Big Bang wins Asia Pacific Nominee, advances to World Act category for MTV EMA 2011

Last month, the boys of Big Bang were nominated under the “World Wide Act Asia Pacific Nominees” category for the upcoming 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards. Well, after weeks of voting the boys of Big Bang have won for the Asia Pacific region and have now advanced to the “Worldwide Act Nominees” category.
The boys will be representing the Asian Pacific region and competing against Abdelfattah Grini (Africa/India/Middle East), Lena (Europe), Restart (Latin America), and Britney Spears (North America). The winner will be revealed at the 2011 MTV EMA on November 6th.

SMTOWN shares performances from SMTOWN LIVE at Madison Square Garden

Thousands of fans gathered at Madison Square Garden on October 23rd, 2011 in New York city for the SMTOWN LIVE concert to get a glimpse of their favorite SM Entertainment artists.
SMTOWN has a special treat for the fans who couldn’t attend as some of performances from the show were uploaded to SMTOWN’s official YouTube channel!
Later tonight, allkpop will release its official RELIVE IT recap of the entire concert, so make sure to stay tuned for our coverage!
Check out the performances below:

SNSD’s Yoona was encouraged by IU’s “Someday”

The ladies of SNSD who have just made their comeback with their third album ‘The Boys‘ recently guest-featured on SBS Power FM‘s Jung Sun Hee‘s ‘A Night like Tonight‘, where they shared their struggles and the songs that helped them get through the hard times.
Member Yoona admitted that when they first went to Japan, she was exhausted and overwhelmed with the idea that she needed to grow and develop as an artist. And when she began getting lost in her depressed thoughts, she turned on her MP3 player and the first song that played was IU‘s “Someday“.
The song, she said, was so fitting to her situation, and gave her encouragement by offering her a sliver of hope. She empathized with the lyrics “I don’t believe in myself, even though I say it often“, and was encouraged knowing she wasn’t the only one going through a difficult situation.
Other members also revealed their musical tastes and preferences, such as Taeyeon who went out of her way to find songs that were more depressing than her current situation, making herself feel better in comparison, and Hyoyeon who searched for up-beat, exciting tracks when she was feeling down and beat.

MBLAQ’s G.O releases solo track “Believe”!

In addition to hyping fans up with various previews for their Japanese album, MBLAQ‘s G.O. has just revealed his solo track, “Believe” through various Korean music portals today.
‘Believe’ is a song written, produced, and composed by legendary group VIBE‘s Ryu Jae Hyun, Korea’s top producer Park Kyung Jin, and famous composer Choi Sung Il. G.O adds his smooth vocals to the song to complete the inspirational song about believing in oneself.
The song will also be included as a part of the soundtrack for ‘Mr. Idol’.
Check out the song below!

[me2day mondays] Introducing Big Bang

Hello everybody and welcome to our compilation of celebrity me2day accounts!
For this week’s me2day monday, I would like to introduce the members of Big Bang! You can follow them under the following accounts:

• Seungri (December 12, 1990)
• Daesung (April 26, 1989)
• G-Dragon (August 18, 1988)
• Taeyang (May 18, 1988)
• T.O.P (November 4, 1987) <– His birthday is coming up soon!

me2day, the Korean Social Networking Service recently launched an English version and allkpop is now on me2day!
By signing up for me2day, you will be able to make friends with your favorite K-Pop stars, as well as read all of their updates.
We hope this feature will help make it easier for you to connect with your favorite celebrities in real time!

Orange Caramel’s Lizzy & Nana are ready for Halloween

It looks like Orange Caramel‘s Lizzy and Nana are ready for Halloween!
On October 24th, Lizzy tweeted, ”Bad relationship -.-!! Good relationship ^_^!!”
In the pictures, Lizzy and Nana look like frozen corpses as they are blankly staring at each other. However, rather than looking scary, the cute and sweet charm of Orange Caramel seems to give off a stronger impression.
Currently, Orange Caramel has been promoting their latest single “Shanghai Romance” with a variety of different concepts.

If Kim Hyun Joong were invisible, where would he go?

Singer and actor Kim Hyun Joong revealed a rather naughtier side of himself on the recent episode of ‘Come to Play’.
When asked, “If you were an invisible person, where would you want to go?” Kim Hyun Joong said that he would like to enter a women’s bathhouse.
Co-guest Park Chanee previously stated, “It was a dream of mine to enter a women’s bath since I was young,” to which Kim Hyun Joong added, “When I was younger, I thought of wanting to go to a women’s bath often as well. If I were an invisible man, I think I’ll want to go to a women’s bath.” Guest Kim Do Gyoon then commented, “It’s the dream of all men. To want to go to a women’s bath first if one was invisible is a man’s instinct,” causing laughter in the studio.

Hwang Jung Eum & No Min Woo sign contracts for ‘Full House 2′

After much interruptions, in which Core Contents Media talked of the possibility of pulling both Hwang Jung Eum and No Min Woo out of the drama, and the possible casting of B2ST’s Yoon Doojoon, both Hwang Jung Eum and No Min Woo are confirmed as the final cast for ‘Full House 2‘.
Core Contents Media revealed on October 25th, “On the afternoon of October 24th, the final decision was made for the casting in the drama called ‘Full House 2′. For a long time, there were talks of releasing the cast list, but after both the agency and the producers smoothly discussed feedback and comments, the contracts confirming their casting were finally written.”
‘Full House 2′ will first appear in the Japanese channel, TBC, on March next year, which is drawing great interest from Japanese fans.
The producers are also considering to include Japanese and Chinese actors to represent Asia as a whole, as ‘Full House 2′ will mark a new Hallyu drama. The Japanese and Chinese actor or actress are not confirmed as of yet.
While both Hwang Jung Eum and No Min Woo will act in ‘Full House 2′ as the main leads, Lee Seung Hyo will also appear as No Min Woo’s manager.

Jo Kwon dances to ‘Sixth Sense’ on Inkigayo

2AM‘s Jo Kwon congratulated the Brown Eyed Girls on their SBS Inkigayo win with a ‘special’ performance.
On the October 23rd Inkigayo episode, The Brown Eyed Girls’ “Sixth Sense“ won Mutizen Song for the second week in a row. After they expressed their many thanks and prepared to put on their encore performance, Jo Kwon took center stage and hilariously mimicked the choreography for the song. The girls welcomed his spontaneous dance as they looked to be enjoying his adorable performance, singing behind him.
Jo Kwon then quickly exited the stage, respectfully reserving the spotlight for the ladies.
Meanwhile, the Brown Eyed Girls will be taking some time off and returning a week later with their repackaged album.

4minute dresses up as the Francesca Family

The ladies of 4minute have revealed a photo of themselves imitating the gloomy vampire Francesca Family of ‘Hello Francesca‘.
On October 24th, Sohyun tweeted, “‘Francesca’s Family’!! A straight-faced photo!!! 4Minute Francesca hahaha” along with the picture above. The photo is a parody of MBC drama, ‘Hello Francesca‘, complete with gloomy & dark outfits and blank facial expressions.
Netizens who came across this comical photo commented, “I can see that Sohyun is trying to hold back her laugh“, “HyunA looks more scary because of her red lipstick“, “They’re cute even though they are trying to look scary”
Meanwhile, 4minute will be on stage for Cube Entertainment‘s family concert, ‘United Cube Concert’ in London on December 6th.

SMTOWN Live Tour Photobook will be released November 3rd

SM Entertainment has recently revealed that it will reveal a  ‘SMTOWN Live World Tour‘  photobook on November 3rd.
The photobook will include photos from their performances in Seoul, LA, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Fans are already responding hotly to the photobook.
In addition, the 288 page photobook will not only contain photos from the performances of Kangta, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, SNSD, SHINee, and f(x), but also of their rehearsals, backstage scenes, and the various aspects of their performances. Fans who couldn’t go directly to the concerts will now be able to experience the hot performances of the SM artists through the photobook.
In addition to the performance photos, the artists’ autographs will be included, in addition to an epilogue with a written statement and a profile picture.

T-ara releases preview for Japanese “YaYaYa” release

Girl group T-ara‘s music video preview for the Japenese version of “YaYaYa” was recently released during a Japanese broadcast.

T-ara first began their promotion in Japan through the release of their debut single, ”Bo Peep Bo Peep“, on October 4. The single sold 49,712 copies, breaking the record of all Korean girl groups in Japan.
They will return with “YaYaYa” as the preview was recently broadcasted in a Japanese show. The preview hints towards a music video with no storyline, instead focusing more on the girls and the dance choreography.
Check it out below!

Gary mistakes Song Ji Hyo’s hand for snacks on ‘Running Man’

After having been absent from SBS‘ ‘Running Man‘ for a couple of weeks due to health concerns, fans were delighted to see Song Ji Hyo back on the show this week. In particular, fans were excited to see the ‘Monday Couple’s’ relationship continue.
On the October 23rd broadcast of ‘Running Man’, Gary and Song Ji Hyo joined forces as a team. In a particular scene in the episode, Gary absentmindedly reached for some snacks and instead, grabbed Song Ji Hyo’s hand.
Surprised, Song Ji Hyo said, “Are you grabbing my hand? Why are you grabbing my hand? You grabbed my hand while I was looking somewhere else!”
In response, Gary said, “I was trying to grab the snacks. I think I’m going crazy! What with I do with your hand?”
In related news, Kim Sun Ah and Kim Joo Hyuk made an appearance on the show as this week’s guests.

Son Il Kwon makes his comeback on ‘I’m a Flower, Too’

It’s been announced that singer-cum-actor Son Il Kwon (33) has been cast in the new drama ‘I’m a Flower, Too‘!
The actor who has made his debut with group 5tion has also acted in a few major Korean dramas such as ‘Hit‘, ‘Embracing the Sun‘, and ‘General Hospital 2‘, amongst others.
The multi-talented entertainer who has built much acting experience was been working on a project called ‘Dongee‘ with senior actor Choi Chul Ho iwever, an unexpected scandal last July caused Son Il Kwon to suddenly leave the set and ‘I am a Flower, too’ is his first drama appearance in over a year.
Son Il Kwon will be playing the comical role of the whimsical Manager Lee to add to the charm of this romantic comedy of a drama.”Although its not a major role in the series, my hope is that I help make the drama more entertaining, and that my fans will be able to see how hard I have worked to get to the place I am now,“ he said.

MBC‘s ‘I’m a Flower, too’ is receiving much attention for its power team, with director Go Dong Sun and scriptwriter Kim Do Woo, who has also written the previous hit, ‘My Name is Kim Samsoon‘. Son Il Kwon has remarked that it is an honor to be working with these respectable personalities, and that he will work hard to show the viewers a new and improved Son Il Kwon.
The drama also starring Lee Ji Ah and Yoon Si Yoon is currently being filmed, and will air its pilot episode sometime early November.

Kim Hyun Joong saw a UFO in Japan?

Singer Kim Hyun Joong revealed that he had seen a UFO in Japan.
Stars such as Kim Jisuk and Eun Ji Won also guest-starred on the episode of ‘Come to Play‘ that aired on the 24th, and living up to his nickname ’4 dimensional alien’, Kim Hyun Joong explained that he saw a UFO in Japan, and that he yelled to inform the others around him.
“I was at a photo shoot in Japan, when something that looked like a balloon sped by. I thought it was a plane for a second, but I wasn’t even anywhere near an airport. I didn’t think anyone would believe me, so I just screamed,” he said.
“I heard that a UFO appeared at Gwanghwamun recently, and the one I saw looked exactly like it,” he added, trying to make his story believable.
Eun Ji Won who is also famous for being a little four-dimensional hilariously added, “UFOs don’t like us to investigate. Let’s not look too deeply into this or something may happen“, to which Kim Hyun Joong absurdly added, “Aliens are the last forms of evolution. There’s no gravity in space, so their skin gets paler, and their fingers skinnier.”
Meanwhile also on the same episode, Eun Ji Won shared some exciting news that he and his wife have plans to have children sometime next year.