Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Nishikido, Yamapi struck by flu
Popular idols Ryo Nishikido (24) and Tomohisa Yamashita (24) have reportedly been infected with influenza A, according to a fax sent out by their management on Tuesday. It is said that there is a possibility that they have the H1N1 strain.
Nishikido was diagnosed with the flu on Monday, and Yamashita was diagnosed the following day. Their doctor has instructed them to take a break from work and remain confined to their homes until they recover.
Nishikido currently appears in the TBS drama series "Orthros no Inu." The seventh episode is scheduled to air on Friday, September 4, but some of Nishikido's scenes have still not yet been filmed. As a result, there may be changes to this week's broadcast, and future episodes will depend on his recovery.
UPDATE: Fuji TV has also stated that some of Yamashita's scenes are not yet done for the next episode of "Buzzer Beat."
Noriko Sakai dismissed by Sun Music after indictment
As expected, Noriko Sakai's drug scandal has dealt a big blow to her career. In the past several days, Sakai has been formally indicted, dismissed from her agency, and dropped by her record label.
On August 28, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office indicted Sakai for possession of illegal stimulants. She is expected to be additionally charged with use of illegal stimulants.
After her indictment was made public, Sun Music president Masahisa Aizawa held an emergency press conference to announce the agency's dismissal of Sakai. It was also revealed that her record label, Victor Entertainment, officially terminated all of her CD and DVD contracts. The label had already canceled her upcoming best album and pulled her entire catalog from store shelves.
Over the weekend, Sun Music stated that it will take financial responsibility for the broken contracts caused by the scandal, which appears to be an estimated total of 500 million yen. This includes the contracts with Victor Entertainment, commercial contracts with Arax and Toyota, and merchandise contracts related to Sakai's fashion brand "PP rikorino."
Sakai admitted last week that after the arrest of her husband, Yuichi Takaso, she had tried to hide away until the drugs were no longer detectable by a urine test. Police also note that she took further actions to cover up her drug use, such as cutting and dyeing her hair.
The singer said that she had previously thought of quitting, but found herself addicted and unable to stop using the drugs. She explained that she had started 3-4 years ago, finding that it helped her overcome her fatigue from work, but her usage gradually increased over time.
An Cafe announces indefinite hiatus
Rock band An Cafe announced on their official website on Monday that they will be suspending their activities next year. Their last concert will be on January 4, 2010, at the Nippon Budokan.
According to their message, the band had many discussions with their staff, and it was decided that the members would take some time to recharge and prepare for an eventual restart of the band. However, the length of their hiatus was not specified.
Formed in 2003, An Cafe has found popularity not only in Japan, but overseas as well. They have performed multiple times in the United States and across Europe.
Alisa Mizuki, Teppei Koike play lovers in romantic comedy
Actress Alisa Mizuki (32) is starring in a TBS drama series next season called "Ohitorisama." The show will be a romantic comedy, pairing her up with young actor Teppei Koike (23).
"Ohitorisama" is an original series by screenwriter Masaya Ozaki ("Kekkon Dekinai Otoko," "Oniyome Nikki"). Mizuki plays a teacher at a prestigious girls' school, who excels in her work but lacks in cooking and housekeeping. She falls in love with a colleague 10 years younger than her (Koike), and they begin living together. Each episode highlights the differences in their age, status, mindset, and values.
Miki Maya (45) will play the principal of the school. Nao Matsushita (24) and singer Ami Suzuki (27) have also been added to the cast. TBS has scheduled "Ohitorisama" for Friday nights at 10:00pm, starting on October 16.
Chisa Yokoyama injured in scooter accident
Voice actress and singer Chisa Yokoyama (39) was involved in a traffic accident on Saturday. Among her injuries was a fractured left elbow that is expected to take three weeks to heal.
In the early hours of August 29, Yokoyama was riding her motor scooter on the street. Apparently, the door of a parked car suddenly swung open and hit the side of her scooter. Yokoyama said she did not remember it happening, but the car door and the body of her scooter were both damaged. As for her personal injuries, photos posted on her blog showed her arm in a sling and a cut on her finger.
Yokoyama is known for anime voices such as the lead characters in "Sakura Wars" and "Galaxy Fraulein Yuna."
Miki Fujimoto wins defamation case
On Friday, the Tokyo District Court ruled in favor of singer Miki Fujimoto (24) and her older brother, who had filed a defamation lawsuit against Shukan Shincho publisher Shinchosha.
An issue of the Shukan Shincho magazine published in November 2007 ran a headline declaring that Fujimoto was extorting money from her ex-boyfriend. The article inside the issue claimed that Fujimoto's older brother had made the boyfriend pay a total of 20 to 30 million yen.
Fujimoto's lawyer sought damages of 40 million yen and a published apology. The presiding judge ruled against Shinchosha, explaining that there was insufficient evidence to support the magazine's accusations. Shinchosha was ordered to pay only 4 million yen in damages.
Shihori Suzuki quits AKB48
15-year-old idol Shihori Suzuki, currently belonging to AKB48's "kenkyuusei" team, unexpectedly announced on Saturday that she is leaving the group. The news came just a week after Suzuki was promoted to become a regular member of Team B.
Earlier in August, when AKB48 surprised fans with major roster changes, Suzuki was one of twelve kenkyuusei members who were chosen to join the main AKB48 unit this coming October. But according to her blog post, she said that when her promotion was announced, she realized her own "half-heartedness" and felt that she could not continue with her "naive way of thinking," while her peers were desperately trying to achieve their dreams. Instead of worrying and being unable to move forward as part of AKB48, she hopes to figure out her own dream by herself and work directly towards it.
Suzuki officially leaves AKB48 at the end of August, but she will still participate in a handshake event on September 20 as planned. Her last stage performance with the group was on August 29, when she announced her resignation.
Kawai Okada's son enters movies with starring role in "Brake"
Actor Ryosuke Okada (26) is soon making his big screen debut with a starring role in the movie "Brake," directed by Gitan Otsuru. He was also cast in two other films coming out later this year.
The car-based action flick "Brake" is adapted from a novel by author Yusuke Yamada. Okada stars as a young man who gets caught in a "death game" that will decide the fate of his girlfriend, played by gravure idol Momoko Tani (24). To win, he must maneuver a car going over 100 km/h for a distance of 20 km, while avoiding crashing to his death. But if he steps on the brake even once, his captive girlfriend will be killed.
The actor is the son of talento Kawai Okada (60), well-known for her role in the 1969 drama series "Sign wa V." Ryosuke has been acting in theater since 2001, but "Brake" will mark the start of his movie career when it opens on September 5. He also appears in "Samayou Yaiba" (October 10) and "Inubaka" (November).
Shonen Knife to tour North America
Pop-punk band Shonen Knife recently announced a U.S. and Canada tour for this fall, tying in with the North American release of their album "Super Group" on August 25.
The tour will start in New York City on October 16 and end in Buffalo, New York on November 18, with a very tight schedule of 30 shows in all.
Before their North American tour, the band will play four concerts in a short Australian tour on September 24-27.
NYAF confirms AKB48
On Thursday, New York Anime Festival officially confirmed that idol group AKB48 will be attending this year's convention (September 25-27) as a musical guest. Japanese media had been reporting since early July that the group was scheduled to perform in New York in September.
According to event organizers, AKB48 will participate in a Q&A session and an autograph signing. In addition, they will hold a short concert at the Jacob Javits Center on September 26, followed by a free concert at Webster Hall on September 27.
The announcement did not specify which members of AKB48 will be attending. More details are expected soon.
SM Entertainment can’t file all the paperwork
Defying a court order? That doesn’t sound good.
The first court hearing involving SM Entertainment and DBSK’s Yoo-chun, Jae-joong, and Jun-su was conducted on August 21st, and no conclusive ruling has been made. SM Entertainment was originally given a 20 day period to submit all relevant documentary evidence, such as receipts, accounts books, etc., to the Courts for consideration, but the 20 days expired on August 26th and SM has yet to submit all the requested evidence.
As the Courts have stated, those documents are necessary for an accurate ruling, which they plan on making on September 11th, since this whole legal debacle is over the unfair distribution of profits. Basically, the Courts seems to want an audit of SM Entertainment as that would be the most effective way to determine whether DBSK or SM’s monetary claims of profit distribution were true.
SM has stated, however, that submitting all the requested documents in the amount of time given is too complicated and broad of a task, and that if the Courts were to specify the sections they want, they would be happy to comply. Seeing as how the Courts haven’t given an “answer,” SM hasn’t submitted the “everything” that the Courts want yet. Relevant evidence will continue to be provided to the Courts until they make their final decision.
I can understand SM’s hesitation. Although SM has denied this, by revealing their account books and transactions, SM risks revealing their company secrets to success, which of course they would not want to do, possibly in the form of what kind of transactions they made with certain types of industry peoples to get DBSK to where they are now.
Even if everything turned out to be all legit (which I doubt), there is potential that if SM unveiled all their expenses and such on DBSK, they might have to completely restructure their business model over complications and to fend off accusations of this and that from Cassies that will not rest until their boys don’t look so exhausted (”exploited”) all the time.
G-Dragon does Kanye West?
What do G-dragon and Kanye West have in common?
Louis Vuitton.
Word is out that the most sought after luxury brand has sponsored G-dragon’s feet. At over 1 million won a pair, the limited edition Kanye West designed sneakers were provided to the now solo act because of his forward fashion style and “fashionista” label.
Now with Louis Vuitton backing him up, what’s next for the gender-bender?
2AM and 2PM Comeback… when?
JYP had went back to Korea recently to help 2PM produce some new songs for their full album, but there was no word on when that album will drop and when they will be making another comeback. Just earlier today a curious fan had tweeted JYP about when that comeback will be for the One Day boys. JYP himself kindly tweeted back and said that it will be in the first week of October for 2pm and sometime later for 2am! See for yourself:
credit: 2ONEDAY.COM
I'm sure JYP has a lot of great songs for the new album and new cheorography lined up for the boys. One month away, and the countdown begins!
Fans Transform G-Dragon Album Cover, Take Two!
Earlier this month, we got a kick out of seeing the hilarious fanmade renditions of G-Dragon's Heartbreaker album cover, and it seems like the trend is still spreading like wildfire! From G-Dog to G-TOP, the parodies are getting more creative.
These photos really speak for themselves, so without further ado, check out Korea's latest remixes of GD's 3D face mold:
So which ones are your favorites?
Epik High’s Album Release Date Released
Epik High's 6th Album is due to drop soon! But how soon?
On Epik High's official website www.mapthesoul.com, it was announced that the 2CD 30 tracks album "[e]" will be released on 16th September.
The release date is just 3 days before their concert "[e]-PARADE CONCERT", which is plenty of time for crazy netizens to cook up some super long chants to scream.
Can't wait for this album to drop so I can have some MORE new music to fill my library!
Stay tuned to allkpop for the album release!
Jang Jin Young passes away after losing cancer
September has opened on a sad note - a beautiful and talented star has left us.
After only reporting earlier that Jang Jin Young's stomach cancer was worsening, we have confirmation that the 35 year old actress has passed away this afternoon.
After being diagnosed last September then battling cancer for nearly a year in America, Jang Jin Young was hospitalized in Seoul recently after her condition worsened. Yedang Entertainment stated that the model-turned-actress passed at 4:05PM KST at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, with her boyfriend and family members by her side.
Jang was diagnosed with cancer on the 22nd of September last year during a checkup to treat a small stomach ulcer. She immediately stopped working and focused on battling the disease. Jang's health showed improvement following treatment in America, so the recent news of her worsening condition has been a surprise to many.
Jang has left behind a very rich career in various fields. Her model career began when she was cast as a contestant in the 1993 Miss Korea Beauty Pagent.
Jang debuted on the acting scene in 1998 with fantasy film Ghost In Love. She had her first star role in Sorum, earning much critical praise and winning the Best New Actress Award at the 2001 Pusan Film Critics Awards and Best Actress at the 2001 Blue Dragon Film Awards.
Jang's success didn't end there; she has been active on the acting ever since her breakthrough into the mainstream film scene. Her works include Over the Rainbow (2002), Scent of Love (2003; ironically, the character she plays dies of stomach cancer at the end), Blue Swallow (2005), Between Love and Hate (2006) and, her last work, the Lobbyist (2007). Jang's fame also spread overseas with several awards at various European film festivals.
Our condolences go out to Jang Jin Young and her family during these troubling times. It's sad to see such a talented woman leave us in such an untimely manner.
Jang Jin Young’s Stomach Cancer Worsens
Jang Jin Young, who had been battling stomach cancer, was re-admitted into hospital on 1st September, after her condition took a turn for the worse.
Jang Jin Young had been receiving treatment in America for the past year and had only returned to Korea on 5th August. But her condition had worsened in recent weeks although her management agency has declined to reveal any information about this.
Close associates of Jang Jin Young have revealed that although she is now in hospital, treatment for her cancer cells had already been stopped because of her declining health, with doctors ruling out any form of improvement even if treatment continues.
Jang Jin Young is now only being given painkillers as she spend her last moments with her boyfriend and family members. Stay tuned for more updates.
Bada Claimed 2PM’s Taecyeon First?
Baek Ji Young may have done a hot music video and performed a few live stages with 2PM's Taecyeon for their My Ear's Candy collaboration, but singer Bada would like to make it clear that she had gotten first dibs on the sexy beast. Due to all the hype surrounding Baek Ji Young and Taecyeon's MV, as well as their steamy live performances, Bada's duet with Taecyeon Yes, I'm In Love wasn't talked about much. On a recent filming of Shin Dong Yup and Shin Bong Sun's Champagne, Bada expressed that although she was disappointed that she and Taecyeon never performed on stage together, she had picked him for a collaboration before Baek Ji Young did.
"It would've been nice to perform with him, but Mad was the title track off my album. Although I'm kind of sad and disappointed, I picked Taecyeon to be mine first, so it's okay."
She and Taecyeon then talked about their level of comfort with one another when they had first started working together. She revealed that when she and Taecyeon first started recording, he was quite shy and nervous, which led to Bada buying him donuts and sending him text messages to make him feel more comfortable in her presence. When asked who he felt more comfortable around, Taecyeon replied that he felt more comfortable around Bada than Baek Ji Young, to which Bada responded, "Well, I'm younger than Ji Young unnie, so don't you think that's the reason?"
2NE1 to Release ‘I Don’t Care’ Unplugged Remix
With the huge feedback on 2NE1's special stage on Inkigayo two days ago, it's clear that fans are loving the girls' new reggae mix of 'I Don't Care'. YG Entertainment is really listening to its fans, because 2NE1 will be releasing the unplugged, reggae version of 'I Don't Care' in three days!
A YG representative stated that the Inkigayo special stage to commemorate "I Don't Care" promotions received a very hot reaction; thus, they decided to release the unplugged version for digital download on September 4.
2NE1 is scheduled to wrap up their activities by the end of this month, and their album is projected to be released soon after. Stay tuned for more details!
F.T Island Wants a Clean City
First, F.T Island wanted people to save energy, now they're asking for blue skies and a clean city! The five member band recently released their latest campaign song on Inkigayo promoting the use of the subway for a cleaner city. Many of you aren't located in Korea but the subways in my opinion are a lot more efficient than driving around since there is so much traffic and it's actually cleaner than you probably expect of a public transportation. On top of that, they're extremely fun to ride in. Actually I'm not so sure about the second part but F.T Island makes it look exciting!
Watch out for Jonghun's creeping skills at 0:41!
Tiger J.K & G-Dragon With Your Boy B.I
As you all know by now, B.I is the cute 13 year old boy who is featured in MC Mong's song 'Indian Boy'. B.I, real name Kim Hyunbin, is also 2nd G-Dragon'">dubbed as the '2nd G-Dragon' because he started rapping at the age of 13, the same age G-Dragon began training. Even MC Mong says "When I look at B.I, he reminds me of a young G-Dragon."
Well it looks like the two have finally met when G-Dragon started promoting his song 'Heartbreaker' on various music shows. On the 30th, B.I posted a picture on his cyworld with G-Dragon titled "With G-Dragon hyung" and its been a big topic. B.I looks quite happy because he's a fan of G-Dragon. On Yoo Hewchul's Sketchbook, B.I said "I want to live like MC Mong but I want to look like G-Dragon." Haha, smart boy.
Not only did he meet G-Dragon but B.I met rapping legend Tiger J.K. B.I sure is one lucky boy and let's hope that B.I becomes a great of a rapper as G-Dragon and MC Mong!
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