Thursday, September 3, 2009
2PM’s Jun-ho and SHINee’s Min-ho to form a new “Dream Team”
Remember that old KBS variety show?
No, 2Pm’s Lee Jun-ho and SHINee’s Choi Min-ho aren’t ditching their respective idol groups. The two singers just have been cast in the second season of the KBS variety show “Go Dream Team“. The show, which premiered way back in 1999, once featured some pretty famous guest stars, including Rain, Kwon Sang -woo, Yoo Jae-suk and Shinhwa, competing in the show’s physical challenges.
Six years after the end of the first season, the program has returned with a new title “Go DreamTeam Season 2 – The Green Team is Coming” and its pilot episode is set to air on September 13th. The program’s first episode will feature the new “Dream Team” competing against some Incheon Coast Guards.
A few of the cast of the new dream team have already been announced, including Jun-ho, Min-ho and MC Song Joong-ki, the current MC of KBS Music Bank. These new players will be joined by a few of the show’s veteran cast members from the first season, including Shin Jung-hwan, G.O.D.’s Danny Ahn and Jo Sung-mo, all of whom have been confirmed to return.
The second season of “Go Dream Team” is expected to be bigger and better than the first. One of the show’s PDs even stated:
“We will bring the dynamic variety and fun that the audience had not watched before.”
So, are you excited to see your favorite newbies and veterans competing on the new season of “Go Dream Team” or is the thought of all this already putting you to sleep?
Nich Khun takes a stab at acting
Forget Nick Khun’s Thai prince and pretty boy image, this time the 2PM cutie goes for comical. During the recent taping of Star King, Nich Khun showed off his comical side that he’s been keeping under the covers.
Nich Khun introduced “macrobiotic” cooking featured in the new drama “Style“ through a short comical corner on Star King. During the corner, he vented his anger towards Kang Ho-dong by beating up a doll and hitting the wall and then quickly transformed into a sweet and innocent junior, once he received a phone call from Kang Ho-dong.
Kang Ho-dong, who was watching from the side line, complimented Nich Khun for his improvement in acting and stated, “You’re acting is so natural, do you hate me in real life?”, which brought laughter through out the studio.
You can watch the actual corner of Nich Khun on Star King this coming September 5th.
Trial dates scheduled for Oshio, Takaso
The two recent celebrity drug scandals will each be going to trial next month. Actor Manabu Oshio will appear in court on October 23, while Noriko Sakai's husband Yuichi Takaso will precede him on October 21.
In the upcoming trial, Oshio (who was released on bail on August 31) is being charged with the use of the illegal substance MDMA on the night of August 2. Police are still continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of the woman he was with that night, and he may face trial again later on.
Takaso, on the other hand, is being tried for possession and use of illegal stimulants. Sakai has so far been indicted for possession, though her own trial date has not been set yet. She will likely be indicted for use of the drugs later this month.
It has been indicated that Takaso and Sakai may find themselves on opposite sides in court, due to their testimonies regarding each others' drug use. In addition to this criminal case, it is predicted that they will eventually face off in civil court as well, to settle their likely divorce and battle over the custody of their child.
Latest flu cases: Audrey's Kasuga, BEGIN's Shimabukuro
At least two more celebrities have been affected by the spreading flu in Japan: Toshiaki Kasuga of the comedy duo Audrey and guitarist Masaru Shimabukuro of Okinawan band BEGIN.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that NEWS members Ryo Nishikido and Tomohisa Yamashita had been hit by the flu. NEWS had participated in the "24 Hour Television" telethon over the weekend, along with Audrey and many other celebrities. NTV has now urged caution to all of the attendees, as the flu may have easily spread during the event. Like Nishikido and Yamashita, Kasuga is taking a break from work. His flu was confirmed as type A, but it was not revealed whether it is the H1N1 virus (swine flu).
Meanwhile, Shimabukuro of BEGIN caught the flu in Fukuoka during the band's current tour, though the type of flu was not mentioned. As a result, the band postponed three shows that were scheduled for August 31 in Fukuoka, September 2 in Yamaguchi, and September 4 in Oita. The concerts have been rescheduled for December 27, 26, and 24, respectively.
Kid Yamamoto, Malia split
Mixed martial artist Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto (32) and model MALIA (26) have divorced, it was learned on Thursday. Both of them announced the news on their respective blogs.
The couple married in 2004 and had three children together. Yamamoto said that he was completely at fault for the divorce, explaining that he did not seriously help out with raising the kids. While MALIA diligently fulfilled her duties as a parent, Yamamoto only played with the children and was unable to properly educate them. He also admitted that he hung out with his friends even when MALIA was having a difficult time.
Yamamoto said that he still only loves MALIA and hopes that they can remarry in the future.
La'cryma Christi returns for V-Rock Festival
Rock band La'cryma Christi is reuniting. It has been announced that the group will participate in the V-Rock Festival next month.
The V-Rock Festival is a visual-kei event sponsored by the Sports Nippon newspaper, taking place on October 24-25 at the Makuhari Messe. La'cryma Christi will perform on October 24. Nearly 50 other acts have already been announced for the lineup. More information is available at the festival website.
La'cryma Christi originally debuted in 1997 as a five-member band, but guitarist Koji left in 2005. The group eventually disbanded in January 2007. For the performance at the V-Rock Festival, all five members, including Koji, will be present.
The band's reunion for this festival is temporary, but based on the response of their fans, they may decide to continue their activities afterward.
The Battle between 4minute and f(x)!
This story sounds familiar...
Remember way back in the day when this group called The Wonder Girls came out with their 2nd single called Tell Me? I don't know if you guys heard about it, but it was kind of a big deal.
At the same time, this 9 member girl group called So Nyuh Shi Dae or Girl's Generation debuted with their first album. They would go on to create the longest running number one song in Korean history, but that's another story.
These two mega groups quickly became rivals, competing for the number one spot at every turn. Let's take a brief look at the history:
Round 1: Tell Me vs. Girl's Generation
Round 2: So Hot vs Nothing
Round 3: Nobody vs Gee
Round 4: Nothing vs Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)
Eternal rivals indeed, they match up almost exactly the same. Well, fast forward to the present, and you'll see a very similar story emerge. Girl group 4minute has been explosive with their sales for the new mini album "For Muzik". It is their SECOND release of music in their career. Meanwhile, a hot new girl group from SM Entertainment called f(x) is debuting with their first single 'La Chata'. Another eerie coincidence is that Cube Entertainment (4minute's label) is a sister company of JYP Entertainment (Wonder Girls) who are against SME (SNSD / Girl's Generation and f(x)) a second time.
To spice things up, the music videos for the respective groups were released on the same day.
Let's take a look at the girls' opinions as well as public opinions of the two groups.
On September 4th, female idol group f(x) will be released their music video titled “Lachata.” Because of the members' powerful personalities in the music video, their performance was very skillful and many people have been very impressed. f(x) is a female idol group from SM Entertainment and consists of five members named Victoria Song (Song Chi En), Amber, Luna, Sulli, and Krystal Jung (Jung Soo Jung).
f(x) member Krystal Jung, also known as Girl's Generation member Jessica’s little sister, said, “As much as we have prepared and worked hard together for this moment, there was an equal amount of burden upon me.” She briefly took a breather and said, “In the past, when she was acting alone she was often very bored and is really glad to be together with her new team members.”
Even before debuting with her boyish image, f(x) member Amber had already garnered a lot of attention and was asked, “You have gotten attention from many female fans with your charisma. How did you charm them?” f(x) member Amber shyly and humbly responded, “Are you sure you aren’t talking about fellow member Joong Sung Mi?” The Chinese-American leader of the group, Victoria, said she will “work hard and do her best as the leader of the group” and “help f(x) to become the idol group every fan in Asia can love."
While f(x) has been busy with their debut, the 4minute girls have been working on a few changes in style.
Shortly after the release of female idol group 4minute’s explosive teaser “Muzik” grabbed everyone’s attention, it was announced on the group’s homepage, (http://www.4min.co.kr) that the full version of the music video has been released. Things that really shocked the fans were the major changes in the music video since “Hot Issue” such as, Hyunah’s new hairstyle. Finally the showing of Jun Ji Yoon’s face after wearing her sunglasses since the group’s debut till now satisfied many of the fans’ curiosity. The director for 4minute’s “Hot Issue” music video has also directed their new music video titled “Muzik.” The laser filled 80’s themed music video gives a very powerful electronic feel and the members’ 180-degrees turned concept shows off a very charismatic appeal and will be highly anticipated tomorrow.
Who will win the battle of the girl groups this time, 4minute or f(x)?
JunJin and Lee Si Young are no longer a couple
Boys Over Flower actress, Lee Si Young and member of Korea's popular Shinhwa, JunJin, whom have been happily dating since March has parted ways.
Recently, JunJin's schedule as an artist has become very busy and the same situation applies to Lee Si Young with her work on dramas and movies. A representative of JunJin revealed this, "With the present and future in mind and also to give it their all in their current projects, the two have both chose to part ways."
The representative also added, "With the same good feelings they had towards another when they were dating, they chose to part ways the same way."
I for one am sad to see these two break up. They were quite the cute couple!
Tomboy Trend in New Girl Groups?
Lately, the girl-group trend has been gearing away from the overly saccharine and cutesy image that has inundated the music waves for the past year or so. With new group f(x) unveiling itself, a definite favorite has emerged amongst reporters. With her incredible rapping skills and unconventional boyish image, Amber takes the crown. When f(x) was asked to differentiate themselves from other girl groups, Krystal Jung, SNSD Jessica’s sister, responded by claiming that none of the other girl groups had a member like Amber.
True - until recently, it was difficult to spot a tomboy in the mix. However, the recent new wave of girl groups did in fact manage to bring along a tomboy or two. 2NE1 brought along Minzy and CL, both polar opposites from the girl groups ahead of their time, but nevertheless very popular. Also, the boyish (?) Jiyoon of 4minute, who is preparing for her comeback on the 4th of this month via Music Bank, possesses a strong and charismatic image while dancing and singing.
While the influx of girl groups infiltrating every corridor of the music scene, a number of trends were bound to appear. Fans have begun to take notice of these trends, such as the insertion of tomboys, or the inclusion of a rapper. While the cutesy girl members of girl groups have been a staple, it’s great to see artists striving to reinvent their images and present themselves in unconventional ways. With all this diversity and talent, we've already seen a greater variation of styles and surprises, and have many amazing girl group moments to look forward to in the future as well!
Lee Hyori and Ryu Seung Bum are together…
Here are the images for your viewing pleasure.
This music video is for LeeSsang's 6th album's title track called "Man Who Can't Break Up", where Lee Hyori and Ryu Seung-bum star as two lovers who have known each other for over ten years.... and the two of them apparently had some free time, hence the selca-ing. The pictures are probably pretty recent, since Ryu Seung-bum uploaded these pictures of Hyori and himself on his cyworld minihompage on September 1 at 8:48PM (Korean time, so about 6:48 AM EST on September 1). I don't know about you, but if I had taken some selca pictures with Hyori, I would've put them up as soon as I'd taken them....
And don't worry, Hyori fans - along with this picture, RSB wrote a little caption reading, "Please don't be mad at me, Lee Hyori fans... These were only taken while we were filming." So you guys can drop your torches. And pitchforks. And assorted torture devices.
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