SNSD & KARA Take Over “Music Station Super Live 2010″

Can Japan handle the heat of two of K-pop brightest groups?

On “Music Station Super Live 2010″, 25+ of the year’s hottest artists performed on stage including newcomers KARA and Girls’ Generation. After invading the Japanese Oricon charts, the kpop acts would naturally be invited to such a prestigious event.

In terms of performance, Girls’ Generation kept it simple and sweet, conquering the stage with with their hit singles ‘Genie” and “Gee.” However, KARA went on the attack, performing “Jumping” and their butt dancing hit track “Mister”.

Check out their performances below.

SM Entertainment & SNSD Chosen As The Most Influential In The Industry

Sports Korea recently revealed the results of their awards survey which involved 100 professionals of the entertainment industry, who gave their opinions on which personalities had the most powerful influence over the year.

In the question that asked professionals to “choose a Korean entertainment company that had the largest influence on the industry,” 28 votes went to SM Entertainment.

Kim Kil Ho, Director of the Entertainment Management Association, revealed, “SM Entertainment was the company that raised awareness of Korean culture and business in Japan.” KBS’s Kwak Ki Won EP added, “The company had the most influence in the entire entertainment industry.”

Kim Young Min, CEO of SM Entertainment, shared his feelings on winning with Sports Korea by stating, “It’s not possible to comfortably take part in the international market without revitalizing the Korean market. Next year, we’ll be focusing on the domestic market.”

CJ Entertainment came in second with 21 votes for the success of its movie, “The Man From Nowhere,” and was followed by Mnet with 14 votes, who sparked an audition wave in Korea with “Superstar K“.

SM Entertainment’s SNSD also won the “Star of the Year” award with 36 votes, making it the first time ever for a company to win both the “Entertainment Power of the Year” and the “Star of the Year” awards.

In an interview, SNSD revealed, “The first performance for our Japanese showcase was our most memorable moment. We want to go on a world tour in the new year and raise global awareness of Korean culture.”

SNSD was followed by Wonbin, who earned 19 votes for his part in “The Man From Nowhere,” and finally Jang Hyuk in third with six votes for his KBS 2TV drama, “Chuno.”

SNSD @ Samsung China !

SNSD 2011 Calendar.

SooYoung , Tiffany , Yuri

Jessica , Sunny , YoonA

TaeYeon , HyoYeon , SeoHyun

Gallup Korea confirms SNSD’s ‘National Girl Group’ status.

SNSD have been chosen by the general public as the ‘Artist of the Year’ for the second year running.

The professional research firm, Gallup Korea, chose 3,401 random citizens over the age of 13 to ask the question, “Who is your favorite artist?”. Results showed that 31.5% of the votes went to SNSD, making them rank #1 for a second consecutive year. 2nd place went to 2PM with 12.5%, while 3rd place went to Jang Yoon Jung (11.6%).

SNSD also received their votes from the widest age range of participants, and ranked #1 in every single age group category. The statistics are as follows:

❖ 10-19: 43.2%

❖ 20-29: 40.6%

❖ 30-39: 43.1%

❖ 40-49: 33.0%

❖ 50+: 21.6%.

When the participants were asked to choose the most popular song of 2010, SNSD’s “Hoot” and “Oh!” ranked 1st and 2nd respectively; the results reflect similarities to last year’s results, as “Gee” and “Tell Me Your Wish” had also placed 1st and 2nd as well.

Having also won the ‘Disk Bonsang Daesang’ at this year’s Golden Disk Awards, in addition to the ‘Artist of the Year Daesang’ at the Melon Music Awards, SNSD has indeed proven that they are in fact the ‘National Girl Group’ of Korea.

Meanwhile, Huh Gak and miss A were chosen as Male/Female Rookie of the Year.

SNSD performs Oh! & Hoot at Music Core Christmas Special.

MBC’s Music Core has returned once again and it promises to be another fun and exciting show.

The top K-pop artists of 2010 have converged together this afternoon since it is a Christmas special, and also to close out the year on a high note as it is the final Music Core episode of the year.

Former MCs, SNSD’s Yuri and Tiffany also returned to host the final episode of 2010, alongside regular MCs, miss A’s Suzy and T-ara’s Jiyeon, making it an all-girl MC line-up this afternoon in the studio. Meanwhile, SHINee’s Minho and Onew hosted the outdoor stage segment.

Check out the performances below, some with special Christmas treats!

Seohyun & Yonghwa Work On Their ‘Banmal Song’!

Seohyun began expressing her feelings on the difficulty of speaking informally to Yonghwa, which led him to encourage, “Just write your thoughts down exactly as they are. Think about how you felt when I took you home for the first time. How’d you feel?”

She shyly answered, “I thought it was amazing that you took me home. What was your first impression?” Yonghwa replied, “Pretty. Nice. Oh! And outgoing too. Don’t think of this as too hard.”

Through Yonghwa’s inspiration, Seohyun was able to come up with the lyrics: “Phrases such as ‘thank you’ and ‘hello’ are still so difficult for me to say. Thank you, thank you, this is all I can say. It’s the first time for me for everything, I’m still not good at this. How can I say this? I’m not as experienced, but my heart flutters again today.”

Yonghwa immediately expressed his surprise over her lyrics and complimented her as being a“prodigal lyricist that exceeded his expectations.”

Check out a snippet from their song below!

Tiffany makes her comeback through Japan’s “Mezamashi TV Live”!

After having to pull out of SNSD’s “Hoot” promotions last month due to a knee injury, member Tiffany is finally back with her girls!

Tiffany made her comeback appearance through the December 23rd episode of “Mezamashi TV Live“. Joining the girls on the station’s rooftop, she delivered a strong performance of “Gee” and demonstrated that she’s back in tip-top shape.

After the performance, the group went down for a short interview session with the program’s hosts.

Having heard of her injury, the hosts asked after Tiffany’s health. She replied in Japanese, “I’m ok now. Because of the strong support from everyone, I was able to return quickly. Thank you very much! While I was taking a break, I was studying Japanese and singing. It was also a good time to review myself. I will work cheerfully now, so please continue to support us!”

We’re glad to see Tiffany doing well. Check out the performances and interview segments down below!

SNSD & ZE:A rank second on Oricon’s daily chart.

SNSD and ZE:A have entered the top two at the same time on Japan’s Oricon daily chart.

According to the statistics released on December 22nd, SNSD’s “Hoot” sold 21,271 copies and ranked in at second place on the daily album chart. Taking into consideration that the album features only Korean tracks, the accomplishment communicates their level of popularity in Japan.

ZE:A’s Japanese single album, “Love Letter / My Only Wish,” also sold 4,499 copies and ranked in at second on the daily single chart for December 21st.

Representatives of Star Empire said, “We’re so thankful, it’s an honor to have ‘Love Letter / My Only Wish’ achieve such great results. It was an album released to wrap up the group’s promotions in Japan before they head back to Korea for their comeback in February. We’re highly anticipating another great result for the group’s February comeback album, as it will feature a lot of ZE:A’s hidden talents and charms. Please give us your love.”

SME Releases Official Statement Regarding Fair Trade Commission Revisions.

SM Entertainment has released an official statement regarding the contract revisions demanded by the Fair Trade Commission.

SME officials clarified on the 23rd, “The FTC only ordered us to revise the contract of one of our trainees by removing the three years added onto his contract. We complied, thus making every contract under our agency to date as ‘fair’. BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, SNSD, SHINee, f(x), The Trax, and other celebrities under our agency have already been acknowledged as fair contracts by the FTC.”

They continued, “As leaders of the industry, we have been cooperating closely with the National Assembly and other related bureaucracies in order to protect the rights and interests of our celebrities, and to aid in the advancement of Korea’s entertainment industry and the Hallyu wave.”

After numerous discussions with the FTC, SME drafted a new contract earlier this year with the changed terms mentioned in the previous article.  All artists re-contracted with the agency under the new terms, which were acknowledged by the FTC to be fair.

The representative continued, “We fully complied with the recent request by the FTC regarding our contract with a trainee.  With the help of the FTC, we will be developing better contracts for the progression of Korean culture and contract customs.”