SNSD and Kara's Popularity is Soaring High in Japan

Korean female idols Girls' Generation scored the No. 2 spot on Japan's prestigious Oricon chart with their latest song "Hoot".


Girls' Generation [SM Entertainment]

"Hoot", whose license was sold to Japan, came in second selling 21,271 copies sold on the day of its release after Japanese songstress Ayumi Hamasaki, according to Oricon's daily music chart as of December 22, 2010.

Composed of members Taeyeon, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Sunny, Jessica, Seohyun, Yoona, Yuri (Kwon Yoo-ri) and Sooyoung, Girls' Generation made their debut in 2007 with first album "Into the New World". They have since released several albums which include their hit songs "Gee", "Genie" and "Run Devil Run".

The girls have led a successful year so far, being named the winner of the grand prize once again at Korea's Golden Disk Award, taking the title as best artist of the year for the second consecutive time at the 2010 MelOn Music Award and seeing their hit song "Oh!" named song of the year at KBS' televised music show "Music Bank".

They have also taken the Japanese music market by storm since making their official debut in the country in August last year, becoming the first Korean girl group to place in at No. 1 on the prestigious Oricon chart as well as having sold 100,000 copies of their Japanese singles "Gee" and "Genie" to be certified gold discs. In January, SNSD even won the New Artist of the Year award @ Japan Gold Disc Award 2011.

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Reporter : Choi Jun-yong yjchoi01@
Editor : Lucia Hong luciahong@
<ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved>

Source : 10.asiae.co.kr/Articl... ( English Korean ), HanCinema

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Top Korean girl groups, Kara and Girls' Generation, are both set to appear on a special year-end music program in Japan.


Girls' Generation (top) and Kara (below) [SM Entertainment/DSP Media]

Kara and Girls' Generation also performed on Asahi TV's "Music Station" on Christmas Eve, making it the first time for both groups to take the stage on the same show since making their debuts in Japan.

Last year December, the prestigious Oricon chart reported that Kara and Girls' Generation were named the most successful new artists in Japan this year, coming in at No. 1 and 2, respectively.

Oricon's survey based on sales data from 39,580 music stores throughout Japan revealed that Kara earned a total 1.3 billion yen, approximately 18 billion won, with two singles, five albums and one DVD, while Girls' Generation raked in 880 million yen, about 12 billion won, with two singles, six albums and one DVD.

Individually, Kara achieved a number of feats including being selected best new artist of the year on top Japanese mobile music chart RecoChoku and their albums reaching up to No. 2 on Oricon's weekly chart.

Girls' Generation has also seen a successful singing career in the country becoming the first Korean girl group to place in at No. 1 on the prestigious Oricon chart and having sold over 100,000 copies of their Japanese singles "Gee" and "Genie" to be certified gold discs.

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Reporter: Heidi Kim heidikim@
Editor : Lucia Hong luciahong@
<ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved>

Source : 10.asiae.co.kr/Articl... ( English Korean ), HanCinema

Big Bang, Kara and SNSD Not in Japan’s Biggest Music Festival, NHK 61st Kouhaku Uta Gassen

The Japanese media continuously delivered the news that star Korean groups Big Bang and Kara would appear on NHK’s 61st White vs. Red Fest. Sports-Nippon reported the news on November 21 with a caption saying, “Big Bang and Kara to Have Hallyu Competition in the White vs. Red Fest,” and it delivered the news that Big Bang had already decided to appear in the festival, and that Kara was finalizing conditions for appearing on the program.



Despite these earlier speculation from the Japanese media hyping the participation of KARA, Big Bang and SNSD in Japan's annual music ceremony, the official NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen line-up was released today and it is confirmed that Big Bang, KARA and SNSD are not invited this year. Korean media reported  that Big Bang would officially be attending but that was proven to be false.



Well... there’s always next year! The full line-up as below.

RED Team:

* aiko
* Angela Aki
* Ikimono Gakari
* Sayuri Ishikawa
* Kana Uemura
* AKB48
* Miyuki Kawanaka
* Kumiko
* Kumi Koda
* Natsuko Godai
* Sachiko Kobayashi
* Fuyumi Sakamoto
* Yoshimi Tendo
* DREAMS COME TRUE
* Mitsuko Nakamura
* Kana Nishino
* Ayumi Hamasaki
* Perfume
* Ayaka Hirahara
* Nana Mizuki
* Kaori Mizumori
* Akiko Wada

WHITE Team:

* Arashi
* Hiroshi Itsuki
* HY
* EXILE
* NYC
* Yuzo Kayama
* Saburo Kitajima
* Hiromi Go
* Kobukuro
* SMAP
* TOKIO
* Hideaki Tokunaga
* AAA
* Kiyoshi Hikawa
* FUNKY MONKEY BABYS
* Masaharu Fukuyama
* flumpool
* Takashi Hosokawa
* Porno Graffiti
* Shinichi Mori
* Yusuke
* L’Arc~en~Ciel

The popular group Arashi (嵐) will be in charge of the White Team, while actress and pianist Nao Matsushita (松下奈緒, 25) will be in charge of the Red Team. This shall be the first time for either of them to serve as a Kohaku host. A total of 44 artists have been invited, with an even split of 22 on the Red Team and 22 on the White Team. 5 of them will be making their first appearance on the show.

News- Announcement of NHK 61st Kouhaku Uta Gassen list of participants
速报-第６１回紅白歌合戦出場者


Source: KBS Korea

Koda, Ayumi and Becky are the Forever Nail Queens

The Japan Nailist Association is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, so on November 11 (designated as "Nail Day") the organization presented a few special "lifetime achievement awards." The recipients were Kumi Koda (倖田來未; Kōda Kumi; 27), Ayumi Hamasaki (浜崎あゆみ, 32), and Becky (ベッキー; Bekkī; born March 6, 1984), though only Koda was present to receive the awards on behalf of all three.



At the ceremony, JNA recognized individuals who either helped improve the skills of nailists or developed the nail art industry. Koda Kumi, Ayumi Hamasaki and Becky are bestowed the honor of 'Nail Queens', and received special testimonial awards. Koda Kumi attended the ceremony, and also represented Ayu and Becky (who could not attend due to their busy schedules).

For the event, the singer sported some unique bejewelled nails, and posed for various photos with her unique hand-shaped trophy.




This is not the first time for any of them to receive recognition for their nails. Every year at the International Nail Expo in Tokyo (being held on November 28-29 this year), several "Nail Queen" awards are handed out. Koda, Hamasaki, and Becky have each won three times, placing them in the "Hall of Fame" and making them ineligible for future awards.

Incidentally, the 2010 Nail Queen winners have already been revealed. Kyōko Fukada (深田恭子; born November 2, 1982, in Tokyo, Japan) is receiving her third award in the actress category, becoming the fourth person to join the "Hall of Fame." The others are Suzanne (24) in the talento category, Marie (23) in the artist category, professional tennis player Ai Sugiyama (杉山愛; born July 5, 1975 in Yokohama, Japan) in the sports category, Junpei Mizobata (溝端淳平; born June 14, 1989) in the men's category, and Uno Kanda (神田うの; born March 28, 1975) in the special award category.



Source: j-dorama, Tokyohive

Ayumi’s Blossom PV is Released!

Ayumi Hamasaki (Kanji: 浜崎歩) has released the full length version of her long awaited "Blossom" PV (music promotional video) one week after a short version of was unveiled in September. The PV was much anticipated because it features Jaejoong (Hangul: 金在中) of TVXQ/DBSK (Hangul: 东方神起), who's now enjoying ever higher popularity with his lovable role in 2010 spring drama《素直になれなくて》 (Romanji: Sunao ni Narenakute; Chinese: 无法坦言相对; Tagline: Hard to say I love you) alongside top Japanese actors Eita (Kanji: 栄太) and Ueno Juri (Kanji: 上野樹里) of smash hit TV series 《交響情人夢》, i.e. Nodame Cantabile (one of my favourite Jdrama). He even won the Best Supporting Actor award in the 14th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix.

I love watching  Jaejoong in Sunao. He's sooo00 cute and and good-looking in the drama. I bet Ayumi is trying to ride on his popularity to shatter 松田聖子 Matsduda Seiko's record for the most #1 singles sold on the Oricon chart. Matsuda currently holds the title with 24 #1 singles. Jaejoong commented, “Ayumi Hamasaki is a big senior in my record label, so when I received the offer to appear in her PV, I was really happy. Although I feel a lot of pressure, I’ll try to do it perfectly!”

I've watched the PV and was so envious of the model who got to act as Jaejoong's girlfriend. He's so sweet to the girl. Btw, the music video is quite emotional after Jaejoong found out he suffered from a terminal disease. The producers believe that Jaejoong’s realistic acting will invoke tearful reactions from the fans. Not bad, I would say. Don't forget to purchase the original single here to support Ayumi and Jaejoong!

Both working under the same agency AVEX, Ayumi and Jaejoong are now colleagues. Despite the difference in seniority, they're known to have a close friendship. There are rumours of them meeting secretly in Korea for kimchi. Lolz. I don't mind if they're dating. He's so cute and I like Ayumi. How old is Jaejoong? He's born in 1986. So he's 24 this year. Ayumi is born in 1978, so that makes her 32 years old but she sure doesn't look older than 30. More and more South Korean women date younger men, and this has always be a trend in Japan.

Anyway, I hope Ayumi settles down with someone she loves and who loves her too. It was a pity she split up with  Tokio member Nagase Tomoya (Kanji: 長瀬智也). I really like this couple. They've been going steady for 7 years!

See how well suited the couple looked. Sigh. What a pity~ Nagase is already dating his Utahime co-star Aibu Saki (Kanji: 相武紗季). Utahime (Kanji: 歌姫) is a well-received TBS drama, and also the drama that made me idolized Tomoya kun for quite some time. Mukodono (Kanji:ムコ殿) is another Tomoya's drama I recommend. Totally enjoyed his animated and bone-tickling acting in it.