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.
–
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.
–
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.”