YoonA's pure yet elegant look

YoonA’s behind the scenes video for Marie Claire is garnering the public’s attention.

Recently, on online community sites, captures of the BTS video have been posted with the title “Marie Claire BTS Video YoonA Captures”.

In the photos, YoonA put on white dresses along with smoky make-ups, emphasizing her eyes and gave out a pure yet elegant feel about her.

Netizens who came across the photos commented, “No doubt that she’s deer Yoona”, “Full of goddess force” “Looks beautiful no matter which angle you look at”, “A beauty who attracts my eyes”, etc

Shoujo Jidai nominated alongside big names for 3 awards at 2011 MTV VMAJ

he 10th Annual MTV Video Music Awards Japan was renamed to MTV Video Music Aid Japan (VMAJ) and it will be held on June 25th, 2011 at Makuhari Messe (a convention center) in Chiba City, Japan. The event was named as VMAJ is support of the Japanese Red Cross and encourage the rebuilding efforts after the massive earthquake and tsunami in Northeastern Japan on March 11th.

The event will be aired live through MTV Japan, MTV Korea, MTV China and MTV Southeast Asia. 2011 MTV VMAJ will be hosted by Japanese girl group, AKB48 and there will be performances by Lady Gaga, EXILE, Kana Nishino, AK-69, etc.

There were 15 categories of awards at the 2011 MTV VMAJ namely Best Male Video, Best Female Video, Best Group Video, Best New Artist Video, Best Video of The Year, Best Rock Video, Best Pop Video, Best R&B Video, Best Hip Hop Video, Best Reggae Video, Best Dance Video, Best Video from a Film, Best Collaboration Video, Best Album of The Year and Best Karaoke! Song.

SNSD’s ‘Genie’ was nominated alongside some of the big names in the world in 3 categories – Best Group Video, Best Video of The Year and Best Karaoke! Song. They will be up against the likes of Lady Gaga, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Black Eyed Peas, Linkin Park and Utada Hikaru for these awards. Being nominated in these 3 categories is already a massive achievement and if they manage to grab just an award out of the 3, it would be a really amazing feat for the girls.

Don’t forget to tune in to MTV Japan, MTV Korea, MTV China or MTV Southeast Asia at 6pm JST on Saturday, June 25th as 2011 MTV VMAJ will be aired live from Makuhari Messe, Japan.

SNSD's Marie Claire Interview clip!

SNSD became the cover girls of Marie Claire and we have shared photos of the girls for the latest edition of Marie Claire magazine with you guys here last week.

Here is the interview clip of SNSD for Marie Claire,take a look at the scenes behind the filming and the girls' interview at the same time!

YoonA for ‘Innisfree’

SNSD’s YoonA continues her run as Innisfree’s spokesmodel with the release of a new CF for the cosmetics brand.

In the new CF, the idol revealed the secrets behind how one could keep their skin dewy and moist. She spilled the beans on green tea’s ability to keep the moisture in one’s skin. She says in the CF, “If you plant the green tea seeds from Jeju Island in your skin in the morning, they keep your skin hydrated all day.”

No wonder YoonA’s skin is so radiant!

What are the hottest songs of the 2000s?

Melon, a beloved source for Korean music, just released its list of top songs of the last decade from 2000 – 2010. Still, it’s valuable information and I bet there are people fighting on the forums right at this moment over how their favorite artist is over or underrated on this chart. Anyway, the chart showed some recognizable trends and varieties, which we will examine after the cut.

Top 10 from the list:

SNSD – Gee
Brown Eyes – Little by Little
Yoon Do Hyun – I must’ve love you
Big Bang – Last Goodbye
MC The Max – Time to Love
Brown Eyes – Already 1 Year
BoA – No. 1
Big Bang – Haru Haru
Position – I Love You
Wonder Girls – So Hot

Before we actually begin analyzing the list, here is how Melon calculated their chart: 40% was tallied from streams on their website and the other 60% from downloads on their website for the songs released after 2005. For songs from 2000 to 2004, it was 70% record sales and 30% air time respectively.

At the top of this chart we see the wildly famous ‘Gee’ from SNSD, with Brown Eyes and Yoon Do Hyun each tossing in hits of their own. Then the list shows a mix of R&B/ballad singers along with idols, 5 out of the top 10 being idols and the other half being ballads. The genre of Hiphop peaks at 31 with Jo PD, followed by Epik High at 43. One thing to note is that trot actually didn’t make an appearance, despite Jang Yoon Jung and her massive hit Umuna. Another thing to note is that anything that would be considered hard rock or heavier are nowhere to be found; all rock bands that showed up on the chart did so with songs that lean towards their softer side.

Hence, the Korean music industry according to Melon’s chart can be summed up as idols and ballad singers sharing the big pile while the rest nibble on crumbs.

While the list is very easy to understand and is from a source many love and trust, it does have loopholes and should be taken somewhat with a grain of salt. First, the chart that they refer to for rankings of songs released before 2005 uses a different calculation method and is not compatible with Melon’s chart. I would advise not to use this chart when making a comparison between a song released before 2005 and a song released after 2005. Second, the chart was compiled by ranking songs in order of how much streaming and downloads were made from Melon’s webpage. So sales made from other sources, such as people who bought the physical CD instead of downloading it from Melon, or people who bought their music from other websites, are not accounted for here. It also does not count for technological development and legal changes that happened along the way. For example, people used P2P programs such as Soribada to illegally download music until 2006, when the government finally shutdown Soribada. We have experienced much chance between 2006 to 2010 too, as digital music market showed growth while CD sales kept diving, meaning that newer songs have the advantage here. Those that studied economics might be familiar with the term inflation – and this chart isn’t adjusted for it. In short, the older the song is, the higher the chance that it is underrated or placed inappropriately on Melon’s chart.

Stay tuned to allkpop as we wait for Melon’s chart for hottest songs of the next decade in the 2010s. Hopefully, I’ll still be around then.

Girls' Generation 'Gee' Tops Melon 2000 chart crowned K-pop song of the decade

In the 2000's, the Korean music industry has replaced the ballad genre that was so dominating since the 1980's with idol groups who focus on dance music. Girl groups like Wonder Girls, Kara, 2ne1 and boy groups like Big Bang and 2PM have all become the strongest influences in the mainstream music industry. In the end, the song of the decade of the 2000's was 'Gee' by Girls' Generation.

The accomplishment of being named song of the decade is made even more impressive by the fact that 'Gee' was released at the end of the decade in 2009. With a record-setting nine consecutive wins on Music Bank, 'Gee' left an impressive impact that solidified Girls' Generation's status as the dominating force in the Korean music industry.

Making a stand in the midst of the trend of idol groups and girl groups are "Pure Talent" singers. Korea's representative R&B icons, Brown Eyes, managed to place as a dark-horse second in the chart with the song 'Little by Little'. Ballad, rock and other genres have also been significant in the Korean music industry. The past decade has drawn a distinct line between music "to be seen" and music "to be heard".

However, the decade's most attractive genre were idol groups and girl groups who were born at the heart of dance music. Their influence has grown to the point where their activities are considered to be at the center of South Korea's pop culture. Girls' Generation, Wonder Girls, Kara, Big Bang, Super Junior, 2PM, 2AM, SHINee and other idol groups' busy activities close out this decade with a dominating presence.

After ending the decade as one of Korea's top musical groups, Girls' Generation will now attempt to leave the same powerful impression on Japan. With the recent release of 'MR. TAXI' and the prospect of a full Japanese concert tour, the girls appear to be off to a good start in working towards that goal.

Girls' Generation Japan Tour Attracts 300,000 people

There are already early signs of the success of Girls' Generation's Japan concert tour.

The group's first arena concert tour in Japan is gaining much attention for attracting close to 300,000 applicants for tickets. After such heated response, SM Entertainment decided to include 3 more additional concerts, so a schedule for 10 performances in 6 cities was confirmed.

Starting May 31st and ending on July 17th, the concert arena tour venues will include Tokyo, Osaka, Saitama, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Hiroshima. The Girls' Generation craze in Japan is expected to continue, with a total of 100,000 people estimated to attend the tour.

Girls' Generation held their first solo concert in Seoul and Shanghai last year, showing off their live performances as well as showcasing the attractive members and their colorful stages. Their influence that is fast spreading throughout Asia and beyond confirms the positive reactions from fans. There is much anticipation for the group's first arena tour in Japan, and there are high expectations from fans now more than ever.

On April 27th, Girls' Generation released their Japanese single, 'MR. TAXI', which peaked 1st at Japan's biggest mobile ringtone download chart, Rekochoku.