The Brawl: Who’s the Best Male Rookie of 2012 so far??

Just like last year, once again we experience a big wave of Rookies debuting from left to right. So who are they and what have they accomplished so far?

We start off with TS Entertainment’s B.A.P(Best Absolute Perfect) consisting of Leader Bang Yongguk, Himchan, Daehyun, Youngjae, JongUp and Maknae Zelo. Prior to their debut we had already been introduced to Leader Bang Yongguk as he was featured in SECRET’s Ji Eun’s debut solo song “Going Crazy”. On August 11 last year he released his own debut song “I Remember”. After a few months we were introduce to Maknae Zelo who would form a B.A.P sub-unit together with Bang Yongguk known as Bang and Zelo with their debut track “Never Give Up”. Another member is Himchan who was in the Music Video for Ji Eun’s “Going Crazy” as well as the Shy Boy for SECRET’s “Shy Boy” MV. He had also been a host for MTV the Show prior to their debut. The other 3 members, Daehyun, Youngjae and JongUp were then introduced in their pre-debut show “Ta-dah It’s B.A.P!”. On January 26 they had released their debut single “Warrior”. We last saw them promoting their latest single “Power”.

Next up is a fragment of what the former “After School Boys”, Nu’EST(New Established Style Tempo). We first saw them in various Pledis Activites most notably on Happy Pledis’ “Love Letter” Music Video and Performance. Although not everyone of them in the Music Video had made an appearance to the performance and the group. Nu’EST consists of five members led by JR, Aron, Minhyun, Baekhi and Ren. Minhyun had made appearance on the Music Video of Orange Caramel’s Shanghai Romance. They had also been the back up dancers for After School Blue’s Wonder Boy. Leader JR was also featured in After School UEE’s solo track “Sok Sok Sok”. They had debuted on March 15 with their single “Face” and was last seen promoting their follow-up song “I’m Sorry”.

BTOB or BornToBeat is a seven member group of CUBE DC consisting of Eunkwang, Hyunsik, Minhyuk, Ilhoon, Changsub, Peniel and Maknae Sungjae. Minhyuk and Sungjae are currently the MCs for MTV the Show 2. Prior to debut they had starred in their own show entitled “Amazon” from Mnet which will show their competitiveness and survival strategy. Originally a 5 member group, member Minwoo was pulled out due to health problems and was replaced by members Peniel and Sungjae. Tehy debuted on March 22 with their song “Insane” and was recently seen promoting “Irresistible Lips”.

EXO was one of the most anticipated debuts of 2012 coming from SM Entertainment. They had first made a buzz by releasing their first teaser with member Kai. SM had then continued to release teasers having released a total of 23 teasers. 4 of them had then been able to perform on the SBS Gayo Daejun one of the year end Music shows done by the 3 Biggest broadcasting stations in South Korea. Each member starting from Kai down to Chanyeol have been introduced one by one via their official facebook fan page. Exo totals 12 members divided into Exo K for the Korean audience while Exo M for the Chinese Audience. The members are Leaders Suho and Kris, Kai, Sehun, Baekhyun, D.O, Chanyeol, Luhan, Tao, Xiumin, Chen and Lay. Aside from their 23 teasers other members have also made appearances on other SM activities like member Lay who was Jonghyun’s dance replacement in SHINee’s RDD performance in SHINee World Concert in Japan when Jonghyun was injured. Member Chanyeol starred in the MV of Girls’ Generation’s Japanese Version of Genie. Just before their debut they had released two prologue songs “What is Love” and “History” both of which had respective music videos. Exo K and M debuted on April 9 in Korea and China respectively with their debut song “Mama” in their respective languages.

Last but not the least comes JYP’s own JJ Project. JJ Project consists of member JB and Jr.(Junior) who both starred in KBS Dream High Season 2 with JB playing lead as JB and Jr. playing a supporting role as Eui Bong. Both of them had also appeared on label mate San E’s “Tasty San” Music Video. They got entry as JYP trainees by winning in a draw at JYPE’s 5th Open Auditions. They debuted with their digital single “Bounce” on May 24 and is still currently promoting.

Other notable debuts are DSP’s A-JAX, Jellyfish’s VIXX and Amuse Korea’s Cross Gene.Who along with the other Male Rookies are vying to stand out and get the prized Rookie Award at the year end awards.

They’re only able to win the Rookie award within the 1st year of their career, so who shall prevail?

The Brawl: Girl Group Domination

As the first quarter of 2012 passes with Girl Groups dominating charts and music shows comes the second quarter of the year with more of them coming.

The Wonder Girls have yet again graced us with their Wonder with the release of their fresh and hip concept for “Like This” which was released on June 3. Within 2 weeks of promotions they have proven yet again that they are the Nation’s Girl Group as they sweep the awards of each Music Show.

Dal Shabet follows the landslide of comebacks with their sweet and bubbly concept for their first full-length album “Mr. Bang Bang”. Earlier this year they graced the stage with their “Dark Shabet” concept for “Hit U”. They have been one of the strongest rookies from 2011 who have stood ground proving that they wont dissolve in the industry without a fight. They present us with a new album and a new member to come along with it as they say goodbye to their Leader, Viki who will pursue a solo career and introduce Woohee.

Next in line is SM’s very own f(x) with their “Electric Shock” comeback released last June 10. Sticking within the comforts of their electronic and rhythmic songs they literally shock fans with their electrifying comeback. We last saw them last year promoting their first full-length album “Pinocchio” which later that year was repacked as “Hot Summer” both of which had fair share of fame within Music shows and online music charts.

Aside from these three there are more girl groups to come as After School sets a “Flashback” comeback with the release of their 5th Maxi Single on June 21. Fans are excited to see how much they’ve improved and change as they go up on stage for the first time without their leader Kahi whereas their new member Kaeun shall debut. Following them would be T-Ara with “Day by Day” who have done member maintenance of their own by introducing their new members Ahreum with their comeback stage and Dani with their comeback Music Video which to be released this July. Then comes the baddest female group of YG, 2NE1 with their “Pink” comeback set for July.

So who will dominate and who will be crowned the Queen of Girl Groups for the 2nd Quarter of 2012?

“KPOP Music Fest in Sydney”

As the Hallyu Wave continues to spread around the globe, this time Australia will be the next destination of our favourite Kpop groups. This event will be held on November 12, 2011 in Sydney, Australia at the ANZ Stadium featuring 12 groups. The Groups to represent the Hallyu Wave are: TVXQ, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, SECRET, MISS A, KARA, BEAST, MBLAQ, CN BLUE, 4MINUTE, 2AM and SISTAR.

The Official Website of KPOP Music Fest in Sydney has all the answers that Aussies and International fans would need since they have included a FAQ in their site. May the concert be successful and may fans gather and cheer on their idols.

see promotional video

Pepero Day!!

Pepero day is a similar event to Valentine’s Day which was named after the Korean snack ‘Pepero’ held every November 11 in Korea.  This day is celebrated mostly by young people and couples who exchange Pepero sticks, candies and gifts.

“A WONDERFUL Transformation”

The Wonder Girls are back once again in Korea to promote their second album entitled ‘Wonderful World’. The last time they were in Korea, they were promoting their song ‘2 Different Tears’. After a long time in America they have prepared and perfected their craft to produce yet another wonder with ‘Wonderful World’.

The Wonder Girls are known for being the ‘Retro Queens’ of Korea due to the popularity of their retro inspired hits ‘Nobody’ and ‘2 Different Tears’. Besides their trademark, they are also known for the quality of ballads they release. ‘This Time’, ‘Saying I Love You’ and ‘Friend’ are some of their ballads from their previous album.

Stripping their retro concepts off, they take on a more edgy and fierce concept with their latest album. Despite moving away from their comfort zone, the girls have totally produced a worthy album yet again. They take on KPOP head on this time with a pop song with an upbeat Wonder Girls flavor. From ‘Tell Me’, ‘So Hot’, ‘Nobody’, ‘2 Different Tears’ and now to ‘Be My Baby’, the girls have completely transformed for the better without losing their true colors, instead they have enhanced and invested in themselves for this comeback. Most notably members Sohee and Lim has shown quite a lot of improvement for this comeback.

They introduce edgy and upbeat music with American and European rhythms. ‘G.N.O’ or Girls Night Out was a track written by member, Yeeun. It is clearly obvious that this song is not a typical Wonder Girls song. It’s much like a contemporary club song with the beats they presented it in. Another track is ‘Me.In’ a remake of Shin Jung Hyun’s ‘The Beauty’. This song is a rock song that expresses what the Wonder Girls can do with new genres of music, wonders. The song ‘Nu Shoes’ is another strong song with addicting beats which is obviously a Western influenced track. ‘Stop’ and ‘Super8’ are both lively songs infused with instrumentals much like from an American disco. With these set of new songs that define the new image of the Wonder Girls, I can truly say that these girls are versatile and flexible. They surely didn’t just sit around and wait until their comeback.

‘Wonderful World’ won’t be a Wonder Girls album without their voices serenading their listeners with their ballads. The song ‘Dear.Boy’ is a ballad with all members showcasing how much their vocals have improved. ‘Girls Girls’ is an acoustic ballad with a lively rhythm, a kind of song that you’d like to hear live. ‘두고두고’ is a duet by Sunye and Yeeun that shows all their vocal prowess and potential.

As they run this cycle of promotions with ‘Be My Baby’ hopefully they get all the attention and recognition they deserve with all the hard work and effort put in this album.

“T-ARA’s Unconventional Music Videos”

T-ARA is back with a new concept and a new music video for their Korean Comeback. Last time we heard of T-ARA is their Japanese promotions with ‘Bo Peep Bo Peep’ but before that they last had their ‘Roly Poly’ promotions in Korea. From the retro disco concept of ‘Roly Poly’, the girls are back with a darker and deeper concept with ‘Cry Cry’.

They debuted with their debut album ‘Absolute First Album’ with the song ‘Lies’. The MV revolves around the six members who fall in love with the same guy (Yoo SeungHo) one after the other because the guy cheats on every girl. This was followed by their hit ‘Bo Peep Bo Peep’ song, from a song about heartbreak to a more upbeat and addicting song. The song is about trying to keep your other half from disliking you and asking the person not to get mad and angry. After they closed their promotions for their first album they came back with a brand new album ‘Breaking Heart’ the following year. Their promotional song ‘I Go Crazy Because Of You’ is a dance song with addicting beats and sound effects. The story in this MV is that the girls are in a classroom where they hear music and dance which ends up actually being just a dream of member, Eunjung.

After two successful albums they return with ‘Temptastic’ revealing two songs, ‘Yayaya’ and ‘Why Are You Like Being This’. ‘Yayaya’ is a song inspired by a native Indo-African concept. The Mv is set on an Island where the girls as ‘Native Indians’ find a man on from a plane crash the island wherein all 7 girls show interest on the guy. ‘Why Are You Being Like This’ on the other hand is set on a girls night out event where Jiyeon falls for a guy she sees in the club.

Earlier this year they released ‘John Travolta Wannabe’ with the song ‘Roly Poly’, a disco track featuring retro outfits and ‘80’s disco inspired choreography. The MV focuses on a flashback wherein the character sees an old video of her back when she used to visit the disco, ‘Copacabana’. The song was remade and was entitled ‘Roly Poly in Copacabana’ in commemoration of the club’s name. The video is surprisingly less than 13 mins due to the focus on the actual storyline. Although it was remade, the remade version ‘Roly Poly in Copacabana’ was shorter, around 4mins which was in a school setting. Now they are set for an early comeback on November 11 with ‘Cry Cry’ from their latest album ‘Black Eyes’. The MV for ‘Cry Cry’ is astoundingly 30mins all of which focus on the story line. The first part consisting of 15mins was released earlier this week while the second part is still pending to be released during their comeback.

T-ARA has surely matured as artists in the industry and their unconventionally long videos which focus on storylines have made them a hot topic. Hopefully they prove the worth of their song and their album as much as the cost of their MV when they officially make a comeback.

“Rookie Group B1A4 celebrates their 200 days of flight”

(Left to Right: Gong Chanshik ‘Gongchan’, Shin DongWoo ‘CNU’, Cha SunWoo ‘Baro, Jung Jinyoung, Lee JungHwan ‘Sandeul’) (c)

Five member male group B1A4, under WM Entertainment debuted earlier this year with their debut track ‘OK’ from their debut album ‘Let’s Fly B1A4’. B1A4 has made quite a fuss with their style and music showing a cute, cool and chic image that stray away from the current ‘Beastly Idol’ trend in Korea which make them standout and attract a lot of attention. Another point of their popularity comes from their unique name. B1A4 short for ‘Be the One, All for One” is the true meaning behind their name which implies that as all members unite they grow strong. This name also stands for the Blood Type of the 5 members, Baro being blood type B while CNU, Jinyoung, Sandeul and Gongchan are type A. On April 23, 2011 they officially debuted at Music Bank, showing their talents and stage presence.

Wanting to keep their momentum, they made a follow up promotions with ‘Only Learned the Bad Things’ from ‘Let’s Fly B1A4’. Showing another side of themselves besides their cute and cool image the song revolves around a Blood Type B Boy (Baro) who made mistakes in a relationship but tries to cope up and learns to be better.

After being in a not so long hiatus, on September they officially made a comeback with a new album ‘it B1A4’, ‘it’ which stands for what is hot and what is trending. On September 16 they made their official comeback at Music Bank with their title track ‘Beautiful Target’. After two months of promotions they will be taking their hiatus before another promotion and along their hiatus comes 200 days of their career.

On November 8, B1A4 celebrated their 200^th days and as fans celebrate this day with them, BANAs (B1A4’s official fan club) trended ‘LetsFlyB1A4’ on twitter which landed 4^th on the top trending list. Besides being the 200^th day of the group, it is also the day where their official fan club celebrates their 100^th day as the official fan club name was announced on B1A4’s 100^th day. The day passes without messages from B1A4 but they quickly apologize the next day and celebrate their 201^st day instead and hinted a follow up promotions in return.

Before B1A4’s 200 days is fellow rookie group Block B’s 200 days which is 8 days earlier. Some rookie groups have been doing well despite the influx. Hopefully they gain success and happiness n the near future.

“Korean Idols Pursuing the Japanese Music Industry”

From the past few years it has been evident that more and more Korean Idol Groups are targeting the Japanese market. Before, only BoA, TVXQ and BIG BANG have established their names in the industry but the trend now in the Korean Market is exporting Idol Groups to foreign countries. The primary location of this trend is Japan. Japan, much like Korea is the home of many home grown idol groups but what is the edge of Korean Groups in the Japanese Market?

BoA, TVXQ and BIG BANG are not strangers to the Japanese Music Industry, these three have led and given way for Korean Artists to promote and debut in Japan. The successors of these three are Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, KARA, SHINee, 2PM, After School and recently BEAST, T-ARA and MBLAQ. The success of these groups vary from each other but there is one factor that binds their success, the promotional song. Roughly all these artists have debuted or promoted a remake of their previous hits from Korea like Girls’ Generation’s ‘Gee’ and ‘Genie’, KARA’s ‘MISTER’, SHINee’s ‘Lucifer’, ‘Replay’ and ‘Juliette’ and more Korean hits like ‘BANG!’, ‘Bad Girl’ and many others. Another factor of which is despite having a remake song, these artist strive to prove that they can take on the Japanese market with original Japanese songs of their own. KARA’s ‘Jumping’, Girls’ Generations’ ‘Mr.Taxi’ and 2PM’s ‘Take Off’ are some of the songs that marked the Japanese Music industry.

Although many of the Korean Groups in Japan have achieved quite a lot of attention, sales, praise and respect, it does not apply to all groups. Some of the lesser known Korean groups in Japan are Rainbow, Brown Eyed Girls and The BOSS whom despite had good promotional cycles received less attention from Japanese fans.

With the trend of entering the Global market still intact, more groups are set to debut in Japan. Infinite and B1A4 are no exceptions as they are set to promote in Japan around the end of the year and early next year respectively.

“M-Live, A World Wide Korean Concert Experience”

M-live is a brand new concert brand that aims to spread the ‘Hallyu Wave’ into farther and larger territories like North and South America and Europe through a series of concerts.

This project is headed by CJ E&M, in partnership with top Korean Music labels to bring a World Class Korean concert experience around the world focusing on 5 regions: Asia, Middle East, Europe, North America and South America.

The first stop will be at Kaohsiung, Taiwan on November 26, 2011. This will showcase MO.A 2011, short for Most Amazing 2011 which will be headed by four big acts namely, Super Junior, 2AM, Miss A and f(x). This will be followed by another MO.A 2011 this time at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 3, 2011 headed by Super Junior, Miss A, f(x) and B1A4.

On December 2^nd, Jungle Entertainment will have a concert at Los Angeles, California with Drunken Tiger, Lee Ssang, Bizzy, tYOONMIRAE and Jung In.

The Middle East will take on Star Empire Entertainment in early November as Seo In Young and Nine Muses goes on stage on the 9^th and 10^th of November respectively.

Before the year 2011 ends, Cube Entertainment will head on to Brazil on December 13 and will have a United Cube Concert at Soa Paolo. United Cube Concert is Cube Entertainment’s prime concert for their top 3 acts namely, 4Minute, BEAST and G.Na.

Starting of 2012 is the expansion of M.Live to Europe and USA as Dynamic Duo takes on a US Tour and possibilities of having CN.Blue in Europe.

While having plotted this schedule of world expansion in cooperation with respective Entertainment Companies, the Hallyu Wave will not leave Asia as 2PM continues their 2PM Hands Up tour in Asia with 7 destination wherein 2 of which were completed already by October. Future destinations of the tour will be in Jakarta, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur in November and Manila and Beijing in early 2012.

The Hallyu Wave has certainly levelled up as years passed by and while we end the year 2011 and start the year 2012, it looks like Hallyu Wave won’t be taking any break anytime soon.

schedules seen on: M.Live

“Girl Group Domination”

The year 2011 started off with a great line up of artists as big names of the industry heated up the music shows and radio stations with their much awaited comebacks. Boy Groups like TVXQ, BIG BANG, Super Junior, BEAST, FT Island, Infinite, CN.Blue and many other graced the staged.

But then what is Kpop without the fierce and cute concepts brought by Girl Groups? Aside from the comeback of 2 of the most awaited male Korean idol groups, TVXQ and BIG BANG by the second half of the year it has been all about Girl Groups dominating the Korean Music Industry.

The first and early second half of the year 2011 started with Girl Groups already dominating the industry thus far with SECRET, f(x), 4Minute, After School, 2NE1, Miss A and T-ara. It’s only 2 months until the year ends but the Girl Groups are not stopping yet with the ‘Comeback of the Queens’.

This year marked the comebacks of Brown Eyed Girls, KARA, SECRET, Girls’ Generation and the Wonder Girls.

The Brown Eyed Girls, famous for their hit ‘Abracadabra’ has made another statement with their comeback album ‘Sixth Sense’ with a promotional song of the same title. They have won several mutizen trophies with Sixth Sense but have concluded promotions of the song to give way to another promotional song ‘Cleansing Cream’, a ballad song.

SECRET, despite coming from a not so wealthy company has proved to be a force to be reckoned with as they have won multiple mutizen trophies earlier this year with their songs “Shy Boy” and “Starlight Moonlight” respectively. Now with a new and a more powerful image they face off with other groups with their song “LOVE is Move”.

The 2007 line: KARA, Girls’ Generation and Wonder Girls have been in the ranks of the most successful girl groups not only in Korea but worldwide thus far.

KARA, recently released their third full-length album entitled ‘Step’ with a title track of the same name. They have once again proved their worth with a successful promotion and a couple of mutizen awards.

Girls’ Generation, after a year of their last Korean promotions have made a comeback with a brand new concept and an American deal along with it, with their third full-length album “The Boys”. They are currently ranked the number one girl group in Korea and have been listed in many influential artist charts. They have won several mutizen trophies for their current promotion of The Boys.

Wonder Girls, the ‘Retro Queens’. They have associated themselves with the concept of retro music in their previous singles ‘Nobody’ and ‘2 different Tears’ but now they are coming back with a newer style with their second full-length album “Wonder World” with the title track “Be My Baby”. Recently having an online all-kill with the album, hopes are high for the Wonder Girls to win mutizen awards once they officially comeback on November 11 at Music Bank.

Although known as Queens of KPOP in this generation, these girls have a friendly attitude and quite a large amount of respect for each other. Some may think that this is a competition between royalties but among fans and the artists it’s a showcase of how each other and how each others’ fans have grown.

The year has not ended and more girl groups are set to make a comeback around this November with T-ara and A Pink.