Photos from 2011 Incheon Korean Music Wave

It’s August 13th, and if you didn’t know, top K-Pop stars will be rocking Incheon tonight for the 2011 Incheon Korean Music Wave.

The concert, which is being held at the Incheon Munhak Olympic Stadium, will see a list of top acts like Super Junior, SNSD, 2PM, 2NE1, B2ST, KARA, SHINee, 2AM, f(x), miss A, T-ara, MBLAQ, F.T. Island, 4minute, SECRET, SISTAR, INFINITE, TEEN TOP, and ZE:A.

The concert was hosted by MBC announcer Oh Sang Jin, plus Yuri and Tiffany from SNSD, and this marks their 3rd consecutive year hosting the concert together.

The concert marks another great influence to the rapidly growing K-pop wave, and will also be helpful in exposing the beauties of the city of Incheon, especially to international tourists.

Check out the photos (credit: as tagged) of those who walked the red carpet.

* More photos will be added later.













source: allkpop

SNSD on global K-Pop flash mobs, their popularity, and their devoted fans

On July 24th, SNSD held a press conference before their “2011 Girls’ Generation Tour” in Songpagu, Seoul, where they revealed their thoughts on their tour, their popularity, and on hitting their 20’s.

The girls began, “During our concert, we sang a ballad track. The fans threw a surprise event for us where they all held up a placard that said, ‘We missed you.’ It was so moving, we all ended up crying. It was an event brought together with one heart. It was us who had to give our fans joy, but we were grateful to receive such a moving present from our fans instead. We were able to work extra hard on our performances after that, so we’re very thankful.”


When told about the K-Pop flash mobs being held all over the world, the girls said, “The biggest present of all is being able to visit each place in person. We hope that the SM Town’s seniors and juniors will be able to coordinate their schedules and go together.”

“We heard about these flash mobs through others, and realized that the only universal language is music. Thank you. We want to hurry and visit these places to sing songs and exchange emotions.”

When asked about their new mature look, they replied, “We’ve been hearing that we’ve matured a lot, but it’s not something that we were aiming to emphasize. During our earlier days, we were only high school students, but we’re all in our 20’s now. We think that we just naturally grew older and matured with time.”


Reflecting on their consistent popularity, the girls said, “We held 14 arena tours in Japan. It was a great opportunity to be able to communicate with fans from different places. Our fans continue to give us their love, and we’re both amazed and grateful for that.”

At their concert, the girls will be singing their many Korean hits, as well as the Korean versions of “Mr. Taxi” and “Let It Rain“. Fans can also look forward to the girls’ individual stages.

In the meantime, check out this latest official concert clip and photos below!















source: allkpop

Cube Entertainment to find their next trainee through “K-Pop Star Hunt” audition program

A new music audition program has just been announced, and it’s set to make its way around Asia in the coming months to find the next idol trainee for Cube Entertainment!

It was recently announced that CJ E & M Asia and Fox International have joined forces with Cube Entertainment to produce a new show called, “K-Pop Star Hunt”, a survival audition program that will be carrying out auditions in popular cities around Asia to find the next potential Cube artist.

Promotions for the audition program will begin in Southeast Asia during the end of August, and starting from late September, the team will be selecting a total of 20 participants from each of five countries - Taiwan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand and Singapore – to form the ‘Top 100′ of the show.

Only the top two contestants from each country will be selected for the ‘Top 10′, who will be personally training with Cube Entertainment for two months before going into the final elimination rounds in mid January-February of 2012.

A representative of Cube Entertainment stated, “We will be working to find potential talents for Cube Entertainment, starting with judging audition-hopefuls to training those who clear rounds.”

The final winner of this audition program will earn themselves an exclusive contract with Cube Entertainment, who boasts stars like G.NA, 4minute, and B2ST.

“K-Pop Star Hunt” will begin airing on cable channel tvN in January-Februrary of next year.


source: allkpop

T-ara, Rainbow, and Dal Shabet attend “2011 Seoul Character & Licensing Fair”

The 2011 Seoul Character & Licensing Fair is currently into its second day of exhibition, and was graced by the presence of idol girl group T-ara on the morning of July 21st.

As one of Asia’s largest licensing exhibitions, the fair celebrated its 9th year. It has been providing information about trends and issues to relevant industries, with over 200 companies and 3,000 buyers expected in attendance.

Girl groups Rainbow and Dal Shabet graced the opening ceremony yesterday with performances, while T-ara also appeared today to show their support. T-ara’s Hyomin was unable to make the trip due to another schedule.

The fair will run until the 24th.








source: allkpop

SNSD’s Yuri and Tiffany to MC 2011 Incheon Korean Music Wave Concert

Incheon City and HH Company are teaming up to hold the “Incheon Korean Music Wave Concert” and have announced that Girls’ Generation’s Yuri and Tiffany will MC the event – a role that has been assumed by MBC’s announcer Oh Sang Jin for the last three years.

SNSD’s Yuri and Tiffany have been busy with their work over in Japan but will still MC the “Incheon Korean Music Wave Concert” and perform with the rest of the SNSD members.

Fans are very interested in the concert and have high expectations for the two MCs, since their MCing skills have been verified on MBC’s “Show! Music Core“.


The event’s sponsor, HH Company, states that “Korea’s top music artists and their overseas efforts will give way to make the Hallyu Wave even hotter and induce even more interest in the phenomena. With the Hallyu Wave as our focus, we strive to put our best efforts into this concert“.

Ticket sales for the concert which will be held on August 13th, 2011 will go up for sale on Friday, July 22nd, 2011 at 2:00 PM via GMarket.




source: allkpop

2PM to kickstart ‘Hands Up Asia Tour’ in September

‘Beastly idols’ 2PM have just announced that their ‘2PM HANDS UP ASIA TOUR‘ will start in September. This concert will be their second solo concert, their first being last year’s ‘Don’t Stop Can’t Stop‘ tour.

The group made their comeback with “Hands Up” late last month, and have been dominating music charts ever since. For their album tour, the boys are promising spectacular performances that can be fully enjoyed from all areas of the venue, including those seated in the nosebleed sections.

JYP Entertainment stated, “2PM HANDS UP ASIA TOUR will be the place to see 2PM’s talents and charms, where everyone will truly be able to enjoy themselves. We hope to have a good turnout.”

Tickets will be available for purchase from July 19th through Mnet.com and Yes24.

source: allkpop

SHINee holds a successful first concert in Taiwan

After concluding a successful first concert in Taiwan, the members of SHINee experienced just how popular they are not just at home, but overseas as well.

On July 16th, the boys carried out their first solo concert, ‘SHINee THE 1st CONCERT IN TAIPEI – SHINee WORLD“, at Taiwan’s Taipei Arena, where they met with enthusiastic acclaim from their fans.




SHINee performed “Noona Is So Pretty (Replay)“, “Love Like Oxygen“, “Ring Ding Dong” and many other hit tracks. Including the members’ individual stages, they sang about 30 songs. Their unique charismatic performances, mixed with their extravagant stages, captivated the audience.

Fans went particularly wild over Taemin’s “Boy Meets Girl“, Onew’s “Princesses Can’t Sleep“, Key and Taemin’s “My First Kiss“, and Minho’s “OMG” solos, which showcased each member’s individuality.


Talented R&B singer and fellow labelmate, Zhang Li Yin, also appeared as a special guest and performed a duet with Jonghyun called ”Wrongly Given Love“.

Since this concert was sponsored by Seoul Tourism Marketing, booths and photo zones were set up promoting the attractions found in the city of Seoul.

Meanwhile, after completing a successful first solo concert in Taiwan, SHINee will kick off their ‘SHINee JAPAN DEBUT PREMIUM RECEPTION TOUR’ in Fukuoka on July 22nd. Then they will head to Kobe for July 23rd, Tokyo for the 27-28th, Sapporo for August 8th, and Nagoya for August 11th.

source: allkpop

Pledis Entertainment to hold ‘2011 Summer Vacation Happy Pledis Audition’

After School and Son Dambi’s agency, Pledis Entertainment, will be holding their ‘2011 Summer Vacation Happy Pledis Audition‘. This audition will be following their previous ‘2010 Finding After School’s 9th Member‘ and ‘2011 After School Boys‘ auditions.

Whoever gets selected in this audition will be given the opportunity to participate in the ‘Happy PLEDIS‘ album alongside Son Dambi, After School, Orange Caramel, and After School Boys.

‘Happy PLEDIS’ is a seasonal album where Pledis Entertainment artists contribute songs that give off warm feelings during the cold winter. A portion of the albums sales are then donated to charity.

Every Pledis Entertainment audition has drawn in about 7,000 applicants. Many are wondering exactly how many people will be auditioning for this upcoming audition.

A Pledis Entertainment representative revealed,

“This ‘Happy PLEDIS’ audition will begin accepting applications on July 18th through the Pledis email and Cyworld C-log. This is an opportunity to discover your talents in a variety of areas such as singing, dancing, acting, and modeling. We are looking for stars who have passion and talent.“

Meanwhile, Son Dambi is currently preparing for her next album and After School is gearing up for their comeback with their A.S. Red and A.S. Blue sub-unit teams.

source: allkpop

Despite an earthquake in Japan, B2ST locks down a successful fan meeting

B2ST held a fan meeting in Tokyo the day after an earthquake, and managed to draw in an astounding 12,000 fans.

On July 18th, Cube Entertainment stated that there was an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.5 that struck the Tokyo-Ryogoku area, but despite initial concerns, a great mass of fans turned up for the event, which reportedly went very smoothly.

B2ST opened their fan meeting with a ’special’ strong performance. No different from a Korean concert, Japanese fans sang along to “Soom“, “Shock“, “Beautiful“, “Fiction“, and many other tracks in Korean and also shouted cheer slogans.


Aside from their live performances, B2ST also held a talk session with their fans. They even called some fans on stage and gave them hand-drawn portraits.

Cube also reported that stocks of B2ST-related merchandise sold out like wildfire, as fans queued up since the early morning to grab the best seats and items.

B2ST are currently traveling to six different Asian countries to hold fan meetings with an estimated 40,000 fans. Having wrapped up a successful stop in Japan, the boys will move onto China for July 20th and then Taiwan for the 22nd-23rd.










source: allkpop

U-KISS sells out first Japanese fan meet

On July 16th, NH Media revealed that U-KISS had sold out a total of 6,000 seats for their first two-day fan meet!

They’ll be holding two fan meets in Tokyo on July 18th, before moving onto Nagoya for the 24th and Osaka on the 30th. Representatives revealed, “Tickets have all already been sold out.”

It’s been about two months since U-KISS began their promotions in Japan, and they’re said to be fluent enough to appear on TV shows with ease. They’ll be concluding their Japanese promotions next month to prepare for their Korean comeback in September.

Representatives explained, “Composers from Korea, the States, and Japan will be participating in U-KISS’s second album. The composers are all in Japan now to help the members with the recordings.”

source: allkpop

Cube Entertainment reveals the program list for “United Cube Concert”

For the first time since they announced their family concert, “United Cube Concert“, Cube Entertainment has updated their official homepage with the opening of the “United Cube” page, where they also revealed the program list.

The site opens with clickable bubbles that reveals information about the concert once popped. It’s an exceptional case for a concert to reveal the full set list ahead of its run, but Cube is confident that they still have plenty left for fans to anticipate for.

There are a variety of pre-concert events planned, like the ‘Cube Outfit Exhibit’, a historic display of the outfits worn by 4minute, B2ST, and G.NA. The ‘Cuberian Museum’ also showcases the various works done by fans, and there’s also a mini-corner for fans to hold their own mini-concert talent show.

Fans will also be able to decide a portion of the concert themselves with a pre-concert survey. The survey will ask fans which stage they would like to see as upclose as possible, and arrangements will be made accordingly. The concert opens on August 14th, so stay tuned for more updates!

source: allkpop

YG Entertainment fans in London hold a flash mob asking for a concert

On July 9th, London reflected the power of the Hallyu wave, thanks to a flash mob event asking for YG Entertainment to bring their artists over for a concert.

Amazingly, the person behind this large-scale event was none other than an 18-year-old Korean girl, Katy. Impressed by her passion, reporters from Star News sat down for an interview with Katy to hear her thoughts on the K-pop wave. Check it out below!


Q. “Why did you decide to open a flash mob event?”

Katy: “I was in charge of running a K-pop contest at our Culture Center. I noticed that the most performed songs were from YG Entertainment artists. After finding out that there was a Big Bang fanclub in London, I decided to prepare this event.”

Q. “Was the recent SM Entertainment concert in Paris an influential factor?”

Katy: “I mustered the bravery to start my own after seeing SM. I heard that there were talks of inviting YG artists at a world-famous cultural festival, so I wanted to hurry up and start one to raise awareness.”

Q. “Realistically, how many people listen to K-pop in London?”

Katy: “Koreans talk about it a lot to their friends. Before, it was usually listened to by people who switched from listening to Japanese music to Korean music, but now that videos like 2NE1 are featured on YouTube’s main page, the number of listeners is growing at a faster pace. People my age look at YouTube, Facebook, and other Hallyu sites for K-pop.”

Q. “What is so captivating about K-pop to fans there?”

Katy: “They think that English music has been here for such a long time and that it’s becoming repetitive. Korean music carries a new language and a new style, so it’s exciting when you encounter it. From performances to visuals, we feel that they exceed English artists. Everything that goes into one album, like the fashion, is really charming. There are bands here, but no idols. It’s difficult to see a group like Big Bang where five members are dancing together.”

Q. “Were the dress code and other details for the flash mob all your ideas?”

Katy: “I collected ideas and opinions on the songs and themes, and made a decision from there. We were only going to do Big Bang and 2NE1’s songs at first, but there were also a lot of 1TYM fans. We also recently found out about MBC’s ‘Infinity Challenge‘ songs, so we included those as well.”

Q. “What do you think is so charming about YG’s music?”

Katy: “I think that there’s a nice musical balance. It’s not Western, it’s not Eastern, it’s just a nice blend. 2NE1’s ‘I Am the Best‘ and GD&TOP’s ‘High High‘ are both popular songs. They call Big Bang’s Taeyang ‘Taeyang-nim’.”

Q. “The language is obviously different, so what makes people fall in love with it?”

Katy: “It may be unfamiliar because of the language, but I think that’s what makes K-pop all the more charming. We’re also able to learn the Korean language while listening to Korean music.”

Q. “What about competition from other genres or artists?”

Katy: “Fans here aren’t fans of just idols, but the entire YG label. From Teddy to Jinusean, and even 1TYM, we’re all fans of them. The popularity of other artists is also growing.”

Q. “What do you think is necessary to raise awareness about K-pop to the general public in England?”

Katy: “Having Korea CDs available for purchase in record stores and not just online will be of great help. We’re very open to new cultures. There aren’t books or CDs here, but the potential is still definitely there.”

Q. “Are you planning any other projects to spread K-pop?”

Katy: “If the concert actually happens, I want to work as a promoter. If Korean artists try just a bit more, I think we can make a big wave. Big Bang even recorded a video for their fans here, and it’s gestures like that which touch the hearts of international fans.”

The fans also remembered to support Big Bang’s Daesung by singing “Baby Don’t Cry” in unison.




source : allkpop