Updated! Big Bang shooting for FILA 2011 Catalogue [PHOTO]

Updated! Big Bang shooting for FILA 2011 Catalogue [PHOTO]

Updated with a photo of GD&TOP:

Credits: via DCBB + bbvipz

Seungri's Me2Day Update (110122) [TRANS]

Seungri's Me2Day Update (110122) [TRANS]

Update:기막힌광고카피글덕에많은도움이되었습니다.빠른시일내에제가준비한선물보내겠습니다.축하드립니다.
Tags: 착한애 맛있는지용이 sky_0013 맑은승리 SyKim 권지용 권이최강동 겸딩 h-hyejung 안잠기는바지지퍼 대성짝짝꿍 지은 only최승현 아우짜 상큼지현 카스테라 린비♬ )/soulmatch/ /praise_15/ 당첨자 발표 기막힌선물 질투나지 그러길래 이벤트 참여 메롱

Translation:

Update: Those amazing advertising copy words were a great help. I am sending a present which I prepared in a short time. Congratulations.

T/N: Advertising Copy is the text of a print, radio, or television advertising message.
Seungri tagged people whose message he included in the picture he created.

Translated by christabel88 @ bigbangupdates
Source: viofbb

Seungri reflects on fate and his solo album preparations [NEWS]

Seungri reflects on fate and his solo album preparations [NEWS]

“People will think “He’s Big Bang’s maknae. What can a maknae do?” But breaking those stereotypes is fun.”

Big Bang’s Seungri unleashed his first solo album on January 20th, which shortly became the top most searched album on various music sites like Bugs Music, Naver Music and Mnet.com. Taking that accomplishment in stride, Seungri is aiming to change the general public’s view of him as a singer and a musician.

Seungri is a member of a group who’s not only popular in Korea, but has gained explosive interest and popularity in Japan and all of Asia. Yet when one compares his solo activities to his group members’, it could be considered to be of a smaller scale. A maknae of a team who has so much to offer – does he ever get worried?

“I’m a fatalist. I believe everything has its own pre-determined time to rise. If I don’t have activities or receive opportunities, then I believe that’s fate. I’m saying that it’s better to keep preparing yourself for your fate rather than being impatient. Of course, my being able to release this solo album is fate in itself.”

Unlike his bandmates (who could be found on variety programs, movies, or back at the studio), it was difficult to spot Seungri with a solo project in the entertainment industry. Seungri explains that the reason for this was because he didn’t feel confident in his abilities.

“To be honest, I didn’t have the confidence to do better than the other members for solo music promotions, and there wasn’t anyone who said I should try solo.Since I’m not a member who focuses greatly on music, I was scared of writing lyrics and composing songs. When others ask me of my abilities in composing or producing, I’ve always said, “I’m not good at it.”

Whether it was fate who intervened, or a well-timed opportunity, no one can say for certain. What is known, however, was that Seungri seized his insecurities and rose above them. His solo work was originally planned to be a digital single, but due to the positive response, YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun Suk decided to turn it into a seven-track mini-album. Of those seven tracks, six were personally composed and penned by Seungri himself.

“I was able to make the songs after constantly listening and looking over the shoulders of the other members while they produced music during the five years of being together."

With G-Dragon and T.O.P being too busy with their own unit album promotions, Seungri had to prepare his new album without the help of his bandmates. But the independence allowed Seungri the chance to establish his own unique charms in his works.

Musing over his music video for “VVIP“, Seungri expressed:

“Whatever I do, I like using things that have meaning behind it. For the “VVIP” music video, the key held the most meaning. The key’s meaning was that if you use the key to open the door to enter Seungri’s world, you become a VVIP. I hope the fans can feel that while listening to the album.”

With Big Bang preparing to make an official comeback on February 24th, Seungri will unfortunately only have one month to promote his first solo album. When asked if he felt a sense of disappointment, however, Seungri confidently shook his head.

“I’m going to make the general public feel a sense of yearning to watch me perform. That way, even while I’m promoting as Big Bang, I can simultaneously run solo promotions as well, no?”

Source: SPN via Nate + vitalwarning @ allkpop

Big Bang, DBSK, 2PM, Shinee, Suju - Star Wars - Dance Battle @ Gayo Fest...

G-Dragon sick and will be unable to perform on Seungri's comeback stage [NEWS]

G-Dragon sick and will be unable to perform on Seungri's comeback stage [NEWS]

Big Bang leader G-Dragon will not be able to perform alongside Seungri for his “M! Countdown” comeback performance on January 20th.

Seungri was scheduled to performed “What Do You Want Me to Do” and ”Open the Window,” which guest-features G-Dragon. The maknae rolled into Mnet studios to rehearse a day before the filming of his comeback stage, and G-Dragon decided to tag along to go over their co-performance.

However, it was discovered that G.Dragon was actually suffering from a bad flu, and could not perform at all. A staff member stated, “The head PD saw G-Dragon and said that his fever was too high, and he couldn’t perform on stage. Afterwards, he was barred from this performance with Seungri, and went directly to the hospital instead for treatment.”

We wish G-Dragon a speedy recovery, and stay tuned to Seungri’s M! Countdown comeback.

Source: Star News via Nate
Translation by allkpop

[V.I] SEUNGRI V.V.I.P. M/V

akhirnya mini albumnya mantan saya rilis juga .... seperti dugaan saya ni album pasti buming karna KERRENN banget ...
ngga' nyesel dah para vipz nunggu dengan sabar karna hasilnya ngaa' mengecewakan !!!
KEEP FIGHTING VI ....We always be there for u

Isty Nara Uchiha (Vip Forever)

Top Korean pop stars are riding Hallyu’s second wave [NEWS]

Top Korean pop stars are riding Hallyu’s second wave [NEWS]

When The Beatles hit the United States in the early 1960s, they helped launch what would eventually become known as the British Invasion.

The Asian equivalent is hallyu - the Korean Wave of drama, film, music and culture that took Asia by storm beginning in the late 1990s. Beginning with television dramas and originally restricted to Asia, hallyu is now going through a second phase, with music groups leading the way into the coveted American market.

One of the groups that has been popular in the U.S. is girl group Wonder Girls, whose hit song “Nobody” reached No. 76 on the Billboard charts last October. On Jan. 7, the band was invited to be the opening act for a concert celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth, Wind and Fire in Las Vegas. The concert featured performances by the band and tribute performances by major artists, including Stevie Wonder.

After the show, Noel Lee - the president of Monster, a cable and headphone manufacturing company, and the host of the event - said that the Wonder Girls are “putting Asian pop culture on the map.”

Another Korean artist who had success in the West is Taeyang, who is a member of the group Big Bang. His album “Solar” reached No. 1 on the Canadian iTunes R&B sales chart and went to No. 2 in the U.S. in the beginning of last year - a first for a Korean singer. His success was even more impressive because the songs on the album are all in Korean and his competition consisted of top pop names such as Usher and Ne-Yo. It was the first time that a Korean singer had topped North American charts.

Taeyang’s popularity was amplified when two Canadian singers and b-boys by the name of J. Reyez and Tommy C. became YouTube sensations with their cover of Taeyang’s song, “Wedding Dress.”

Fans cheer for Girls’ Generation, one of the K-pop bands that is gaining traction in the United States, at an event organized by the group’s fan club Soshified on Jan. 8 in Los Angeles. [JoongAng Ilbo]

Song Gi-cheol, a Korean pop culture critic who has studied this phenomenon, said, “K-pop has started to achieve the quality of American pop. The music that we’re producing now is well-produced and the singers themselves show a lot of talent.”



Another band that has had success in the North American market is the nine-member girl group, Girls’ Generation.

When the group participated in an event in Los Angeles organized on Jan. 8 by the fan club Soshified - which is a combination of the shortened Korean word for Girls’ Generation, Soshi, and the English word “satisfied” - 500 of the group’s 120,000 members worldwide were present.

One fan club member said, “I’ve started learning Korean because of my love for K-pop. It is hard for people of all ages to enjoy a single genre of music but K-pop doesn’t seem to have that kind of limitation.”

Last September, a concert held by SM Entertainment, the largest entertainment management company in Korea, produced a concert in Los Angeles with some of their most popular groups, including Girls’ Generation and Super Junior. All 15,000 tickets for the concert were sold out a month in advance.

That was just one strategy that entertainment companies have started using to market their acts.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 13 that Korean singers and groups are using social networking to promote their music. According to the article, “YouTube’s video-management features are gaining traction in emerging markets where local content producers are seeking a cheap way to reach overseas audiences and create demand for its artists without having to open offices or partner with labels in other countries.”

It also reported that SM Entertainment had used the video sharing site to distribute video of its acts, and said that its two biggest competitors in South Korea, YG Entertainment and JYP Productions, and about two dozen smaller labels had done the same thing.

Meanwhile, the increased interest in K-pop has also attracted American producers. The new EP by the Wonder Girls, due out in the U.S. in March, is being produced by Rodney Jerkins, famous for his work with the late pop icon Michael Jackson.

The new album by JYJ, a trio that consist of former members of the boy band TVXQ, is being produced by Warner Music Group with the participation of renowned hip-hop singer Kanye West.

In a recent study, the JoongAng Ilbo examined the popularity of K-pop by surveying 923 video clips of Korean acts - specifically those managed by SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, the country’s top three management companies - that were uploaded to YouTube in the year 2010.

The results showed that the videos by the Korean performers got 793.57 million hits from people in almost every country worldwide. Over 500 million views were from the Asian continent, 120 million from the American continent and 55 million were from Europe.

Lee Won-jin, the managing director of Google Korea, said, “The fact that K-pop videos had almost 800 million hits from viewers all over the world proves that K-pop has the potential to succeed in any given market.”

By Chung Kang-hyun [estyle@joongang.co.kr]
via ashiva @ omona