|NEWS/110106| SNSD won 2 awards at ‘The 25th Japan Gold Disc Award 2010′

On January 5th, according to the list of winners for ‘The 25th Japan Gold Disc Award 2010‘, SNSD and Kara won 2 awards respectively – ‘The New Artists of The Year Award‘ and ‘The Best New Artists Award‘.

The results were not surprising as SNSD and Kara’s achievements have surpassed many new artistes in Japan. However, unlike SNSD, MIWA and other new Japanese artistes, Kara were placed in the ‘Best 3 New Artists’ in western music category, alongside American popstar, Ke$ha.

SNSD who debuted in Japan on September 8th last year released their first debut single ‘Genie’ which recorded sales of over 100,000 copies and became the best-selling debut single released by a foreign female artiste. SNSD’s 2nd single ‘Gee’ had also recorded sales of more than 100,000 copies and due to these achievemnts, SNSD have received the Gold Certificates by RIAJ for both their single releases in 2010.

credit: nate ; sportschosun via fanwonder

|PICS/101222| Seohyun – 2010 SBS Gayo Daejun (OFFICIAL PICTURES)

credit: SBS || chelzcoldheart @ NTYND

|VIDEO/101216| SNSD – Hoot & Oh! (KBS Music Bank Year End Special)

credit: SmoothyEcoS04 @ YT

@ KBS Music Bank Year End Special Peformance

|NEWS/101203| KARA’s Seungyeon wants to create a ’short club’ with SNSD’s Taeyeon

When asked who she wanted to add as a new member to KARA on KBS 2TV’s “Happy Together“, Han Seungyeon chose SNSD’s Taeyeon.

Han Seungyeon, the shortest in KARA with a height of 158 cm, stated, “There’s a huge height difference between me and maknae Jiyoung. I’d like to have Taeyeon join as a new member since she’s the shortest of her group.”

She laughed while continuing, “I once asked her to create a short club with me while guesting on her radio show.”

Maybe she can also recruit T-ara’s Boram and SNSD’s Sunny to join up with her and form a little people line.

Source: TV Report

|NEWS/101125| SNSD-Kara “Kohaku” Appearence Misfire

The Hallyu hot wave is shaking the Japan archipelago, in which the nation’s representative idols, SNSD, Kara, Big Bang’s appearances on “Kohaku Uta Gassen” were a misfire.

The 24th Oricon Chart released the singers appearing on the “61th NHK Kohaku”, the idol names were left out from the list, causing local and domestic fans to be disappointed.

On this day 44 groups participated in the team roster, such as Japanese popular groups SMAP, Koda Kumi, AKB48, Hamasaki Ayumi. Japanese netizens has raised doubts that Japan is trying to counterbalance the K-pop hot wave.

This year is “Kohaku”’s 61th anniversary, as it has been enjoying popularity for a long time. Korean artists such as BoA, Cho Yong Pil, Gyeeunsuk, and DBSK had appeared.

Translated by: Yeji@soshified.com
Credits to: 최윤수 기자, supeaichoi@gmail.com
Original Article: CLICK

|NEWS/101124| No Kpop artist invited to this year’s Kouhaku

Despite all the hype by the media and netizens, SNSD, Big Bang and Kara will not be participating in Japan’s year-end show, NHK’s “White and Red Song Battle” or most commonly known as just “Kouhaku”.

On November 24th, the list revealed by Oricon indicated that no Korean artists were invited to participate in the 61st edition of the “Kouhaku” which will be held on December 31st, 2010. Among the big names mentioned in the 44-participants roster are all Japanese top stars such as SMAP, AKB48, Koda Kumi, Ayumi Hamasaki, AAA, etc.

Some of the Korean singers who have made an appearance on the year-end show in the past are BoA, Jo Youngpil, Kaye Eunsook and TVXQ.

*Look on the positive side! The girls get a chance to welcome the new year back home and we get to see them on end of the year shows at SBS Gayo Daejun.

Credit: news.mk.co.kr/nhk.or.jp

[NEWS/101006] Why are there Korean lyrics in Japanese remakes?

With SNSD set to release their 2nd Japanese single, “Gee,” on October 20th, and having already released their music video on the 6th, many have noticed that both SNSD and KARA kept some of their Korean lyrics in their Japanese remakes.

SNSD’s “Gee” features repetition of Korean words such as “Really really (jinjja jinjja)” and “Like like (joa joa).” KARA’s Japanese remake of “Mister” also repeats Korean words such as “Tick tock (tok tak)” and “Over and over (jakku jakku).”

Despite both being Japanese remakes, Korean lyrics dominate the highlight of the songs. Why are Korean lyrics appearing in Japanese songs? The reason is said to be behind the high interest in K-pop amongst Japanese fans, and their willingness to learn more about Korean culture.

One industry representative revealed, “Japanese K-pop fans rejected the idea of SNSD and KARA releasing Japanese albums. There were a lot of voices that asked for them to promote with their original Korean songs. We took their suggestions into consideration, and naturally added the Korean lyrics into their Japanese remakes.”

He continued, “Korean sounds a lot stronger than Japanese, impact-wise, so it’s able to add a bit of charm to the songs. The Japanese public, and music fans alike, believe that Korean songs and lyrics sound modern. They have no problem accepting Korean lyrics in their songs.”

Another representative continued, “There’s a lot of K-pop fans that love the impact and modern feel to Korean lyrics. Just like there was a rush to learn Korean with the drama Hallyu, the Japanese youth are just as interested in learning Korean now as well.”

Source + Photo: Newsen

Credit: @allkpop

SNSD Has Choosen as Best Female Idol Group

tvN Gil’s Newton Chart recently held a poll between July 26 to August 1 based on the best male & female idol groups. With 50% of the votes coming from a selection committee group, 30% from netizens, and 20% from mobile votes, SNSD ranked in the top 8 female idol groups placing at #1 with 8828 votes.

The Top 8 Female Idol Groups:
SNSD (8828)
Fin.K.L (6447)
2NE1 (5748)
Wonder Girls (5073)
S.E.S (3553)
KARA (2338)
Brown Eyed Girls (1768)
Jewelry (1666)

credit: snsdcentral