IU's "Kiss and Cry "

Yunho's " Kiss and Cry "

U-Know Yunho showed sparks on ice. In the 4th round of competition of “Kiss & Cry” which will be aired on 31 July, Yunho will be using a lightsaber from the movie “Star Wars,” to show a glamorous swordplay performance, and made special adjustments to his skating boots to showcase fantasy-like sparks on ice.

It was understood that when Yunho’s skating boots first sparked, the audience was surprised and couldn’t stop cheering.

In this 4th round of competition, the compulsory movement to be included was the axel jump, and aside from the jump itself, the increase in momentum at takeoff was the main point of concern. Speeding up, then taking off and executing the jump movement was a difficult skill even for Yunho, who has great atheletic abilities. For a period of time, Yunho was quietly undergoing special jump trainings, practicing the takeoff movement.

The judges said, “ Up till now, it has been a Gala show, but today’s ice skating performance can be considered as a complete routine. Once again, we are get to see an exciting performance, much like the first Michael Jackson routine.”

This program will be aired on 31 July at 5.00pm

G - Dragon

Kwon Ji Yong (Korean: 권지용, born August 18, 1988), better known by his stage name G-Dragon (Korean: G드래곤), is a South Koreanrecording artist, producer and model.

He released his debut solo album, Heartbreaker (2009), which yielded the number-one single of the same name. The album went on to become one of the most successful albums of the year, garnering sales of over 200,000 copies and winning the Mnet Asian Music Awards for Album of the Year. Heartbreaker also sparked major controversies for the artist, including accusations of plagiarism when one of his songs was deemed to be similar to another artist's. After almost a year of hiatus, G-Dragon and bandmate, T.O.P collaborated to record and release the album GD & TOP (2010). The album saw the release of three singles: "High High," "Oh Yeah," and "Knock Out," all of which have charted within the top three positions of the Gaon chart, with "High High" becoming a chart-topper.

G-Dragon's influence extends beyond the music industry, having shaped major trends in South Korea. His tight control over his image and artistry have won him praises for his contribution to fashion, and his lyrical contents and composition have garnered him awards.

He Is Beautiful

Title: 미남이시네요 / You’re Beautiful
Chinese Title : 原来是美男啊
Also known as: You’re Handsome, A.N.JELL
Genre: Romance, comedy
Episodes: 16
Broadcast Network: SBS
Broadcast period: 2009-Oct-07 to 2009-Nov-26
Air time: Wednesday & Thursday 21:55

Synopsis

Tae Kyung and On Yu are in search of a new member for their idol group, A.N.JELL. However, Mi Nam suffers an injury at the last moment. So Mi Nyu, his twin sister, is asked to step in for her brother. The rest of the drama follows the behind-the-scenes life of an idol group.

Cast

Jang Geun Suk as Hwang Tae Kyung
Park Shin Hye Go Mi Nam (Male) / Go Mi Nyu (Female)
Lee Hong Ki as Kang On Yu / Jeremy
Jung Yong Hwa as Kang Shin Woo

Extended cast

UEE as Yoo He Yi
Bae Geu Rin as Sa Yu Ri (Fan club president)
Kim In Kwon as Ma Hoon Yi (Mi Nam’s manager)
Choi Ran as Choi Mi Ja (Mi Nam & Mi Nyu’s aunt)
Kim Sung Ryung as Mo Hwa Ran
Jung Chan as President Ahn
Choi Soo Eun as Wang Kko Di
Tae Hwang as staff
Yoo Seung Ho (cameo, ep9)

Production Credits

Director: Hong Sung Chang
Screenwriter: Hong Jung Eun & Hong Mi Ran

Awards

2009 koreandrama.org Awards : The Best Korean Drama of 2009
2009 SBS Drama Awards: Netizen Highest Popularity Award (Jang Geun Suk)

T-ARA celebrating their two year Anniversary

T-ara members tweeted celebratory messages on Twitter today for the group’s two year anniversary. T-ara made their debut on July 29th, 2009 through MBC "Radio Star - Golden Fishery."


The group’s leader Hyomin wrote, “Today is T-ara’s second birthday. I would love to win #1 at least for today. AJA AJA!” with a photo of her close-up shot. The group is scheduled to appear on tonight’s KBS “Music Bank.”

Ji Yeon also left a message on her Twitter saying, “Is my wink a success? I look like ‘Kko Boo Gi (Squirtle from Pokemon). Today’s our two year anniversary, so I’m going to smile.” Ji Yeon posted a photo of her smiling and one with her sending a wink.

Meanwhile, to celebrate their two year anniversary, T-ara also said they will release a Euro-Dance version of“Roly Poly” on August 2^nd. “With a rhythmic dance beat, fans will get to enjoy their vacation even more,” T-ara’s management agency said of the new song release.

T-ara’s latest single “Roly Poly” has been an instant success upon its release on June 29^th. On July 24^th, “Roly Poly” won the “Mutizen Song” award, which is the equivalent of #1 song, on SBS “Inkigayo.” They will release their next single, “Round and Round,” on August 16^th. The group is also busy preparing for their Japanese debut.

Piggy Dolls makes a comeback on Music Bank

The Piggy Dolls are back on today’s episode of Music Bank for their comeback promotions.

In a sharp contrast to their debut, the girls are making their comeback with a slimmer image, which was the result of continuous late night practice sessions ahead of their comeback.

The girls had debuted with the hopes of giving other overweight people the confidence to stand out, so this weight loss has actually put the company in quite the predicament. Their group name Piggy Dolls also doesn’t quite match up to their current image now.

Their comeback track “Know Her” has a reggae beat and a SynBrass sound that match the cute and witty lyrics. 

Seo Taiji and Lee Ji Ah amicably settle their divorce

Seo Taiji and Lee Ji Ah have amicably settled their divorce.

Lee Jia’s agency KeyEast announced through a public release, stating “We offer our most sincere apologies to those who were heavily concerned in regards to the lawsuit between Seo Taiji and Lee Ji Ah. Both parties have amicably reached an agreement and finalized their divorce on July 29th at 10AM KST.”

They continued, “Because the Hague Convention needed the specific divorce procedures in writing in order to finalize their divorce in America, and because we also wanted to prevent any false rumors about their divorce from spreading in the future, we have decided to publicly release their official divorce settlement in full detail with the consent of both parties.”

The divorce settlement between Seo Taiji and Lee Ji Ah is as follows:

1. The plaintiff and the defendant are now divorced. Any marital relations between the two have now been terminated, however, in order to prevent any future dispute arising due to a defect in law, we are reviewing the procedure once more.

2. In relation to the divorce settlement, the plaintiff [Seo Taiji] will not financially support the defendant [Lee Ji Ah], nor has the prosecutor agreed to receive monetary support.

3. The agencies of both the plaintiff and the defendant will not take the following actions:

a) The agencies of both parties will not request, petition, accuse or demand responsibility from one another for anything in relation to their previous married relationship, or any issues deriving from it.

b) Agencies of both parties shall have a mutual respect for one another, as they will not charge accusations, petition, criticize or spread false information regarding one another’s personal families and agencies.

c) Both the plaintiff and the defendant will not share or sell materials that are in relation to their previous marriage including all publications, displays, and albums.

4. In the event that either the plaintiff or the defendant publicizes any material related to their previous marriage, this will be considered a breach of settlement and the breacher will pay the penalty of 200,000,000₩ to the opposite party.

5. The plaintiff will cancel all other previous demands and the defendant agrees to comply.

6. Both the plaintiff and the defendant will each be responsible to pay their own legal fees.

2PM reveals “I’m Your Man” jacket photos

Idol group 2PM have revealed the album jacket photos for their second Japanese single, “I’m Your Man“!

The photos expose the album jackets of both the single’s normal and the limited edition versions. The members are found dressed in fitted black suits that give them the look of suave, yet youthful gentlemen. The image matches well with the lyrics of the song, which is about a man who seeks to protect a person that’s precious to him.

According to a JYP Japan representative,

“After these jacket photos were released, anticipation regarding [2PM's] new activities in the Japanese music industry has esclated. ‘I’m Your Man’ is a song in which you can feel 2PM’s refined, yet firm masculinity. Please anticipate a variety of stage performances including choreography that utilizes their neckties.“

While fans got a taste of the MV yesterday, the full video will be unveiled on 2PM’s official Japanese homepage on August 1st. The album will be released on August 17th.

Big Bang shares a scene from their recording studio

A few days back, we reported that Big Bang would be releasing another album in 2011. Well, it seems that the group is dead-set on making this promise come true, as seen in a photo taken from their recording studio!

Leader G-Dragon posted this picture through his me2day on March 22nd with the caption, “The hyungs are recording and the dongsaengs are sleeping…”

In the picture, G-Dragon is seen throwing up his hands up in the air, while Taeyang poses happily with a grin. Crashed out on sofas them are Seungri and Daesung.

Netizens showed feverish reactions to the photo, such as “What kind of mutiny of the young is this, dongsaengs, wake up!”, “Was the photo taken by T.O.P?”, and “Idol group Big Bang’s looking free!”.

Meanwhile, Big Bang is also preparing for their 2011 ‘Big Show’ on March 25th - 27th at the Olympic Park Gymnasium.

G-Dragon, Taeyang and Seungri pose for a scenic photo in New Zealand

Big Bang’s Taeyang recently tweeted another photo of himself with group leader G-Dragon andmaknae Seungri.

The caption attached to the picture read, “GD & TY & V.I beautiful view.. Ever! :)“. The boys are seen grinning widely for the camera against a scenic background in New Zealand.

Netizens commented, “Nice people, nice view ^^”, and “Wow! don’t freeze =)”

The boys are in New Zealand to film a CF for ‘North Face‘, an outdoors apparel brand.

‘Superstar K3′ reveals their official poster

Mnet’s ‘Superstar K3‘ has revealed their official poster featuring Lee Seung Chul, Yoon Jong Shin, and Yoon Mi Rae.

According to an Mnet representative,

“We made Lee Seung Chul, Yoon Jong Shin, and Yoon Mi Rae as the focus of the poster because it’s the first time we are revealing them together after the main judges of ‘Superstar K3′ were finalized. Not only will these posters be used to publicize the first broadcast, but they will also be used in a variety of events and promotions as well.“

At the same time, a behind-the-scenes video from the set of the postershoot was revealed through the official ‘Superstar K3′ cafe.

‘Superstar K3′ began accepting applications in March and has held auditions in eight cities in Korea and in five cities in America, China, and Japan over the last 4 months.

The first broadcast will air on August 12th through Mnet.

Park Yoohwan discusses his role model, acting, and older brother Yoochun

Actor Park Yoohwan, the younger brother of JYJ’s Yoochun, recently took part in a photoshoot with ‘Elle Girl‘ magazine and revealed that he wanted to become an actor like Cha Seung Won.

Currently starring in the MBC weekend drama, ‘Shiny Shiny Shining‘, Park Yoohwan plays as the charming, but bizarre uncle. For his magazine photoshoot, he transformed into a chic,and rebellious young man.

Now that the plot in his drama is slowly starting to unfold the secret of his character’s birth, Yoohwan has been rehearsing his acting more intensely than ever. He commented, “I wanted to try the type of acting that really emphasized your display of emotions. I’m finally able to try it, and it’s great.”

When asked what his favorite drama was, he chose ‘The Greatest Love‘. “Dok Go Jin is the best! How can he breathe life into such a character? I want to become an actor like him.”

When asked whether he had ever strayed from the ‘right path’, he wittily replied, “Never. You only suffer when you leave home.” Yoohwan also revealed an adorable fact about his older brother, “He had this habit of clutching my clothes whenever we slept as children.”

Check out the full interview in the August edition of the magazine!

2NE1’s ‘Director Park’ prepares for a “Not Ugly” campaign

2NE1’s Sandara Park has expressed her determination for success as the group’s PR Director.

On July 27th, Sandara posted,

“I’m worried that I’ll be demoted to ‘Deputy Park’ because I wasn’t able to work hard for ‘Hate You‘ and ‘Ugly‘. I had ideas, but I couldn’t fulfill them because my busy schedule left me no time. So I’m ambitiously preparing the upcoming ‘Not Ugly’ campaign! It will begin soon.“

In the picture, Sandara is seen with a rather worried look, and her characteristic ‘Do-doong‘ expression is captioned at the bottom.

Sandara received her title as ‘2NE1’s PR Director’ from YG Entertainment earlier this year. Though her promotions haven’t been as strong for their latest songs, she’s expressed that she’ll take on a stronger effort through her latest me2day post.

Fans commented, “Work hard and I hope that you will become the head of the department” “It will still be a huge success without promotions” and “I’ll always support you“.

'Immortal Song 2′ introduces new rules

With the addition of new contestants, new rules will also be applied to the upcoming episodes of KBS’s‘Immortal Song 2′.

The new contestants - Jay Park, Huh Gak, and Super Junior’s Kyuhyun- will be facing a different style of judging alongside the other contestants. The old setup had two singers compete against each other, with the audience voting on the more superior performance. The singer who gained the most votes would move onto the next round to face off against another contestant.

Instead of this method, the new modified rules will split the contestants into pairs; from these pairs, three winners will emerge and the audience must choose a grand winner from this ‘top 3′.

A show representative stated, “We have decided to follow this setup for the first round. The second round, where the contestants sing covers of legendary songs, will go on as usual. The first round will be used to let the idol singers freely use the stage to their individual satisfaction in order to show off their talent.”

The episode with modified rules will be broadcast on August 6th, with the teams consisting of: Jay Park/Moon Hee Jun, Kyuhyun/Son Ho Young, Huh Gak/Noise’s Hong Jong Koo, MBLAQ’sG.O/Kan Mi Yeon, SISTAR’s Hyorin/DJ D.O.C, 4minute’s Jiyoon/Koo Jun Yup (DJ KOO).