:ZOOSIN has sold 50,000 units in Korea alone, boasting approximately US$1,900,000 in sales.

“This is a very special request we’ve received, which proves Kim Hyun Joong’s immense devotion to his fans. We are glad that fans in Singapore will get a very personal touch – pun intended – with Kim Hyun Joong; but we’re also excited that all members in the audience will be part of a record-breaking moment,” says Wendy Ng, Executive Producer of Running Into The Sun.

High-five sessions are normally small, private sessions that are open to a small group of fans to interact with artistes before or after a concert. However, Kim Hyun Joong will be taking this a step further by expressing his wish to high-five every single member of the audience, breaking away from the notion that superstars of his calibre are often put on a pedestal.

Kim Hyun Joong 2012 Asia Fan Meeting in Singapore will showcase over 10 songs, slick dance moves, special effects and interactive segments in a two-hour show. Premiere seats, the seats closed to the stage have completely sold out, but fans can rest assure that good seats are still available across the Arena and Terrace categories.

Kim Hyun Joong Asia Fan Meeting 2012 will be held 4 May 2012 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. “Kim Hyun Joong Asia Fan Meeting 2012 Singapore” is brought to you by Official Card UOB Cards, and organized by Running Into The Sun and AMC Group Singapore.

Ticketing Details

Ticket Prices:

$198 (Arena & Premiere Seats)

$168 (Terrace)

$138 (Balcony)

- Tickets can be purchased via SISTIC online, hotline and counter bookings

- Maximum of 4 tickets per transaction

SNSD’s Jessica is selected as one of the top ten doll-like girls

SNSD’s Jessica recently attracted attention as she was selected as a doll-like girl.

On April 16, Jessica was selected as one of the top ten doll-like girls by Audi.com.

Audi.com praised Jessica’s perfect face in profile and doll-like look and released a picture of her as one of the top ten doll-like girls. Jessica’s doll-like look with long hair in the picture catches the eye of many people.

People responded: “Jessica’s one of the most beautiful girls in the world,” “Jessica looks cold but she also looks like a doll,” “Jessica’s so pretty.”

Some of the top ten doll-like girls, selected by Audi.com, are Dakota Rose, Venus Angelic, and Lily Cole.

Source: Xportsnews

TVXQ wraps up Tone tour

Korean duo TVXQ successfully wrapped up its “Love Tour 2012- Tone” on April 23. In total, the tour was attended by more than 550,000 fans after kicking off in January in Yokohama and coming to an end in Osaka.

No other K-pop artist has entertained as many fans in one tour and it is a phenomenal feat even for top Japanese performers.

The shows, which lasted on average around three hours, were jam-packed with dynamic performances and speeches given by the band in Japanese.
The latest special effects and maxi-screens were utilized for the show.

“The reason that we are here is because of you. Without your support we would have never made it. We’ll continue to become the best that we can,” said the band at its final performance.

By Carla Sunwoo [carlasunwoo@joongang.co.kr]

Kim Soo Hyun and Kaya Scodelario having a rendezvous in May

Actor Kim Soo Hyun is finally meeting his ideal type, British actress Kaya Scodelario, in person.

On April 24, jewelry brand J.Estina reported, “Kim Soo Hyun is selected as an exclusive model for J.Estina with Scodelario.”

Through the MBC’s drama series The Moon That Embraces The Sun which closed in March, the star earned a great reputation and has been proposed to appear in various commercials. Kaya Scodelario is a British actress dubbed as the next “Emma Watson,” and Kim has revealed her to be his ideal type on various interviews. She starred in British TV series Skins as a leading character and in several other movies, highly praised for her potential.

The jewelry company plans to run commercial shooting in the beginning of May when she arrives in Korea.

Source: TV Report