Tuesday 30 April 2013

Girls’ Generation’s’ Gee’ reaches 100 million views on YouTube

The hit song that brought Girls’ Generation to the peak of their career, Gee, has reached 100 million views on Youtube. Gee was released back in 2009 and quickly grew

K-pop as a Means of Advertising

20130419_seoulbeats_hyuna_toyota_adIf you’ve ever paid attention to the sidebar here at Seoulbeats, odds are you’ve been fortunate enough to be graced by the presence of HyunA and her Toyota Corolla. For those who haven’t, you can probably either take a look to your right— provided it is still there, or check out the screen shot. (I’ve also highlighted the ad for those who don’t think the car is a big enough giveaway.)

It’s not all that surprising to see K-pop idols take over a significant sector of the CF industry. CFs are one of, if not the biggest, money makers for K-pop stars. Starring in as many CFs as possible is a mark of national popularity, as in the case of Miss A’s Suzy and Girls’ Generation. It’s for that reason that we see all of those quarterly, midyear and year-end tallies for celebrities with the most CFs. What is unique in the K-pop sector though, is that you have popular pop music singers sing songs specifically for advertising a particular product. HyunA’s Toyota promotion falls in that category as she has made a music video for “My Color,” a song basically all about being super attractive by owning a Toyota Corolla or something along those lines. To be entirely honest, I’m not quite sure what the song is trying to say beyond product placing through the line “Toyota, places, Corolla, places,” and the excessive repetition of the Toyota tagline, “Let’s go places.”  I also don’t claim to understand what the whole “my color” concept actually means. The song itself is pretty generic yet catchy, as long as you disregard the annoying pre-chorus and rap. I actually even find myself humming the chorus from time to time. Regardless of the quality of the song, however, HyunA does sell the car well by being her usual, very seductive self.

HyunA though, is not all that unique in making a music video for her sponsors. 2PM sang a song (conveniently called “My Color” as well) a few years ago while promoting Samsung’s Corby Phone. Complete with the always compulsory “JYP” whisper at the beginning, “My Color” is actually a legitimate song with a legitimate music video that just so happens to be littered with phones and pretty girls. No one would ever notice that it’s really a CF masquerading as a music video, not at all.

20111229_seoulbeats_fxI may be joking about the 2PM music video being un-advertisement-like, but there have been occasions where the impact of the music video and song essentially supersedes the product being sold. The most famous of these MV/CF hybrids are the music videos for Girls’ Generation and f(x) who both promoted the LG Chocolate phone through different versions of the song “Chocolate Love.” The song became very popular, and ironically, “Chocolate Love” is often regarded as one of f(x)’s best songs. Another surprising thing about “Chocolate Love” is that  the song, which started out as just a CF song, actually became a promoted song for f(x) in non-advertising avenues. They preformed the song live for KFN, Children’s Day, and multiple other events besides the one for LG CYON promoting the phone—there’s even an English version they promoted in France. Another great example would be the popularity of Big Bang and 2NE1‘s ”Lollipop,” which was a song released for the promotion of the LG Lollipop phone that pretty much skyrocketed 2NE1′s popularity before they even debuted.

20130427_seoulbeats_anybandSometimes advertisers go as far as to create new musical groups to promote a product. JYJ’s Junsu (while he was in TVXQ), BoA (the main model), Tablo, and a pianist named Jin Bora made the project group AnyBand for AnyCall Samsung, through which they promoted two songs: “TPL” and “Promise You.”   The group made a single music video for both songs and also had a concert which included supporting performances by TVXQ and Epik High. In my opinion, the project group sounded amazing together (you literally had some of the best singers and rappers in K-pop in one group) and I only wish there were more releases from them, advertisement or not.

SM Entertainment in particular has been rather bold when it comes to their idols’ promotions for products through music, and are even shameless advertisers themselves when it comes to product placement in music videos and dramas (for example,”Genie” High School in To the Beautiful You.) I’m not entirely sure about how effective those ads are anymore as most of us have been practically desensitized to all the permanent banners on MVs. Although, many of us should remember the initial outrage. My favorite form of SM product placement, though unrelated to music itself as an advertisement, has to be the Girls Generation music videos, where they literally have the product they’re advertising in the music video.  Along the lines of the previous examples,  SM has also been part of “company-wide” music-based advertising campaigns, such as “Younique” with Hyundai, for which we’ve even reviewed an album and a music video.

20120211_seoulbeats_snsd2Clearly, companies are spending huge sums of money to have K-pop idols support their products just by their presence alone. It feels like every other day that we seem to hear something about Girls’ Generation promoting a product that gets sold out faster than you can count to three just because they promote it.  K-pop idols, male and female alike, are always working for make-up companies, and you see their faces littered across beauty shops in Korea and on websites online. K-pop endorsements certainly don’t end there since they promote everything from water filtration systems to school uniforms.

If the faces of idols are enough to sell a product, why do companies need to make music videos and songs which certainly costs them even more? The reason is probably to increase the memorability of the advertisement. As I just mentioned earlier, most people have been desensitized to the presence of the banners in SM music videos due to sheer overexposure. Many of us probably don’t even notice that they’re still there (Yes, I went and checked the latest SHINee video just to make sure.) Overexposure to print ads usually ends up becoming detrimental, because over-stimulation is something people are biologically designed to ignore. ( The reason you tend to smell something strongly only for a short time period, or how you can listen to conversations in a noisy room is very much related to this.) If I see fifty thousand Genie ads on SHINee’s music video, by ad number ten, I’ve already tuned out or have left altogether.

042211_seoulbeats_bigbanglollipopMusic, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to work that way.  We watch performances of the same song multiple times over, make playlists that we play over and over—there’s even a button on iTunes that plays a single song on infinite loop.  Songs don’t just stick to our brains, they stay stuck.  ”Chocolate Love” and “Lollipop” are still songs I enjoy and associate with the LG phones they promoted, even when the phone isn’t on sale anymore. The beauty of K-pop as an advertising medium is its parasitic quality, wherein catchy songs tend to just not leave, no matter how much one tries. Advertisements have taken advantage of that quality, and to great success. I won’t be surprised if we see K-pop based advertisements well into the future.

Seoulmates, do you find “musical advertisements” to be as successful, if not more successful, than print ads? What are some of your favorite promotional songs?

(YouTube, Images via SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, J.Estina, Toyota)


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Post tags: 2NE1, 2PM, Big Bang, BoA, f(x), Girls' Generation, SM Entertainment, SNSD, Tablo, Xiah Junsu

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Monday 29 April 2013

Girls’ Generation’s Hyoyeon Enjoys a Girls Night Out Without Members

Girls’ Generation’s breakdancing machine knows how to have some fun!

Recently, an online community bulletin posted several pictures of Hyoyeon under the title “Hyoyeon’s dinner party.” Inside the photos, Hyoyeon looks to be enjoying herself on a special girls night out with her friends. Just like normal girls who love to dress up and go out, Hyoyeon and her friends seized the opportunity to look their best having fun chatting and catching up over a few drinks.

The photos reveal a beautiful backdrop of the night sky. Her skin gives off a natural glow making several netizens wonder if she’s currently dating.

Meanwhile, Girls’ Generation will kickstart its world tour “2013 Girls’ Generation World Tour ‘Girls&Peace’” in Seoul this June.

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Girls’ Generation’s YoonA Looks Adorable with “Apple Hairstyle”

Recently, Girls’ Generation’s YoonA received admiration from many of her fans due to her adorable selca, which was uploaded on an online community bulletin board.

In the picture is YoonA with the popular “Apple Hairstyle,” which involves tying up the hair to make it look like an apple stalk and reveal one’s forehead. YoonA is gazing at the camera with a V-sign and an adorable expression on her face. With her flawless skin and cute hairstyle, YoonA looks girly and gorgeous in this photo.

Netizens that saw this selca admired, “She is so pretty,” “Not everyone can pull off that hairstyle,” “I will never get tired of her.”

Meanwhile, group Girls’ Generation will be starting its world concert “2013 Girls’ Generation World Tour Girls & Peace” in June in Seoul.

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Friday 26 April 2013

Yoochun’s Drama “Rooftop Prince” Cafe Opens in Tokyo

A “Rooftop Prince” cafe has opened in Tokyo! 

A Hallyu specific Japanese website called “Mpost” announced on April 24 that a “Rooftop Prince” special event was taking place from April 26 to May 9 at cafe Mandoka located in the heart of Shibuya, Tokyo. This event decks out the cafe in a “Rooftop Prince” theme for the promotion of the second edition of the drama DVD that will be released May 10. The first edition was released April 5.

“Rooftop Prince” was Park Yoochun‘s hit drama from 2012 that featured the idol as a Joseon dynasty prince that travels into modern times along with his three bodyguards. In the drama, one of the four Joseon men’s favorite food from the modern area was “omurice,” which will be specially served at the “Rooftop Prince” cafe. 

Cafe Mandoka has previously done special events for Girls’ Generation, 2PM, and Aziatix but this is the first time it has covered a Korean drama.

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Girls’ Generation’s Comic Side Strikes Again!

It’s always great to see our idols goofing off and having fun.

On April 21, Sooyoung left a message regarding the recent arena tour on Girls’ Generation’s official homepage under the title “Thank You ♥.”

“I will not forget the precious memories from the twenty days of performances,” Sooyoung started. “I almost cried because I was touched witnessing with my own eyes every single person [at the concerts] following along and cheering us on.”

She continued, “However, we had an after-party right after coming down from the stage and here’s our [interpretation of] high-fashion.”

Meanwhile, Girls’ Generation finished the “2013 Girls’ Generation Arena Tour” in Japan on April 21.

 

 

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[SNS Pic] Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon Spends Quality Time With Mom

Mother and daughter relationship is such a sweet and precious thing. It’s great to see Taeyeon spending some quality time with her mother. And for that one lucky guy, here’s your future mother-in-law!

On April 24, she posted on her Twitter, “It’s been a really really long time since mom last did my hair.”

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Thursday 25 April 2013

Girls’ Generation Announces World Tour

Coming off a successful Japan arena concert tour, Girls’ Generation gears up for another challenge and is set to take their concert series to the world stage. According to reports in local news agencies, the group will kick off the “2013 Girls’ Generation World Tour – Girls & Peace” with two concerts in Seoul in June.

Girls’ Generation has had a successful concert tour across Asia in 2011, which also launched in Seoul in July and continued on to Taipei, Singapore and Hong Kong. More recently, Girls’ Generation has just concluded their “Girls & Peace Japan 2nd Tour” in Osaka, after kicking off in Kobe in February and performances in a total of seven cities. The group’s second Japan tour has set a new record for the number of audiences reached.

The “2013 Girls’ Generation World Tour – Girls & Peace” opens at the Seoul Olympic Park Gymnastics Stadium on June 8 and 9. 

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Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun and Yuri Enjoy a Disneyland Date

On April 21, Seohyun updated the fans on Girls’ Generation’s official homepage. She left the message, “Hello~ This is Seohyun and Yuri. 20th concert from the Japan arena tour! It was our last day~! Kyak!! Can’t believe it’s already the last day~ We all had a great time so we didn’t realize how fast time went~” (special note: In Korean, she used her name as part of the sentence in a cute, joking manner. Instead of -seo yo ending, she used -seo hyun.)

She continued, “This picture was taken on a day we rested and enjoyed a date during a warm spring day. Seo Sparrow and Donald Yul!! The weather difference between day and night has been pretty extreme so please be careful about catching a cold~ Everyone, please enjoy the warm spring and have a great day.”

Meanwhile, Girls’ Generation finished the “2013 Girls’ Generation Arena Tour” in Japan on April 21.

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Tuesday 23 April 2013

Girls’ Generation – I Got a Boy: Kpop Music Mondays

Girls' Generation I Got a Boy

Woohoo! Our first Music Monday of the year for a 2013 song, and it’s a HUGE song. It’s Girls’ Generation’s “I Got a Boy” which got a bergillion views and lots of hype. Lots of people asked us how we felt about it, which we stated in the video above. If you haven’t seen Girls’ Generation’s video yet, check it out below, and then we’ll expand on some more of the points we discussed in the video.

For starters, we really like writing these blog posts, because we get the chance to talk about our ideas in a lot more depth. In our videos, we have to balance the need to express our opinions with our desire to entertain. We’re silly people, and like to talk about not silly things in silly ways. Talking for too long, on it’s own, is boring for us, and we want to make the videos fun. These posts, though, let us talk a lot more about ideas that would take us farrrr too long to talk about in video format. So, let’s talk a bit more here, if you’re up for it.

For starters, we aren’t thrilled by the song, and we won’t be convinced otherwise by people telling us what the song means or what it does. I’m also going to argue against potential comments here from people who say that the song is a lot better when you listen to it a lot more. Sure, that may very well be the case. If I listen to it another 20 times, I might start liking it. The problem for me is, I don’t want my pop music to do that. I want to listen to a song and be blown away by it and to be caught up in a mindless fury of dancing. I don’t want to have to work hard at liking a pop song. That’s not why I listen to pop music. Make me dance because I love the song; don’t make me put effort into liking your song.

I like my songs to follow a pattern. This song breaks the pattern of songs, for me. Sure, it’s different, and very original for a Kpop song, but not everything that’s different is good. I remember reading some godawful books in English class simply because they were the first of their kind. Great: kudos for being original, but you still suck, Djuna Barnes (Ohhhh, how I hated reading “Nightwood” What a sack of crap!)

And so it is with this song, though I don’t violently heave at the thought of it like I do “Nightwood.” “I Got a Boy” is not a sack of crap. It started off great, but then falls apart in trying to do too much. In my opinion, it’s better to be great at one thing than mediocre at many things. Electric Shock, an absolutely awesome song, had a solid pattern and sound. They stuck to it. They developed it a bit, but they didn’t abandon it within the song. “I Got a Boy,” though…I…I just don’t know what they were thinking. You might find it’s great, and you might like the originality. We find it forced and unaesthetically pleasing, and feel like if it was given to a band that wasn’t famous, many people would feel the same way, too.

The imagery in the video also doesn’t do it for us whatsoever. But, then again, you know that we’re not particularly fond of SM videos, though we often love their songs. This video: it just upset us on so many levels. Girls’ Generation are women now, not children. Act a little more…mature? Why do they act like fools when the boy rings the doorbell? Is this new technology to you? Why throw all of your stuff everywhere? Uggh! That opening scene was just so…bizarre. The video would have been a lot better without it.

Girls’ Generation dance phenomenally well here. This is probably one of the best dances from a female group that we’ve ever seen. It’s badass, aggressive, and confident, and we don’t see that from a lot of girl dances, right? I just wish they would have stuck with that image of power and assertiveness, and not regressed back into slack-jawed ninnies when the boy is around. When they’re with each other, the girls are rugged and tough. Bring a boy into the picture, and they act like they’re five years old again. That’s not cute. That’s not endearing. That’s ridiculous, and just a dumb message to get across.

Let us know your thoughts. We’re 50/50 with this. It’s got some really good parts in the song, and has really outstanding dancing, and it’s got some really bad parts in the song, and has really stupid imagery.

If you like it more than we do, make sure you pick it up via iTunes and YesAsia. More importantly, though, if we haven’t annoyed you with our review, give us a vote for the Shorty Awards! We’re in second place, and we’re catching up to first, but we need the power of the Nasties to Nastify the Shortys! Do it!

Nominate Simon and Martina for a social media award in the Shorty Awards!Nominate Simon and Martina for a social media award in the Shorty Awards

And, if you’re feeling like getting in a few more chuckles, you can do so at the expense of Martina’s inability to pronounce some words. She also can’t help but think of buttcracks at times. Oh Martina, you special, special girl :D

For the original post on Girls’ Generation – I Got a Boy: Kpop Music Mondays, or for our kpop and Korean Food videos, check out our Korea blog!



KpopCharts Update: Need Dual Boy

Girls Generation I Got a Boy

Girls’ Generation “I Got a Boy” – Vote for it Here!

OOoOOOooOOHH Don’t you want to know what we think about the song? People ask us this just about every time we go on Twitter. It’s so odd! It seems like the reaction to the song is so controversial. Some people love it, some people hate it. Those who love it are accused of either being blind Sones or paid off by SM for saying that; those who hate it are accused of being biased and dumb. What if we have a middle reaction to it? I guess we’ll be blind, biased, dumb, and paid off? The best of both worlds!

Anyhow, we’ll tell you what we think about them when Music Monday comes around and they’re voted in. We’re like, 99% sure they’ll win. So you’ll just have to wait till then!

Interestingly, this is one of the rare songs and videos in which we have people call us up (who know our number) and tell us their thoughts about the song. It’s not something that happens with every song (because thousands of songs are released and our phones would be ringing non-stop), but we’ve had people who don’t like Kpop call us up just to voice their opinions on the song. Oh! It’s so evocative! Thoughts?

Kim Sung Gyu “I Need You” – Vote for it Here!

Man, this is such a pretty song! I know that Nell (or, one of the members of Nell) helped in the making of this song, but doesn’t it sound just so very…Nellian? It sounds more like Nell than it sounds like Infinite, that’s for sure. There’s no Orange Juice in this song. What’s an Infinite song without Orange Juice?

I feel like soon every Kpop artist will have some snacky or junk food associated with them. I can eat Doritos, Bull Jerky, and drink Orange Juice, and a non-Kpop fan would think it’s just an odd meal, while a Kpop initiate would be like “damn: that’s one hella Kpop meal.” Now I just need some band to sing about ranch dressing. I will pimp that song out to no end. Any one singing about ranch dressing is guaranteed to have the full force of my marketing prowess behind them. GET TO IT, RECORD LABELS!

Kim Sori “Dual Life” – Vote for it Here!

*hip thrusts*

*hops over to blue screen*

*films hip thrusts in front of blue screen*

*camera bursts into flames*

*memory card salvaged*

*import to computer*

*computer bursts into flames*

*uploaded it to YouTube before that happens*

*YouTube bursts into flames*

*Internet dies*

OOOH YOU SO NASTY!

Hey: why does blogging about stuff always have to be so thoughtful and stuff? Sometimes I just want to write about silly stuff and how much I dance. CUZ I CAN DANCE SO GOOD! And this song is great for dancing.

Side note: dancing is not just for single men pretending to like dancing just in hopes of getting a woman. Dancing should not be stopped as soon as marriage is accomplished. Married guise can dance with their wives, too. So…yeah. Remember that.

*goes back to hip thrusting*

For the original post on KpopCharts Update: Need Dual Boy, or for our kpop and Korean Food videos, check out our Korea blog!



Transformation of Girls’ Generation’s YoonA at a Glance

Recently on an online community bulletin board, a series of photos of group Girls’ Generation’s YoonA was uploaded under the title, “YoonA’s Transformation.”

The six pictures show YoonA at different ages. As a child, YoonA looked pretty and adorable with large eyes and pouty lips. As she grew, she became more feminine, but she still retained much of her gorgeous facial features.

Netizens that saw these photos admired, “YoonA’s ideal transformation,” “She was an absolute goddess even as a child,” and “You won’t find any embarrassing pictures from YoonA’s photo album.”  

In related news, Girls’ Generation recently completed their second arena tour in Japan and became the first Korean girl group to reach a total of 200,000 fans through a single tour.

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Girls’ Generation – I Got a Boy

For the original post on Girls’ Generation – I Got a Boy, or for our kpop and Korean Food videos, check out our Korea blog!



New Year, New Look, New SNSD?

In case you’ve been living under a K-pop rock (or in an eggnog-induced food coma — believe me, we’ve all been there), here’s some important news: SNSD, the current queens of K-pop, will be making a highly anticipated Korean comeback. Their latest full-length album, entitled I Got A Boy, (and it’s about time, given that they bragged about bringing all those boys out in 2011) will drop on January 1, 2013, ensuring that SONEs across the globe can ring in the new year to the dulcet tones of fresh GG tunes.(...)
Read the rest of New Year, New Look, New SNSD? (1,000 words)


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Post tags: Girls' Generation, SM Entertainment, SNSD

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Monday 22 April 2013

Girls’ Generation – Dancing Queen

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Taetiseo – Twinkle: Kpop Music Mondays

Taetiseo Twinkle

Oooh! Wasn’t sure if this was gonna last a second week on top of the KpopCharts, but Taetiseo’s “Twinkle” pulled in a womping 22,000 votes. Huzzah!

And Ms. Trololo makes a comeback! We had to put her in here because – for the love of all that is holy – it seems like we can’t talk about Girl’s Generation without people thinking that we hate SNSD, even though we compliment them A LOT! Yes, in an interview a long time ago we talked about why we think 2NE1 would do better in the US than Girl’s Generation, and – for some reason – people viewed that as a statement that we don’t like Girl’s Generation. Come on! That’s not fair! I think Michael Jordan in his prime could beat Kobe Bryant in his prime, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like Kobe! By the way, that metaphor is not something Martina would ever write. She’d probably be like “just because I think Sailor Venus is stronger than Sailor Mercury it doesn’t mean that cutey cutey hello kitty Twilight Spudgy bla bla.” Long story short, Girl’s Generation often make awesome songs. Some we like, some we don’t like, but that has no impact on how we feel about them as a whole.

Anyways, we like this song! It’s a really big change from the Girl’s Generation stuff we’re used to, in terms of its sound, and we like it. The lyrics, though, aren’t really our thing. Is it just us, or does it seem like Girl’s Generation seem to date exceptionally unappreciative men? This song talks about indifferent guys, Run Devil Run talks about bad boyfriends, Hoot as well. WTF?! AYO! SNSD: I know you read this blog religiously. Let us help you out. Just, give us a call (you have our numbers) and we’ll hook you up with guys that will treat you well and who won’t be checking out any other girls. Seriously! Stop dating dummies.

On that note, this is the last Music Monday for two weeks. *GASP!* I know. We’re flying out of Korea on Friday and we’re in California for a few days, notably, the days that we take to make Music Monday. Sorry everyone. We’re going to get something worth the sacrifice, though, since we’re going to be doing videos with MBLAQ, Sistar, Wonder Girls, and B2ST. Sure, it won’t be a Kpop Music Monday, but it’ll be cool, at least! So, consider yourselves warned!

As always, if you like the song as much as we did, you can pick it up via iTunes or you can get the album mailed to you via YesAsia. And – again as always – we’ve got bloopers. This week, though Martina got her voice back, she still really sucked at speaking. DAMMIT MARTINA! It’s EXO! NOT E-X-O!!!

For the original post on Taetiseo – Twinkle: Kpop Music Mondays, or for our kpop and Korean Food videos, check out our Korea blog!



Join us at the Google Kpop Concert

Google Kpop Concert

Ok, so here’s the deal. We’ve been sitting on this for a long time and we’re SO STOKED TO TALK ABOUT THIS RIGHT NOW!

We’re going to the Google Kpop Concert! MBC is bringing Sistar, B2ST, Super Junior, Kara, TVXQ, MBLAQ, Girls’ Generation, f(x), and Wonder Girls to perform at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, and we’re gonna be there, too!

But – here’s what’s cool – we’re not going just for the sake of it or because we’re two crazy fans with thousands of dollars to blow on plane tickets there and back. Nope. Come on! We live in Korea! We can go to concerts here just fine! Fact is, we’re going to this concert on official business. We were invited by YouTube to come to the event and record some of the activity, as well as some special videos before the actual event.

The day before the actual event, we’ve got something very special lined up. So far, we’ve got MBLAQ, B2ST, Wonder Girls, and Sistar confirmed to do videos with us. There are other artists that we’re HOPEFULLY gonna be able to do things with, but everyone’s schedules are really tight. It’s not like they fly in and wander around waiting for people to film stuff with them. This took a lot of work to get set up, so we’re actually quite lucky to be able to do videos with so many artists :D

Big point of this all is where you – you awesome people you – come in: we’ve always been interested in connecting Kpop artists with their international audience, so we asked – when we’re talking on film with the Kpop idols – if we can ask some of YOUR questions as well, rather than just ours. This is your chance to get Kpop Idols to answer your questions, to talk back to you! So, leave your questions for whoever you want us to ask in the comments section below, either on this page or in the YouTube video comments. If we pick your question, then it’ll be pretty cool if you have MBLAQ say your name and Wonder Girls say where you’re from. No? At least I think it’d be cool :D

We’ve got some other surprises in store for this event, and we’re gonna be getting some pretty cool stuff, which – of course – we’d like to give back to you, our awesome viewers! We’ll be giving it, of course, to people who Subscribe to us on YouTube, Follow us on Twitter, and Like us on Facebook, because we like you more than other people :D

Otherwise, we’re not ONLY making videos before the concert. We’re gonna be attending the concert as well, and so should you! Tickets for this event are free! All you gotta to is Request Tickets online on this site on Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 7:00PM PDT. That’s it! So get on that page and start refreshing like crazy and, if you get tickets, we’ll hopefully see you there! We won’t be on stage performing any F-art songs, though, so don’t get your hopes up!

Also, just a heads up: since we’re gonna be spending Sunday and Monday at this event, there will be no Kpop Music Monday for the 21st of May. Sorry guise! We’re spending a lot of time working on these videos instead. We’ll upload our special videos for the event ASAP, so hopefully that’ll make up for our not making a Music Monday.

For the original post on Join us at the Google Kpop Concert, or for our kpop and Korean Food videos, check out our Korea blog!



Is K-pop Entering the American Consciousness?

K-pop has tried to enter the American consciousness for years; with the largest music industry in the world, who wouldn’t try and break into the American music market? The cross-over of K-pop into the western sphere has been a topic that we here at Seoulbeats have discussed ad nauseum. With forays into the Westerm music markets by BoA, SNSD, Wonder Girls and Se7en, it is a topic that is widely debated and August Brown of the LA Times discussed this in his article “K-pop enters American pop consciousness.”

The article focuses on the use on internet to market K-pop and how Korean entertainment companies are trying to expand into the global market. The author brings up good points, discussing how K-pop, though new to western audiences, is still “uncannily familiar” and the importance of the internet and social media in the spread of Hallyu.  However, the author focuses mainly on SNSD as a representation of K-pop. I will concede that SNSD is an immensely popular girl group in K-pop, but this genre of music is not just pigeon-holed into the image of 9 gorgeous, long legged women with aegyo. The writer does touch on international collaborations that JYJ, GD&TOP, and 2NE1 have done and mentions Drunken Tiger, F.T. Island, and C.N. Blue in passing. He fails to even mention BoA or Se7en’s work in the United States. He does discuss the work of Wonder Girls in the U.S. but completely fails to mention the movie they starred in or the fact that they were the first Korean act to enter the Billboards charts. What about Tablo, who managed to rank first in iTunes’ hip hop charts with Fever’s End Part 2? A notable achievement, but one that wasn’t even mentioned.

Not only that, but it is fairly obvious that the author is new to  K-pop. He writes

Traditional Korean culture can be patriarchal, but K-pop’s most famous acts, whose members often have roots in California, are groups of women deploying butt-kicking superhero imagery.

Any seasoned K-popper will know that is not the case. That K-pop is heavily dependent on a construed  image and that image–even if it is one that is of independent, fierce woman– is made by men and that these women rarely have actual autonomy over their music.

Brown goes on to attribute the selling out of Madison Square Garden to SNSD, which other news sources such as NPR have also falsely claimed.  SNSD was not the only act to perform in Madison Square that day and he manages to ignore the fact that SNSD was just one part of the SMTOWN Live in New York Concert, where other groups such as DBSK, Super Junior, BoA, and SHinee participated.  He also refers to BoA and Super Junior as “rising K-pop acts.” I would hardly call Super Junior or BoA “rising,” seeing as that they have already hit incredible popularity. It’s this kind of skewed journalism that has me worried for SNSD and 2NE1‘s actual debut in the U.S.

Is it true though that K-pop is expanding world-wide? Yes, there is no doubt about that; however, is it to the extent that the media generalizes it? No. An important aspect that many of the articles from western news sources fails to mention is the incredible persistence and dedication of the fanbase of these idols. If you watched SNSD’s appearance in “Live with Kelly,” the loud cheering for the girls was not by new fans but rather already established SONEs. The almost religous devotion of these fans are definitely a factor to the promotion of these idols. Was Rain really the second most influential person in the entire world in 2008? No. But his dominance in the polls attest to the power of Clouds. Even just looking back at the comments on our Ideal Type polls on Seoulbeats is evidence enough at the dedication of some of these fans.

While it is nice to see that K-pop is gaining attention world wide, it is unsettling to see how narrow the coverage on the actual genre is. Most of the articles on Western news sites only use SNSD as a reference point, and while they are arguably one of the biggest groups in K-pop, they are not the only successful ones. Though it is a step up from citing netizens as a source, it is nonetheless misleading and not actually comprehensive of the actual genre.

What are your thoughts, Seoulmates? Leave your comments below!

(LATimes, Korea Herald, Times, NPR, Songfacts)

 

 

 


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Post tags: America, Girls' Generation, SNSD

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KpopCharts Update: One Twinkle Father

Taetiseo Twinkle

1) Taetiseo “Twinkle”Vote for it here!

First off, we gotta say that we’re very surprised that we’re not reviewing this for upcoming Kpop Music Mondays. Wow! B.A.P’s “Power” has received the most votes ever in the history of the KpopCharts, and – as it stands right now – it’ll take an army of Twinkies (that’s what we call TTS fans) to overtake first place. It’s doable – of course it’s doable – but I don’t think we’re on the best terms with a lot of SONES. Not that we dislike SNSD! We really like some Girl’s Generation songs, like we mentioned in some of our K Crunch Cocktails. We just really went off on The Boys a while ago and I don’t think we’ve ever been forgiven.

Anyhow, with the numbers that this video has now on our KpopCharts, it looks like it’ll take first place next week, as it would easily take first place any other week if it weren’t for B.A.P.’s incredibly strong voting happening now. Unless there’s some other mega blockbuster song coming out. Anyone?

2) BTOB “Father”Vote for it here!

Not sure what we can really say about this song. I mean, it’s a ballad, and it’s serious, and it’s sad. Not our thing. We like being happy more than we like being sad. The song’s got a great message, though, which we can appreciate. Just…not fans of the video. Not really sure what we’d be able to say for it for a Music Monday. Maybe we can sniffle and sob for 10 minutes? That wouldn’t make for a good review. We’d call it the Jo Kwon Edition. Ha! Jo Kwon fans, don’t be mad! We’re just playing :D

3) JYP “You’re the One”Vote for it here!

Ok JYP: you’ve gained our respect big time. These last two videos of yours are really well shot and produced. We loved Wonder Girls’ “Be My Baby”, and this video’s right up there with exceptional quality shots and editing. Seriously: who directs these videos? I want to shake his hand. It wasn’t the greatest video in the world, but it was just really interesting and really well done. The first person perspective with the woman’s hand was interesting, the transitions between different locations was cool, the bed sheet becoming a dropped curtain was clever. The lighting was great, the lens flares weren’t obnoxiously used. Just…well done. From our perspectives as people who spend countless hours making really low budget videos, we can appreciate this. Well done JYP! Doubt you’ll overtake Taetiseo, but if you did we’d be happy to review this video. Batooba…not so much :D

For the original post on KpopCharts Update: One Twinkle Father, or for our kpop and Korean Food videos, check out our Korea blog!



The SNSD Sub-Unit Twinkles With Potential

When I first saw the set of teasers for TTS‘ promotional single, “Twinkle,” I must say my initial disappointment from the teaser images was quelled. The MV looked pretty well done, there was evidence of real singing and the song sounded appealing.

With mixed reactions so far to the whole project, let’s delve straight into the album review.

1. “Twinkle” - The first thing that struck me about the song was how strong the instrumentation influences were. There’s a fair amount of drum and trumpet styled sounds, with a mix of piano thrown in. But given how girl group releases this year have been geared towards such sounds (Sistar’s “Alone” and 4Minute’s “Volume Up” springs to mind), it could probably just be a sign of things to come, that the hard-edged electronic sounds that characterised most of last year’s girl group music is on its way out.

The song comes across as a pretty driven, Korean-esque take on “Lady Marmalade,” meaning slightly over-done, quite showy, but very impressive to listen to and thoroughly enjoyable for the most part.

(...)
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Post tags: Girls' Generation, Seohyun, SNSD, TaeTiSeo, Taeyeon, Tiffany

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[SNS Pic] Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon Doesn’t Want Sunny Taking Her Chocolate Fountain

The girls had an after-party to celebrate the highly successful “2013 Girls’ Generation’s Arena Tour,” which finished on April 21.

On April 22, she posted several photos on her Instagram.

 “Cheers!”

 “Dessert of the day ; ) sweet chocolate fondue!”

 “Vampire again!!! Yum Yum ><”

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Girls’ Generation Sets New Record with Japanese Tour

Girls’ Generation has recently completed their second arena tour in Japan and according to SM Entertainment, the team has set a new record for a Korean girl group in Japan, reaching a total of 200,000 fans through this single tour.

Girls’ Generation II- Girls & Peace- Japan 2nd Tour” began February 9 in Kobe and finished April 21 in Osaka. The group visited seven cities and held 20 concerts during the tour. On the last day, Girls’ Generation sang a total of 27 songs, including their latest Korean single, “I Got a Boy,” and their Japanese single, “Flower Power.”

Girls’ Generation will be releasing a new Japanese single titled “Love & Girls” on May 29.

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Sunday 21 April 2013

Taetiseo – Twinkle

For the original post on Taetiseo – Twinkle, or for our kpop and Korean Food videos, check out our Korea blog!



K Crunch Cocktail – Chocolate Thumbs Only

SNSD Chocolate Love

It’s time for a special good vs bad Korean Commercial edition of K-Crunch Cocktail. MMM, tastes like corporate! Which probably doesn’t taste very good now that I’ve said that. A while ago we did a cell phone advertising edition which had some totally awesome songs and videos to go with it, but this week we’ve got one great song and one not so good song.

1) Girls’ Generation “Chocolate Love”

First up is Girls’ Generation with “Chocolate Love”. This is actually advertising a cell phone that was really long but thin, it kind of looked like a small chocolate bar which I guess is why they called it a chocolate phone. The song itself, I totally totally love. It creates an unlikey marriage between tuba and very digital robotic synths. They even toss in a tiny little acoustic guitar chord that comes in only twice or three times just after the chorus. I just can’t get over that Korean composers can pump out such awesome songs non-stop. The video itself is pretty much just shots of Girls’ Generation dancing around, but I think the outfits are so awesome (but I don’t like the white outfits) and I love the fan dance and the other dance as well. Normally a non-stop video featuring only shots of a band would bore me, but I don’t know why this particular video doesn’t bother me. Maybe there are a lot of outfit changes and I’m easily distracted by—OH LOOK! THAT HAT IS SO SPARKLY! WEEEEEEEeeeeeeEEEE!!! *Martina runs off chasing it*

2) 2PM “Only you, Only coway”

So we talked about the good, but have you seen the bad? The so bad it’s good? Like watching a really terrible movie that’s so endearingly bad you find yourself showing it to all your friends and watching it all the time. That’s what has happened with us and Coway. Now we totally get that Kpop singers have to do advertising to make money, I totally get that, and if a Korean company was like, Simon and Martina, we want you to be in a beer ad where you make super thumbs up and clinck beers together in super slooow motion and act really cheesy we’d be like, “SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!” but I think what went wrong with Coway is that there is a total lack of humour present. Everyone knows that 2PM has been hired to advertise for Coway, so why make the commercials so serious? Cell phones, drinks, and beer can be made into a more natural commercial since kpop idols are doing what they do best, singing and dancing + phone. But Coway is a water filtration system. That’s right, a water freaking filtration freaking system. If that doesn’t scream kpop idol, I don’t know what else does! What’s next? Big Bang advertising Pepto Bismol? How about JYJ advertising Door Stoppers? I didn’t even KNOW what Coway was until I read more about it, which means the actually song they got 2PM to sing wasn’t exactly advertising very well. But then again, here I am researching “what is this coway thing!!??” so perhaps it was unintentionally brilliant marketing. That, or I just wanted to know why 2PM were dancing and singing this bizarre song before every YouTube video I played. I guess writing a love song to my water filtration system just feels really….fake.

And there are even entire “Korean” lessons, brought to you by Coway, where the members of 2PM will teach you a single word. If they had let me and Simon direct that video, it would have been hilarious while still informative. When Taecyeon drinks his strategically placed Coway Filtration Glass Of Water, there isn’t a HINT OF HUMOUR!!!!! BUT YOU KNOW TAECYEON IS LAUGHING IN HIS HEAD AT HOW CHEESY THIS IS! AGHRHHH!! All I wanted to see was a wink and the gun after he drank that glass, or even, “Coway, not just delicious, it helps to keep my sexy body cool after a long day of dancing” and then he dumps the glass of cold water all over his body and shakes the water droplets off in ripito fipito sipi slow motion. That would be both hilarious, obviously jokey (like UV’s cheesy editing in Itaewon Freedom) and it would advertise for them as being a fun company while showing 2PM as having a good sense of humour. Okay, this has gone on for too long. After you watch the worst song ever, check out the Epic Taecyeon and Chansung Lesson and let us know what you would have done differently.

3) CrispiCrunch “Thumbs Up”

Our last song is a request from Rachel from Texas, who is currently living in Virginia, and requested CrispiCrunch’s “Thumbs Up”. I’m so happy for this request because this song is great and the video is hilarious. It’s rare to find bands that are willing to be funny and jokey in a way that makes them look uncool. This duo, along with UV, PSY, sometimes JYP, and perhaps Girl’s Day (at least I hope that they are being jokey), are willingly to do this, and it makes for an awesome music video. Ah yes, two cool looking guys go to a club in Korea and try to pick up girls with their cocky attitude and dance skillz with a zeeeeee or zed…depending on where you are from. The girls are non-impressed and the result is awesome. The ending of the video, also awesome, so make sure you stick around to catch it. I think the reason why we like this video so much is because we often point out how we dislike the “fake” club scene video where everyone is behaving in an orderly fashion and no one is drinking or acting rowdy. I think CrispiCrunch is really showing you what it can be like to be a Korean club. People are not AS crazy as CrispiCrunch, but soju + Korean boys + Korean girls = I’ll let you find out for yourself when you come to Korea.

For the original post on K Crunch Cocktail – Chocolate Thumbs Only, or for our kpop and Korean Food videos, check out our Korea blog!



SNSD: As the Limelight Fades

On April 18th, research company Lee’s PR revealed several results from polls taken to determine the ranking of some of the hottest stars in the world of K-pop and K-Entertainment. To little surprise, SNSD maintained their #1 position for Most Popular Female Singer for First Half of 2012, reigning in 26.9% of votes (from a sample size of roughly over 1300 voters) to beat out other top competitors such as IU, Wonder Girls, and miss A. According to news sources, SNSD has consistently ranked #1 in this category since 2009, except for a slight dip during late 2011. Of course, for a group like the one and only, the ever-enviable Girl’s Generation, news such as this has become fairly standard praise.

Without much doubt, SNSD is one of the few power house groups in K-pop that can effectively dominate charts all across the boards to stomp out competition without so much as a cute little wink. For years now, since the “Gee” explosion, the girls of SNSD are loved not only in Korea, but also in a plethora of foreign markets including Europe and South America. They have recently made a handful of appearances on American and French television, and have successfully headlined two Asia tours. The ladies of SNSD are everywhere all the time–CFs, advertisements, endorsements, dramas, theatre–and it seems like now, more than ever, Girls Generation seems to be living at the peak their sucess.

(...)
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Post tags: Girls' Generation, SNSD

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Was SNSD’s “Time Machine” PV a Waste of Time?

A few weeks ago, I posted with certain glee to tell you all that my secret BFFs SNSD were planning to resume Japanese promotions with the release of a PV for the awesome pop ballad “Time Machine.”  As is customary, the girls teased us twice — first with a 30-second clip of an apparently miserable man, then with a 1.5 minute long clip of all nine of them in extremely varied weather conditions looking appropriately sad and regretful.  The pieces of the puzzle, it seemed, were there: sad man + sad women = an SM artist was finally, finally going to release a music video with a plot!  Surely–surely, they weren’t kidding us, right?  There was really going to be some semblance of a plot in this video, right?  Right?

Well.  Not exactly.  But it was kinda-sorta an improvement over the nonsensical dove-releasing, the excessive use of the matrix cam, and the dancing-inside-a-fictitious-box thing that they normally do…I think?

Let’s get to it.

(...)
Read the rest of Was SNSD’s “Time Machine” PV a Waste of Time? (1,329 words)


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Post tags: Girls' Generation, SNSD, So Nyeo Shi Dae

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[SNS PIC] Minho Trusts Taeyeon For His Manicure Needs

Ever wonder what stars do backstage to keep themselves entertained? Well apparently getting your nails done is one option.

Girls’ Generation‘s Taeyeon busted out her bottles of nail polish and started working on SHINee Minho‘s nails while the two were hanging out in the waiting room of one of the broadcasting stations that bring you live music shows like “Music Core.”  

On April 20, Taeyeon posted a photo of Minho receiving a manicure on Instagram with the caption, “This is Minho, who always makes an adorable fuss whenever I see him. Good luck with your MC duties on ‘Music Core’! And by the way, that suit looks flattering on you, Minho!”

Taeyeon’s sisterly doting on Minho drew envy from her fans who commented, “Your relationship makes me jealous”, “It’s adorable how Taeyeon acts like Minho’s older sister” and “They look adorable together.” 

In related news, Minho began his MC duties on “Music Core” along with Noh Hong Chul and Kim So Hyun starting April 20. 

By the way, who remembers this adorable pair from “Salamander Guru & The Shadows”

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Girls’ Generation and Lee Seung Gi Voted As Most Popular Artists

Girls’ Generation came out on top beating out other artists such as Lee Seung Gi, PSY, and Big Bang in a K-Pop popularity survey.

Survey company Lee’s PR Research Institute conducted a survey titled “Early 2013 Artist Popularity Survey” and asked which male and female K-Pop artists were the most popular. Girls’ Generation won first place among the female artists with 20.6% of the votes and Lee Seung Gi won among the male artists with 9.2%. 

The male artists behind Lee Seung Gi were PSY (8.5%) , Big Bang, Lee Seung Chul, SHINee, Kim Bum Soo, INFINITE, Sung Shi Kyung, Huh Gak, and K.Will. Lee Seung Gi moved up from this third spot to first, with PSY and Big Bang moving down. BEAST, Rain, Naul, and 2PM of last year’s survey did not make it to the top ten this year.

It is noted that the difference between Lee Seung Gi and PSY is not large, especially considering that last year PSY won 21% of the votes with Big Bang coming in second with 10.9%. It seems that this year the votes between the male artists were distributed evenly. 

For the female artist the top ten were Girls’ Generation, Baek Ji Young, IU, Sistar, Jang Yoon Jung, Lee Hyori, BoA, Park Jung Hyun, Ailee, and Lee Hi. Girls’ Generation kept their first place from last year, rising from 19.1% to 20.6%. Last year’s top ten that did not make it this year were Kara, T-ara, and Wonder Girls

The survey was conducted in Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, and Daejeon from March 24 to the 31 of this year. 1,332 men and women from age thirteen to sixty-nine participated in the survey. 

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Six SM Artists Compete for Data in New Commercial Series

Super Junior‘s Siwon and Kyuhyun, Girls’ Generation‘s Seohyun and Yoona, f(x)‘s Sulli, and SHINee‘s Minho came together to do a commercial series for SK Telecom’s LTE Service.  

A representative of SK Telecom said, “We are highly anticipating these SM Entertainment artists to introduce the ways to give, take, make, and share data. SK’s LTE and these top artists meet to share fun stories with our customers.”

In the videos the six SM artists share data and compete with one another in a charming episode that will delight not only fans but anyone watching. The series will continue and use social networking sites to involve the viewers.

Check out one of the videos below featuring Yoona, Sulli, Kyuhyun, and Minho. You can also watch more commercials here

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Saturday 20 April 2013

How to be a K-Pop star, or maybe not

We’ve all heard stories about life being a K-pop star, but the K-pop industry is tough and you may or may not want to pursue it after reading this. How

Friday 19 April 2013

K-pop: More Than Pop

20121201_seoulbeats_infiniteMost people hear the word “pop” and take it in the traditional sense of the genre. They think of the same Top 40 singers flooding the airwaves such as Katy Perry or One Direction. So when people hear the word “K-pop,” they often develop the misconception that it means the same kind of music, only sung in Korean.

“Serious” listeners of music — read: people who take themselves a little too seriously — often brush pop off as lacking any merit, and people who like pop don’t see the point of listening to the same kind of music in a language they don’t speak. Either way, they simply write K-pop off as a whole. But the name K-pop is a misnomer and thus a stumbling block to Hallyu.(...)
Read the rest of K-pop: More Than Pop (579 words)


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Post tags: Big Bang, Block B, Girls' Generation, Infinite, K-pop, Super Junior

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Thursday 18 April 2013

Taeyang, Jonghyun, Taeyeon, and Other Idols Are Enjoying Jo Yong Pil’s “Bounce”

The legendary artist Jo Yong Pil recently released his 19th album with title track, “Bounce” and the reactions among his fellow junior artists have been hot.

Jo Yong Pil’s “Bounce” was released on music portals on April 16 and it has been topping charts, even beating PSY‘s “Gentleman” on some sites. Professionals and critics have been giving high acclaim to “Bounce,” saying that it has a perfect mix of musicality and mainstream feel.

A plethora of idol stars have also been gushing about Jo Yong Pil’s newest song including Big Bang‘s Taeyang, SHINee’s Jonghyun and Girls’ Generation‘s Taeyeon.

Taeyang tweeted, “Wow. Jo Yong Pil senior. I can’t believe how good this song is,” along with several lines of the lyrics of the song.

Jonghyun tweeted, “There is no need for words. Listen to it. I respect you, teacher!”

Taeyeon posted a photo of the song playing on her Instagram as she captioned, “Listening to Jo Yong Pil’s ‘Bounce’ right now.”

After 19 albums, it seems like the veteran artist still has it! Take a listen to Jo Yong Pil’s “Bounce” below!

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Happy Birthday, Jessica! 24 Photos to Celebrate Her Being 24

It’s always sweet to see team members celebrating birthdays together! But, who’s missing?

On April 17, member Taeyeon posted on her Instagram, “Birthday girl Jess* happy b-day.”

The girls celebrated Jessica‘s birthday just the day before her actual birthday on April 18. She’s born in San Francisco, California and became the first member of Girls’ Generation to sign a contract with SM Entertainment after being scouted during her trip to Korea in 2000.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane and watch Jessica grow up to become the big star she is today!

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Wednesday 17 April 2013

[SNS Pic] Is Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon Feeling Lonely?

Looks like Taeyeon doesn’t want her fans to forget about her!

On April 17, the leader posted a photo with the short caption, “What’s ma name?! ; )”

 

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Photos of Girls’ Generation’s Sooyoung with Her Beautiful Mother and Sister Resurface

Recently on an online community, photos of Girls’ Generation’s Sooyoung with her mother and sister resurfaced.

In the first picture featured above, Sooyoung and her mother are sitting close together. It is clear where Sooyoung and her gorgeous sister get their looks, as their mother shows off her beauty in this photo. In the other two photos, Sooyoung poses adorably with her sister. 

Netizens who saw these pictures admired them and commented, “Sooyoung looks just like her mother,” “I can’t tell who looks prettier between Sooyoung and her sister,” “Such beautiful family photos,” “All the women in these pictures look beautiful,” “Sooyoung looks adorable as the youngest in these pictures,” and “I can’t stop staring at Sooyoung’s hot sister.”

Sooyoung will be starring in the upcoming tvN’s drama “Dating Agency: Cyrano,” which starts airing in May.

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Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany Sings for “All About My Love Life” OST

Tiffany of Girls’ Generation contributes her talent to soundtracks once again. According to reports in local news agencies, the girl group member sings “One Step” for the SBS drama “All About My Love Life,” which stars Han Hye Jin and Kim Soo Young.

Tiffany’s track “One Step” is described as a ballad with magnificent orchestra elements in the melody to harmonize with the singer’s vocals. Composed by Jo Kyu Man, the song is seen to heighten the emotions in the “All About My Love Life” storyline, as well as add more drama to the plots as they unfold.

“One Step” was released on April 17.

Meanwhile, Tiffany and her fellow members Taeyeon and Seohyun have just concluded their stint hosting MBC’s Saturday music program “Music Core.” She and the rest of Girls’ Generation are finishing up their Japan concert tour, with the next stop set for Osaka. 

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Tuesday 16 April 2013

[SNS Pic] Krystal and Jessica Only Look Alike When Frowning?

Many fans think f(x)‘s Krystal looks more like Girls’ Generation’s YoonA rather than her sister Jessica. But will this photo be able to convince the fans that the Jung sisters really do look alike?

On April 15, Krystal posted a picture along with the message “can’t deny we look alike :P

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The Cast of “Dating Agency: Cyrano” Gather for First Script Reading

Girls’ Generation’s Sooyoung, Lee Jong Hyuk, Lee Chun Hee, Hong Jong Hyun, and the rest of the cast and staff gathered together on April 11 for their first script reading for the upcoming tvN drama, “Dating Agency: Cyrano.”

In the photos released by tvN, the cast look serious and focused on the script. Sooyoung particularly stands out among the photos, looking natural and comfortable in the setting.

According to the drama representatives, everyone in the cast completed the first script reading with ease, as if their roles were their second skin.  The director, Kang Hee Jun stated, “The harmony and chemistry among the cast was great even though this was only the first script reading.”

The drama will be about the lives and events of the people involved in the dating agency called “Cyrano,” which was originally a theater troupe that evolved to help awkward clients win over their loved ones through elaborate set-ups. Lee Jong Hyuk will play the leader of the Cyrano dating agency, Seo Byung Hoon, while Sooyoung will take on the role of Gong Min Young, an acts-before-thinking romantic working at the dating agency. Lee Chun Hee plays a mysterious chef of the restaurant next door to the agency who gets caught in the middle of Lee Jong Hyuk and Sooyoung’s relationship. His character is said to be serious, which will be an image turn for the actor who is more well-known for his funny variety character. Hong Jong Hyun will play the role Moo Jin, the genius engineer part of the dating agency.

“Dating Agency: Cyrano” will premiere on tvN at the end of May.

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Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon loses her job?

Girls’ Generation fans, Taeyeon has announced that she lost her job! No need to panic, as it seems like the idol was just referring to the conclusion of her hosting

Girls’ Generation’s Sooyoung and Seohyun Hold Fansigning Event

On April 14, Girls’ Generation‘s Sooyoung and Seohyun made an appearance at Lotte Department Store in Sogong-dong, Seoul for a fansigning event. They are currently the models for Tommy Hilfiger Denim and plan to actively promote the brand for the year. It’s been revealed that a photoshoot displaying the brand’s various denim styles will be released sometime in the somewhat near future.

Flip through the gallery to see the girls at the event!

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