2011: Year of Male Idol Duos and Boy Groups? [NEWS

BOYBAND IDOL

It's safe to say that 2010 was dominated by girl groups and female solo singers. Well, that trend may be coming to an end this 2011.

Already, two duos have been sweeping the music charts and music shows with their incomparable popularity: GD&TOP and TVXQ. GD&TOP are members of what's arguably one of the most popular boy groups in Korean music -- Big Bang. The only group that has been able to rival Big Bang at the time of their peak was maybe TVXQ. After the trio JYJ split off as their own entity, the two remaining members are pushing on as a duo now. Perfect timing to give GD&TOP a little friendly competition!

On top of that, the six-membered group BEAST has been split into three duos: Yoseop & Junhyung with the song "Thanks To", Hyunseung & Kikwang with the song "Let It Snow", and Doojoon & Dongwoon with the song "When The Door Shuts".

In response to this, entertainment related sources from SM Entertainment and YG Entertainment have said that there are already talks that perhaps male duos are the next big thing in KPOP.

So what is the power behind the concept of just two male idol stars? BEAST representatives explained, "There are limits to showing off the talents of all the members when promoting as a six-membered group. When performing as a two-membered team, there's more room to show off each of the members' vocal abilities and unique sound. These may not be songs from their [BEAST's] official album, but through their promotions as duos, the fans have been able to get a taste of what each member brings. Also, duet performances can offer something different musically compared to solo performances."

There are some downsides to duos though. Dance and choreography don't look as visually pleasing compared to larger group performances. Also, because the spotlight needs to be shared, it's not as focused and powerful as solo performances.

Only time will tell whether the positive points will overpower the negative points!

Source: KBS World


2011 welcomes a battle of the boy groups

An early forecast reveals that the beginning of 2011 will be marked with an influx of girl group debuts, but with the return of various male groups looming near, fans will get their full doses of testosterone in the near future as well.

Rookies including MBLAQ, Teen Top and Infinite have been generating lots of chatter and interest with their ongoing comebacks this month.

MBLAQ’s title track “Cry” was released just two days ago and has already secured high rankings on various charts including those of Mnet and Bugs. Their full album “BLAQ Style” will be released on the 10th with a live comeback on the 13th.

Teen Top, whose members got kpop fans doing double takes with their silver hair concept, released a MV teaser today for their comeback track ”Transform.” Due to member Niel’s injury, the group has pushed back their live comeback to the 13th.

Finally, Infinite will be returning with their second six-track mini-album “Evolution,” with concept photos and preview videos attracting much attention. Their comeback showcase is schedule to take place in just a few hours today at Seouls’ CGV.

On the other end, news of the impending returns of TVXQ and Big Bang, arguably the two largest male groups of the Korean music scene in recent years, has already been dominating headlines in regards to their comeback albums. TVXQ and Big Bang’s last albums, “Mirotic” and “Remember”, were released in September and November 2008 respectively, so these returns mark the end of two year hiatuses for both groups.

The special edition of TVXQ’s “Why (Keep Your Head Down)” album has been released today with the HoMin duo gearing up for a comeback on Music Bank on January 7, followed by appearances on Music Core, Inkigayo and possibly M! Countdown due to reconciliations between SME and Mnet. Choreographed by Rino Nakasone of the Beat Freaks, “Why (Keep Your Head Down)” also caught the attention of American gossip blogger Perez Hilton.

Big Bang’s sub-unit duo GD&TOP made waves with the release of “High High,” “Oh Yeah” and “Knock Out” last month, complete with the most expensive comeback stage in Mnet M. Countdown’s history. After Japanese promotion plans were delayed, it was also announced that GD&TOP will have a second round of promotions for “Don’t Go Home.” Furthermore, Big Bang’s maknae Seungri will be releasing a mini-album on January 13, and the entire group will be making a full comeback soon thereafter.

Unsurprisingly, TVXQ & Big Bang’s returns are being met with overwhelming receptions — “Keep Your Head Down” recorded massive sales immediately after release, and GD&TOP enjoyed 200,000 pre-orders for their album.

Like the 2009 domination of countless new girl groups including 2NE1, 4minute, f(x) and After School , it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of female debuts this year, but will 2011 mark the return of a boy group craze as well?

Source: Naver + Translation by lawlietta @ allkpop

GD&TOP choose which Big Bang members have the most and least interest in women [NEWS]

During a recent interview, Big Bang’s G-Dragon and T.O.P were asked to pick members who had the most and least interest in women lately.

For the member who showed the most interest in the ladies lately, G-Dragon answered with a laugh, “All of them have interest in women, but Taeyang especially has been showing a lot of interest after singing ‘I Need A Girl.‘”

Taeyang’s well known in the Big Bang fandom to be shy and innocent, which contrasts with the sexy choreography he tends to perform on stage with girls. G-Dragon continued, “It feels like Taeyang has finally opened his eyes to the world of women. He never even used to go to locations where girls were present, but now he fits in well and is even in the center of discussion when conversing with them. It makes me feel so proud seeing him chat with girls.”

Meanwhile, T.O.P was asked to choose a member with the least interest, and he decided upon Seungri. He reasoned, “It feels like Seungri has lost interest in them since he’s well aware of his career as a celebrity.”

The duo were then asked about their ideal women, in which G-Dragon replied, “Someone that makes me feel comfortable upon first sight.”

T.O.P answered, “A wise woman that handles herself well enough to express her unique charms.”

Source + Photos: Osen via Daum
Credit: allkpop

G-Dragon and T.O.P on Weekly Woman Magazine Japan [PHOTOS]

Scans by Tisya @ www.bigbangupdates.com

Will Big Bang and 2NE1 be able to bring something new in 2011? [NEWS]

Will 2011 be the year the hallyu idols make a difference? With the disbandment of TVXQ, Japan was in a quiet state until the girl groups, Girls’ Generation and Kara made their debut and set the fire back into the Japanese entertainment industry. Among the hallyu groups, YG‘s male and female groups, Big Bang and 2NE1 have started their activities and have shown their confidence by saying, "We will definitely succeed on the Japanese stage." YG’s president, Yang Hyun Seok, have commented on the activities at Japan.

“Starting in May, for about 2 months, Big Bang will hold a Japan tour concert and they’re preparing for it. Right now, they’ve been going to Japan once a week and have been promoting a small out but starting in 2011, they’ll be more aggressive and offensive in their promotion tactics.”

Following Big Bang and 2NE1, they’re not your usual hallyu idol or your girl group because they’ve split up their promotion schedule so that they’ll be able to promote both in Japan and Korea, making their promotion techniques unique.

President Yang continued by saying,

“The proposal of 2NE1′s debut in Japan was proposed since last year. But because they’re a group that debuted not too long ago and are still rookies, we believed it was best to focus our attention on promoting them in Korea so it has been a bit late. After completely finishing their activities for their first full length album, they will officially debut in Japan during February.”

But what are his thoughts on the success of Big Bang and 2NE1 in the Japanese industry.

For Big Bang, he said,

“It was suggested with our partner in Japan that we split the promotions in Japan and Korea and that the focus on promoting one thing at a time. They’ll promote their Korean album during March and April and their Japanese concert will be during May and June, along with other promotions, and from July through September, they’ll promote another Korean album and from October to November, they’ll promote another Japanese album.”

He continued by saying,

“They’re well known in Korea already and in Japan, they’re getting to that point so we believe it would be best to focus on their promotions and we believe by doing that, we’ll get good results.”

Truthfully, before Big Bang started their official promotion in Japan, starting in early 2011, many fans have been interested already and they’ve been awarded 2 years straight with the Japanese Record award.

In the case of 2NE1, they have formed a partnership with TVXQ’s company, Avex, and already, their future in Japan seems bright. President Yang said, “The owner of Avex have taken a liking of 2NE1 for a while and they proposed on working with 2NE1 so the staff of YG have been anticipating greatly for 2NE1′s debut in Japan.”

2NE1′s first Japan promotion will be during February and March, for 2 months and within that time frame in May and June, they will be preparing for their Korean album that will be announced in May and June.

Source: Mcgwire @ osen.co.kr
Translation: Eunjin @ kpoplive.com

GD&TOP’s “Don’t Go Home” banned by MBC, but requesting for retrial w/out modification [NEWS]

“Knock Out”, the title song of Big Bang’s G-Dragon and TOP duo unit’s first album, has been banned from KBS, MBC, and SBS, the three major terrestrial broadcasting stations.

Moreover another title song “Don’t Go Home” has also been banned from MBC.

This morning, Big Bang’s company YG Entertainment (YGE), said to Moneytoday Starnews, “about getting “Knock Out” banned, we were a bit expecting that to happen, so we are not planning to request the retrial, but we are a little surprised at MBC’s decision about “Don’t Go Home”.”

Continuing to speak, “We don’t think “Don’t Go Home” has any problems, so as the other broadcasting stations, KBS and SBS didn’t ban it. Meanwhile we were surprised at MBC’s decision banning “Don’t Go Home”. but considering MBC have their reasons too, we’ll request for a retrial politely this time.”

YG also added, “We think TOP’s rap in “Don’t Go Home” is considered to be the problem, but please understand that they’re just lyrics.” They also emphasized, “We are not modifying the lyrics in the process of requesting for the retrial.”

TOP’s rap consists,

”I don’t want this awkward atmosphere, Is the sound of the clock usually this loud? I just hear the swallowing sound in my neck. What should I say? Look baby, I just want to greet the morning with you, Before the night ends, a secret party for only the two of us, But you’re like a Cinderella, you wanna leave when the clock strikes 12, A night by myself is too long, callin’ up to your parents, I’m pretending to be strong but I feel uneasy”

Meanwhile the other song “Knock Out” is banned from the three major terrestrial broadcasting stations for the name of the song is spoiling the national psyche.

G-Dragon and TOP’s duo unit is now performing their 5 title songs, “High High”, “Oh Yeah”, “Knock Out”, “Don’t Go Home”, & “Baby Good Night”, of their first full album released on Dec. 24th 2010.

Big Bang, one of the most expensive CF stars, classified under "Super A Class" [NEWS]

On January 5th, TV Report released the data results they’ve compiled from various advertisement and model contracting companies in order to find the most expensive celebrity figures of 2011.

The data they’ve published were updated as of January 2011, and consists of appearance and contract fees paid to singers for year-long contracts.

So who are the most expensive CF stars?

According to the results, Rain and Big Bang were classified under ‘Special A Class’ in the industry, and are both worth $1 million to $1.5 million USD.
2PM, SNSD, Lee Hyori, and SNSD were placed in the $800,000 to $900,000 USD sector, while BoA followed at $700,000 to $800,000 USD.

Lee Seung Gi, Kim Hyun Joong, Jay Park, Super Junior, JYJ, Son Dambi, and the Wonder Girls placed at $500,000 to $600,000 USD.

2AM, CNBLUE, KARA, 4minute, MBLAQ, and After School (excluding UEE) are worth a minimum of $400,000 USD. After School’s UEE exceeds that amount.

IU, FT Island, Seo In Young, and SECRET were revealed to have been in discussion for $200,000 to $300,000 USD.

Of course, the true worth of a star cannot be determined by numbers, but the numbers give better insight into the commercial aspect of the stars.

Source: TV Report via Daum

Translated by VitalSign @ allkpop

New G-Dragon and T.O.P Official Merchandise from YG [PHOTOS]

From YGeShop:

IT’S A TRIPLE-COMBO! GD&TOP BUTTON SET

GD&TOP BUTTON BADGE SET will complete your styling in 3 sizes Like GD&TOP in M/V, you can utilize it as not only a fashion point but also an interior item and etc.
Price: 10,000 won for the set






DESIGN TO KNOCK YOU OUT! GD&TOP SWEATSUIT SET RELEASE!
Rabbit logo made GD&TOP’s album more bling-bling and velour sweatsuit set of GD’s choice were created as the best team suit. Luxurious black colored velour sweatsuit is of high quality and it’s already shown at stage in GD&TOP’s costumes. GD&TOP’s own style and coziness, grab two hares at once with this GD&TOP sweatsuit set !
Price: 120,000 won for the set; 72,000 won for the jacket