Girls' Generation tops K-pop sales chart and search ranking in Japan!

On December 5th, Japan’s Tower Records revealed the rankings of the yearly sales chart of albums and singles, calculated from the beginning of the year to November 30th. However, the exact sales amount were not revealed.

Girls’ Generation’s first Japanese album ‘Girls’ Generation’ came in 1st on the ’2011 K-pop Sales Ranking’, as well as 4th with their latest Korean album ‘The Boys’.

Second and third places in the ’2011 K-pop Sales Ranking’ by Tower Records go to Super Junior’s ‘Mr. Simple’ and Kara’s ‘Girls’ Talk’ respectively.

Besides that, Girls’ Generation also came in 5th in the overall search ranking by Japanese website BIGLOBE.

The website compiled the top search keywords in Japan in 2011 and the results were revealed on December 5th.

Many occurences of the year, including earthquakes and typhoons, were seen on the list and surprisingly, many Hallyu stars also made the list.

On the overall ranking, Girls’ Generation came in 4th while Kara ranked 8th. On the overall female celebrity ranking, Girls’ Generation took the top spot, followed by Kara.

Meanwhile, Jang Geunsuk and BEAST came in 1st and 5th on the overall male celebrity ranking and this showed the influence and popularity of K-pop in Japan.

(Updated) Girls' Generation to Release Japanese Re-packaged Album

Girls’ Generation’s Japanese mobile fansite just recently announced that Girls’ Generation will be releasing a re-package of their first Japanese album “Girls’ Generation”, which had originally been released on June 1st, 2011.

The re-packaged album will come with all new photo jackets and visuals. It will also come in three different versions: first press, limited and normal. The first press and limited editions will both come in a special case along with a 36page mini-photobook, and will contain a DVD with “The Boys” (English version) and “Bad Girl” music videos. The first press edition also comes with a two set coaster present, a white and blue version, that will be given out at random at participating stores.

The limited edition comes with a two poster set that is also available at participating stores. The re-packaged album will have a total of fifteen songs, three of which will be re-mixed versions from the Japanese album “Girls’ Generation”. Also included will be songs from the recently released “The Boys” album. As a special present, a song that has not yet been announced will also be included. Pre-order sales begin on December 7th.

[update]

Just released this past June was Girls’ Generation’s first Japanese album, also titled “Girls’ Generation”, which has now sold over 850,000 copies and continues to sell new copies everyday. Pre-order for the re-packaged album begins today December 7th, while the official release date has been set for December 28th.

On the re-packaged album will be 15 songs which include a Japanese version of “The Boys”, three new remixed songs and one song that was never released before. The three remixed songs are, “THE GREAT ESCAPE” remix by Brian Lee, “BAD GIRL feat. DEV” a remix by The Cataracsremix, and remix of “MR.TAXI” by Steve Aoki. The new song on the re-packaged album is titled “TIME MACHINE”.

The full setlist can be seen below:

「Re:package Album “GIRLS’ GENERATION” ～The Boys～」

[First Press edition]UPCH-29077 ¥4,390（tax included）

[Limited edition]UPCH-29078 ¥4,390（tax included）

[Normal edition]UPCH-20269 ¥3,000（tax included）

CD Setlist ★

1. The Boys (JAPANESEver.)

2. THE GREAT ESCAPE (Brian Lee remix)

3. BAD GIRL feat. DEV (The Cataracsremix)

4. Time Machine ※New Song

5. MR.TAXI

6. GENIE

7. Gee

8. I’m In Love With The HERO

9. 훗(HOOT)

10. Let It Rain

11. Beautiful Stranger

12. you-aholic

13. Run Devil Run

14. BORN TO BE ALADY

15. Bonus track “MR.TAXI (Steve Aoki remix)”

DVD ★First Press and Limited editions only

1 The Boys (ENGLISH ver.)

2 BAD GIRL

Sunny and Taemin to voice animated Korean film "The Outback"

On December 7, a representative from Lotte Entertainment reveals that SNSD's Sunny and SHINee's Taemin will dub an animated Korean film.

In the press conference, Lotte discloses that Taemin will voice the main character Johnny, a white koala turned hero, opposite to the character will be Miranda, which will be voice by Sunny. The animated Korean film "The Outback" will be in theaters early next year.

Directed by Lee Kyung-ho, "The Outback" is a story about Johnny who is an outcast from a circus and will tag along wild animals to save Australia's nature.

The English version for the carton will feature the voices of actors Yvonne Strahovski, Tim Curry, Alan Cumming and Rob Schneider.

SNSD tops ’2011 K-POP album sales ranking’ chart in Japan

Once again, the ladies of SNSD have proven why they are at the forefront of the Hallyu wave. They have sold more albums than any other K-pop idol star.

According to the ’2011 K-POP album sales rankings’ reported by major Japanese record distributorTower Records, SNSD’s debut Japanese album ‘Girls Generation‘ sold more albums than any other Korean artist this year. Furthermore, their most recent release of ‘The Boys‘ ranked #4 on the list. They were the only artist whose name arose on the list more than once, and their high fame in Japan was once again made all the more real.

Behind SNSD on the Tower Records list were Super Junior, who came in at #2 with their album ‘Mr.Simple‘. KARA came in at third place with ‘Girls Talk‘, while JYJ‘s ‘In Heaven‘ ranked at #5.

The results are based on the sum of album sales from the beginning of the year to November 30th. 37 genres of music were included in the total including K-POP, World POP music, Classical, Jazz, and more, however the detailed number of sales were not made public.

Additionally, SNSD ranked #3 on Yahoo! Japan‘s ’2011 Search Rank’ list, #1 for artist overseas and #2 for overall female artist.

Source & Image: Dispatch

Click below, or search for “Starcall” on either the iTunes store or Android Marketplace to download it and start receiving video calls from your favorite K-Pop stars!

SMTOWN to release first winter album in 4 years

SM Entertainment has just announced that a ’2011 SMTOWN Winter The Warmest Gift’ album will be released on December 13th!

This will be the label’s first winter album in 4 years since the last one in 2007, and will feature SM artists like Kangta, BoA, TVXQ, TRAX, CSJH‘s Dana & Sunday, Super Junior, SNSD, SHINee, f(x), Zhang Li In, and J-min.

Completing successful concerts in Seoul, L.A., Tokyo, Paris, New York, and Shanghai, SM’s global brand power and the immense popularity of its artists were cemented this year. To thank their fans all over the world, all the songs on this album will be in English.

Super Junior will be delivering a song called “Santa U Are The One“, an upbeat track with a festive melody that’s sure to bring happiness to all those who listen to it.

TVXQ’s “Sleigh Ride” has a lively swing rhythm and incorporates an orchestra as well as a big band, while SHINee’s “Last Christmas” has an electronic dance flavor.

“Diamond” is a standard pop song song sung by SNSD, and f(x) has once again teamed up withPeppertones to contribute a cute and lovable song called “1, 2, 3″.

SM’s veteran singers, BoA and Kangta, will contribute the songs “Distance” and “For The First Time”, respectively.

YAHOO日本公开首20位最被搜索的海外艺人！

著名网络搜索器Yahoo Japan公开了首20位最被搜索的海外艺人！


近日著名网络搜索器Yahoo Japan公开了在他们搜索器内所记载最常在往年被搜索的前20位海外艺人，结果出炉以后以韩星占据大多数的位置。


在这前20名最常被搜索的艺人当中除了卡卡女神以及Avril Lavigne不是韩星以外，其他18位海外艺人均是韩星艺人哦！在这18位韩星艺人组合当中除了美女 金泰熙 一名女演员以外，其他都是组合。


一起来来看看相关排行榜吧：
01. Girls’ Generation
02. KARA
03. 东方神起
04. 张根硕
05. Lady Gaga
06. Big Bang
07. Super Junior
08. 金贤重
09. FT Island
10. 2PM
11. SHINee
12. CNBLUE
13. Supernova
14. JYJ
15. Beast
16. 2NE1
17. Avril Lavigne
18. After School
19. 金泰熙
20. T-ara

少女时代将发行日本”THE BOYS”再版

少女时代 侑利 生日！粉丝们登报庆祝！

权侑利 生日快乐！

粉丝们为了庆祝 少女时代 侑利 的第23岁生日进而花钱登报庆祝她的生日，并且在报章上留下甜蜜的祝福语。


粉丝们在每日报章上刊登了一则广告，庆祝了 少女时代 侑利 在昨天12月5号的第23岁生日。如上述照片所显示粉丝们在画像当中留言说道“12月5号是少女时代侑利的第23岁生日。我们一直永远希望我们亲爱的侑利能够健康开心，每个Sone都真心诚意地祝福你生日快乐，Happy Birthday Yuri。”


另一方面，少女时代 将会开始在国内各大音乐节目宣传歌曲“Mr Taxi”。

Girls' Generation tops Japanese annual chart

The Girls' Generation dominated the Tower Records Japan's year-end 2011 K-Pop Chart in album sales.

On December 5th, Tower Records revealed the 2011 chart ranking which features records from 37 genres of music from Western and Japanese music to classic and jazz, that were released in the year before November 30th.

According to the results, Girls' Generation proved their prowess and snagged the top spot with first Japanese album "GIRLS' GENERATION" as well as the 5th spot with 3rd Korean album "The Boys". Labelmate Super Juniorranked 2nd with "Mr. Simple", while KARA's "Girl Talk" came in third.

Girls' Generation also ranked high on the most searched keyword based on Yahoo Japan. Based on "2011 Yahoo Japan Keyword Ranking" (from January 1st to October 31st), the girls were ranked 3rd in the overall ranking among famous figures, behind AK848 and Arashi.

Meanwhile, Girls' Generation alongside KARA and TVXQ have been invited to NHK's 62nd music special Red & White Song Battle, Japan's top year-end show.

Seohyun Gives Advice to 'KPOP Star' Competitors!

With their prior experience as idols, 2PM’s Nichkhun, 2NE1′s Gong Minzy, and Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun gave “KPOP Star” competitors some useful advice.

Seohyun, Minzy, and Nichkhun recalled their audition experiences in detail, and felt for the participants of SBS’s “Survival Audition KPOP Star”. They gave “KPOP Star” participants audition tips based off of their own experiences, and delivered sincere support messages.

Girls’ Generation’s Seohyun, who auditioned when she was in fifth grade, talked about her unique audition experience by revealing, “I actually sang a children’s song when I auditioned.” Seohyun stated, “My heart was fluttering and I was nervous. I didn’t think there was a way to look good to the judges. (What’s important for auditions is) your determination for reaching your own dream. You have to have a clear dream, and it’s important that you are prepared to accept any advice and things like that from someone. Only then will you be able to grow and continue on after accepting things.”

A Look into How Girls' Generation's Concepts Are Formed!

Girls' Generation's "The Boys" heroine concept.

In August of 2007, Girls’ Generation debuted with a mysterious, cheerful dance and song titled “Into the New World”, wearing Converse sneakers and pastel tone skirts. When promoting their remake of “Girls’ Generation” by Lee Seungchul, they showed a “young lady” image with a preppy look.

The sexy uniform concept from 2009's "Tell Me Your Wish".

They showed the charms of “grouping” by having all nine members wear the same outfits for “Gee” and “Tell Me Your Wish”.

SM Entertainment’s visual directing team leader, Min Heejin, stated, “After hearing ‘Gee’, we wanted to create an ’80′s Brooke Shields/Phoebe Cates image, so we had them wear white t-shirts with jeans, or the colored skinny jeans.” She said she chooses the outfit concepts by matching them with the first image she’s struck with after hearing the song. The sexy uniforms for “Tell me Your Wish” and the cheerleader concept for “Oh!” were completed the same way. She also got the image of Jessica Alba in the film “Sin City” after hearing “Run Devil Run”, and the Bond Girl image from “Hoot”.

For their latest single, “The Boys”, to fit the confident lyrics and music, she chose a “heroine” concept. Unlike their previous unified outfits, this heroine concept emphasized each members’ individual charms and tastes or preferences. However, each member was still unified with each other with modified equestrian uniforms and training outfits. Each member also freely switched up their costumes by wearing skirts, hot pants, pants, capes, and jackets. This could have been unfamiliar to those who remember the nine members wearing the same exact outfits.

Team leader Min stated, “I got some inspiration by watching the finale of the fashion show for the lingerie brand, Victoria’s Secret, where all the models appear together, all wearing different types of lingerie.” She revealed, “‘Healthy girls’ will be the ground rule of Girls’ Generation’s future concepts.”

SM TOWN's Warmest Gift!

December 6, 2011

SMTOWN’s Warm Present for Global Music Fans!

2011 SMTOWN Winter [The Warmest Gift] will be Released on the 13th!

SMTOWN’s winter album, 2011 SMTOWN Winter [The Warmest Gift], will be released on the 13th.

It has been four years since SMTOWN released winter album in 2007. In addition, since all the SMTOWN artists including Kangta, BoA, TVXQ!, TRAX, THE GRACE DANA & SUNDAY, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, SHINee, f(x), Zhang Li Yin and J-min participated in the album, this assorted gift set is predicted to fascinate music fans.

Also, this album includes a total of 11 songs including 7 new songs and 4 covers such as world famous carols like ‘Last Christmas,’ ‘Sleigh ride,’ etc., so it is enough to meet warm music gift for the winter as well as Christmas season.

Especially SMTOWN has proved its global brand power and artists’ tremendous popularity once again through world tour concerts in Seoul, LA, Tokyo, Paris, New York, Shanghai, etc. Therefore, in return for global music fans’ support, all the songs in the album are recorded in English.

Pursuant to the title of the album, ‘The Warmest Gift,’ Super Junior is selected as Santa who carries presents. The lyrics of the title song ‘Santa U Are The One’ is about how Santa is the greatest for bringing the world joy and presents. With cute lyrics and quick rhythm and melody, it gives Christmas atmosphere and Super Junior’s bright and cheerful voice doubles the atmosphere of the song.

Also, TVXQ!’s ‘Sleigh ride’ has a light swing rhythm accompanied by the orchestra’s grandeur and big band’s powerful charm to express brilliance and excitement for Christmas. SHINee’s electronic dance music, ‘Last Christmas,’ features SHINee’s own unique color and dreamlike and powerful charms of synthpop.

Moreover, Girls’ Generation expressed warm and happy feelings of winter through standard pop music, ‘Diamond.’ Following the song ‘Stand up!’ from the 1st album, f(x) once again worked with Peppertones for winter song ‘1,2,3’ which features Peppertones’ own bright and healthy music color with cute and lovely atmosphere.

In addition, BoA’s new song, ‘Distance,’ is a R&B ballad featuring simple rhythm, dreamlike piano melody and mournful and graceful voice. Kangta’s ‘For The First Time’ is an acoustic ballad which reminisces about the days with woman he loved and he sings about love he received from her.

The album also contains the English version of TRAX’s ‘Like A Dream’ from their 3rd mini album, Zhang Li Yin’s cover version of ‘The First Noel,’ THE GRACE DANA & SUNDAY’s pop ballad ‘Amazing’ and J-min’s remake version of ‘Happy X-Mas (Original version by John Lennon and Yoko Ono)’ so 11 songs of various genres are expected to receive an explosive response.

Meanwhile, 2011 SMTOWN Winter [The Warmest Gift] will be released in Japan as well on December 14th.