f(x)’s Sulli shares a couple of ‘handsome’ photos with fans

f(x)‘s Sulli is gathering more female fans with her recent boyish transformation.

On September 4th, the idol star shared a couple of photos on me2day along with the messages: “It’s raining~ Be careful of slipping!” and “Goo Jae Hee, enter a handsome man!”

Upon seeing the photos, fans commented, “You’re too cute,” “Totally handsome! But you’re still an unni,” and “Yes, you be careful too.”

Sulli is currently playing the character of Goo Jae Hee, who attends an all-boys high school, in the SBS drama ‘To the Beautiful You‘.

Source+Images: Sulli’s me2day

SHINee’s Minho snaps a handsome selca in his school uniform

SHINee‘s Minho shared his excitement for his new drama along with a handsome selca of himself recently.

The idol uploaded the picture on the group’s me2day account while saying, “It’s finally my first step. I’m nervous but excited. From today, I’m Kang Taejun“, referring to the character he plays in the new drama, ‘To the Beautiful You‘.

In the picture, Minho is wearing a school uniform, which further accentuates his defined facial features and his fresh hair cut. Fans were left in awe by the singer and actor’s good looks, and responded, “Minho’s facial features make girls feel jealous“, “Oppa’s shining looks“, and “He’ll make the girls at school cry“.

As mentioned previously, Minho plays a high-jump athlete and co-stars with label-mate f(x)‘s Sulli in the drama, which will be airing its first episode later today (August 15th KST)!

Source + Image: Star Today via Naver

SHINee, A Pink, Dal Shabet, f(x), and more perform at the ’2012 DMZ Peace Concert’

The first day of MBC‘s ‘2012 DMZ Peace Concert‘ took place at Imjingak Park on August 14th.

The concert was held to celebrate the 59 years of ceasefire between North and South Korea, and to convey a message of peace through music.

The first day of the concert consisted of performances by top K-Pop stars such as SHINee, B2ST, f(x), SISTAR, A Pink, Ailee, and more. The second day will showcase familiar classical performances, featuring violinist Richard Youngjae O’Neill, and performances from artists such as Sung Si Kyung and Kai, cellist Song Young Hoon, and pianist Kim Jung Won, all who will also collaborate with the TIMF Orchestra. Popular classics such as the “Shostakovich Waltz”, “Libertango”, “Imagine” by John Lennon, and traditional Korean folk song “Arirang” will also be performed.

The August 14th concert will air on August 15th through MBC at 1:05PM KST, and the second day will air on August 16th at 12:45PM KST

Check out a few photos from the concert below!

[Images credited as tagged.]

Luna celebrates her birthday with f(x) members

Girl group f(x)‘s Luna recently celebrated her birthday with the other f(x) members, family, and friends.

Luna posted on her me2day account on the 13th KST, “2012.08.12 – I had a very happy and thankful birthday~ To my grandmother and parents, my sister Jinyoung unni who is my other half, Chisoon oppa, the f(x) members, who I will be with forever, and lastly the fans who give me so much love, I want to say thank you. I love you“.

In the picture she uploaded, Luna is posing with a birthday cake, smiling widely for the camera in each shot. The f(x) members are crowded around her, smiling as they make peace signs and hearts. Luna is sporting a cute birthday hat to celebrate.

Netizens commented, “Luna, happy birthday,” “Her bright smile is so pretty,” and “A family-like shot with the f(x) members. Good to see.”

Happy Birthday, Luna!

Source + Image: Luna’s me2day

Which girl group idols speak in dialects the most?

A recent online community board post titled, “Girl group speaking in dialect” has been receiving attention.

The post ranked current girl group idols based on how much they spoke in a nonstandard, regional accent. The top level included After School‘s Lizzy,  A Pink‘s Eunji, and Dal Shabet‘s Subin.

The author wrote about Lizzy, “Gets loved for speaking in dialect on talk shows. Captured all the male fans with her aegyo-filled dialect.” For Eunji, the author wrote, “Currently rising star in dialect,” and for Subin: “Urban visual, but mouth is country.”

The middle level consisted of f(x)‘s Sulli and SECRET‘s Sunhwa. The author explained for Sulli, “Occasionally speaks in dialect for TV. Intelligent for knowing how to use the male hearts that go crazy for dialect,” and for Sunhwa: “Dialect pops up during conversations or when she gets flustered.”

Girls’ Generation‘s Taeyeon and T-ara‘s Hyomin were placed in the lower level because they are both from provinces that use a nonstandard accent, but they rarely speak in dialect.

After viewing the post, netizens commented, “Lizzy is the most charming,” “Who’s the girl with Gangnam style visuals and speaks in dialect,” and “Dialect equals Lizzy, Subin, and Eunji.”

Source+Picture: Busan Ilbo via Naver

SHINee, B2ST, T-ara, f(x), Ailee, and more to perform at Korea’s demilitarized zone

MBC announced at a press conference on July 26th that they will be holding a ‘Peace Concert’ this August at Korea’s demilitarized zone (DMZ), the buffer area between North and South Korea.

The concert will be held specifically on August 14th-15th in the outdoor theatre at Paju’s Imjingak Park. It will be celebrating the 59 years of ceasefire between North and South Korea, and convey a message of peace through music.

For this concert, MBC’s main points of focus was to appeal to a mass audience. The head of MBC’s Special Event Planning Team told the press, “In order to better approach a wide range of people in a more familiar manner, we have prepared this concert while keeping mainstream appeal in mind.”

The first day of the concert will consist of performances by top K-Pop stars, while the second day is scheduled to showcase familiar classical performances. The first day of the concert will be subtitled, ‘We are a peaceful generation’, and will open with the stars Han Young Ae, Bobby Kim, SHINee, T-ara, B2ST, f(x), SISTAR, A Pink, and Ailee. This line-up of singers will have a collaboration stage and perform under the theme of peace.

The second day of the concert will feature violinist Richard Youngjae O’Neill, and be followed by performances from artists such as Sung Si Kyung and Kai, cellist Song Young Hoon, and pianist Kim Jung Won, all who will also collaborate with the TIMF Orchestra. Popular classics such as the “Shostakovich Waltz”, “Libertango”, “Imagine” by John Lennon, and traditional Korean folk song “Arirang” will also be performed.

The concert will be free of charge, and will not have a limited audience number, as it will take place in the wide outdoors. The concert will be filmed so that the performances can be viewed via TV as well. The head of MBC Hong Suk Ho commented, “Although we haven’t decided on the exact time frame, we will broadcast the concert on television a few hours after the performance comes to an end.”

Source: Oh My News via Naver

Gaon Chart releases chart rankings for July 15th – July 21st

The Gaon Chart is the national chart of South Korea and is intended to be the equivalent of Oricon in Japan and Billboard in the United States.

Check out the chart rankings for the week of July 15th to July 21st below!

---

< Gaon Chart National Digital Singles Ranking >

1. PSY – “Gangnam Style”

2. B2ST – “Midnight”

3. 2NE1 – “I Love You”

4. PSY ft. Sung Si Kyung – “Passionate Goodbye”

5. T-ara – “Day By Day”

6. CNBLUE’s Lee Jong Hyun – “My Love”

7. Brown Eyed Girls – “One Summer Night”

8. SISTAR – “Loving U”

9. PSY ft. G-Dragon – “Tree Frog”

10. PSY ft. Leessang & Kim Jin Pyo – “Seventy Seven 101″

---

< Gaon Chart National Physical Albums Ranking >

1. Super Junior – ‘Sexy, Free & Single 6th Album’

2. PSY – ‘PSY 6th album Part 1′

3. Jang Wooyoung – ’23, Male, Single’

4. Various Artists – ‘Dr. Jin OST’

5. Kim Kyu Jong – ’2nd Mini Album Meet Me Again’

6. INFINITE – ‘Infinitize’

7. EXO-K – ‘MAMA EXO-K The 1st Mini Album’

8. T-ara – ‘DAY BY DAY’

9. Busker Busker – ‘Busker Busker 1st Album’

10. Various Artists – ‘Phantom OST’

---

< Online Downloads For The Week >

1. PSY – “Gangnam Style” – 818,868 Downloads

2. B2ST – “Midnight” – 473,121 Downloads

3. PSY ft. Sung Si Kyung – “Passionate Goodbye” – 396,479 Downloads

4. Brown Eyed Girls – “One Summer Night” – 371,496 Downloads

5. PSY ft. G-Dragon – “Tree Frog” – 349,264 Downloads

6. PSY ft. Leessang & Kim Jin Pyo – “Seventy Seven 101″ – 347,668 Downloads

7. PSY ft. Park Jung Hyun – “What Should Have Been” – 327,372 Downloads

8. 2NE1 – “I Love You” – 325,528 Downloads

9. CNBLUE’s Lee Jong Hyun – “My Love” – 314,135 Downloads

10. T-ara – “Day By Day” – 302,628 Downloads

---

< Top 10 songs sung at Karaoke >

1. Ulala Session – “Beautiful Night”

2. JUNIEL – “Illa Illa”

3. Busker Busker – “Cherry Blossom Ending”

4. SISTAR – “Loving U”

5. TaeTiSeo – “Twinkle”

6. Lee Hyun – “My Heartache”

7. Lim Jae Bum – “For You”

8. 2NE1 – “I Love You”

9. f(x) – “Electric Shock”

10. Busker Busker – “If You Really Love Me”

Source: Gaon

Luna of f(x) to join &#8216;Immortal Song 2&#8242;

f(x)‘s Luna will be joining KBS 2TV‘s ‘Immortal Song 2‘.

A staff member from KBS announced on July 26th, “Luna will be joining ‘Immortal Song 2′ as a permanent member of the cast.”

The staff member continued, “Luna has shown her talented vocals in her activities as a singer and as a musical actress so anticipation is high as to what she will bring to ‘Immortal Song 2′. We feel like she will bring the same great talent she shows while performing with f(x) to the show.”

There was news in August of 2011 that Luna would be joining ‘Immortal Song 2′, but unfortunately, she was unable to. She’ll be participating in her first recording of the program on August 6th.

On another note, 4men‘s Shin Yong Jae will be returning to ‘Immortal Song 2′ in August, and Cha Jiyeon will also be joining the lineup.

Source & Image: Star News via Naver

5 Do&#8217;s in K-Pop

Trends in the radical world of  K-pop change from day to day. Some we hate, but some we absolutely love and want more of. Check out some of the 5 Do’s in K-pop!

 

01. Two-tone (ombre) hair

I’m not too sure who started this trend but I think it was either SHINee or f(x). Either way, the ‘ombre’ hairstyle is still pretty cool. But to try it out in the real world, I’d say it’s a bit risky.

 

02. Airport Fashion

Airport fashion is where the carefully crafted image of idols/celebrities can make or break. You can see the “truth” behind idols and their fashion. Although there are times when outfits are hand-picked by professionals, we’d like to believe that these are “casual” outfits of our idols.

 

03. Fan Service

Even with their busy schedules, our idols never fails to find time to appreciate their fans with a simple wave. And many times, that is the only thing we need!

 

04. Sexy Concepts

The sexy concept never gets old, and never fails, period.

 

05. Variety Shows

We love watching our favorite idols on variety shows. We also love them when they supposedly “ruin” their images! It’s the best way to get to know your artists on a more personal level.

 

Tell us some of the K-pop trends you love in the comments section below!

Vogue Girl releases &#8216;couple shots&#8217; of Sulli and Minho

Recently chosen to play lead roles in SBS‘ upcoming drama ‘To The Beautiful You‘, f(x)‘s Sulli and SHINee‘s Minho participated in a ‘couple photo shoot’ for ‘Vogue Girl‘ magazine.

Sulli recently chopped off her long locks in order to play a female student disguised as a male in the drama, and the singer gave off the feel of a reserved and handsome lad as she displayed her boyish charm for this shoot.

‘To the Beautiful You’ is based off the original best-selling Japanese comic ‘Hana Kimi‘, and it has already been turned into a successful drama in Japan.

During an interview that took place at the shoot, Sulli commented, “I felt a huge burden when I first received this role ,but I felt like it was a role that I could pull off really well.”

Minho then added, “I want to show the viewers my own unique character that’s different from what Oguri Shun displayed in the Japanese version of the drama.”

Meanwhile, you can check out the rest of the photos from Sulli and Minho’s shoot in the August publication of ‘Vogue Girl’ magazine.

Source & Image: Seoul via Nate

Eunhyuk reveals that Victoria calls him &#8220;oppa&#8221; even though they are close in age

Super Junior‘s dance machine Eunhyuk revealed that f(x)‘s Victoria keeps calling him “oppa” when their birthdays are close enough to be considered the same age.

On the July 17th broadcast of SBS ‘Strong Heart‘, Eunhyuk opened his story saying, “Victoria, who is a friend, keeps calling me oppa… I was born in ’86, and Victoria was born early in ’87, so in terms of actual age we are the same, yet she keeps calling me oppa.”

He then added, “Victoria and BoA are friends as well. And she even calls Kyuhyun oppa when he is younger than her.” Eunhyuk then finally asked Victoria why she insisted on calling everyone oppa or unni.

Victoria explained, “I call everyone who debuted before me oppa, or unni. I even call Girls’ Generation members unni.”

Listening to her explanation, Kyuhyun spoke up about his experience with Victoria calling him oppa. “I thought she was younger than me since she kept calling me oppa, but it turns out she is a nuna. After I found out, it became a little awkward between us, but when Victoria resumed calling me oppa we went back to being close again.”

Source & Photo: Xportsnews via Nate

Netizens compare girl group graduation pictures

A collection of girl group pictures, titled, “The high school graduation pictures of girl idols“, has become a hot topic online.

The collection, shown above, compares the members of various girl groups, normally praised for their “goddess”-like looks, to the looks they sported during their high school, predebut days. A variety of members were included in the list, from top tier, senior groups such as Wonder Girls, 2NE1, T-ara, f(x), SISTAR, After School, and SECRET, to groups still getting there, such as Dal Shabet, Hello Venus, EXID, and A Pink.

Despite the fact that many of these graduation pictures have already been previously revealed, netizens were intrigued upon seeing them all together, commenting, “It looks like there are [some] ordinary-looking performers,” “[Even after seeing their predebut pictures, I think that] there are still a lot of pretty people [who became idols],” “Suzy, Sulli, and Jiyeon are pretty,” “Sulli is the real deal,” and, “I wonder who has become the prettiest [since  their predebut days].”

 

Source: X Sports News via Nate

Tip: Bin

f(x) wraps up &#8220;Electric Shock&#8221; promotions with nine #1 wins

Girl group f(x) successfully wrapped up their promotions for “Electric Shock“.

On July 15th, the girls put on a final performance on their new hit song “Electric Shock” on SBS ‘Inkigayo‘.

With “Electric Shock”, the girls obtained a ‘triple crown’ by earning three consecutive #1 wins on Mnet’s ‘M! Countdown‘, as well as two #1 wins on KBS 2TV’s ‘Music Bank‘, SBS ‘Inkigayo’, and MBC MUSIC‘s ‘Show Champion‘.

When the track was first released, “Electric Shock” immediately soared to #1 on various Korean music sites’ real-time charts, as well as on the Daily and Weekly Charts. The album also came in #1 for two weeks in a row on various album sales total charts for most albums sold.

The song also hit #1 on the iTunes Electronic Album Chart in the US and Canada, and the MV received over 10,000,000 views on YouTube within 6 days of being released.

Member Sulli will be busy filming for her new SBS drama series ‘To The Beautiful You‘, but f(x) will continue to promote as 4 members for the time being.

Source & Image: OSEN via Nate

Big Bang grabs 4 spots on Youtube&#8217;s Top 10 most viewed KPOP music videos in 2012

On the 16th, Youtube released a Top 10 list of the most viewed KPOP MV’s around the world so far in 2012.

Big Bang took 4 out of the 10 spots on this years most viewed music videos list, including the first two spots with “Fantastic Baby” and “Blue“, showing their immense popularity worldwide.

Other artists that made the Top 10 include, TaeTiSeo, f(x), SISTAR, SHINee, Wonder Girls and 4Minute. Check out the full list below and congrats to the artists that made it to the Top 10!

f(x) member Sulli&#8217;s &#8216;quirky&#8217; eating habit is too cute

f(x) member Sulli‘s weird/cute habit has become a hot topic among netizens.

Recently, the pictures above surfaced on an online bulletin board with the title, “Sulli’s weird habit“. In the photos, Sulli is seen sticking her tongue all the way out as she eats spicy rice cake and ice cream.

Netizens who saw the photos commented, “It’s only cute because it’s Sully, but not everyone should do this“, “She eats like a little kid“, and “She looks cute when she’s eating“.

In related news, Sulli will star alongside SHINee‘s Minho in SBS‘s ‘To The Beautiful You‘, a remake of Japanese drama Hana Kimi, which is set to begin airing in August.

 

Source & Image: Financial News via Naver

f(x) member Sulli&#8217;s &#8216;quirky&#8217; eating habit is too cute

f(x) member Sulli‘s weird/cute habit has become a hot topic among netizens.

Recently, the pictures above surfaced on an online bulletin board with the title, “Sulli’s weird habit“. In the photos, Sulli is seen sticking her tongue all the way out as she eats spicy rice cake and ice cream.

Netizens who saw the photos commented, “It’s only cute because it’s Sully, but not everyone should do this“, “She eats like a little kid“, and “She looks cute when she’s eating“.

In related news, Sulli will star alongside SHINee‘s Minho in SBS‘s ‘To The Beautiful You‘, a remake of Japanese drama Hana Kimi, which is set to begin airing in August.

 

Source & Image: Financial News via Naver

Verbal Jint would like to work with IU, Hyorin, and Krystal

Hip-hop musician Verbal Jint, who debuted in 1999, has sent a love call to IU, SISTAR‘s Hyorin, and f(x)‘s Krystal.

Verbal Jint guested on the latest broadcast of MBC Music‘s ‘Real Modern Concert‘ and talked about the numerous artists who featured on his latest album, titled ‘10 Years of Misunderstandings‘.

After briefly discussing his new album, the host asked which artist he would like to collaborate with next. To this, Verbal Jint answered, “If I had to select among those younger than me, I would select IU, SISTAR’s Hyorin, and f(x)’s Krystal.”

After the broadcast, viewers left comments such as, “Verbal Jint acknowledges IU“, “Who wouldn’t want to work with them?“, “I would love to see a collaboration between him and IU“, and “Great selection.”

Source: TV Daily via Nate

SISTAR&#8217;s Dasom shows off her close friendship with f(x)&#8217;s Sulli

SISTAR‘s Dasom showed off her close friendship with f(x)’s Sulli in an adorable selca that was shared via SISTAR’s official Twitter page.

On July 14th, Dasom wrote, “[Dasom] Sulli and Dasom >3< My alter ego, peach Sulli, is so cute. Keke.”

Accompanied by the post was a selca of the two idol singers, both wearing pink and slightly pouting their lips towards the camera.

Fans of both groups rushed to comment, “You two are so cute!“, “‘Electric Shock‘ and ‘Loving U‘ fighting!“, “I didn’t know you guys were close“, and more.

Source: SISTAR’s Official Twitter

Gaon Chart releases chart rankings for the month of June 2012

The Gaon Chart is the national chart of South Korea and is intended to be the equivalent of Oricon in Japan and Billboard in the United States.

Check out the chart rankings for the month of June 2012 (June 1st – June 30th) below!

< Gaon Chart National Digital Singles Ranking >

1. Wonder Girls – “Like This”

2. Big Bang – “MONSTER”

3. f(x) – “Electric Shock”

4. Big Bang – “Still Alive”

5. Jung Hyung Don & Defconn – “The Song That’s Even Worse When You Listen to it During a Bad Time”

6. Busker Busker – “If You Really Love Me”

7. Verbal Jint ft. 10cm’s Kwon Jung Yeol – “Good Morning”

8. Big Bang – “Ego”

9. G.NA – “2Hot”

10. IU – “Every End of the Day”

---

< Gaon Chart National Physical Albums Ranking >

1. Big Bang – ‘Special Edition Still Alive’ – 117,929 albums

2. Teen Top – ‘arTisT’ – 37,215 albums

3. Wonder Girls – ‘Wonder Party’ – 25,119 albums

(Rank 7 – 10 not listed due to SQL DB error on Gaon site)

---

< Online Downloads For The Month >

1. Wonder Girls – “Like This” – 1,444,339 Downloads

2. Big Bang – “MONSTER” – 1,389,771 Downloads

3. f(x) – “Electric Shock” – 1,121,472 Downloads

4. Jung Hyung Don & Defconn – “The Song That’s Even Worse When You Listen to it During a Bad Time” – 966,502 Downloads

5. Big Bang – “Still Alive” – 909,487 Downloads

6. Busker Busker – “If You Really Love Me” – 777,294 Downloads

7. Verbal Jint ft. 10cm’s Kwon Jung Yeol – “Good Morning” – 688,706 Downloads

8. Big Bang – “EGO” – 676,463 Downloads

9. Big Bang – “FEELING” – 615,925 Downloads

10. Busker Busker – “It’s So Hard To Face You” – 608,120 Downloads

---

< Online Chart – Streams >

1. Wonder Girls – “Like This” – 10,251,272 Streams

2. Big Bang – “MONSTER” – 9,906,385 Streams

3. f(x) – “Electric Shock” – 7,433,655 Streams

4. Jung Hyung Don & Defconn – “The Song That’s Even Worse When You Listen to it During a Bad Time” – 7,265,365 Streams

5. Big Bang – “Still Alive” – 6,779,451 Streams

6. IU – “Every End Of The Day” – 6,766,944 Streams

7. G.NA – “2HOT” – 6,586,851 Streams

8. Baek Ji Young ft. Gary of Leessang – “Voice” – 6,142,321 Streams

9. SISTAR – “Alone” – 6,041,435 Streams

10. TaeTiSeo – “Twinkle” – 5,967,570 Streams

f(x) to finish up &#8216;Electric Shock&#8217; promotions and prepare for Japanese debut

After making a successful comeback with ‘Electric Shock’ and seizing first place on music programs, girl group f(x) will end their album promotions with their final performance on SBS‘s ‘Inkigayo’ this weekend on the 15th. It seems that they will be interrupting their Korean activities for a short while, as f(x) will also be preparing for their Japanese debut for the latter half of the year.

Representatives from SM Entertainment commented, “Although we haven’t come out with a definite schedule yet, we will be preparing [f(x)] for their official Japanese debut during the second half of the year.” They continued to ensure Korean fans, “[f(x)] will be attending to Korean activities occasionally alongside [their Japanese activities].”

Besides Sulli‘s schedule with her drama ‘To the Beautiful You’, there haven’t been other activities scheduled for the group for the time being.

Source: Star Today via Nate