J.Y. Park gives words of advice to 2AM’s Jo Kwon and 2PM’s Wooyoung

Singer and producer J.Y. Park has sent warming messages of support to the solo comebacks and debuts of 2AM‘s Jo Kwon and 2PM‘s Wooyoung.

On June 27th, he wrote on his Twitter, “I know that it’ll be hard to have to stand on stage alone for the two of you, but I hope that you’ll consider it as an opportunity to improve your skills and grow instead of getting worked up over the results of it. What’s most important is how much you two learn through this process. Fighting to the two amazing men~.”

Wooyoung replied back, “Yes, I will do well.”

Netizens who watched over the display of support also commented, “I’m really looking forward to Wooyoung’s solo debut”, “I wonder what changes they’ll show us?”, and “He sounds more like their brother than their boss.”

Jo Kwon recently released his solo album, “I’m Da One“, on the 25th, while Wooyoung’s solo debut is slated for July 8th.

Source + Photos: OSEN via Nate

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Girls’ Generation’s “Paparazzi” debuts at #2 on Oricon Daily Chart

On June 27th, the ladies of Girls’ Generation officially released their fourth Japanese single “Paparazzi“.

After first day sales, the girls latest Japanese single placed second on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart by selling 42,525 units. This is the biggest first day sales for Girls’ Generation as they surpassed their previous mark of 40,194 units which was set by “Mr. Taxi“.

The single is also performing well digitally as it is currently #1 on iTunes Japan and #2 on recochoku.

Congratulations to Girls’ Generation!

Source: Oricon
Tip: George

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Way Back Wednesday: Young Turks Club

One of the defining moments in K-pop was the disbandment of the group Seotaiji and Boys. It stunned fans throughout Korea as they were at the height of their popularity. However, when it was time to go their separate ways, members Yang Hyun Suk and Lee Juno turned their attention to starting their own companies and producing the next generation of stars. While Yang Hyun Suk’s current success is well documented with YG Entertainment, it was actually Lee Juno who made the initial splash as a music producer. His goal was to gather a group of young artists and create a dance-based group and the result was one of the most popular early idol groups; Young Turks Club.

Young Turks

The original line-up of the Young Turks Club comprised of members Lim Sung Eun, Song Jin Ah, Han Hyun Nam, Ji Joon Goo, and Choi Seung Min. They made their debut in 1996 with the single “Peeking” which was a funk, hip hop hybrid with some R&B mixed in as well. The music video and the performance of the song was meant to show off the members’ dancing prowess and ride the hip hop/rap wave that was so popular in Korea at the time thanks to . The song itself was not successful and failed to garner much interest from fans. The group quickly switched gears and began promotion for another song. “Affection” would be the group’s breakout hit. The single rocketed up the charts and would reach and stay at number 1 for two consecutive weeks. “Affection” was certainly the first song that I remember and they were able to find their place among the early wave of idol groups who began appearing at the time.

The Hits Keep Rolling

Following the success of their debut album, leader Lim Sung Eun decided to leave the group and pursue a solo career. Member Park Sung Hyun would join the group and Young Turks would release their second album in 1997. The feature single from the album “Jealousy” was a total departure from the style of their first album. The single went with a total pop sound and while I don’t know for sure why they made the style change, the fans didn’t seem to mind as the song would become another massive success. It never reached the top spot but 1997 was a pretty amazing year in terms of big time songs and artists that were performing. Their follow up single “Others” was the third consecutive hit song for the group and was much more of a mellow, R&B sound than their first single. I mention this often but this is another one of those “hear-it-all-the-time-at-norebang” songs. I guess I’ve been to one too many norebangs in my life but in any case, it’s definitely a melody you always hear floating through the halls of a singing establishment on a late Saturday night.

To capitalize on their popularity, Young Turks Club released their third album in the winter of 1997 with the single “White War”. The song went with a dance pop sound and was definitely geared towards the winter, Christmas season. While the song was popular and among their well-known songs, it didn’t reach the levels of success of their previous works and marked the end of that line-up of members as more changes were in store. After wrapping up promotions for their third album the male members Ji Joon Goo, Choi Seung Min, and Park Sung Hyun would all leave the group to pursue other projects.

More Changes

New members Jun Hyun Jung, Kim Duk Hyun, and Nam Hyun Joon (Poppin’ Hyun Joon) were added and the band released their fourth studio album in 1998 with the single “Do You Know?” which was another winter themed pop song that followed the same formula as their earlier successes. The group went onto promote that album through 1999 and then went through another member change as the male members left the group and Young Turks Club reformed as a three-member girl group. The new look Club released their fifth album in 2000 titled ‘From Dawning to Now’ which featured the single “Sad Lovers”. Neither the album nor the iteration of the group was able to reach the heights they had previously seen and the group eventually took a break.

A New Look

In 2002 the Young Turks Club was reborn and rebranded as YTC and released their sixth album ‘Upgrade No. 1’. There was of course more member changes but this time, past members returned to the group and fans did regain interest but it was only short lived. YTC eventually released another album in 2004, ‘Rainbow’, and 2008, ‘Slap Shot’ without member Song Jin Ah who left to become a professional snowboarder and without properly promotion the albums, it never struck a chord with fans. Those were the last of the full, studio albums released by YTC and other than a digital single, “Arise”, released last year, there really hasn’t been any news of the group since.

Leaving Their Mark

Although Young Turks Club as a name are technically still around today, it was their early albums from 1996-1997 that left their impact on K-pop. As I mentioned before, they were a part of that groundbreaking, first wave of modern K-pop idol groups and were very successful at the time not only appearing on music programs but also on a number of variety shows the group was a household name. Maybe it was the multiple member swaps or just a simple change of taste but the Young Turks Club peaked early and never was able to regain that form. Nevertheless, their songs are a part of the K-pop lexicon and shouldn’t be left out of any conversation when taking a look back at the early years of K-pop.

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Kim Hyun Joong, JYJ Junsu, 2AM Seulong, and more participate in FC MEN Soccer match

On June 27th, celebrity football team FC MEN, led by captain JYJ Junsu, was spotted engaging in a friendly match against the Suwon home team, the Suwon Samsung Bluewings at the Suwon World Cup Stadium.

Many famous performers joined the FC MEN team for the informal and open game, as Kim Hyun Joong, Suh Ji Suk, Lee Wan, and 2AM‘s Seulong were present as FC MEN team members. Although the celebrities appear to be having a great time in the pictures shown, one of the highlights during the event is said to be when Kim Hyun Joong missed a chance to score, and was thus disappointed.

FC MEN, a group composed of celebrities of diverse talents, is the fifth Suwon football team, and it has been around for a while. Last year, the FC MEN members were even able to snag the ’2011 Peace Star Cup’, as the winners of the celebrity soccer championships.

Check out the fancam and pictures below!

Source: OSEN via Daum
[Images credited as tagged.]

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Son Dam Bi shows off her toned body in ‘Men’s Health’

Although it’s been a while since she’s hit the stage, Son Dam Bi is keeping busy with her drama, ‘Light and Shadow‘, and new pictorials showing off her stunning body!

Son Dam Bi’s official Facebook was updated on June 27th with three new photos from the set of her photoshoot with “Men’s Health“. The post read, “Unedited photos from the set of Men’s Health. The owner of a perfect body line without the need of any editing!”

True to their word, the photos are surprisingly unedited, showing off Son Dam Bi’s gorgeous figure as is. Dressed in two different sporty but equally sexy styles, Son Dam Bi looks like she’d surely turn many heads once she hits the gym.

Netizens commented, “Her body is so toned”, “Hard to believe they’re not edited”, “Her tan skin and chocolate abs are perfect”, and “Perfect body line”.

Source + Photos: Sports Chosun via Nate

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f(x) shares their excitement over their “Electric Shock” comeback

The ladies of f(x) are undeniably sweeping the charts with their “Electric Shock” comeback, earning trophies on stage and topping album sales charts for two consecutive weeks so far.

f(x) recently sat down for an interview with Segye Journal to update fans on what they had been up to and what the process leading up to their recent success was like.

The girls opened up by expressing, “Because the members were all busy with individual activities, there wasn’t a lot of opportunities for us to all come together. It’s really exciting to regroup like this.”

Victoria continued, “I was away from the members for about three months because of a drama I was filming in China. I really missed the members then and was desperate to meet our fans.”

On their international popularity, they stated, “I think being a multicultural group helps a lot in that aspect because international fans take a greater interest in the group.” Amber added, “f(x)’s songs are known for being unique and always going for new changes so I think there are a lot more fans that wait and anticipate what kind of music and stage f(x) will come out with next.”

Krystal stated, “I was really surprised to see the YouTube views because I didn’t think we were that popular overseas. I feel really proud whenever fans sing along to our songs and cheer for us loudly at international performances like the SM Town World Tour.”

Sulli expressed similar sentiments, stating, “All of the members were amazed to see everyone sing along to ‘Electric Shock’ at our Hong Kong performance last weekend.”

On their comeback album, Luna revealed, “We worked on our album every chance we got. It’s hard to pinpoint when exactly, but I think it took us about four months to prepare for it.”

Victoria continued, “I returned to Korea to record songs and went back to China to film my drama, then came back to rehearse the choreography. Even if I was busy traveling between two countries, I had a lot of fun preparing together with the members.”

When asked about their choreography, Krystal explained, “Our dance requires perfect timing. The rhythm is syncopated so we have to match our moves perfectly with the beat in order to achieve the full effect for the choreography. Our choreography point this time is the way we express an electric shock going through our body in tune with the lyrics. There are a lot of moves that directly express the lyrics.”

Luna said, “Since we’ve gained more experience, we’re a lot better at concentrating on our singing, performance, and emotional expressions. There’s a certain level of confidence we’ve achieved on stage.”

Victoria revealed, “Amber’s always rapped in the past but she participated in the new album as a vocalist this time as well. I feel that the members have all gotten a more mature vocal color.”

Sulli finally concluded the interview by saying, “I’ll also be working to show a new image as an actress through SBS’s new August drama, ‘To the Beautiful You‘.”

Source & Images: Segye via Naver

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Boyfriend celebrates their 400th day anniversary

June 28th is a special day for Boyfriend and their fans, Best Friend, as the group celebrates their 400th day anniversary since their debut.

Member Donghyun updated the group’s official Twitter page with a group photo and wrote:

[B.F Donghyun] It has already been 400 days! Throughout these precious moments together, I have realized how precious our fans and staff members are to me, and I’m so thankful to them. We’ll work harder so please continue to watch over us because this is just the beginning! This is a special bonus photo sent by oppa (me)!

The six have been receiving a flood of congratulatory tweets such as, “Happy 400th day anniversary!“, “You all look nice!“, “Wow, it has already been 400 days?“, “Congrats!“, and more.

Boyfriend debuted on May 26th, 2011 with their 1st single album ‘Boyfriend‘ on Mnet‘s ‘M! Countdown‘.

Source: Boyfriend’s official Twitter

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Girls’ Generation’s Sooyoung sighs in envy over celebrity relationships

Girls’ Generation‘s Sooyoung jokingly expressed her jealousy over the overflowing news of celebrity relationships while MCing on SBS‘s ‘One Night in TV Entertainment‘.

After covering a story on the many celebrities that recently came forward to the public with their relationships, Sooyoung sighed presumably in envy, commenting, “There’s really no end to the news of celebrity relationships in the entertainment industry lately.”

Fellow MC Yoon Do Hyun turned to her to console, “What’s wrong? You still have plenty of opportunities.”

Sooyoung laughed while replying back, “Is that so?”

Source + Photos: Star News via Nate

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2PM’s Woo Young chosen as the best cover model for ‘Men’s Health’

2PM‘s Woo Young has been chosen as the best cover model for ‘Men’s Health’ magazine!

After revealing his muscular body through the July edition of ‘Men’s Health’, Woo Young was chosen as the best cover model in the ‘Cool Guy Competition’. He will be attending the award ceremony at the Grand Hilton Hotel on the 28th.

The ‘Cool Guy Competition’ picked the cover model with the best outer and inner appearance, physical health, masculinity, and mentality between the July 2011 edition and July 2012 edition.

Following last year’s winner, Chan Sung, Woo Young was chosen as this year’s winner over other stars such as Lee Joon, Dong Joon, Ji Chang Wook, Chu Shin Soo, Lee Seung Yup, Taecyeon, Moon Sung Min, Yoon Hyung Bin, and Cha Seung Won.

Woo Young stated, “I was the fourth 2PM member to take on the cover of ‘Men’s Health’ but was the second member to take the best cover model award. I am very grateful to receive such an award right before my solo debut. Thank you.”

Source + image via Naver

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