Monday, December 31, 2012

2NE1 Performances in 2012 MBC Gayo Daejaejun Award!

It’s New Year’s in Korea, and what better way to send off 2012 than with a livey music show with this year’s top artists!

The MCs for tonight’s “2012 MBC Gayo Daejaejun” was MBLAQ‘s Lee JoonGirls‘ Generation SeohyunBoom and Lee Hwi Jae.

Artists were divided into two teams, Blue & White, and throughout the show, viewers cast their votes through text messages for their favorite team. It was White Team who was revealed to be the winner at the end!

White Team: EXO-K, INFINITE, Big Bang, TVXQ, B2ST, B.A.P, SECRET, After School, MBLAQ, Girl’s Day, Son Dam Bi, KARA f(x), Jo Kwon and Kwanghee.

Blue Team: BTOB, B1A4, 2NE1, Super Junior, SHINee, TEEN TOP, T-ara, Sunwha, Epik High, SISTAR A Pink, Lee Hi, and Ga In.

Watch their performance below!
Epik High feat Park Bom - Don't Hate Me + Up
2NE1 & Special Appearance by Lee Hi
Big Bang + Special Appearances by 2NE1, Lee Hi, & Epik High
Credits: Allkpop

Saturday, December 29, 2012

2NE1's Performance in '2012 SBS Gayo Daejun'!

It’s just about that time as the year comes to a close, and Korea’s hottest broadcasting stations hold their year-end ceremonies to celebrate. This time around, SBS aired its annual ‘2012 SBS Gayo Daejun‘.

The MCs for tonight’s show were miss A’s Suzy, IU, and actor Jung Gyu Woon!

Performances from tonight included: SECRET, B.A.P, Super Junior, TVXQ, Lee Hi, Epik High, 2NE1, Big Bang, Ailee, Sung Si Kyung, 2AM, MBLAQ, INFINITE, Teen Top, B2ST, SISTAR, 4minute, KARA, After School, GLAM, EXO, Ga In, f(x), SHINee, miss A, Kim Wan Sun, Kim Won Jun, FTISLAND, and CNBLUE

Check their performance below!


CL and Sung Si Kyung's collaboration
I Love You
Credits: Allkpop

Thursday, December 27, 2012

The New York Times: The Best Concerts of 2012!

A concert is always more than just a rendering of songs. It’s a musical revamp, a real-time test, a spectacle, a pop-up community, perhaps a dance party or an incipient riot — and, even in the YouTube era, an ephemeral, site-specific experience. Here the pop and jazz critics of The New York Times recall some of their favorite live events of 2012, in order of importance.

JAY-Z
2NE1 Aug. 17, and BIGBANG Nov. 8, both at Prudential Center, Newark. This was the year K-pop arrived — not in the form of “Gangnam Style,” which was everywhere and yet completely evanescent — but in these arena shows, which were full of thousands of young, paying fans eager to see the girls of 2NE1 and the boys of BigBang, groups with zero American hits between them, but rabid American followings all the same.  
DISCLOSURE Glasslands Gallery
ODD FUTURE Hammerstein Ballroom 
DMX S.O.B.’s
MIGUEL Bowery Ballroom 
2 CHAINZ, S.O.B.’s
ERIC CHURCH Hammerstein Ballroom 
NICKI MINAJ Chicago Theater 
DRAKE PNC Bank Arts Center

Source: NYTimes

MelOn's 2012 Year-end Charts!

MelOn, one of Korea's top music sites, has released their year-end music charts for 2012. 

Here are the results:

Overall Chart
#1 Psy - Gangnam Style
#2 Sistar - Alone
#3 Busker Busker - Cherry Blossom Ending
#4 Sistar - Loving U
#5 Big Bang - Fantastic Baby
#6 2NE1 - I Love You
#7 Busker Busker - If You Really Love Me
#8 Ailee - Heaven
#9 Seo in Guk & Eunji - All For You
#10 Busker Busker - First Love
#11 IU - Every End Of Day
#12 T-ara - Lovey Dovey
#13 Taetiseo - Twinkle
#14 Huh Gak - The Person Who Once Loved Me
#15 Naul - Memories of the Wind
#16 Busker Busker - Yeosu Night Sea
#17 Big Bang - Monster
#18 Big Bang - Blue

#19 Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger
#20 Huh Gak, Jia - I Need You
#21 Baek Ji Young - Voice
#22 Wonder Girls - Like This
#23 IU - You And I
#24 Lee Jong Hyun - My Love
#25 Lyn - Back In Time
#26 Verbal Jint - You Are Pretty Enough
#27 K-Will - Please Don't
#28 Lee Hyun - My Heartache
#29 T-ara - Day by Day
#30 Psy - What Could Have Been
#31 10cm - Sorrow
#32 f(x) - Electric Shock
#33 Psy - Hot Goodbye
#34 Juniel - Illa Illa
#35 Lee Hi - 1,2,3,4
#36 Roy Kim, Jung Joon Young - Become Dust
#37 Ailee - I Will Show You
#38 Busker Busker - It's Hard To Face You
#39 G-Dragon - Crayon
#40 Hyuna, Hyunseung - Trouble Maker
#41 Gain - Bloom
#42 Busker Busker - The Flowers
#43 BoA - Only One
#44 Orange Caramel - Lipstick
#45 Ulala Session - Beautiful Night
#46 Huh Gak - One Person
#47 10cm - Good Morning
#48 Maroon 5 - Payphone
#49 Dynamic Duo - Without You
#50 G-Dragon - Missing You

Streaming Chart
#1 Psy - Gangnam Style
#2 Sistar - Alone
#3 Sistar - Loving U
#4 Busker Busker - Cherry Blossom Ending
#5 2NE1 - I Love You
#6 Big Bang - Fantastic Baby
#7 Busker Busker - If You Really Love Me
#8 Seo in Guk & Eunji - All For You
#9 Ailee - Heaven
#10 Naul - Wind Memories

Download Chart
#1 Busker Busker - Cherry Blossom Ending
#2 Sistar - Alone
#3 Big Bang - Fantastic Baby
#4 T-ara - Lovey Dovey
#5 Ailee - Heaven
#6 Psy - Gangnam Style
#7 Big Bang - Blue
#8 Lyn - Back in Time
#9 IU - Every End of the Day
#10 Busker Busker - First Love

Album Chart
#1 Busker Busker - Busker Busker 1st Album
#2 Psy - PSY6 (Six Rules) Part 1
#3 Big Bang - Alive
#4 G-Dragon - One of a Kind
#5 Busker Busker - 1st Wrap Up Album
#6 Big Bang - Still Alive
#7 Naul - Principle of my Soul
#8 Various Artists - Superstar K4 Top 12 Part 1
#9 Primary - Primary and the Messengers LP
#10 Epik High - 99

Source: MelOn

A Surprise YG Family Show for MBC Gayo Daejun!

It will be the first time since 2008 that YG Artists will grace the stage as a family unit for the Gayo Daejun. The confirmation of attendance of these YG artists minus PSY who is busy with US activities adds more meaning to the event.

Big Bang, 2NE1, Epik High, and Lee Hi are the major players that have helped establish YG syndrome from the beginning of the year with their continuous streaks of all kills and number one spots on the music charts. Top idol group Big Bang, who has been busy with their global tour has been unable to appear on programs for some time. The announcement of their appearance has peaked the interest in many fans for the Gayo Daejun show.

Also, the MBC is planning to offer a block of their show for a joint stage of YG family groups Big Bang and 2NE1. These stages are expected to carry the famous YG Family concert feel which will surely attract viewers.

In addition, viewers can look forward to a performance by Lee Hi who has topped the charts at number 1 for 14 consecutive weeks."
 
Osen reports that All of YG Family, except for PSY will perform at MBC Gayo Daejun on the 31st December 2012. 

Source: Nate + Osen
Credits: DKpopNews

2NE1 and Lee Hi to perform each others’ songs at ‘MBC Gayo Daejaejun’!

Fans of Lee Hi and 2NE1 will have something to look forward to at the end-of-year festivities, as the two artists will be exchanging songs for their respective performances at the upcoming 2012 ‘MBC Gayo Daejaejun’!

According to an entertainment staff member, the upcoming show on the 31st will feature a cross-over collaboration stage between the two YG Entertainment artists. 2NE1 will perform Lee Hi’s debut track, “1,2,3,4″, while the ‘K-Pop Star‘ rookie will be singing 2NE1′s ballad/hip-hop song, “I Love You”.

In addition to the two artists, this year’s MBC music festival will also feature other artists from YG Entertainment, including Big Bang and Epik High, raising expectations for this year’s ‘Gayo Daejaejun’.

Credits: Allkpop

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

2NE1 will rock the house and perform at the ‘MBC Gayo Daejaejun’!

It seems the previous rumors concerning YG Entertainment artists’ possibly appearing at the upcoming ‘MBC Gayo Daejaejun‘ have been confirmed by media outlets. This news has brought much excitement to fans as the last time YG artists appeared on the show was back in 2008.

It has been revealed that Big Bang and 2NE1 will rock the house with individual stages while rookie artist Lee Hi will join Epik High for a special collaboration stage.

The ‘MBC Gayo Daejaejun’ will focus on a “past, present, and future” theme and will feature performances from idol groups as well as veteran artists COOL, Koyote, J.Y. Park, and Dynamic Duo. Viewers have even more to be excited about as MCs Lee Hui Jae, Boom, Girls’ Generation‘s Seohyun, MBLAQ‘s Lee Joon will be hosting the event.

Tune in for the ‘MBC Gayo Daejaejun’ on December 31st!

Source + image: Sports Hankook via Nate
Credits: Allkpop

Saturday, December 22, 2012

2NE1's 'I Love You' is at #4 spot in Billboard.com 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2012!

These 20 K-Pop songs represent a fantastic array of veteran artists, popular idols, ballad crooners and talented rookies.

2012 was the year that PSY, an unlikely K-pop veteran, surpassed his contemporaries with international stardom and an inescapable single ("Gangnam Style," of course). But that doesn't mean the rest of the K-pop world wasn't also delivering excellent tracks.

It was a year of fantastic tracks, exciting comebacks and these 20 singles represent a fantastic array of veteran artists, popular idols, ballad crooners and talented rookies. Check out the Billboard.com and Billboard Korea staff's picks for the top 20 K-pop songs of 2012, and tell us your personal favorite tracks of the year by tweeting us!

20. "Catch Me" - TVXQ
19. "Love Dance" - The Koxx
18. "Touch" - miss A
17. "One Of A Kind" - G-Dragon
16. "Without You" - Dynamic Duo
15. "Painkiller" - SPICA
14. "Same Love, Same Farewell" - Urban Zakapa
13. "Good Morning" Verbal Jint feat. Kwon Jung Yeol
12. "I Wish" - F.T. Island
11. "Every Night" - EXID
10. "Beautiful Night" - Beast
9. "Cherry Blossom Ending" - Busker Busker
8. "Gangnam Style" - PSY
7. "Only One" - BoA
6. "Flashback" - After School
5. "Bad Boy" - BIGBANG
4. "I Love You" - 2NE1
3. "Memory Of The Wind" - Naul
2. "Alone" - SISTAR
1. "The Chaser" - INFINITE

Source: Billboard.com

CL visits HOLT Children’s Services to spend time with orphans!

CL recently visited HOLT Children’s Services to spend time with children.

JINUSEAN‘s Sean tweeted photos of CL playing with a child at the center named Dojoon

He wrote a series of tweets, the first tweet read: “CL and Dojoon’s second meeting at the HOLT Children’s Services Temporary Care Center. She was happy to see him but must have felt sad that he had not met his parents yet, so she gave him a kiss right away.. Dojoon, remember that you’re a man who got kissed twice by CL noona^^“. The second tweet read, “Today’s couple at the HOLT Children’s Services Temporary Care Center. Dojoon and CL sported couple outfits. Dojoon, would you give your pants to CL noona later?“, and the final tweet read, “Dojoon was happy because he received CL’s love, and CL was happy to spend time with Dojoon. Children are the most beautiful when they are loved“.

For fans who could not read Korean, he added a tweet in English,
@jinuSEAN3000 : CL visited HOLT Children's services.She met Dojoon for the second time and they had great yime together.LOVE4CHILDREN pic.twitter.com/RYjr7ljv

Source: Sean’s Twitter 
Credits: Allkpop

YG & MBC Entertainment in discussion for appearances at ‘MBC Gayo Daejaejun’!

A report started circulating in which it was claimed that YG Entertainment artists will gather together through ‘MBC Gayo Daejaejun‘ to rock the stage once more, leading to questions of whether MBC and YGE have patched up their differences.

It was said that Big Bang, 2NE1, Epik High, and Lee Hi, who all had numerous all-kills and number one hits landings on music charts this year, would be attending the show and standing on stage.

However, YG Entertainment revealed that no appearances have been confirmed yet, stating, “It is not finalized that YG Family will be appearing on ‘MBC Gayo Daejaejun’. Although it’s true we have discussed it, it’s not at the stage where we can say appearances are confirmed.”

Source: Newsen
Credits: Allkpop

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

YG Entertainment takes 7 of top 10 spots for most viewed K-Pop MV’s of 2012!

YG Entertainment has dominated the view counts for 2012.

With three weeks remaining in 2012, artists from YG Entertainment took 7 out of the top 10 spots for the most viewed K-Pop MV’s of 2012 on YouTube. Psy‘s “Gangnam Style” was by far the most viewed music video as it is now the most viewed video of all time on YouTube. “Gangnam Style” is well on it’s way to be the first video to hit the 1 billion view mark. Psy’s follow up music video featuring Hyuna titled “Oppa, You’re My Style” was second and Psy’s two music videos were the only ones to break the threshold of over 100 million views.

Big Bang‘s “Fantastic Baby” was third overall but that wasn’t the only thing that was fantastic as Big Bang had a very impressive showing with four MV’s in the top 10 including “Fantastic Baby“, “Blue“, “Bad Boy“, and “Monster“. 2NE1‘s “I Love You ranked 10th overall, which was good enough to give YG Entertainment a whopping 7 spots.

SM Entertainment‘s f(x) and Taetiseo took the 4th and 5th spots with “Electric Shock” and “Twinkle” respectively. Hyuna was the only artist in the top 10 that wasn’t from YG or SM as her “Ice Cream” MV ranked 7th.

Congratulations to all the artists!

TOP 10 as of December 10th: 
1. Psy – “Gangnam Style” 925,621,474 views (YG Entertainment) 
2. Psy ft. Hyuna – “Oppa You’re My Style” – 186,474,756 views (YG Entertainment) 
3. Big Bang – “Fantastic Baby” – 54,564,812 views (YG Entertainment) 
4. f(x) – “Electric Shock” – 36,200,745 views (SM Entertainment)
5. Taetiseo – “Twinkle” – 31,939,213 views (SM Entertainment) 
6. Big Bang – “Blue” – 31,753,570 views (YG Entertainment) 
7. Hyuna – “Ice Cream” – 27,50,865 views (Cube Entertainment) 
8. Big Bang – “Bad Boy” – 26,207,699 views (YG Entertainment) 
9. Big Bang – “Monster” – 24,964,245 views (YG Entertainment) 
10. 2NE1 – “I Love You” – 20,633,036 views (YG Entertainment)

Source: Allkpop

Saturday, December 8, 2012

2NE1 & Big Bang, one of the big winners in Europe’s 3rd Annual ‘So-Loved Awards’!

On December 8th, ‘K-Colors of Korea‘ a German magazine devoted to K-pop and Korean culture, revealed the winners of its third annual ‘So-Loved Awards‘. The ‘So-Loved Awards’ were created as Europe’s first K-pop awards, to reflect the tastes of European K-pop fans.

Although voting was open to everyone, only votes from European voters were tallied to determine the winner of each category. With over 307,086 total votes (110,984 European votes), this year’s awards were bigger than ever.

2012 saw Big Bang win the most awards taking home one solo, G-Dragon won for ‘Best Male Solo‘, and four group awards; ‘Best Male Band‘, ‘Best Mini Album‘ and ‘Best Song‘ . Block B won four awards, ‘Best Album‘, ‘Best OST‘, ‘Best Music Video‘, and ‘Best Hip Hop Group‘,  showing their popularity in Europe.

2NE1 was one of the few female winners this year.  The quartet won the ‘Best Female Band‘ and ‘Best Japanese Release‘ categories. Other female winners included G.NA for ‘Best Female Solo‘ and Ailee for ‘Best Female Newcomer‘.

Rookie group, B.A.P won not only ‘Best Newcomer‘, but also ‘Best Choreography‘ further cementing their super rookie status.  In addition, CNBLUE absolutely dominated the ‘Best Rock/Alternative Group‘ category winning with nearly 70% of the votes.

There were three special awards that were not included in the voting. Dalmatian won the ‘K Special Award‘, MYNAME won the ‘so-loved Special Award‘ and non-idol Judy Suh won the K Culture Award.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Check out the complete winners list below:

Best Band (female) 1. 2NE1 (45.2%)
2. f(x) (12.5%)
3. Secret (7.7%)

Best Band (male) 1. Big Bang (30.4%)
2. Super Junior (22.6%)
3. SHINee (10.9%)

Solo Artist (female)
1. G.NA (30.8%)
2. Ga In (29.4%)
3. Ali (16.7%)

Solo Artist (male)
1. G-Dragon (52.9%)

2. Xia (22.2%)
3. Tablo (10.7%)

Newcomer (female)
1. Ailee (42.2%)
2. EvoL (15.2%)
3. AoA (9.8%)

Newcomer (male)
1. B.A.P (42.5%)
2. EXO (22.6%)
3. NU’EST (15.3%)

Album
1. Block B – Blockbuster (41.0%)
2. Xia – Tarantallegra (15.6%)
3. Epik High – 99 (13.6%)

EP (Mini Album)
1. Big Bang – Still Alive (23.8%)

2. B.A.P – Crash (17.2%)
3. Infinite – Infinitize (15.4%)

Song
1. Big Bang – Fantastic Baby (26.7%)

2. B.A.P – No Mercy (18.6%)
3. Block B – Nanlina (17.2%)

Japan Release
1. 2NE1 – Scream (40.7%)

2. CN Blue – Come On (28.3%)
3. Park Jungmin/Romeo – Give Me Your Heart (12.9%)

Music Video
1. Block B – Nillili Mambo (30.0%)
2. Big Bang – Monster (29.5%)
3. B.A.P – Power (19.9%)

Choreography
1. B.A.P – Warrior (47.2%)
2. Infinite – The Chaser (30.0%)
3. Teen Top – To You (13.9%)

Drama
1. Rooftop Prince (28.1%)
2. Shut Up! Flower Boy Band (27.9%)
3. Reply 1997 (21.5%)

OST Song
1. Block B – Burn Out (Ghost OST) (28.1%)
2. Daesung – Lunatic (What’s Up OST) (27.7%)
3. J-Min – Stand Up (To The Beautiful You OST) (26.6%)

Rock/Alternative
1. CNBLUE (68.1%)
2. LED Apple (18.5%)
3. Busker Busker (7.6%)

Hip Hop
1. Block B (59.1%)
2. Epik High (28.2%)
3. Phantom (5.7%)

Special Awards:
K Culture Award: Judy Suh – ExamiNation so-loved Special Award: MyName K Special Award: Dalmatian

Source: Allkpop
Credits: omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com

Big Bang and 2NE1 make MTV Style’s list of ‘Best Band Style of 2012′!

Big Bang and 2NE1 have made MTV Style‘s list of the ‘Best Band Style of 2012‘.

The two YG Entertainment groups are the only Asian artists to make the list of 10, which includes One Direction, The Wanted, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, Destiny’s Child, Fun, HAIM, and No Doubt.

MTV wrote on 2NE1:

“K-Pop had a GIGANTIC year in 2012, partly because of ‘Gangnam Style‘ and partly because the genre is CHOCK FULL of boy bands and girl groups. MTV Style has a soft spot for 2NE1 thanks to their propensity for all things bold and colorful and their enviable closeness with Jeremy Scott.” 

Big Bang:

“Speaking of bold and colorful… We are OBSESSED with Big Bang. The K-Pop boy band is a five-dude unit of unbridled energy, hyper-saturated streetwear, tonsorial risk-taking, and uhh, they wear MINX NAILS SOMETIMES. *faints*”

Big Bang previously made headlines on MTV for their style. This past September, G-Dragon and T.O.P received attention for their Minx Nails. The group’s songs “Blue” and “Bad Boy” also made the spotlight.
 In related news, Big Bang will be holding their ‘Alive GALAXY World Tour‘ from the 8th to the 10th in Hong Kong, while 2NE1 continues on their 7-country, 11-city ‘New Evolution‘ tour.

Source: Allkpop