More news from YG
As promised, Yang Hyun Suk is back again with more news! This time, the YG Entertainment CEO reveals more information regarding the company’s latest girl group as well as his fresh K-Pop Star artists Akdong Musician and LEE HI. His message is available below:
When will YG’s new girl group make their debut?
We are planning October for YG’s new girl group’s debut. The group has been preparing for a long time at YG – their debut is YG’s first one in 4 years since BIGBANG’s debut in 2006 and 2NE1’s in 2009.
The trilingual members are fluent in Korean, English and Japanese. Despite their young age, an average of 17 year old, they are arousing deep attention not only in Korea but also overseas.
How many members in the group?
The project initially started off with a plan of 10 or more members in the group, but throughout the years there has been a fierce competition among tens of try-out singers and now remain 6 members.
Unfortunately Yuna Kim, who was discovered on Superstar K, had to be excluded from the team for personal reasons. However, Eunbi Kim, a contestant from the same program, remains as one of the 6 members.
What is the promotional tactic of the new girl group?
We are adopting a debut method that is utterly different from the conventional debuting ways that was applied to other YG girl groups. From October, we will be debuting one or two members at a time to see whether they are apt for the public. When we can see that the audience likes them, then we will move on to forming a proper group.
BigBang’s all five members, on the other hand, made a debut as a group and then started working on their own work. It will help you understand better when I say that we are going the completely opposite direction with YG’s new girl group.
In a nutshell, each member makes a debut first, and then they will come together to form a group.
Right now I am in Japan with Akdong Musician and Lee Hi.
Akdong Musician once said in an interview that Lee Hi would be the most “difficult” artist to befriend. For me, both Akdong Musician and Lee Hi are still a tad “difficult”, since they are the latest comers to our agency. I feel that we still need some ice-breaking to do. So using Daesung’s Japan concert as an excuse, I asked them to accompany me to Japan so that I can spend some quality time with them.
On the first day of arrival, their ice has become a lot thinner, thanks to the visit to Disney Land. I joined them later that day for dinner. Frankly, because Soo-hyun, our youngest (which means Lee Hi is no longer the youngest), just turned 15 and others are also just teenagers, I was worried about the generation gap. But I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them and was impressed by their bright and positive attitudes.
I will come back with more details of their album release later!
When will Kang Seung-yoon, the ex-Superstar K contestant, be debuting?
To be continued… see you all tomorrow!
Are you excited to see what else Yang Hyun Suk has in store?
Sources: News – YG-Life; Photo – YG Entertainment
YG releases updates concerning his girl groups
YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun Suk has released important music news regarding the company’s artists through his personal column on YG Life entitled FROM YG. The message unveils various answers to the common questions directed towards 2NE1 and YG’s upcoming girl group.
“Hello, everyone. This is Yang Hyun Suk. It has been a long time since I said hello to you though FROM YG. The reason why I am writing FROM YG after such a long time is to tell all of you fans out there, the hottest news on the new albums of YG singers which are set to be released after July. What’s more, a new YG girl group will be releasing their debut album after four years of preparation. It has been such a long time since I last wrote FROM YG so I have a lot to say. To give you an full update on what’s new, I will be writing several FROM YGs from now on. In order to make things simple, I am going tell you what’s happening in YG by answering some questions. I hope you excuse me for using the Q&A format.
When will 2NE1 make a comeback?
Since their debut, 2NE1 has rocked the charts with numerous hit songs year after year. Just to name a few,
in 2009, ‘Fire’ , ‘I Don’t Care’
in 2010, ‘Can’t Nobody’, ‘Go Away’, ‘Clap Your Hands’
in 2011, ‘I am the Best’, ‘Lonely’ and ‘UGLY’.However, in 2012, the fans were not able to see much of 2NE1 because of their tight world tour schedule. ‘I LOVE YOU’ was the one and only song that 2NE1 released in 2012. 2NE1 is always eager to meet the fans. So rather than releasing all the new songs that 2NE1 prepared during the last two years in just one album, 2NE1 is planning to release the songs plus music videos one a month until the end of this year.
2NE1 new title song will be released in early July, followed by other new tracks in August and September. In October, we are planning to showcase a mini-album or the official second album of 2NE1. So, 2NE1 will be promoting at least four tracks from July to October.
What are the genres of 2NE1′s new songs and what are their plans for concerts?
2NE1′s new song, which will be released in early July, will be reggae, an entirely new genre for 2NE1. The title of the song is ‘Falling in Love’. 2NE1 is certainly trying something new with this new song but it will sure show all the great stuff that 2NE1 has as the top female K-pop group. For a new twist, 2NE1 is working with new choreographers from overseas. I am sure that the fans will get to love the new title.
Regarding concerts, we do have plans for 2NE1 concerts after the release of the new album in October. I will fill you up with details as soon as the plans get finalized. I hope that you send your love and support to 2NE1 and their new songs.
When is the new girl group of YG debuting?
To be continued…see you all tomorrow.
So, are you excited about what YG had to say?
Guitarist Sungha shares his impression of Philippines, dedication to music and future plans
From millions of YouTube channel views and a lot of awards, Sungha Jung has become a household name both to Kpop and non-Kpop fans. Hours before his Manila concert at the Newport Performing Arts Theater last June 15, 2013, hellokpop had the chance to get up close and personal with him. Although he has accomplished a lot at such a young age of 16, there was no sign of conceitedness as he warmly greeted us with a big smile.
Impression of the Philippines
It is his second time in the Philippines and he laughed as he described it as “hot”. He then added, “I am really impressed of the audience. I really like to play in front of fans and I really look forward to play for the Filipinos.” In the past, he played a famous Filipino song, Anak by Freddie Aguilar, using his first guitar. He shares, “My father told me to play the song. He liked the music. I listened to it and liked it as well so I played it.”
Dedication to Music
Sungha started playing the guitar and uploading his videos in 2006 when he was just 10 years old. There were a lot of guitarists who inspired him to play the instrument. He shared, “There’s a Japanese guitarist named Kotario Oshio. I actually started to play the guitar because of him. After watching him play, I started to play as well. And the other guy is from Germany. His name is Ulli Boegershausen. He is like my mentor. I recorded my first album in his home studio.”
Millions of his YouTube subscribers witnessed not only his physical transformation but also his improvement in playing the guitar. He puts dedication in practicing every piece, taking about 2-3 days to practice before he uploads them. Ever wondered what was the most difficult piece to practice for him? It’s Laurence Juber‘s All of Me. According to him, “It has really fast techniques so it’s really hard.”
Interestingly, he has also expressed his eagerness to learn playing other musical instruments. He says, “I learned once to play the piano and drums. I want to play more not only the acoustic guitar. I’m learning now to play the electric guitar and bass guitar and other instruments.” When asked if he will consider to be an idol, he shyly shakes his head and said, “No. Most Kpop stars are singers or dancers. But now, I’m an instrumental player. I don’t think I’m a Kpop star.” Although he doesn’t consider to be an idol, he would usually watch tv shows or music programs and think “Sometimes, I would like to sing in front of millions not just playing on instrument. I plan to learn singing. I want to exchange lives for one day with singers.”
Collaborations and Future Plans
Because of his hard work, Sungha has collaborated with a lot of artists like G-Dragon, 2NE1, Narsha, Lee Seung Gi and Jason Mraz. Most of the Kpop acoustic pieces he uploaded are songs of BIGBANG. He told us, “I think everybody knows that I like BIGBANG. I had a collaboration with G-Dragon. I like their music. I can say my favorite group is BIGBANG.”
Who does he want to collaborate with in the future?
“Actually, that was Jason Mraz and it came true…”
“…I also want to collaborate with this guy from Superstar K. His name is Roy Kim. I met him in Jason Mraz’ concert since he was also a guest. We met each other. One day I hope to collaborate with him… I don’t have a specific favorite song. But there’s a song that I mostly like to play recently. That would be Roy Kim’s Bom Bom Bom.”, he added.
Check out his acoustic arrangement for the mentioned song:
Busy but Grateful
Sungha surprised us with his answer to the question, “What would you be doing if you’re not a musician?”. He answered, “I don’t know. I heard that question a lot of times but I really have to think about that. I don’t hate to study so maybe I will be studying.” He is currently homeschooling. Given the time, he would like to play basketball with his friends. Even though he is unable to do a lot of things because of his busy schedule, he expresses his gratitude for being able to share his music worldwide because “not all musicians are given this chance”.
Paint It Acoustic promotion
Sungha Jung is currently having an international tour to promote his third album, Paint It Acoustic, containing 14 tracks. His favorite track is Nostalgia, his original song that he describes as “beautiful and has a good melody”. He leaves a message to his fans saying, “Hi! I’m Sungha Jung. I just finished some of my tours in Asia… Please continue to support me”. He just recently concluded his Cebu and sold-out Manila shows and is set to perform in Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Taiwan, China and Hong Kong.
Special thanks to Ms. Marsha of Pinoytuner and Sungha Jung’s manager, Ms. Dee, for granting us the interview.
Event covered by: camille@hellokpop, impulse@hellokpop
Sources: Video – jwcfree (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6), sbsmusic1
CL has Jeremy Scott’s back
Literally! American fashion designer Jeremy Scott recently shared a Throwback Thursday photo of 2NE1 member CL receiving a piggyback ride on his back. Along with the image, he posted,
#TBT SINCE THE DAY I MET HER MY GIRL CL HAS HAD MY BACK – EVEN SOMETIMES LITERALLY ! #BFF4EVA pic.twitter.com/hQDmxl1nBe
— JEREMY SCOTT (@ITSJEREMYSCOTT) June 14, 2013
Scott expressed his gratitude towards CL for always having his back and being his best friend.
Source: @ITSJEREMYSCOTT
Wonder Girls’ “Tell Me” voted as #1 idol hit song
Wonder Girls‘ Tell Me was chosen as the ‘Best Idol Song’ of all times.
An online survey by Research Panel Korea ran from May 26 to May 30, asking: “Which song is the best song from idol groups?” Garnering 27% of the votes from 21,955 netizens who participated in the survey, the Wonder Girls’ Tell Me took the number one spot. Big Bang‘s Lies came in second while Girls’ Generation‘s Gee ranked third. IU‘s Good Day, Super Junior‘s Sorry Sorry, Brown Eyed Girls‘ Abracadabra, Sistar‘s Alone and 2ne1‘s Lonely also made it to the list.
Tell Me was released back in 2007 and was well received, not just by the fans from Korea but also by international fans. This hit song helped the Wonder Girls to be one of South Korea’s most popular girl groups.
