’2011 MBC Gayo Daejaejun’, the most problematic year-end show of 2011?

The ’2011 MBC Gayo Daejaejun’ was an event greatly anticipated by K-Pop fans all over the world. However, when D-Day came on December 31st, fans and artists alike were disappointed by the outcome of the show.

The show’s performances were filled with a multitude of errors and problems, ruining the effect of the stages and wasting hours of rehearsals. The most noticeable mishaps arose during the performances of U-KISS, MBLAQ, Shin Moon Hee, SHINee, Wonder Girls, and 2PM.

U-KISS’s performance suffered from communication problems between the group and the production staff. After the MCs’ introduction of the group, the scene changed to show U-KISS on stage. However, the group had no idea that the screen had been switched over to them, and was shocked to hear “0330″ begin to play. U-KISS improvised quickly and launched into their performance, which they managed to pull off successfully.

But the damage was done, for their confused expressions were caught on camera and broadcasted around the world. They also  experienced problems with the sound and their mics.

MBLAQ was probably the biggest victim of the night in terms of sound and mic problems. Their whole performance of “Mona Lisa“ was riddled with synching problems between the music and the mics. The members’ frustrated expressions could be seen as they struggled to keep up with the music.

Vocalist Shin Moon Hee faced a very embarrassing situation during her performance as well. One part of her stage called for a lift into the air — unfortunately, the train of her skirt was caught on an object, and she was forced to grab onto her skirt for dear life to prevent it from being ripped off. Thankfully, the skirt ripped lower down, and she narrowly escaped unwanted exposure during a live performance.

SHINee’s stage seemed pretty smooth up until the part where they were supposed to put on a teaser performance of their comeback song. Fans weren’t able to see it, however, for the production team had switched the screen to introduce the next performer.

The Wonder Girls also suffered from various sound and mic problems during their much anticipated “Me, In” performance, upsetting viewers and fans’ all over the world who had been waiting for a live performance of the song.

One of the most obvious mishaps from the night came during 2PM’s performance. Although they didn’t suffer from mic and sound problems, a big portion of their performance was blocked from view by giant balls that had migrated onto the stage. 2PM later poked fun at their ball-filled performance by tweeting a New Year’s greetings that incorporated “gohng” (the Korean word for “ball”) as much as they could into their tweets.

With so many problems and errors, it’s probably safe to say that the ’2011 MBC Gayo Daejaejun’ will be remembered as one of the most problematic year-end shows in recent memory. It’s a shame to see the hard work of the artists being ruined by the lack of preparation and communication by the broadcast station.

Source + Photo: MyDaily via Nate

J-Pop star Amuro Namie under fire with accusations of plagiarizing G-Dragon’s “Heartbreaker”

The Japanese media is reporting that some fans feel J-Pop star Amuro Namie‘s new single, “Sit! Stay! Wait! Down!“ sounds suspiciously like G-Dragon‘s “Heartbreaker“.

This isn’t the first time Amuro Namie has been accused of plagiarism. Fans previously argued that her song “Black Diamond” sounded a lot like Janet Jackson’s “Feedback“.

Korean and Japanese netizens are split over the scandal, and are writing comments online such as, “The introduction is really similar“, “Another plagiarism scandal?”, “How embarassing would that be“, “Similar, but not enough to be considered plagiarism“, and “Just because the intro is similar does not mean she plagiarized the song“.

Amuro Namie’s agency has yet to make an official statement on the issue.

If you can recall, G-Dragon himself was under fire with accusations of plagiarizing Flo Rida‘s “Right Round” but that was all put to rest when they performed the track together.

Listen to the portion of the song in question below and toss us your comments below!

Source & Image : TVDaily via Nate, enews24 via Nate, XSportsNews via Nate

JYJ dominates charts even without publicly performing on TV + to perform on KBS?

Group JYJ (Jaejoong, Yoochun & Junsu) is conquering the online music charts, proving that their ever-growing fame knows no end.

According to Olleh Music, the major songs from JYJ’s new album, ‘In Heaven‘, has secured the #1, 2, and 3 spots on the social charts for the second week in a row.

Different from the other artists that released new albums around the same time, JYJ hasn’t performed any of their new songs on any music programs on television. Regardless, the album which is scheduled to be released as a physical copy on the 27th has already received 300,000 pre-orders and is already sold out on most major sites. The supply cannot meet the demands of endless orders that are coming in from China, Japan, and the rest of Asia. But the much sought-after boys are nowhere to be seen on television.

JYJ’s agency CJes Entertainment reported, “We haven’t received any calls to perform on any programs. We are keeping a close eye on the situation for now, seeing that their album has not been officially released.”

“In regards to JYJ’s performance regulations, KBS informed us last May that more than once, the court ruled in favor of JYJ being able to perform on stage and that it should be a non-issue.” They continued, “KBS guaranteed that once JYJ’s new album is officially released, they should be able to perform without a stitch. There is talk about outside factors possibly causing some problems, but we trust KBS and we want JYJ to be able to perform before their fans that have been waiting for them.”

JYJ’s main focus this year is not only to be able to perform on stage, but they also have plans to be the first Korean artist to perform in Spain, as well as perform for their fans in Germany and the rest of Europe, not to mention Japan and the rest of Asia. “They’re thinking of various ways for the boys to greet their fans.”

Interestingly enough, JYJ revealed their title track “Get out” through an LG advertisement and the rest of 2011 will be hectic for the boys as they are working on establishing a professional video-based community in order to better communicate with their fans all over the world. They even have plans to start a donation project to help the poor and neglected.

Source & Image : KyungJaeToday

Ex-Super Junior member Hangeng withdraws a claim against SM Entertainment

Former Super Junior member, Hangeng, recently withdrew his claim against agency SM Entertainment.

On September 25th, the Seoul Court made an announcement that they received a request on the 21st from Hangeng’s attorney to cancel a claim they made against SM.

This is the latest event in the long legal battle between Hangeng and SM. Hangeng had initiated the lawsuit against the agency a while back, claiming that they placed abnormal working conditions upon him, which inspired fans to call it a ‘slave contract’.

Hangeng had explained, “Due to the unreasonable penalties that would arise if I broke the rules of the contract, I was forced to maintain the schedules given to me.”  He continued, “SM Entertainment had complete advantage over the contract, which asked for 13 years of service.”

After investigating the matter, the court released a judgment in favor of Hangeng in 2010, stating, “All three contracts – from the January 2003 contract, the altered contract from February 2007, and the affiliated contract from December 2007 – do not exist. Thus, Hangeng was waived from continuing the stated services on his contract.

At this time, SM had stated that they refused to accept this judgment, and would immediately appeal. It seems that Hangeng may have filed some sort of countersuit against SM’s appeal, but withdrew it for reasons unknown. Details have yet to be fully revealed, so stay tuned for further updates.

Source + Photos: seoulntn via Naver, Hankyung News

AKB48 member Kashiwagi Yuki’s stage costume stolen and put up for online auction

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It’s been reported that AKB48 member Kashiwagi Yuki’s stage costume was stolen from a warehouse, and put up on an online auction site.

According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Kashiwagi’s stage costume was put up for auction by a male high school student (17) from Shiga Prefecture. He commented, “I bought it from someone on the internet. I didn’t know it was a stolen item.”

Last November, a management employee found the stage costume on an auction site. They confirmed that it was the real thing after getting their hands on the item with a successful bid of 300,000 yen (around $3900 USD). They reported a damage report to the police, and they are investigating this as a property crime.

Regarding the issue, the management stated, “We will refrain from making comments.”

Source: Sanspo

B2ST’s lawsuit against the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family comes to a close

 B2ST and Cube Entertainment were filing a lawsuit against the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for banning the song “Rainy Days,” from their 1st official album as “harmful media.”

It seems that the parties involved were able to come to a conclusion as Cube Entertainment stated, “Last month on the 25th at Seoul’s administrative court of justice, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was given a suspension of their decision that [the song] was harmful to minors, and on the 5th, the court passed the suspension request.” Seoul’s court of justice commented, “In order to solve the loss experienced by the plaintiff, we decided that a quick decision was needed.”

The song “Rainy Days” was originally banned in July for the lyrics, “You must be drunk, I think this is a good time to stop,” as the Ministry claimed it would encourage minors to drink alcohol. Cube Entertainment will be dropping their lawsuit against the Ministry as the ban against the song is being suspended.

Goo Hara and B2ST’s Junhyung are no longer a couple

Breaking news, K-Poppers: it looks like KARA‘s Goo Hara and B2ST‘s Junhyung have called it quits on their fledgling relationship!
According to Star News, the two of them had split up in July following an official recognition of their relationship in late June. However, they had withheld the news until now in order to protect both sides of the equation.
The former lovebirds agreed to go back to their platonic relationship, and it appears all’s well with their friendship. Since the news of their split broke just as they were getting their ship under way, it put extra pressure on their relationship with each other, and was a catalyst in their decision to eventually call it quits.

NMB48 member Shimada Rena to suspend activities for remainder of 2011

Second generation NMB48 research student, Shimada Rena, has announced that until the end of 2011, she will officially suspend her activities as an entertainer.

After her pre-NMB48 purikura photos shook up her fanbase in August, it’s been said that the idol has been putting much thought into what it takes to be in her position and whether or not she should continue as a member of NMB48. The decision to halt her activities was submitted by Shimada herself, and was accepted by her management.

Shimada’s decision to put her NMB48 activities on hold does not include NMB48’s handshake event on September 3rd, but she will not be participating in the upcoming rock-paper-scissors tournament on September 20th.

Source: natalie

SNSD’s Sooyoung gets injured in a car accident, forced to withdraw from schedules

It’s just been reported that SNSD’s Sooyoung was involved in a car accident early yesterday morning, but fortunately, she did not receive any serious injuries.

On August 29th, SM Entertainment released a statement that said, “Sooyoung is suffering from a sacrovertebral fracture from the car accident, but thankfully, the injury is nothing serious.”
They continued, “The doctor in charge gave a positive prognosis and said that with plenty of rest and treatment, she will be fully recovered in no time. Sooyoung will be unable to participate in upcoming planned schedules.”

The injury from her car accident means that Sooyoung will not be able to perform at the “SM TOWN LIVE in Tokyo” or at SNSD’s live concert in Taiwan.
According to SM Entertainment, Sooyoung was traveling from Seoul to Chunan at 9 AM on August 28th for her next schedule, when the car on the opposite lane had carelessly crashed into Sooyoung’s car.
SM added, “Sooyoung was on her way to complete her volunteer services for the visually impaired when the accident occurred. The car in the opposite lane crossed the center line and consequently crashed into Sooyoung’s vehicle.”

Sooyoung is currently receiving treatment at a hospital and is recuperating from the accident.
Source + Image: Star News, Seoul NTN News

‘Running Man’ warns against possible kidnapping dangers from staff imposters

Netizens were abuzz with excitement recently when pictures were leaked from a purported filming of SBS’s popular variety show, ‘Running Man‘. According to the pictures, the show was filming in Changwon with guests G-Dragon and T.O.P.

The rumors were quickly debunked as a hoax, however, by various cast members and staff. “We have never filmed in Changwon,” said Jo Hyo Jin, a PD for the program. “We don’t have any plans of the sort until October.”

Unfortunately, it turns out that there could be more to this seemingly innocuous prank. “From what I’ve heard, these people have been acting as shooting staff and luring young girls to board their vehicles,” said cast member Gary in a Twitter post.

He added, “I hope Changwon residents will not become confused and will warn surrounding areas as well. It was serious enough for the police to contact us, so please be careful. And make sure to report what you see.”

PD Jo Hyo Jin later stated, “I have just heard the news, and I hope nothing bad has happened.”

“If an incident occurred where someone posed as a staff member and lured people to board their car, it could be filed as a kidnapping charge,” said a representative for the Changwon police. “However, we do not know anything concerning these Internet rumors at this time.”

Netizens reacted with disbelief and concern over the news. “I hope the Changwon-area students are very careful,” said a worried netizen.

Source: Sports Chosun via Naver
Picture: TV Daily via Naver

Big Bang’s Daesung receives a verdict of ‘Not Guilty’

Big Bang’s Daesung has finally concluded his court case regarding his car accident on May 31st with a verdict of ‘not guilty’.

After reviewing the case, prosecutors decided that there wasn’t enough hard evidence to determine whether or not the motorcyclist Hyun had been alive or deceased before Daesung ran him over with his vehicle. Also, they did not rule out the possibility that the motorcyclist, who was under the influence upon the time of his death, could’ve died from the initial collision with a streetlight.

“Although it should be recognized that Daesung drove without maintaining a safe distance and ignoring his surroundings, it is hard to make the connection between this fact and the death of the victim,” stated a representative for the police. “We made a judgment of not guilty based on the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’.”

Based on the above information, they rendered a verdict of ‘not guilty’ for the beleaguered Daesung. “Since Daesung reached a civil settlement with the victim’s party on July 19th, you can say that this case is now closed,” said the police.

Source: allkpop And Star News via Naver