BIGBANG’s Taeyang Becomes The New Face For “Japan Street Dance Association”

BIGBANG’s Taeyang, known as SOL to Japanese fans, will appear in his first solo CF in Japan for JSDA (Japan Street Dance Association).

 

 

JSDA was founded in 2001, to help fulfill the dream of many people who wished to make their passion for dancing a reality. Since then they have sponsored various dance events in order to establish street dance as an aspiring profession. Their official website has recently revealed a video teaser with BIGBANG’s Taeyang, showing off his smooth dance moves. This was followed up with the release of the official photo, announcing that the CF will be published exclusively on their website on 10th May, prior to its public release.

 

Taeyang, who has established a name for himself as an exquisite dancer, has been chosen as the main character for the CF, which will be his first solo CF deal in Japan. He will be the visual artist for the CF, which JSDA has stated was filmed with a high-speed motion control shooting technique, to fully showcase the singer’s impressive dancing skills. The teaser looks very promising indeed.

 

The new CF for JSDA will be airing on Japanese TV stations from 13th May onwards.

SHINee’s Minho Meets Veteran Singer IVY

IVY recently posted on her Instagram account a photo she took with SHINee‘s Minho with the caption, “I didn’t know I was this ugly!” The two stars look adorable while smiling for the camera, despite the veteran star’s joke about her beauty compared to Minho’s stunning pretty boy features. 

 

She also revealed a photo she took when she met Infinite‘s Dongwoo through KBS‘s ”Mamma Mia” which gained a lot of attention from netizens. Dongwoo and his mother made adorable poses for the photo. Dongwoo’s mother also made an appearance on the show with her son on April 29. 

 

In related news, IVY is scheduled to make her comeback in May, while Minho has been busy with SHINee’s promotions for “Why So Serious?” which features the increasingly popular “zombie dance.” 

Tony Ahn Earns Five Times More Now Than During SM Entertainment Days

 

Tony Ahn, who recently headlined many media outlets regarding his latest relationship with sixteen years younger pop idol Hyeri, opens up about his current earnings.

 

On April 30, QTV’s variety program “20th Century Handsome Men” aired an episode where the emcees (Moon Hee Jun, Chun Myung Hoon, Eun Ji Won, Danny Ahn and Tony Ahn) talked about their earnings and investments.

 

Regarding money, Tony Ahn shared, “I earned about $8,000 in royalties alone during my days in H.O.T.” Moon Hee Jun piped in, “I also earned some. I received about $100,000 in royalties during the two to three months promoting the title track from our fifth album.”

 

Tony Ahn was surprised by Moon Hee Jun’s earnings and the latter looked sorry. Tony Ahn added, “To be honest, I made the most money through my business. I earned the most from the school uniform business.”

 

He surprised the other members with his next comment, “I probably earned about four to five times more than my total earnings as a member of H.O.T.” Moon Hee Jun, who was previously sorry for earning more during their idol days, took back his words and jokingly remarked, “Traitor.”

Davichi’s Haeri Talks About Being Compared to SISTAR’s Hyorin

On April 29, Davichi‘s Haeri was caught off guard when she was asked on Mnet‘s “Beatles Code 2” whether she considered herself to be a better or worse singer than SISTAR‘s Hyorin. 

 

Currently, Lee Haeri and Hyorin are considered to be the top two female idol singers in the industry. Whether one or the other deserves to be in first place and the other second has been a hot topic of debate among netizens. While Hyorin is considered to be the “Korean Beyonce,” Haeri is known for being a strong vocalist who can master even the more difficult genres such as trot. 

 

After hesitating a bit, Haeri answered carefully, “Hyorin and I have different styles when it comes to singing. I think I sing ballads better, while Hyorin sings pop songs better.”  

 

Rookie Artist Yoo Ji Ae Holds First Interview with LOEN TV

 

INFINITE‘s little sister and rookie artist Yoo Ji Ae had her first video interview for LOEN TV‘s IM series. The video was released through the official LOEN Entertainment YouTube channel.

 

In the video Yoo Ji Ae looks darling in a cute cafe setting. She introduces herself and answers questions about her song, her brothers INFINITE, and the upcoming Woolim Entertainment girl group. Because this is her first interview, Yoo Ji Ae seems shy and nervous but captivates the camera with her sweet smile and girlish charms. The interview even shows clips from when she was INFINITE’s little sister and we can see just how much she has developed into an artist.

Suzy Exudes Healthy and Beautiful Glow for LG’s “On: The Body”

 

“Nation’s First Love” Suzy recently modeled for LG‘s “Household & Health Care” brand for “natural body styling brand” “On: The Body,” which features “four types of body wash, two types of body lotion, four types of cleansing foam, and two types of soap.” The brand also claims that they use 100% organic ingredients such as flower water. 

 

About choosing Suzy as their endorsement model, the representatives of LG’s “Household & Health Care” stated, “Since ‘Architecture 101,’ Suzy has carried a bright and smart image. Currently, she shines as one of the leading characters of MBC‘s drama ‘Gu Family Book.’ She also continues to receive a high level of interest from the public as a rising star.”

 

In keeping with the product line’s goal to enhance beauty with natural products and organic ingredients, Suzy is clothed in beautiful dresses, surrounded by flowers and seen applying a product that promise to deliver the same lovely skin complexion results. 

 

2AM’s Im Seulong Auditioned to Get a Role in “Mandate of Heaven”

Recently during the photo shoot for the magazine “Singles,” 2AM’s Im Seulong was interviewed.

 

Im Seulong, who showed improved acting skills in film “26 Years,” is currently appearing on KBS’s historical drama “Mandate of Heaven.” Seulong stated during the interview, “I did not get this role because I am an idol. After reading the drama synopsis, I really wanted to be part of it and so I auditioned for it. It was a role I thought I could play well.”

 

The interviewer later revealed, “Im Seulong is an actor who continues to study the field of his interest. He has a bright future ahead of him.”

 

Meanwhile, Im Seulong’s pictorial can be found in the May issue of “Singles” as well as the magazine’s homepage.  

Davichi’s Kang Min Kyung Says She Mistook Haeri for a Staff Member

 

On April 29, Davichi‘s Kang Min Kyung and Lee Haeri were asked to share their first impressions of each other on Mnet‘s “Beatles Code 2.”

 

On that day, Kang Min Kyung confessed, “When I first saw Haeri, I thought she was part of the staff. The only thing my manager told me when he introduced us was, ‘This is Haeri, she’s going to be working with you.’ So I thought he meant she was one of the staff members I would be working with.” 

 

However, the singer did not stop there and attempted to explain the reason for the misunderstanding. She turned to Haeri and said, “It’s because you were dressing too ordinary that day, unnie” which caused Haeri to in turn flush in embarrassment.

 

Haeri, on the other hand, said that she thought Kang Min Kyung “had a beautiful face and was very pretty.”

 

But the women were quick to assure that no hard feelings were taken and that they have fostered a close friendship since debut, “often watching movies together and asking each other for relationship advice.”

 

When both women were asked which member had been asked on more dates, both of the members did not respond except for Kang Min Kyung, who managed a shy grin. Both of the women replied that regardless of the number of dates, their confidence had increased substantially since their debut.

Tiger JK on Continuous Criticism about Ruining Robert Downey Jr.’s Birthday Event

 

Recently, Tiger JK posted on his Twitter, “We did everything that the film distribution company asked us to do. Quit it, we’ve had enough.” This comment aims at the continuous stream of criticism Tiger JK has been getting since he attended Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr.’s birthday event and allegedly “stole the spotlight” in early April. 

 

Tiger JK explained, “We were even told that Robert Downey Jr. doesn’t like it when someone touches him both intentionally and accidentally. We were just very confused in terms of what to do, how to do it. We were invited to this birthday event. Everything we did – the birthday song, cutting the cake, dancing like Iron Man - was all a part of what the distribution company asked us to do. I was smiling, but I was just really confused with the huge cake that was taller than me and its long cutting knife.”

 

At Robert Downey Jr.’s birthday event, hip hop project group MFBTY (Tiger JK, Yoon Mirae, and Bizzy) was invited to hold a mini-concert before the event started. Later, Tiger JK and Yoon Mirae were invited back on the stage with their son Jordan dressed up as Iron Man. As Jordan was running around the stage and impressing the audience with his adorableness, people saw Robert Downey Jr. standing on the side, almost as if Jordan was the main event and he is only making a guest appearance. As a result, many upset fans have been criticizing the film distribution company, Tiger JK, and Yoon Mirae for mistreating Robert Downey Jr.

 

Tiger JK apologized shortly after the incident via Twitter, “Happy birthday to Robert Downey Jr. And I would like to sincerely apologize for ruining your fan meeting. I’m sorry.” However, he soon deleted this tweet. 

PSY Is Now in Britannica Encyclopedia

 

World star PSY has recently been honored when his name was included in the oldest English-language encyclopedia Britannica.

On May 1, according to the online version of Britannica encyclopedia, PSY is introduced as a “South Korean singer and rapper.”

 

The introduction continues,

 

“Although he was originally known in his country as a controversial and satirical hip-hop artist, he achieved international fame in 2012 with the music video to his humorous pop song ‘Gangnam Style,’ which ultimately received a record-setting one billion views on the video-sharing Web site YouTube.”

 

You can read the rest of description on the official Britannica website.

Meanwhile on this day, a comic book starring PSY titled “Fame: PSY” was released in both US and Korea. “Fame: PSY” tells a story of how the singer rose to global fame.

Suzy Gives Lee Seung Gi Fans a Thumb Up for Catered Buffet Dinner

Recently, Lee Seung Gi‘s fan club treated all staff and actors on the filming set of MBC’s “Gu Family Book” to a buffet. The catering company that prepared all the food posted several pictures of this buffet meal on its official blog with the title “‘Gu Family Book’ Lee Seung Gi’s Fan Club Support. Buffet Party.” The drama production crew also revealed several pictures from this meal.

 

The revealed pictures show the drawing of Lee Seung Gi’s on-screen character on toothpicks, beverage containers, and so on. Lee Seung Gi’s fans prepared more than 40 types of healthy food. Lee Seung Gi thanked his fans and actively hosted this catered meal.

 

One of the revealed pictures show his co-star Suzy with a plateful of food in front of her, giving Lee Seung Gi a thumb up. Suzy also took a “proof shot,” holding up her food, for Lee Seung Gi’s fan club.

 

Netizens commented, “Wow, Lee Seung Gi’s fan club goes beyond just snack cars. A catered buffet meal!” “I see Suzy giving Lee Seung Gi a thumb up,” “Look at how all the different dishes are laid out for catering purposes. It’s so elegant and luxurious. Lee Seung Gi’s fans know what to do.” 

 

Meanwhile, “Gu Family Book” starring Lee Seung Gi and Suzy is garnering much attention from viewers, winning the ratings war in its time slot. 

 

Jang Geun Suk Guests on Verbal Jint’s Radio Show, Talks About Hurt from “Love Rain”

 

On May 1, Jang Geun Suk was the first guest on Verbal Jint‘s newly started radio show, “Verbal Jint’s Pops Pops” on KBS Cool FM.

 

Jang Geun Suk and Verbal Jint are known to be close so the actor decided to support Verbal Jint’s DJ debut.

 

Jang Geun Suk talked about his next project during the show. He started off by saying, “For a whole year, I didn’t get any offers from anyone,” and “I think I got hurt a lot from my last project. It burned me.”

 

Jang Geun Suk’s last project was the KBS drama, “Love Rain,” which aired last year. He acted alongside Girls’ Generation‘s YoonA and Seo In Gook. Although Jang Geun Suk and YoonA’s match-up became a hot topic, the drama unfortunately did not see good viewership ratings throughout its course.

 

When Verbal Jint comforted him by saying, “I watched that drama real-time,” Jang Geun Suk playfully answered, “Why did you do that? My heart aches.”

 

Finally, Jang Geun Suk revealed, “After thinking hard about a few projects, I finally made a decision. But importantly, I did not sign the contract just yet. So I still can’t tell you what project it is.”

 

Stay tuned on Soompi to find out Jang Geun Suk’s next project!

T-ara N4 Under Fire for Using Japanese Imperialism Symbol in “Countryside Diaries” MV

 

T-ara is yet again a topic of criticism and controversy because of the alleged usage of the Rising Sun flag, which is a symbol of Japanese imperialism, in T-ara N4‘s recent music video for “Countryside Diaries.“

 

T-ara N4 is a unit group of T-ara that consists of new member Ahreum along with Jiyeon, Eunjung and Hyomin. They released “Countryside Diaries” on April 29 and uploaded both the drama and dance versions of the music video on YouTube.

 

However, in the drama version of the music video, there is a shot of a poster that seems like it has the Rising Sun print on the background. In the music video, the T-ara N4 members appear as country girls who want to go to a dance competition. It seems like the poster was for that certain dance competition.

 

The poster contains an image of a disco ball with 16 stripes emitting from the disco ball, which is very similar to the Rising Sun flag. At around 4:05 into the music video, another shot of the members dancing on stage with the similar image in the background is shown.

 

Netizens are demanding that T-ara N4 apologize for using those images as their background in the music video.

‘Book of the House of Gu’ beats its previous record as the #1 Monday-Tuesday drama

 

 

‘Book of the House of Gu‘ previously achieved its highest viewer ratings yet, and its now broken its former record.

 

According to AGB Nielsen Media Research, the April 30th broadcast of ‘Book of the House of Gu’ achieved a 16.4% viewer rating, which beats its 16.3% viewer rating achieved last night.

Meanwhile, KBS 2TV‘s ‘God of the Workplace‘ gave ‘Book of the House of Gu’ a run for their money by achieving a solid 14.5% viewer rating, which is a 1.0% increase from its previous viewer rating of 13.5%.

 

SBS‘ ‘All About My Romance‘ fell behind with a 7.8% viewer rating which was a 0.4% decrease from its previous viewer rating of 8.2%. Luckily for loyal fans of this drama, SBS has denied the rumors of ‘All About My Romance’ cutting its run short due to poor viewer ratings.

‘We Demand the Truth From Roy Kim’ cafe surfaces

 

Roy Kim had recently released his song “Spring Spring Spring“. The song has performed incredibly well on the charts, but everything isn’t so rosy as the song is under plagiarism controversy.

 

Some listeners pointed out that the song sounds similar to the late Kim Kwang Suk‘s “The Place Wind Blows“, and that his chorus sounds similar to Norwegian band A-Ha‘s “Take On Me“. Although these accusations have been met with largely mixed reception, one netizen has gone as far as to create a cafe called ‘We Demand the Truth from Roy Kim‘, or ‘RoJinYo‘.

 

However, most of the members who joined the cafe weren’t made up of antis, but rather curious passerbys. Not only so, but the cafe had originally been an ‘We Demand the Truth from IU‘, made after her photo controversy last year with Eunhyuk. The revelation caused netizens to lash out and comment, “You must really have nothing to do“, “What are you going to ‘demand the truth’ from next?“, and “These people need to get a life“.

 

Roy Kim’s label had also commented that the allegations of plagiarism were baseless.

INFINITE determine hyung & dongseng through popularity, not age

 

INFINITE revealed their own unique way of determining hyung and dongseng within the group.

 

On the May 1st episode of MBC Every1‘s ‘Weekly Idol‘, INFINITE revealed, “We decided on who is the hyung and dongseng through popularity. But at the moment we’re friends.”

Sunggyu added, “When Hoya was getting really popular with ‘Reply 1997‘, he did a CF by himself for a phone company. We made him the title of hyung immediately and after that he got really arrogant. He thought he was a big star, so we had to get rid of that. Now he’s not a hyung anymore.”

 

Hoya admitted, “Sunggyu hyung yelled at me because I got arrogant. So we decided everyone should be friends.”

 

To this, the MCs teased him by saying, “Didn’t your solo album not do well?“. Sunggyu was flustered but explained, “It’s because it was edited like that on broadcast. Don’t edit this out! My solo album was a classic. You can’t say it failed. I sold 70,000-80,000 albums all by myself, and not many solo artists can accomplish that.”

Yoon Min Soo reveals the shocking words said by Hoo that pushed him to join ‘Dad, Where Are You Going?’

 

Yoon Min Soo revealed what pushed him to join ‘Dad, Where Are You Going?‘ with his son Yoon Hoo.

 

He was a guest on MBC‘s ‘Radio Star‘ on the 1st, where the MCs asked him, “Would you leave the show for music?“. He answered, “I think the only thing I did for Hoo was have him be born. I didn’t fulfill the role of the father.” He then added, “I initially thought about quitting [the show] when Yoon Hoo entered elementary school, but I didn’t realize how well the program would do. I’m happy right now“, mentioning that the program is just as important to him as music is these days.

 

The singer and his son previously touched upon the topic of not having spent much time together when Hoo was a toddler, during one episode of ‘Dad, Where Are You Going?’, when Hoo had asked his dad if he didn’t like him. Yoon Min Soo had become a bit teary eyed then and mentioned that he hadn’t been around much for his son during his early years, which left viewers curious, especially since it’s hard to imagine Yoon Min Soo and Hoo’s relationship being any different.

 

On the topic of what convinced him to decide to join the cast of the show, the singer revealed that it was to build up a better relationship with his son. He commented, “There was a time when Hoo saw me come home, and as I was about to sleep, I heard him tell my wife, ‘Mom, that guy is here again’, and I received great shock hearing that. After we came on ‘Dad, Where Are You Going?”, things have changed a lot. Now he comes to me first to ask for help on his homework.”

 

During a public survey held, Yoon Min Soo’s parenting style was voted as the best among all the dads on the show, so that goes to show just how well he and his son have bonded lately.

‘Reply 1997′ stars to cameo in the second season, ‘Reply 1994′

Fans of ‘Reply 1997‘ will be able to see the cast again in the second season, ‘Reply 1994‘!

According to a broadcast representative, the cast of the tvN drama ‘Reply 1997′ will be making cameo appearances in the second season! Seo In Guk, Eunji, Shin So Yul, Eun Ji Won, Lee Si Un, and Hoya were all requested to cameo on the second season.

The representative revealed, “They haven’t decided on the role or a specific time, but they will be paying back the viewers who showed them love in the 1st season with their cameos.” Sung Dong Il and Lee Il Hwa, who played the parents in the first season, will also be appearing in the 2nd season.

The second season will start airing in September!