JYP, SM and YG join ’Survival Audition K-pop Star’By Kwon Mee-yoo There are many talent shows on the small screen these days. Amateurs show their singing and acting skills, while stars foray into fields other than their expertise such as skating or dancing. A new audition program is aiming to find the next generation K-pop star. SBS' "Survival Audition K-pop Star" is drawing attention because JYP Entertainment President Park Jin-young, YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk and singer BoA are judges. Three top agencies in Korea, JYP, SM and YG, have joined the search for the next big thing in K-pop. The show’s producer, Park Sung-hoon, said at a press conference last week that he wants to overcome the limitations of other talent shows in creating real stars with the help of these agencies. “These three agencies know how to discover and train the top stars. I want to find real K-pop stars and that's why we are working with SM, YG and JYP," he said. “K-pop Star” will put its contestants in groups and train them. “Other talent shows focus mostly on singing ability, but we will consider singing, dancing and even composing.”Sep 6, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
2PM starts Asia concert tourBy Kwon Mee-yoo A dynamic performance kicked off 2PM’s “Hands Up Asia Tour” at Jamsil Indoor Stadium, Friday and Saturday. The six members dominated the stage for more than two hours, almost non-stop. Sharing in the excitement with their fans the K-pop sensation reveled being onstage. "We are glad to be a part of the K-pop boom sweeping Asia and ready to show the music of 2PM to our fans," band member Taec-yeon said during a press conference held prior to the concert. The two concerts drew an audience of about 14,000 and 2PM's agency JYP Entertainment calculated that approximately one third of the audience came from overseas. Some fans held colorful glow sticks, almost like a rainbow inside the stadium. Jun-ho said, their producer Park Jin-young advised them to stick to 2PM’s basics. “He also gave us advice individually. He told me to relax a bit, while Chan-sung needs to be calmer,” Jun-ho said. The concert kicked off with “HOT,” a number written by Jun-su. They continued with hit songs such as “Electricity” and “Hands Up,” making the audience go wild. While sinSep 4, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
K-pop concert in Madison Square GardenBy Chung Ah-young A joint concert by K-pop artists of SM Entertainment will be held at Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City on Oct. 23. SM Entertainment said Wednesday that the “SM Town Live World Tour” will make a stop at the prestigious venue which accommodates some 15,000 spectators. Also known as the home court for the New York Knicks, the venue has hosted high-profile musicians such as Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Justine Bieber. “As Madison Square Garden is the Mecca of American pop culture, the global brand power of the popularity of SM’s musicians hitting the heart of the New York City, will be reconfirmed in the concert,” the company said. In September last year the SM Town World Tour played at the Staples Center in Los Angeles with the performance sold out. The featured acts appeared in Paris in June and will be at the Tokyo Dome on Sept. 2 to 4.Aug 31, 2011
Int’l fans visit Korea for Seoul Drama AwardsBy Kwon Mee-yoo The sixth Seoul International Drama Awards (SDA) will be held at KBS Hall in Yeouido today with a handful of top actors and “hallyu,” or Korean wave, fans from across the globe. This year’s award embraces international fans of Korean dramas after signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with overseas fan communities of Korean drama in France, Romania, Peru, Chile and Mexico. Three leaders among them flew to Korea to attend the awards ceremony. Maxime Paquet, president of France-based organization Korean Connection, said Korean dramas are interesting as they introduce the essence of Korean culture through love, happiness and sadness. A fan of Big Bang, he visited Korea earlier this year with members of Korean Connection, a hallyu fan club, to watch K-pop shows. “We are willing to promote hallyu throughout Europe,” he said. Paquet said he sees optimism in the future of the Korean wave. “I think the support of Korean government and companies is the key point in spreading Korean culture all over the world,” he added. Daniela Predut of Romanian Aug 30, 2011
Billboard opens K-pop chartBy Chung Ah-young Billboard launched a new chart, the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100, on Aug. 25 in conjunction with Billboard Korea. Billboard Korea said that it is the second such chart in Asia after Japan, reflecting the rising potential of K-pop and its current worldwide popularity. In the first standings, girl group Sistar’s “So Cool” grabbed the No. 1 slot, followed by Leesang’s “I Turned Off the TV” and 2NE1’s “Ugly.” Based on digital sales via major websites as well as downloads from mobile service sites, the rankings will be announced every week simultaneously in the United States and Korea and offered to other countries such as Japan, Russia and Brazil through the Billboard network. The K-Pop Hot 100, other content and news provided by Billboard Korea are available on Billboard.com in the international chart section of Billboard.biz, in the offline Billboard magazine, and also on Billboard Korea’s website, billboard.co.kr. “The launch of the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 chart is a milestone, as it will provide the Korean music market with what we believe is Korea’s Aug 26, 2011
Choi Ji-woo ’Can’t Lose’ in romantic comedyBy Kwon Mee-yoo Hallyu princess Choi Ji-woo returns to the small screen as a divorce lawyer in the new MBC drama with the working title of “Can’t Lose,” starting today. Choi is known for portraying tragic heroines with a pure, innocent image in melodramas including the hit “Winter Sonata” (2002). “Can’t Lose” is her first challenge in romantic comedy. This also is the first time Choi will play a married character. “I’ve had the same image for 15 years. Isn’t it time for me to break out?” Choi said with a smile at a press conference last week. “I was a melodrama queen and now I want the title of romantic comedy queen.” “Can’t Lose” is a remake of the Japanese drama “The Sasaki Couple’s Merciless Battle” and features a lawyer couple — Eun-jae and Hyeong-woo — facing their own divorce suit. Unlike other romantic comedies that start from how the couple met each other, “CanLose” begins with the couple married in a rush and now seeking divorce. Choi said that her character Eun-jae at home resembles her ordinary days. “She looks like me at home. All women, theyAug 23, 2011By Kwon Mee-yoo
’1 Night, 2 Days’ to end in 6 monthsBy Chung Ah-young Popular KBS TV show “1 Night, 2 Days” will come to an end in six months as all the members including the main host Kang Ho-dong have decided to step down together from the program. The decision came after Kang hinted that he may leave the program a week ago. “The members including Kang have agreed to end the program when the show’s popularity is peaking and will do their best in the remaining episodes because they cannot imagine the program unless all the members are together,” KBS said in a press release. Na Young-seok, producer of the show, said, however, that even though the program will be over, there remains the possibility of creating a second season of “1 Night, 2 Days” at a later time. The program has played a crucial role in the broadcaster’s entertainment sector as its highest rated program since its inception in 2007. The show features Kang and other members’ trips to beautiful spots for one night and two days and their activities such as playing various games.Aug 21, 2011
Dancer Joo wins ’Korea’s Got Talent’‘Korean Paul Potts’ Choi becomes runner-up By Chung Ah-young Dancer Joo Min-jung, 17, won tvN’s “Korea’s Got Talent” on Saturday, beating fierce competitor Choi Sung-bong, who is sometimes called “the Korean Paul Potts or Susan Boyle.” Joo earned the largest number of votes from viewers in the competition’s grand finale, which aired live Saturday night. The winner receives 300 million won and an automobile. Joo was highly acclaimed for her powerful and dynamic dance sequences. In previous auditions and semifinals, she had been dubbed “the queen of poppin dance” for her extraordinary dance skills and garnered the largest votes in the online preliminary survey before the grand final. Poppin danceAug 21, 2011
After much ado, actress Han to return to dramaBy Chung Ah-young Han Ye-seul, a leading actress on the KBS drama series “Spy MyeongWol,” will return to a drama shoot amid controversy over her abrupt departure, according to her agency. Sidus HQ said Tuesday that Han will return to the set from Los Angeles as soon as possible and will do her best until the drama ends. “She was exhausted due to the hectic schedule so that she couldn’t judge things properly, damaging others. We’re sorry about that,” the statement said. “We talked to Han on the phone at 2 p.m. and she said she will be back as soon as she gets a return ticket _ at least by Aug. 18.” The 30-year-old actress has stirred controversy as she didn’t show up for filming following a dispute with Hwang In-hyuk, the producer of the drama over her working conditions. She had asked the production company to change producer. Due to her absence, the episode scheduled for Monday was cancelled and instead a special highlight of the drama was aired. It was the first instance of a leading actor leaving in the middle of a drama shoot. Han was confirmed to have arrived TuesAug 16, 2011
’Superstar K3’ returns with diverse musicBy Kwon Mee-yoo Mnet’s "Superstar K” is the program that ignited the talent show boom in Korea. It has returned for a third season, with new judges, more contestants and improved rules embracing more diversity. The first segment that aired Friday immediately became the talk of the town. Ten-year-old girl Son Ye-rim, Choi Yeong-tae who sang his own songs and Yeri Band passed the regional preliminary round in Busan under much attention. A problematic contestant also appeared. Choi A-ran, who sang Chae-yeon's "Shake," made a disturbance by throwing down a guideboard after failing in the preliminaries. Viewer ratings also proved the popularity of the program. According to Mnet, the first episode of "Superstar K3" reached an average rating of 8.5 percent, even exceeding that of network channels. Yoon Mi-rae joins judges Kim Yong-beom, the program’s producer, said the quality of participants is higher than ever. "In the first season, we tested the feasibility of audition programs in Korea and proved it a success during the second season last year," Kim said at a prAug 16, 2011