Jennifer Chung brings down the house for her album release show

allkpop has been following Jennifer Chung‘s career for some time now, and we got to celebrate with the star when she held a release show for her very first album, “4 years & counting…“.
Jennifer Chung shook the Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles with her powerhouse vocals, a live band, and some charming banter. The show was an impressive display not only of talent, but also of true passion from someone who could only be described as a beautifully humble artist.
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Before the YouTube sweetheart took the stage, Kenny Choi (formerly of Daphne Loves Derby) primed the audience with his soothing vocals and guitar strums. Dressed casually in a plain shirt, jeans, and flipflops that were immediately kicked off to the side, Choi sang through four-and-a-half songs to compose an opening act that came to an end all too quickly.
After a brief intermission, the star of the show stepped into the spotlight with her rocking new hairstyle. As the deafening cheer from her fans died down, Jennifer Chung sang a soulful a capella introduction to express her excitement and gratitude for the album’s release.
Then, she opened her act full-force with a song titled “Running“, which she wrote with Christian band New Heights. Next up was “Very Last Time” followed by “The Way You Do“, and then a set she dubbed, “A medley of emotional, heart-wrenching songs” with lyrics that were unexpectedly about Peter Pan.
Soon after, a strong drum beat opened up “You Won,” which she later explained was the first song she ever wrote. “Mystery” was next and “One Day” was performed thereafter, an optimistic song about looking forward and being positive after something bad happens.
Introduced as the last song of the night, “I Made It” was a completely new track that she wrote while working as a restaurant hostess. The audience felt Jennifer Chung’s powerful charisma as she belted out line after line, and the visible emotions on her face showed everyone just how much she loves what she’s doing.
As soon as the singer thanked the audience, she took her bow and stepped off stage. But the crowd howled for an encore, crying out in unison, “One more song!“. Beaming, the red-haired beauty returned before the mic to sing “Common, Simple, Beautiful”, whose feel-good vibe was further boosted by the loud cheers of her hometown friends.
Coming back for a second encore, Jennifer picked up her YouTube roots with a cover. Accompanied only by her keyboardist, she sang Adele‘s “Someone Like You“ for an impeccable finish to the night.
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Don’t be fooled by her small stature and shy, girl-next-door smile — Jennifer Chung’s got conviction, and last night was all about celebrating the sweet fruits of her labors. Showing an impressive amount of passion, and providing inspiration to all those listened to her music, Jennifer Chung rocked the house in L.A. and she’s sure to do the same for your stereo.
Be sure to support Jennifer Chung by buying her album here or through iTunes, available later today.

Super Junior’s Siwon sends his Chuseok greetings with a salute

“Greetings!  We will protect the sea, even during Chuseok!”
These words were sent out to fans by the actors of the new KBS2 coast guard drama, ‘Poseidon‘, for the upcoming Chuseok holiday. The actors, including Super Junior‘s Choi Siwon, can be seen saluting the public in fine, coast guard uniforms.
While Choi Siwon certainly had the fangirls drooling over their idol in uniform, netizens were drawn to actress Lee Si Young, as she was the only female saluting amongst the crew.
The plot of the drama has everyone waiting with excitement as the actors above will be a part of the ‘Investigation 9′ crew, who will be scouring through U.S. imperialist events. The drama will be packed with hot action scenes and captivating performances from A-list stars.
To air the drama on time and fully meet expectations, the production team plans on shooting the drama all through the Chuseok holiday. The cast members will mostly be on set, and will not be going back home to greet their families.
A representative of Enex Telecom complimented the staff and drama for their hard efforts and predicted that ‘Poseidon’ will be one of the greatest marine police dramas ever produced in Korea. The drama will air its first episode on September 19th, so stay tuned for details!

Yang Hyun Suk reveals how YG Entertainment picks their trainees

YG Entertainment‘s Yang Hyun Suk recently joined SBS‘s ‘Survival Audition K-Pop Star‘, a program that seeks to stand out from all other audition shows by finding and cultivating the next star, and putting them on an elite course to success.
A lot of attention is now being focused on the criteria for the program. Yang Hyun Suk recently sat down with OSEN for an interview detailing what he looks for in a trainee.
He first revealed that trainees join YG in two different ways: talented individuals will be approached by the company first, while others are chosen out of the hundreds that apply for the company.
He began, “YG only had a select few trainees, but we’ve been increasing the number since 2011.  If you look at it one way, we get outstanding talent for free. Even though people know that it’s extremely hard to get into YG, kids from all over the nation will still come and try out on their own. The reason we’re increasing the number of trainees is because I realized that after 2NE1 debuted, we had no trainees left. We have about 40 now, and most of them were people we contacted first because they were famous for their skills. A few of them will definitely go on to become the next Big Bang or 2NE1, albeit they’ll be different in music and style.”
And what about Kang Seung Yoon, the contestant from ‘Superstar K2‘ who joined YG? Yang Hyun Suk revealed, “Whether it will take two years or three, it’s anyone’s game. It all depends on his skills.” When asked when he would be making his debut, Yang Hyun Suk replied quickly that he was adamant about not allowing trainees to stand on stage unless they were thoroughly prepared as singers. It’s not just Kang Seung Yoon who had to endure such a harsh training regimen — senior artists like Se7en, Big Bang, 2NE1, and Gummy also had to go through it as well.
It’s reality that while some trainees shine like stars, others end up in the dust like a flower that never got the chance to bloom.
“My trainees are all children who have talent not made through effort, but through talent they’re born with. To put it simply, only the kids who have it will survive. There are a lot of kids who let their talent rot and fail. Children with natural-born talents can be usually divided into two different types of people. The first are the types that rise to the position of ‘best’ because they continue to still strive to improve their talents. The second are the trainees who don’t practice because they know that they’re good.  Of course, YG doesn’t let lazy prodigies just slide. We either let them die out or try to fix it.  This is where the great system we’re known to have comes from,” he explained.
Concluding the interview, he said, “People say that I’m stingy with compliments but I think it’s definite that a YG trainee is talented and good. I have to play the bad guy that criticizes what they lack in the middle.  Teens, however, always want to be praised in their hearts, and since I’m always only criticizing them, it hurts their feelings… If I always praise them and compliment them when they’re in their teens, they have a tendency to just settle for where they’re at.  In the end, they’re going to be using what they learned during their training period for the rest of their lives as singers because there’s no time to practice once you actually debut.  There’s a time and place for practicing.”

Kang Ho Dong’s retirement statement was personally handwritten

On September 11th, MBC‘s ‘Section TV‘ revealed footage from Kang Ho Dong‘s press conference, where he announced that he’d be temporarily retiring from the entertainment industry.
A portion of his statement was caught on camera, and viewers were shocked to see that it was handwritten. Amidst the tight string of words were several edited marks where he crossed out sentences and re-wrote his words, showing proof of the agony he was going through while writing it.
Netizens commented, “He’s still our nation’s MC, why did people push him to such a point?”, “I knew that he had some antis, but who knew he had this many”, and “I can clearly see just how worried he was by looking at that piece of paper.”

Lee Eun Mi moves hearts in Japan with her first concert

On September 10th, ‘barefoot diva’ Lee Eun Mi held her ‘Lee Eun Mi Concert in the City 2011 Tokyo‘ show in Japan with the help of a full band!
At the press conference prior to the event, she stated, “Today’s concert will be one that shows what kind of sound the instrument called Lee Eun Mi makes. I’m still nervous before a stage, but I cannot think of a life without it.”
Over 1,000 fans showed up to the event to watch the the diva put on a stunning show, thus resulting in a full house. Lee Eun Mi kicked off her concert with “Pin“, and went on to perform “Around 30“, “Letter“, and “In the Middle of BreakUp” to commemorate her 22nd anniversary. She also sang Japanese songs like “Nadasoso” and “Nocturne“.
Fans responded with a round of applause after each performance.  She commented, “Music for me began when I was carried around on my mother’s back as a baby.  The soft humming of her singing touched my heart and spread throughout my body.”
Some fans even shed tears when she sang “Wild Rose” with Japansese subtitles in the background to help them better understand the lyrics.
“It’s my 22nd anniversary, but today’s the first step I’ve ever taken into Japan.  Thank you for making this a meaningful place for me,” she concluded before her encore.

Jewelry voices their support for contestant Chris in ‘Superstar K3′

The ladies of Jewelry recently dolled up in hanbok dresses to give their Chuseok greetings. They also shared their excitement for the hit audition show, ‘Superstar K3‘.
Member Semi was actually a contestant of ‘Superstar K1‘, so she has a special connection to the series itself.  Although she wasn’t able to land at the top, she earned much praise for her cute charms and vocal talent.  It was through the show that she received a love call from Star Empire and eventually joined Jewelry.
She said, “‘Superstar K’ made so many great memories for me. It’s because of the show that I’m a member of Jewelry today.”
‘Superstar K3′ contestant Chris also previously featured in Jewelry’s album before joining the show. He’s known to be a friend of John Park‘s, and also one of the top 24 in ‘American Idol’. After crossing over to Korea last year, he’s dedicated his time to creating songs like TVXQ‘s ‘Rumor‘ and Jewelry’s ‘Back It Up‘, on top of training ZE:A.
Jewelry said, “Chris is a born musician.  He places the importance of feel in a song above all else.  He’s not scary and we have a lot of fun working with him, so we hope that he meets with great results on the show.”
Jewelry is currently receiving heavy training from Chris and other professionals for their next album.  Jewelry S, their subunit with Semi and Yewon, will also be releasing a new single on September 20th.

MBLAQ talks about the Hallyu wave in Brazil

On September 10th, MBLAQ returned from their trip to Brazil as judges for MBC’s ‘K-POP Cover Dance Festival‘.
Upon emerging from the gate at Incheon Airport, the boys proudly stated, “We’re the first Korean idols to visit Brazil.  From the moment we got off the plane, we received such overflowing love. The sponsors of the concert didn’t think that a lot of people would show up, so they rented a small hall. Over 6,000 fans came to the hall, however, and some had to wait outside.”
Speaking on the possibility of K-Pop advancing into Brazil, they stated, “There’s a strong Hallyu wave blowing through Brazil. Our Brazilian fans could sing along to all of the K-Pop songs. It’d be nice if other singers, and not only us, visited Brazil.  We’re sure that they’ll garner a positive response.”
The boys also showed interest in returning. “We were there to spread K-Pop, but so many people showed up to give us their support — more than the number we thought would come.  Should another opportunity arise, we’d love to go back to Brazil and interact with our fans again.”

Super Junior takes a selca before their last “Mr. Simple” stage

On September 11th, Super Junior‘s Ryeowook shared a backstage group photo from today’s episode of SBS‘s ‘Inkigayo‘ as a farewell gift to their fans. The boys performed their last “Mr. Simple“ stage today, which also included a performance of “Superman“.
Ryeowook wrote, “Shindong, Ryewook, Sungmin, Donghae. Took it backstage at the waiting room of ‘Inkigayo’!  I’m upset that it’s our last broadcast today!  Please give us your support ^^.”
Sitting in a row, the four boys stare at the camera with ‘cold city man’ looks. Shindong’s weight loss drew especial attention from fans, as his jaw line looks sharper than usual.
Fans commented in response, “No!  Is it already your last stage?”, “So upset…”, and “Do well even on your last!”

CNBLUE successfully opens for Linkin Park’s concert in Japan

On September 10th, CNBLUE successfully opened up for Linkin Park‘s Japanese concert at the Makuhari Messe!
Previously, it was reported that Linkin Park had personally asked CNBLUE to perform as their opening act after reviewing their profile. Living up to expectations, the boys delivered a total of seven songs, including “Let’s Go Crazy“, “Now or Never“, “Love“, “Intuition“, “Coward“, “Just Please“, and “One More Time“.
Over 7,000 Japanese fans sang along to each CNBLUE’s songs and were ecstatic to be able to see them perform.
After the concert, the members of CNBLUE stated, “It felt like a dream to be able to open for Linkin Park’s concert. We were a bit nervous performing at the opening in Japan, but there were a lot of people supporting us, which gave us the strength to successfully complete our stage. Overall, it was very fun.”
CNBLUE’s second Japanese album, “392“, has currently topped the Japanese Billboard indies chart.

Super Junior’s Siwon shares a sexy ‘Mr. Simple’ gift for Chuseok

On September 11th, Super Junior fans from all over the world felt their jaws drop after peeping Siwon‘s never-before-seen photo from ’Mr. Simple‘.
The singer tweeted, “Revealing this undisclosed cut from our 5th album ‘Mr. Simple A Version’ as a Chuseok present :)”.
In the photo, Siwon has colorful designs drawn all over his buff upper body. But what really caught the eyes of fans was where he decided to oh-so-casually position his hand for the shot.
Fans seemed to appreciate this holiday ‘gift’ quite a bit, and left comments like, “Oh my…”, “So handsome and sexy“, and “Hey, I’m a minor!”.
Happy Chuseok, Super Junior fans!

TEEN TOP says goodbye with “The Back of My Hand Brushes Against Yours”

Although it seems like they made their comeback only yesterday, TEEN TOP is ready to say farewell. But before they go, they shared a special treat with their loving fans!
For their final show on ’Inkigayo‘ this promotion round, TEEN TOP performed their ballad track, “The Back of My Hand Brushes Against Yours“.
Representatives of T.O.P. Media revealed, “Fans have been making many requests to see TEEN TOP perform that particular song on stage, so we decided to use it as the follow-up.”
The ballad is one that brings out TEEN TOP’s boyish side, as it’s about a man’s shy confession to his long-time crush. The song received as much love as their title track, “Don’t Spray Perfume“, so it’s an exciting way to say goodbye to their “Roman” album.

Cast members of ‘Immortal Song 2′ pose for a group photo

On September 11th, Super Junior‘s Kyuhyun tweeted some group photos taken with his fellow cast mates from KBS‘s ‘Immortal Song 2‘.
He shared, “The six people who sang legends together… It doesn’t matter who performed well or not, I enjoyed it very much~ Having fun at our get-together while making up the best catchphrases ^^”.
Huh Gak, MBLAQ’s G.O., Jay Park, Kyuhyun, 4minute’s Jiyoon, and SISTAR’s Hyorin could be seen smiling as they huddled closely together for the camera.

Fans noted how they looked like a close-knit group, and left comments like, “This is so sweet“, “You all did great on ‘Immortal Song 2′!”, and “You guys are awesome!”.
It’s great to see that although they may perform as rivals on the show, the singers are still able to relax and enjoy each other’s company as friends.

SISTAR participates in a gum spitting competition

On this week’s episode of MBC‘s ‘Weekly Idols‘, SISTAR made an appearance as guests and participated in an unusual competition.
During a segment of the show called ‘Beat the Idols’, SISTAR competed against MCs Jung Hyung Dong and Defconn in a gum spitting competition called, ‘Gum Archery’.
Soyu, Dasom, Bora, and Hyorin seemed hesitant at first, saying, “How can we spit gum at the target when we’re female idols?” However, once they were handed the gum, they started to chew vigorously and gave it their all during the competition. Their easy-going nature and fierce competitiveness brought laughter to the viewers.
Despite their best efforts, however, all the members were defeated by Jung Hyung Dong. The losers had to face a severe penalty of eating spicy foods, but the PD decided to give them the option to leave early, bringing about complaints from Jung Hyung Dong. Meanwhile, Defconn took this time to pick up the gum that SISTAR had spat out, stating, “I’m going to sell this”, which caused the viewers to roar with laughter.

‘Protect the Boss’ cast shares their Chuseok spirit

The cast of SBS‘s popular drama, ‘Protect the Boss‘, greeted fans with adorable photos for the Chuseok holiday.
The photos showed the cast members feeding each other songpyeon, with an attached caption that read, ”Welcoming Chuseok, we hope all viewers will celebrate a hearty holiday and have a good time with their families.”
The cast was in the midst of filming on September 10th when they received the special holiday treats from a bakery. It was a welcome break for the staff, who’ll have to continue filming throughout the Chuseok holiday.

MBLAQ’s Mir exposes Thunder’s sensitive side

MBLAQ’s Mir has been drawing fans’ attention on Twitter for exposing Thunder‘s sensitive personality.
Mir tweeted a picture on September 10th with the caption, “Evidence of the event”. The picture was a screencap of his text messaging history with fellow member, Thunder.
Mir wrote, “I unintentionally missed two calls from Thunder-hyung and he sent me a text saying, ‘Get away from me’, and then after 0.2 seconds, he sent me another text with an apology. After that, it’s been 1 year and 6 months since I’ve received a text from him”.
Netizens commented, “Thunder is so sensitive! Does he perhaps have blood type A?”, “Thunder, please send him a text”, and “Hope Thunder and Mir make up soon. This is too cute.”

[Review] “Superman” by Super Junior

Contrary to popular belief, Super Junior happens to be one of my favorite boy bands, probably ever. Sure, I may have shaken many angry fists at “Mr. Simple“, but tough love is still a form of appreciation. That being said, nothing feels better than when your favorite artists take you from the depths of disappointment to the peaks of satisfaction in a matter of seconds. This is the exact case with Super Junior’s “Superman“.
This song in itself defines ‘epic’ in every sense of the word, which is interesting, considering its simple composition and structure. On paper, this song should be no big whoop: you’ve got a tooting instrumental, chants from beginning to end, and a handful of raps scattered here and there. Really, nothing out of the ordinary in K-Pop.
But here’s the detail that takes “Superman” from ho-hum song to utterly mind-blowing — it carries the perfect distribution and utilization of Super Junior’s talents.
Every member’s interjection, nuances, and even the chorus’ uniformity – it all falls right into place. The fact that they sound absolutely superb is all the more reason to gush over this song.

Normally, Super Junior is broken into groups of singers and rappers, but in “Superman”, those lines get blurred. Everyone from Donghae to Ryeowook are spitting lyrics with more conviction than all of their lead singles combined. The quality of their delivery makes it seem like SM suddenly remembered how talented these guys are, and gave them a great song that was free of frills and gimmicks.
Of course, Super Junior sounds their most compelling when they’re singing as a unit, and as such, they brought that to the forefront in “Superman.” They push through the melodies with a vengeance and even harmonize with some resonating low-end sounds, which I haven’t heard from them in a long time.
These guys are full-fledged superstars, and they deserve a song to match that status. “Superman” shed the light back on Super Junior’s talents by providing a display of strong vocals and a style that makes sense, as well as one that feels like their classics. SUPERMAN

Overall Rating: 4.7/5
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What are your thoughts on “Superman” by Super Junior?
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Suggestions for a future review? Hit the author up on Twitter (@rothsresidence) or via e-mail (arnold.arteaga@allkpop.com)!
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Rating Overview:
0 – 1.9 ; poor, without any redeeming qualities
2.0 – 2.9 ; mediocre, but with some saving graces
3.0 – 3.9 ; good, with noteworthy highs and lows
4.0 – 4.9 ; excellent, with minimal flaws
5 ; superior, and as near to perfection as the song/album can be

TVXQ’s Yunho & Changmin along with Kim Ha Neul spotted at NYC Lacoste Fashion Show

Earlier in the week, TVXQ’s Yunho was spotted while visiting the Fifth Avenue Lacoste store. Unfortunately, fellow member Changmin was nowhere to be seen but that all changed this morning.
On September 10th at 10AM, New York’s Lincoln Center Theatre was host to the Lacoste Fashion Show. Changmin, Yunho, along with Korean actress Kim Ha Neul were all spotted attending the event.
TVXQ was invited to the first showing of Lacoste’s Creative Director- Felipe Oliviera Baptista‘s fashion collection. They were standing alongside many people of high fashion gathered from all over the world. The boys will also be taking part in a dynamic photo shoot during their stay in NYC.

Actress Kim Tae Hee picked as Chuseok’s #1 bride

In a recent survey, actress Kim Tae Hee was chosen as the best bride to introduce to family members.  She outclassed the likes of Song Hye Kyo winning the first spot.
Music Site, Monkey3 started a survey on September 1st that ran until the 7th asking, “Who would be the best bride to make your parents happy on Chuseok?”  It was no contest for the actress as she dominated the survey with an incredible score of 32% (202 of 625 votes), nearly double that of the second place actress.
Those who chose her as the best bride commented, “She would be the best Chuseok bride without question” and ” If I married her, I would treat her like a princess till the day I die“.
Park Min Young took 2nd place with 17% of the votes.  Other celebrities like Shin Se Kyung, Park Jung Hyun, Kara‘s Goo Hara, and Song Hye Kyo followed respectively.
To our male allkpop readers, which actress would you choose as your number one bride?  Share your thoughts below!

Shinhwa members gather to have a “serious” meeting

Eric and his fellow Shinhwa members recently got together to have a “serious” meeting.
On September 10th, Eric tweeted, “Currently having a Shinhwa Company undercover meeting discussing serious issues“.
In the attached photos, fans saw the Shinhwa members (sans Andy) hanging out at an office and a restaurant.
Posing with a serious expression, Dongwan shows off his “chocolate abs” while standing straight up. Meanwhile, Junjin and Minwoo playfully stick out their tongues, and Eric looks at the camera with a mock-stern expression. Finally, Hyesung gives off his ‘cool guy’ pose while giving the camera a mysterious expression.
Commenting that the members managed to show their individual personalities so effectively in just two shots, anticipation for their comeback built up even more.
Fans replied,  ”The only normal one here is Hyesung oppa“, “You look really serious… Dongwan oppa’s abs are best!“, and “You all look like comedians“.
Shinhwa will be making a comeback on their 14th anniversary, in which their 10th album is tentatively dated for a March 24th release.

SHINee successfully completes their solo concert in Singapore

On the evening of September 10th, SHINee successfully completed their ‘SHINee the 1st Concert in Singapore — SHINee World“‘ at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the nation’s largest indoor arena.
This was the boys’ very first solo concert in the country and SHINee fans were over the moon at finally getting to see their favorite idols.
SM Entertainment opened ticket reservations on July 31st, and within 45 minutes, all tickets were said to have completely sold out on SISTIC, an online ticket-selling site. Additionally, thousands of fans were said to have waited in long lines overnight in hopes of purchasing tickets at the box offices.
The boys performed a total of 30 songs, including their tracks, “Juliette“, “Hello“, and “Ring Ding Dong“.
At this time, SHINEE is extremely busy promoting “JULIETTE” in Japan. They’re also slated to release their third Japanese single, “Lucifer“, on October 12th. The boys will have hold concerts in Japan on October 27th in Nagoya and on November 24th and 25th in Osaka.