Girls’ Generation Contributes to the Success of K-pop in Japan
On February 16th, Oricon, a company which reports music sales in Japan, announced that Korean music CD and DVD products have seen the largest market scale increase in Japan yet. Though sales in the music disc marketplace have been continually decreasing the past five years, sales of Japanese music discs by Korean artists rapidly increased in 2011 and reached a record high of 24,470,000,000 yen.
The total sales from Girls’ Generation’s album, “Girls’ Generation” (sales in 2011: 2,960,000,000 yen), and KARA’s album, “Super Girl” (sales in 2011: 2,080,000,000 yen), were a drastic 22.3% increase compared to last year’s sales during the same months. Since the survey began in 2008, sales by Korean artists have increased each year. From 2009 (before the advance of KARA and Girls’ Generation to Japan) to 2011, the sales share of Korean artists in the Japanese market rose by 4.8% and increased the sales base by 2.3 times. In 2010 alone, the market share grew from 6% to 7.8%.
After 2010′s whirlwind Japan debuts by Korean girl groups KARA and Girls’ Generation, 2011 saw many male artists making their Japan debut. These artists included 2PM, Jang Geunsuk, SHINee, Beast, and others. A total of ten singles and albums from Tohoshinki, Big Bang, Girls’ Generation, KARA, Jang Geunsuk, T-ara, 2NE1, and more reached number one on 2011′s weekly rankings for music sales. This was the highest number of first place rankings by Korean artists since the beginning of album rankings in 1970, exceeding the previous record of five in 2008.
Furthermore, in the ranking for yearly album sales, Girls’ Generation’s “Girls’ Generation” (642,000 copies sold) and KARA’s “Super Girl” (451,000 copies sold) both entered the top ten. Sales by artists also reached a new high, with KARA (4,930,000,000 yen, 4th), Girls’ Generation (4,050,000,000 yen, 5th), and Tohoshinki (2,660,000,000 yen, 9th) in the top ten of total yearly sales.
2011 Korean Artist Album Ranking Top Five
Rank
|
Copies Sold
|
Album Name
|
Artist
|
Sale Date
|
1
|
642,054
|
Girls’ Generation
|
Girls’ Generation
|
6/1/2011
|
2
|
450,595
|
Super Girl
|
KARA
|
11/23/2011
|
3
|
293,674
|
Tone
|
Tohoshinki
|
9/28/2011
|
4
|
277,306
|
Girl’s Talk
|
KARA
|
11/24/2010
|
5
|
148,761
|
Hoot
|
Girls’ Generation
|
12/22/2010
|
Source: Oricon
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LG Electronics Releases 3D TV CF of Girls’ Generation
On January 16th, LG Electronics stated that Girls’ Generation, along with established actor, Won Bin, would be the new spokespeople for LG’s new Cinema 3D TV. A month after the announcement, LG Electronics has released four different versions of a CF which feature Girls’ Generation along with Won Bin in them. In the CFs, cuts from the music video of Girls’ Generation’s “The Boys” were used to help advertise the TV. Check out the different versions of the CF on the LG website, or below.
Sources: LG Electronics, Yurui86 @YouTube
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Girls’ Generation Plays Games at Retreat With ‘Dangerous Boys’
With fluttering hearts, Girls’ Generation and the “Dangerous Boys” took a retreat from the city.
This week’s episode of jTBC’s “Girls’ Generation and Dangerous Boys” draws a picture of a cheerful and moving MT (Editor’s note: MT stands for membership training, a time to bond with one another through various activities) scene with the boys, who are tired from the dance practices they had in preparation for the Street Jam competition.
During the day of recording, the boys’ mothers visited as special guests. When asked about their first impressions of Girls’ Generation, the mothers praised the members’ beauty by saying, “As the boys always say, you look like dolls.” They also did not hesitate to express their gratitude towards the girls, who did their best as their sons’ mentors.
During the MT, the members of Girls’ Generation and the boys played a game of “Yut” (Editor’s note: A traditional Korean family game) to create a warm atmosphere, with a massage chair as a prize. The mothers and sons also had a meaningful time talking to one another and understanding each other better. When seeing the boys and their mothers having a fun time together, Yoona even mentioned that she was jealous, and that she wanted a son for herself.
The MT scenes with Girls’ Generation and their mentees will be aired on February 19th at 7:30PM KST.
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Tiffany, Yoona and Seohyun to Attend ’2012 F/W Burberry Prorsum Fashion Show’ in London
Girls’ Generation’s Tiffany, Yoona and Seohyun will visit London, England to attend a fashion show.
Tiffany, Yoona and Seohyun have been invited to the “2012 F/W Burberry Prorsum Women’s Collection Fashion Show”, held in the Kensington Gardens in London. They are scheduled to attend the show as celebrities with other world stars.
Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s creative managing director, officially invited Girls’ Generation members Tiffany, Yoona and Seohyun as representatives of Korea for the show. The event will be broadcast live through online websites and is considered an opportunity for the world to get to know Girls’ Generation. The show will begin at 4:00PM on February 20th.
Source: TVDaily, London Fashion Week
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Updated: Jessica Talks About Her First Attempt at Acting
Update with new interview:
With the end of “Wild Romance” approaching, Girls’ Generation’s Jessica took the time for an interview to reflect on her first acting experience. She show her appreciation for her fellow actors, saying, “Because it was my first attempt at acting, it was a nerve-wracking and fun job. I was lacking, but I want to say thank you to Lee Dongwook and Lee Siyoung for being able to act with them.”
Jessica also brought up the possibility of acting in the future, hinting, “I will work hard to be active as Girls’ Generation’s Jessica, and to meet you all as actress Jessica through future works.” Finally, she thanked the audience of “Wild Romance”, saying, “Thank you very much for loving Jonghee so much. Thank you to all the viewers who watched ‘Wild Romance’, and I love you.”
The final two episodes of “Wild Romance” will air next week on February 22nd and February 23rd.
Jessica expressed positive feelings on her first time acting in a drama.
Girls’ Generation’s Jessica is playing the role of Kang Jonghee in the KBS 2TV Wednesday/Thursday drama, “Wild Romance”. Although Jessica has starred in a musical before, this would be her first attempt in acting.
The Jessica we saw through the interview was a person who was nervous but overflowing with willpower. On the subject of new challenges, Jessica stated, “I am having fun with it. I wish there was more time, so I’m sad.” Jessica also said, “It is true that my appearance on ‘Wild Romance’ was decided in a rush. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare because there was also a lot of overseas schedules for Girls’ Generation. I feel a bit sad that I couldn’t focus on just the drama. However, I’m really happy that I could experience something new.”
Girls’ Generation is currently active not only in Korea, but also in Asia, as well as the United States and Europe. Despite all the activities they had, it did not change during the filming of “Wild Romance”. Jessica even had to return to Korea first, alone, after completing schedules overseas. Jessica, who usually sleeps a lot, had to continue with acting with barely any sleep. Jessica said, “I could not get a lot of sleep. I was worried I would look tired in the drama. It is true that I was physically exhausted.” She laughed and added, “However, there were a lot of things that I learned through this drama.”
In the drama, Jessica had to cry in many scenes, which is difficult when acting in a drama for the first time. On this, Jessica stated, “Emotional scenes were actually the most fun for me. I like myself focusing and immersing myself in an emotion.”
Recently, Jessica’s character was “dumped” by the male lead in the drama, Park Mooyeol, who is played by Lee Dongwook. When asked about how it felt to be “dumped”, her cheeky personality showed: “I’ve never been dumped this badly even in real life before.” After laughing, she said, “When I was concentrating on the emotions while acting, it actually hurt my pride.”
Through a recent interview with NewsEn, Jessica talked about her kissing scene with Lee Dongwook that garnered much attention not too long ago. Jessica recalled, “I’ve acted out a kiss scene before. But at that time I ‘acted’ like I kissed someone, so I was really nervous about this time.”
She laughed and said, “Before we started filming, I was told, ‘You really have to do this kiss scene,’ and I got nervous.” Jessica seemed shy about it and also added, “I shot the kiss scene comfortably by just going along with Lee Dongwook sunbae’s lead.”
When asked, “Were there any NGs?” she answered, “There were NGs… There were fewer NGs than I thought. But there were a lot of cut scenes, so we had to shoot a lot.”
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Taeyeon and Seohyun Debut as MC’s for ‘Show! Music Core’
Taeyeon and Seohyun made their debut as MC’s as they took over for Yuri on MBC’s “Show! Music Core” on February 18th.
In their first appearance as permanent MC’s for the music show, Taeyeon and Seohyun exhibited cuteness while having fun together introducing performers. Taeyeon’s experience as a radio DJ could also be seen as she looked a bit more comfortable than Seohyun, though they both gave off a professional and fun vibe.
Yuri recently left her MC position to focus on acting in her upcoming drama “Fashion King”. Tiffany will remain as MC for “Show! Music Core”, but had left early for London, England, where she will join Yoona and Seohyun for the Burberry Prorsum Fashion Show.
Check out the MC cuts from this week’s show below. How did Taeyeon and Seohyun do in their first broadcast as MC’s?
Source: SoneHsun1@youtube.com
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Taeyeon to MC at ‘First Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards’
Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon has been chosen to MC the “First Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards”.
On February 22nd, Taeyeon will be MCing the “First Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards” alongside Joo Younghoon. The show will last for approximately three hours, starting at 7 pm KST. Gaon Chart’s director revealed on the 20th, “We decided to choose Taeyeon, a member of Girls’ Generation, the leaders of Hallyu, and Korea’s representative composer Joo Younghoon, who has been active as an MC on other various shows, as MCs for the ‘First Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards’.”
Taeyeon successfully debuted as co-MC with Seohyun on MBC’s “Show! Music Core” on February 18th. Taeyeon and Tiffany are also set to MC at the 2012 Korean Music Wave in Bangkok on April 7th.
Source: sportsworldi
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Jessica Gives Valentine’s Day Chocolates to ‘Wild Romance’ Staff
Girls’ Generation’s Jessica showed her heart is just as pretty as her face.
Jessica has been playing the role of Kang Jonghee in the KBS2 drama “Wild Romance”. She delivered a heartwarming gift on Valentine’s Day by giving the drama’s staff members chocolates. She showed her thoughtfulness by preparing the chocolates for the hard-working staff in the midst of Girls’ Generation’s busy overseas schedules.
Netizens commented, “Jessica’s so pretty” (Editor’s note: They were implying that Jessica is kind-hearted), “How heartwarming”, and, “I want to chocolates, too”.
Jessica was not the only Girls’ Generation member to show her sweet side by giving out Valentine’s chocolates, as Yuri recently did the same for staff members of her upcoming drama “Fashion King”.
Source: Sports Chosun
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Yuri’s Work Ethic Praised by ‘Fashion King’ Director
Photos of Girls’ Generation’s Yuri filming the upcoming SBS Monday/Tuesday drama “Fashion King” were released on February 20th.
Along with the photos, staff members revealed, “With the first broadcast set for March 12th, the production crew has been satisfied with Kwon Yuri smoothly digesting the emotional scenes in New York.”
Director Lee Myungwoo stated, “It’s an important role for a rookie to play, so honestly, I was really worried when casting her [Yuri]. After casting her, we met about ten times to talk about acting, and I gave her a tape of tips and advice. I can tell she has studied it and is making an effort while filming.”
Kwon Yuri stated, “So I wouldn’t lose my touch on acting during our Asia tour, I repeatedly watched the video Director Lee gave me.” She seemed like she was enjoying herself, adding, “I really wanted to try acting, so I’m happy I was given this chance. The staff helps me a lot, the shoot is really fun, and it makes my heart flutter.”
Source: Osen via Daum
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