Big Bang Kicking Off World Tour in March

With the support of the world’s best director and production teams, Big Bang is kicking off their world tour, “Big Bang Alive Tour 2012.”

The tour will begin at the Seoul Olympic Gymnastics Stadium on March 2nd through 4th. Afterwards, Big Bang will be performing in a total of 25 cities in 16 countries throughout Asia, North America, South America, and Europe.

Last year, Big Bang won the “Worldwide Act Award” at the MTV European Music Awards (EMA), proving their worldwide popularity. The concert tour will give the group the opportunity to meet their fans from all around the world.

World renown entertainment company, Live Nation, is in charge of Big Bang’s first world tour. The company has previously worked with many high profile artists like Madonna and U2. Though Live Nation has helped out other K-Pop artists with promotions in 1 or 2 regions in the States or Europe, Big Bang is the first Asian artist that Live Nation is teaming up with on such a large-scale project.

The head of Live Nation International, Alan Ridgeway, commented, “We are very happy to have the opportunity to show YG Entertainment’s and Big Bang’s endeavors to K-Pop fans worldwide. We’ve been discussing the concert since December in Korea and it will be a great starting point for the tour. We anticipate that it will help expand the K-Pop craze.“

The entire concert, including dancing and acting, will be overseen by world famous creative director Laurieanne Gibson. Gibson has most recently been in charge of Lady Gaga‘s “The Monster Ball Tour,” where she worked on the dance moves for many of Lady Gaga’s hit songs including “Poker Face,” “Judas,” and “Telephone.” Gibson has also worked with A-List celebrities such as Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Beyonce, and Katy Perry.

On top of having Laurieanne Gibson as creative director, Big Bang will have other high-profile production team members working with them on the tour. Staging and lighting will be directed by Leroy Bennett, who has previously worked with Madonna, Paul McCartney, and the Eagles. Ken Van Druten, who has worked with Eminem, Jay-Z, and Linkin Park, will be the sound engineer. Finally, the visual contents production team will be Possible Productions, who have worked with Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Eminem.

Big Bang’s agency, YG Entertainment, commented, “We are currently preparing to put together the best concert possible for all of our fans throughout the world who have been waiting to meet Big Bang for the first time. We will be releasing a new album in conjunction with this world tour, and you should be able to see a much more mature version of Big Bang’s talent in their performances.”

Meanwhile, Big Bang’s 5th mini-album, “Alive,” which is the group’s first new album in 10 months, will be released on February 29th.



(Source: OSEN via Naver)

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SNSD Clubbing in New York

It has been such a busy week for the girls of SNSD, especially with their scheduled appearances on three of the largest television networks (CBS, ABC, NBC) in the United States. Upon successful completion of their schedule in America (read about it here), SNSD members decided to treat themselves with a fun night out in New York City.

On February 3rd, videos and pictures of SNSD “partying at a club in New York” were released on the internet. Apparently, the girls were attending a special event at a nightclub in Manhattan, after receiving an invitation from a famous DJ.

Check out videos of SNSD clubbing and dancing the night away in New York below!

source : in2kpop

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Park Jinyoung, “I write songs in my car”

Park Jinyoung revealed his fully equipped car.

Park Jinyoung tweeted, “Wondering how I’ve managed to write songs while filming 5Million Dollar Man, Dream High, Kpop Star? I’ve purchased a new car. This is how I roll,” along with a photo.

In the picture, Park Jinyoung is playing the piano with his eyes closed. He had built his personal music studio inside his car to work on songs between his busy schedules.

Netizens are commenting, “Park Jinyoung looks the best when he’s working on music”, “Which songs have you written in that car”, “I wonder how much it cost to set that up in his car”, “That’s a true dream car” and more.

Park Jinyoung is one of the judges on SBS ‘Kpop Star’ and also has been starring in KBS 2TV ‘Dream High2’.

Source: NewsEn

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Stars Congratulate Teen Top for Winning 1st Place

Various artists have sent congratulatory remarks to Teen Top for their recent 1st place wins.

Teen Top won 1st place for the first time since their debut on February 3rd’s KBS 2TV‘s “Music Bank.” Afterwards, top stars including Tony An, Dynamic Duo, 4Men, and Sunny Hill have congratulated the idol group.

Immediately after Teen Top nabbed 1st place on “Music Bank,” Tony tweeted, “I would like to sincerely congratulate Teen Top for getting 1st place today on Music Bank. Andy (of Shinhwa) and I talked a lot about producing the group during the time we were in the military together.. Congratulations to both Andy and Teen Top!“

In response to Tony’s congratulatory message, Andy replied, “I hope that the rookie group that (Tony) Hyung is preparing will be successful too.“

Dynamic Duo’s Choiza retweeted Tony’s message and added, “yess!!”

4Men’s Young Jae also showed off his close friendship with Andy, stating, “My friend Andy, whom I love, said that he felt more goosebumps when Teen Top won 1st place than when Shinhwa won 1st place.. He said he cried alone.. He could not stop smiling all day yesterday. Great job on all the hard work.“

Sunny Hill’s Misung commented, “Today’s special guest for Sunny Hill’s ‘The Grasshopper Anthem’! It was Teen Top’s Chunji, who always looks great in suits! Thank you for performing with us even though you are busy~ Oh yeah! Congratulations again to Teen Top for winning 1st place on Music Bank!“

Netizens have responded to the top stars’ congratulatory messages:

“Tony, Dynamic Duo, & 4Men..They have such great connections.“

“Congratulations again to Teen Top for winning 1st place.“

“I bet Andy is so proud about Teen Top’s 1st place win.”

(Source: NewsEN via Yahoo! Korea)

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WONDER GIRLS MOVIES

A blooper (also referred to as NG by Koreans) and behind-the-scenes reel for the Wonder Girls‘ movie has just been released on Teen Nick‘s official blog.

In the clip, the Wonder Girls and Park Jin Young (JYP) can be seen messing up or joking around on set during the filming of their movie.

Netizens who have seen the clip have responded:

“Wonder Girls are so cute.”

“It looks like they worked hard to study English.”

“Let’s be the best (get daebak), Wonder Girls.“

The Wonder Girls are the first Korean artists to make a made-for-TV movie in the States. Fans were impressed that the girls spoke entirely in English for the film and sang songs for the soundtrack. The movie was about the Wonder Girls’ venture to the States and the members’ loyalty and love for each other. It aired on February 2nd on Teen Nick, which 70 million viewers typically tune into, and received favorable reviews.

Check out the bloopers and behind-the-scenes clip below.

(Source: TV Report via Daum + YouTube)

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JYJ Jaejoong’s Fan Meeting in Turkey

JYJ’s Jaejoong will be holding a fan meeting at Ankara University in Turkey today (February 5th).

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) stated the Korean Culture Center invited Jaejoong hoping it will spread Hallyu and contribute to building a stronger relationship between Korea and Turkey.

The fan meeting admissions tickets were sold on the Korean Culture Center homepage in a first come first serve basis for 600 fans which sold out in 30minutes.

Turkey’s Korean Culture Center stated, “More than 2,000 applications were received within couple of hours and we were able to feel the Hallyu heat. People who were unable to get the tickets were also calling the Korean Culture Center and the Korean Embassy for tickets.”

One of Turkey’s biggest newspapers, Milliyet, reported about Jaejoong’s fan meeting and JYJ related articles on the front page.

Korean dramas and Hallyu has been a hit in Turkey since 2005 and about 40,000 fans are active in ‘Korea Fans’ fan club.

Source: Yeonhap

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GIRLS’ GENERATION EARNINGS

Information on celebrities’ earnings has always remained elusive to the curious public. However, bands like Girls’ Generation seem unabashed about dropping hints regarding their salary.

During their guest appearance on “Happy Sunday,” Yuri revealed that each of the nine girls split event profits equally. She then added, “The girl who films the most commercials is probably the highest-grossing member.”

After an in-depth analysis, tvN “eNEWS” reported that Jessica and Tiffany’s performances in “Legally Blond” and “Fame” earned each of them 3 million won or 2,600 USD per performance, 30 million won in total over ten performances.

Taeyeon’s total salary during her two-year stint as a radio DJ was approximately 318 million won, while Seohyeon tops that at about 400 million won thanks to her modeling career. However, Yoona blows everyone out of the water by pulling in about 3.4 billion won for her various work in TV dramas and advertisements.

As a whole, the Girls’ Generation generated a whopping 60.1 billion won or 53.9 million USD through their work in Japan alone.

Source: Star Today

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Simon Curtis Hearts Soo Young

American actor/ singer Simon Curtis has revealed his interest in Girls Generation’s Soo Young. And interest in Simon Curtis has been increasing within Korean fans.

Curtis tweeted on February 5th, “Haha. Surprise,” along with a photo which he photoshopped himself standing next to Soo Young.

He also tweeted February 4th, “I know today is Madonna day, but I can’t tear myself away from Girls’ Generation & their Letterman performance.  Okay, my favorite is the chick with the black hair on the left at 0:41- whats her name?! *she does the hair flip,” and linked the clip.

Curtis’ favorite member is Soo Young. He tweeted again, “Ahh Sooyoung. Thanks guys! Now I can rave about obsessed I am with her. <3. She is the ULTIMATE.”



Curtis has recently released his new song ‘Starlight’.

Many fans are actively supporting Girls Generation’s U.S. debut and showing high interest in Simon Curtis also.

Source: Sports Seoul

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SPICA Kim Bo Hyung was a 2NE1 Trainee

SPICA’s member, Kim Bo Hyung, could have been part of 2NE1.

Kim Bo Hyung is SPICA’s lead vocalist who has been with YG Entertainment for over 2 years and trained to debut with 2NE1 members. Kim Bo Hyung stated, “I trained with the 4 members of 2NE1. However, 2NE1 debuted as a 4 member group and President Yang Hyunsuk introduced me to the current agency and I am now a member of SPICA.”

Kim Bo Hyung did not share the history with others because she did not want it to seems like a marketing tool. However, it spread as she officially made a debut as SPICA.

Kim Bo Hyung shared, “I learned a lot at YG Entertainment. They taught me everything from A to Z. Watching the training clips from YG now helps me to see my weaknesses. I will fulfill those weaknesses and show the improved me through SPICA.”

SPICA is the first female group Lee Hyori made. Lee Hyori took part in designing the album jacket and the stage outfits.

Source: Sports Hankook

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BoA’s Amazing Real Estate

Many stars in their 20s are bringing in extreme amount of incomes for their young age. Among these young stars, BoA, also known as a ‘Walking Enterprise’, owns great amount of real estate.

BoA was chosen as #2 ‘Stars in 20s with Extreme Real Estate’ on tvN ‘E News’.

According to the show, her farm named ‘Peaceful Farm’ and the single house is about 3 million won, 4,950m², which is divided into a family building and a guest building. This property is very significant to BoA because it was auctioned off during her childhood and she has bought it back after she became a star.

In addition, BoA also has a 2.5milion won villa in Chungdamdong and another 2.8 million won building.

Lee Seung Gi was chosen as the #1 ‘Stars in 20s with Extreme Real Estate’.

Source:



Source:enews

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SNSD’s Successful Appearance on “Live! With Kelly”

Following their hot performance on the “Late Show with David Letterman” on January 31st, the girls of SNSD have done it again: this time on the popular morning show “Live! With Kelly.”

SNSD clearly impressed the audience and the show hosts with their performance of “The Boys.” Host Kelly Ripa exclaimed, “I’ve never seen such audience participation in my life.” Her guest co-host Howie Mandel was in agreement with her awe.

Howie continued to compliment the girls, commenting on both Tiffany and Jessica‘s English skills, as well as the girls’ dancing ability. He even showed off his Korean skills, stating the one word that he knew, “Gamja,” which means “potato.”

The girls concluded by showing Kelly and Howie how to dance along with their song, and honored Kelly by naming their dance the “Ripa.”

Watch the clip below!

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source : IN2kpop

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2NE1′s Park Bom is a Sucker for her Fans

Recently, an online community’s dashboard wrote, “Park Bom posing for a fan’s camera so that they would have a nice picture”.

In the photo, 2NE1‘s Park Bom can be seen posing for the fans in the audience during a concert.

Park Bom is known for caring and loving her fans. For example, when her fans trip or fall over because of her managers, she would urge her managers to stop.

Netizens commented, “Park Bom’s love for her fans is truly great”, “I’m envious of the fans she was posing for”, “Her heart is just as beautiful as her face”, and “Park Bom is so cute as she’s posing”



Source: SportsJoseon via Nate

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