Sistar returns with new album ...on broken heart

Four-member girl group brings mature, sexy look for summer


Korean girl group Sistar stepped back into the spotlight with a press conference announcing their new mini album Thursday, breaking their eight-month hiatus.

Titled “Alone,” the album reflects the group’s attempts to transform its image from energetic to sexy in all aspects ― music, dance, make-up and outfits, Sistar said. The four-member group wore flashy red dresses cut shorter in the front to show off their new subtle moves focusing on their legs and body silhouettes.

“We tried to come up with mature attractiveness for this summer. We put so much effort into this,” said Bora, the group’s rapper. “We used to run around on stage and be all springy before, but this time, we are going to be sexy.”

The music video for the title track “Alone,” a piece whose motif is the pain of a broken-hearted woman, was filmed overseas in Las Vegas. The music video shows Sistar dancing at clubs, bars and on a graphic stage embedded with crystal lights and gleaming metals.

On Thursday, Sistar kicked off their showcase in micro shorts and loose tops with “Lead Me,” a song about a girl’s feelings towards the man she loves. The song composed by Double Side Kick is an R&B piece with a laid-back groove and hip-hop beats.

Korean girl group Sistar with new album, "Alone". (Starship Entertainment)

Then the group changed into red dresses with slits and performed “No Mercy” and “Alone.” “No Mercy,” composed and arranged by Rovin, demonstrates catchy composition and pop-style arrangement, noted for the reduced electronic sound and stronger guitar.

Hit songwriter Brave Brothers said that he wrote the title track “Alone” exclusively for Sistar.

“These girls have unlimited potential. They’ve got the visual (attraction) and have Hyorin, the vocal,” he said. Brave Brothers wrote “Push Push,” the group’s debut single.

The composer added a stronger piano and FX guitar to the piece.

“Sistar made a different shot this time. Previously it was oriented toward electronic pop-style, but now we added ‘real-sound,’ giving more emotions and less tension to the ears,” said Brave Brothers.

The girl group had more than just music to talk about during the question-and-answer session. Soyou shared her low-sodium diet with the audience. Dasom, the youngest member, talked about her coming of age.

“Surprisingly it makes no difference, and the agency head still won’t let me drive,” she said. Dasom added that she shed three kilograms for the new album.

Sistar returned to live TV on MNet Countdown on last Thursday.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldm.com)

Source & Image : The Korea Herald

EXO shows strong rankings on album sales and music video charts

EXO‘s debut album, ‘MAMA‘, is off to a high start on the charts, as it’s been revealed that the album topped real time and daily charts for sales analyst website Hanteo.

Released on April 9th, EXO-K‘s ‘MAMA’ is currently at the top in physical sales on the real time and daily charts as of April 19th, with EXO-M trailing right behind in second place on both charts as well, demonstrating the group’s off-the-bat popularity.

As of April 19th, EXO-M’s “MAMA” music video also ranked first on the daily chart of a major Chinese video sharing website as well as at the top of weekly charts for two weeks in a row. EXO-K reflects the same results in the Korean music video section of the same site, taking second place for two weeks in a row.

Source + Photos: Sports World via Naver

Open World Entertainment’s ‘The Boss’ new album release cancelled

Idol group The Boss, housed under Open World Entertainment, has decided to cancel their new album release due to their CEO’s recent scandal.

The Boss planned on releasing their first full-length album in Korea on April 17th, but because of the recent developments, all activities and promotions within the label have come to a halt, and The Boss’ new album release has unfortunately been cancelled.

The Boss debuted back in 2010, however after having limited success in Korea, they crossed over to Japan and released their fifth single “Jumping” last March. The single climbed up to #3 on the Oricon Daily Chart as well as to #5 on the Weekly Chart.

The boys were just beginning to get the spotlight they deserved, and it makes the fans who had high expectations for their new Korean album that much more disappointed.

Upon hearing the news, netizens remarked, “I really liked their songs. It’s unfortunate“, “This has nothing to do with them. Why is their album being cancelled?”, and more.

Source & Image: ChosunIlbo via Nate

J.Y. Park to make singing comeback and release new mini-album this month

Singer/producer J.Y. Park will be making his first comeback as a singer in more than two years.

According to JYP Entertainment, J.Y. Park will release a new mini-album in April and begin his activities as a singer. This will be his first comeback after releasing his last EP, ‘Sad Freedom‘, back in December 2009.

Despite being busy over the past year with Wonder Girls‘ US album preparation, miss A‘s ‘Touch‘, appearing on KBS‘s ‘Dream High 2‘, participating in the movie ‘5 Million Dollar Man‘, being a judge on SBS‘s ‘K-POP Star‘, and also setting up a restaurant in New York, J.Y. Park actually found some time to produce his own songs for his upcoming album.

Although there’s no exact release date, it’s stated that his mini-album will be released later this month. In addition, he will prepare a special showcase for the release.

JYP Entertainment revealed, “We have prepared a new style and music that you haven’t seen before from J.Y. Park.”

Source: Donga Ilbo via Nate

Jay Park writes a new song for U-KISS’s upcoming 6th mini album “DORADORA”

Idol group U-KISS will be teaming up with famous producer Kim Hyung Suk for their comeback.

U-KISS will be kicking their new promotions into high gear after dropping their 6th mini-album ‘DORADORA‘ on April 25th.

This will be their first comeback in Korea in 6 months, after wrapping up their promotions in Japan.

U-KISS devoted a lot of time and energy into each song on this new album, working with many producers both in Korea and overseas. Kim Hyung Suk who is working with U-KISS for the very first time actively participated in the album, helping create a concept for the music to help make the new project that much more complete.

“DORADORA” was composed by Kim Hyung Suk and Brian Kim, while the lyrics were penned by Hur In Chang. U-KISS’ new album will also include a song written and composed by singer Jay Park, further heightening the expectation of fans.

In related news, U-KISS has spent the last 8 months in Japan, completing a nation-wide tour for 30,000 of the local fans.

Source & Image: MyDaily

JYJ’s Junsu to release solo album in May + more information on JYJ’s Asia Tour

JYJ‘s Junsu will release his first solo album in May since his debut in 2004.

On April 16th, his agency, CJ Entertainment, revealed, “Kim Junsu will release his first album in May.”

The agency continued, “After releasing his album, on May 19th and 20th, he will rush to open the Asia tour with the Korean concert in Jamsil Gymnasium. Kim Junsu’s album, which he directly produced, is expected to be mostly filled with his songs, in addition to songs presented by JYJ members.”

It is planned that CJ Entertainment will release Junsu’s album concepts through Youtube and Facebook.

It is also confirmed that the Asia Tour, which is from May to July, will consist of 6 cities, including those of Thailand, Macau, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Shangai.

Meanwhile, Junsu is busy acting in the musical, ‘Elisabeth‘, while Yoochun is busy filming SBS‘ ‘Rooftop Prince‘ and Jaejoong is waiting to film MBC‘s ‘Time Slip Dr. Jin‘.

Source: Oh My News via Naver

Big Bang’s mini-album ‘ALIVE’ surpasses the 250,000 sales mark

According to the Gaon Chart on April 12th, Big Bang who had the highest number of album sales in February by selling over 210,000 copies of ‘ALIVE‘ also sold an additional 45,000 copies in March and have officially surpassed the quarter-million (250,000) sales mark.

45,421 copies of ‘ALIVE’ were sold in the month of March, coming in 3rd for the month just behind SHINee‘s fourth mini-album and CNBLUE‘s third mini-album. The total number of sales for ‘ALIVE’ is now at 257,431 copies.

Meanwhile, SHINee’s mini-album ‘Sherlock‘ released on March 19th recorded 135,370 sales for the month of March, seizing the #1 spot. While CNBLUE’s third mini-album ‘EAR FUN‘ released on March 26th was able to sell 59,944 copies, coming in at #2.

B1A4 took the #4 spot, as their first full-length album ‘The B1A4 I (IGNITION)‘ sold an impressive 43,513 copies.

Legendary idol group Shinhwa who returned with their 10th full-length album ‘The Return‘ sold 32,500 copies to seize the #5 slot, while 2AM‘s mini-album ‘F.Scott Fitzgerald’s Way Of Love‘ came in at #6, selling 27,875 copies.

Rookie band Busker Busker who are climbing the charts with their first full-length self-titled album ‘Busker Busker‘ came in at #8, selling 12,685 copies.

Source & Image: StarNews

HaHa tells the story behind his first album on ‘Win Win’

Singer HaHa told the touching story behind his first album on the April 10th episode of KBS2‘s ‘Win Win‘.

HaHa’s mother Kim Ok Jung appeared as a special guest during the star’s interview, and HaHa stated, “I entered a management agency because of my dream to become a singer, and the CEO said, ‘There’s not enough money right now so I’ll pay you back later,’ and asked to borrow money. My mother loaned him the money.”

However, things did not go as planned. He continued, “In the end, the money was swindled from us, and my mother paid for my album because it was my dream. In 1995, my debut album was released through the OJ Project (Ok Jung Project).” He also mentioned that he was in severe slump a year and a half after his debut.

A photo of HaHa’s debut album was shown on the program, and people were immediately drawn to the message on the jacket, which said: “There’s a shocking charm in Ha Dong Hun’s music that rings deep within your heart and soul.”

When asked who wrote the jacket message, HaHa simply replied, “My older sister wrote it,” making the studio audience laugh.

In related news, Kim Jong Min of Koyote acted as co-host for this episode of ‘Win Win’ while Kikwang was gone for BEAST‘s world tour.

Source & Photo: Xsportsnews via Nate

Ivy to return to the music scene with new mini album ‘Interview’

Sexy queen Ivy will be returning to the music scene after a three year hiatus.

Ivy will be releasing a mini-album titled ‘Interview‘ on April 27th and will actively participate in a promotion cycle.

This album will have a variety of songs with different styles ranging from ballads to medium tempo songs and will surely be a treat for her fans who have been missing her soulful and heartfelt style.

Ivy’s representative stated, “Ivy matured musically while she was on a break and she wanted to show her maturity so that is why the song will be filled with ballads and medium tempo songs.  We feel that it will be better received compared to her dance tracks.  All of her strengths will really stand out and we are all eagerly anticipating her album.”

Ivy uploaded a teaser image via her homepage (ivynus.com) on April 10th and is planning to continuously greet her fans.

Ivy debuted in July of 2005 with her first album, ‘My Sweet and Free Day‘ and received immense popularity through her hit tracks such as, ‘A-Ha‘, ‘Sonata of Temptation‘, ‘Touch Me‘, and ‘I Must be Stupid.’

Source: TV Report via Nate News

CNBLUE to release a limited edition of their mini album ‘EAR FUN’

Rock band CNBLUE will be releasing a special limited edition of their 3rd mini album ‘EAR FUN‘.

According to FNC Music, the limited edition version will include the same tracks on the mini album but will also include pictorial shots that were taken in the U.S., as well as the members’ individual photos.

There will be 140 pages of pictorial photos and a DVD containing a 20-minute clip of the members shooting in the U.S. In addition, the special limited edition will also include four supplemental sections for each of the members. The limited edition of the mini album will be sold starting on April 6th.

CNBLUE is currently actively promoting “Hey You” from their 3rd mini album ‘EAR FUN’, and other tracks on the album are also receiving positive response from the public.

Source & Image: Sports Seoul via Nate

B1A4 talks about their new album and goals for 2012 in recent interview

“We can’t believe it’s already been a year… We didn’t even have a chance to go see our families after our debut.” – B1A4

Rookie idol group B1A4 (Jinyoung, Baro, Sandeul, Shinwoo, Gongchan) didn’t realize how fast the time was passing them by. They’ve been extremely busy the past year, but despite the hectic schedule they’re all happy. They fulfilled their dream of becoming an artist last April, and since then have released two mini-albums in ‘Let’s Fly‘ as well as ‘It B1A4‘. The boys were even awarded the ‘Best Rookie Award‘ at the year-end music awards.

In an industry where new rookie idols are emerging each day, the B1A4 members have impressed the public by remaining remarkably active. They’ve appealed to their fans with a ‘boy next door’ image and garnered much popularity with their trendy music, enjoying a very fulfilling year.

Their goal for this year is to receive the ‘Bonsang‘ award at the year-end award ceremony, which seems attainable for the group who have recently made a comeback with a new more grown-up look. Their first full-length album ‘IGNITION‘ is a way for them to show their fans that they have developed as musicians.

“We pitched the idea that we should release a full-length album this time around,” Jinyoung said. “There are a lot of songs that we participated in creating. We wanted to show you our true musical colors, and so this album feels a bit different from the last releases.”

Perhaps they’re more excited about this album as they have contributed more to it than ever before. Though they have tossed aside their youthful, boy images and returned with a more chic and mature look, the boys still appeared and spoke rather brightly.

“We put together everything we could possibly express and worked hard to present our fans with music that’s more mature than before,” Baro said. “You will be able to sense a more grown up side to B1A4 through this album. We want to make a strong impression of a B1A4 that’s more developed than before.”

B1A4 definitely stands out amongst the other idols. Not only do they fulfill the idol prerequisites to be tall and handsome, their musical abilities are quite impressive. Leader Jinyoung participated in writing 8 songs on the album including their title track “BABY I’M SORRY“, showcasing his potential to become a producer. Baro and Sandeul also revealed their first solo tracks, and Shinwoo helped pen some of the lyrics.

“It’s strange that we are standing on stage with my song,” Jinyoung remarked. “It made me feel like I was helping my team, and also that the time and energy we spent preparing for this was well worth it.”

“At first, I was upset that we couldn’t include all of the members’ solo tracks. But I guess that just means that we have that much more to show you in the future (laughs). We will show you everything we have, little by little. I hope you will look forward to the solo tracks by our different members,” Sandeul said.

Though they are extremely talented, they credited their easy-to-approach, friendly image for their success. “I realize this often when we meet with our fans, but our fans tell us that we are really approachable. They tell us that we are like boys next door,” Jinyoung said.

B1A4, who are more actively promoting themselves also revealed their high anticipation to promote overseas. Though they are eager to meet with their international fans, the boys are restraining themselves from making rash plans.

They are more than capable of spreading K-Pop awareness throughout the globe, but they prioritize securing their place in K-Pop in Korea.

“If ever given the chance, we would like to release an album overseas and help promote all things Korean,” Shinwoo said. “But right now, we want to fulfill our goals in Korea first, and I think we can go overseas after we secure our place in the industry.”

They have a definite goal they would like to attain in Korea. They would like to win a #1 K-Chart win on a music program, and they would like to receive the ‘Bonsang’ award at the year-end award ceremony.

The five members believe that if they have a clear goal, then nothing can stop them from reaching it, which makes B1A4 a name to look out for in K-Pop.

“We want to win a K-Chart win, and receive the Bonsang award at the award ceremony at the end of the year,” Jinyoung said. “We will work harder to show you a better side of ourselves.”

Source & Image: StarNews

Shinhwa postpones the release of their ‘Thanks Edition’ album due to explosive pre-orders

The release of Shinhwa‘s ‘Thanks Edition‘ album has been postponed, but for good reason!

On April 5th, Shinhwa Company announced, “The ‘Thanks Edition’ album was originally scheduled for release on the 6th, but we’ve decided to delay it to the 11th.”

The reason is because the album has hit #1 in pre-orders, and orders are still coming in, leading CJ E&M and Shinhwa Company to better prepare themselves for the influx before its official release.

A representative of Shinhwa Company explained, “The pre-orders exceeded the amount we had in mind, so of course the members of Shinhwa and their officials are all glad with the response.”

They continued, “To thank the fans for their support, they will continue to show great performances and broadcast appearances.”

Source + Photos: TV Daily via Naver

Shinhwa postpones the release of their ‘Thanks Edition’ album due to explosive pre-orders

The release of Shinhwa‘s ‘Thanks Edition‘ album has been postponed, but for good reason!

On April 5th, Shinhwa Company announced, “The ‘Thanks Edition’ album was originally scheduled for release on the 6th, but we’ve decided to delay it to the 11th.”

The reason is because the album has hit #1 in pre-orders, and orders are still coming in, leading CJ E&M and Shinhwa Company to better prepare themselves for the influx before its official release.

A representative of Shinhwa Company explained, “The pre-orders exceeded the amount we had in mind, so of course the members of Shinhwa and their officials are all glad with the response.”

They continued, “To thank the fans for their support, they will continue to show great performances and broadcast appearances.”

Source + Photos: TV Daily via Naver

Shinhwa to release a ‘Thanks Edition’ of their sold out special edition album

It has been confirmed that Shinhwa will be releasing a ‘Thanks Edition‘ of their 10th full-length album ‘The Return Special Edition‘.

Pre-orders for the ‘Thanks Edition’ will begin on April 2nd. The limited edition (30,000 copies) ‘Thanks Edition’ will include the ‘Special Edition’ in a box with Shinhwa’s new logo and a photobook of over 70 pages.

Shinhwa’s 10th full special edition album, which was released on March 23rd, sold out. The ‘Thanks Edition’ is a response to the many requests for re-prints.

Shinhwa Company stated, ”We are so moved by and thankful for the fans that showed ‘Shinhwa love’. All the Shinhwa members will repay this love with good songs, performances, and broadcast activities.”

Meanwhile, Shinhwa successfully completed their comeback stages beginning with their Mnet‘s “M! Countdown” performance on March 29th. They will also begin their Asia tour stopping by Taiwan, China, Japan, and Singapore beginning with their Shanghai concert on April 30th.

Source: OSEN via Naver

Huh Gak releases a D-4 teaser image of his comeback album, ‘LACRIMOSO’

Huh Gak is gearing up for his comeback next with the release of a new teaser image for his second album!

On March 30th, A Cube Entertainment‘s official homepage updated with a D-4 teaser image of his album’s title, “LACRIMOSO“.

An official explained, “The theme of this album is ‘tears’, and all of the stories combine into one. The songs all tell a tale of tears. Huh Gak’s first album, ‘First Story‘, can be considered a sort of foundation to his musical style. This time, ‘LACRIMOSO’ takes the canvas that was ‘First Story’ and paints a picture onto it with colors of his own.”

Stay tuned for the teaser video!

Source + Photos: OSEN via Naver

KARA’s second Japanese album ‘Super Girl’ expected to surpass 1 million sales mark with re-release

Girl group KARA will be attempting to break the million sales mark in Japan.

KARA’s second Japanese album ‘Super Girl‘ is close to selling over 1,000,000 copies, as a special Tour Edition of the album will be re-released on April 11th in celebration of the girls’ upcoming Japanese tour.

The group’s agency DSP Media estimated that the album has sold over 800,000 copies to date. There were some problems with the supply of the album towards the end of last year and therefore the sales number slowed down, but the numbers are expected to spike again with the girls’ new tour.

A representative from DSP Media remarked, “At the time when the albums were selling extremely well, our supply could not meet the demands which were even more explosive than we had expected. Because this album was short in supply, the fans’ expectations for the re-release of the album are high.”

‘Super Girl’ was released in November of 2011 and has officially sold over 750,000 copies. Last month, the album was acknowledged by the RIAJ (Record Industry of Japan) as a ‘Triple Platinum’ album (sales surpassing 750,000 copies).

With ‘Super Girl’, KARA became the first Korean artist to earn ‘Triple Platinum’ status with just one album in Japan. The album also sold 300,000 copies within just 8 days, and earned it’s elite ‘Triple Platinum’ status within just two short months after release, selling more copies of a single album in that short period of time than any of their Korean counterparts who debuted in Japan.

The girls who are in discussions to extend their contract with Universal Music Japan have secured the #2 slot on the Weekly Oricon Chart with their sixth single ‘Speed Up/Girl’s Power‘ which was released on March 21st.

The ladies will also be embarking on their ‘KARASIA‘ Japan tour, beginning on April 14th in Yokohama, and traveling to Nagoya, Fukuoka, Osaka, Tokyo, and more to meet with 100,000 of their local fans.

Source & Image: SportsKorea via Nate

MC Sniper reveals two new comeback album jacket photos

Rapper MC Sniper has finally dropped some details on his comeback album!

On March 23rd, two new photos from his album jacket were revealed, and contrary to expectations, they’re not at all like what one would expect from a veteran hip hop artist!

Fans were surprised to see him dressed ready to rock and roll, as they had been used to always seeing him in casual t-shirts and baggy jeans. Perhaps this is a signal for even better and finer things to come, as he’s seen decked out in pirate outfits and colorful jackets.

Sniper Sound officials said, “MC Sniper tried hard to shed the image that people had of him of being a wandering artist with sorrowful melodies. He worked hard to find something different during the production period of his album, and the end result is a sound that’s both shocking and never heard before in Korean hip hop.”

MC Sniper’s sixth album will drop on April 13th!

Source + Photos: OSEN

SHINee to embark on a Japanese tour next month & release full album in 2nd half of 2012

Idol group SHINee who just made a comeback with their new song “Sherlock“ will be embarking on a Japanese tour after four weeks of promotions in Korea.

SHINee performed their new song on the March 22nd edition of Mnet‘s M! Countdown, a long year and a half after they last ended promotions in Korea for “Lucifer” and “Hello“.

After 4 weeks of activities for “Sherlock” in Korea, the boys will immediately be crossing over to Japan to begin their Japanese tour starting at Marine Messe Fukuoka on April 25th.

Once they wrap up official promotions in Japan and their tour comes to a close, SHINee will be releasing a full-length album in Korea towards the end of the year.

SHINee’s new song “Sherlock” is an intense electronic track that’s almost like a remix of “Note” and “Clue“.

The choreography for their “Sherlock” dance was created by internationally-famous choreographer Tony Testa, which drew attention way ahead of their comeback.

And in the MV for the song that was released March 22nd, Girls’ Generation member Jessica who made a special appearance as a mysterious female character who shares a clue to help close a case.

Source & Image: StarToday

KARA dominating in Japan with new double A side single album ‘Speed Up/Girl’s Power’

Girl group KARA is once again dominating Japan with their newest release.

On March 21st, the ladies of KARA released their new double A side single album ‘Speed Up/Girl’s Power‘ in Japan.

The album sold 21,352 copies on the first day, quickly rising to #2 on the Oricon Daily chart. It sold 22,063 copies on the second day and placed 3rd.

Their title song ‘Speed Up‘ was produced by Mohombi who also produced Big Bang‘s hit track “Gara Gara GO“, and it is an up-tempo electronic dance track that displays the girls’ sexier appeals.

On the other hand, the slower medium tempo track “Girl’s Power” was written by sweetune, and it displays the girls’ classically sweet and lovely images.

The two tracks of completely contrasting musical colors have been strategically placed on the album to showcase the members’ various appeals, and beginning this April, the girls will also be embarking on their Japanese tour.

Source & Image: TVDaily via Nate

Jang Geun Suk’s Japanese collaboration album, “Lounge H”, hits #1 in pre-orders

Jang Geun Suk was previously revealed to be pulling out all the cards for the promotion of his upcoming collaboration album with Big Brother, “Lounge H the First Impression“.

It seems his efforts in renting out a promotional cafe seemed to hit it off, as the album has ranked #1 in pre-orders even before it’s hit the shelves! The mini-album features a total of 10 tracks that Jang Geun Suk personally picked out concepts for from the music video to the outfits.

The DVD also contains music videos and behind-the-scenes footage that fans won’t want to miss. Japan’s biggest video site, ‘Niconico Live‘, has been airing the title track music video as well as “Gotta Getcha“, footage of his ’2011 Asia Tour Last in Seoul Team H‘ stages, and exclusive interviews.

Jang Geun Suk is certainly on a roll, as this is all combined with his simultaneous efforts for his KBS drama, ‘Love Rain‘.

Source + Photos: Chosun via Naver