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Translation by minivicki @ asianfanatics.net
Source: Yahoo TW
SETTV's Chinese drama "Inborn Pairs" has been setting record high ratings and taking over it will be new drama "Love Chocolate" with male lead being Vanness Wu. He arrived at the press event held yesterday driving a cruise and shared his views on taking on a 8pm chinese drama for the first time. It will be a fresh experience for him and he has a love-hate relationship with co-star Joanne Zeng Zhi Qiao. Vanness laughed and said "In the drama, she's always pranking me!"
Yesterday, under SETTV management's arrangement, Vanness got to drive a luxury cruise along the river and meet the media at the harbor. Vanness shared that "I've been on speed-boats in USA and Hong Kong but here in Taiwan, its the first time I got to actually drive a cruise. I felt very relax and free!"
In the drama "Love Chocolate", Vanness acts as the successor of a big enterprise. He dreamed of a life revolving around chocolates though, owning a chocolate-made house and thus left the family enterprise to start his own life journey. He met female lead Joanne Zeng through a coincidence and the two of them have lots of interesting and humorous interactions. SETTV's manager expressed that "In the drama, the male lead has great charisma and is very sweet and generous to the girl. He has his own beliefs and is determined to pursue things that he believes in. Vanness suited all these characteristics."
Vanness was attracted by the script and its character. Before accepting the drama, he had been praying ..... (article cut to save bandwidth)
BIGBANG’s latest single, “Blue,” has been enjoying massive popularity since its release at midnight on February 22. It easily topped all online music charts such as Melon, Mnet, Bugs, Olleh, and Monkey3, as well as real-time key word search rankings as well.
In particular, a graph on Melon Music, one of the largest online music download sites, well-reflect BIGBANG’s explosive popularity as it showed “Blue” receiving the highest-possible points for the chart. It’s 8PM KST now, but according to the graph, “Blue” achieved the highest-possible chart position for nearly 10 hours since its release at midnight today.
Netizens have already dubbed this phenomenon as “kicking through the roof” popularity. John Park’s “Falling” and miss A’s “Touch” are ranked a distant #2 and #3.
The music video for “Blue” has also been remarkable, receiving over 20,000 comments from around the world in less than seven hours since its release.
BIGBANG’s fifth mini album “Alive,” which comes with “Blue,” will be released on February 29. They will hold their “Big Show” concert in Seoul from March 2 to 4, and embark on their first world tour, “BIGBANG ALIVE TOUR 2012,” across 25 cities in 16 countries.
SEOUL: Korean boy band Block B's leader, Zico, apologised and shaved his head on Monday, to show his remorse over the insensitive comments the band had made about Thailand's flood situation during an earlier media conference in Thailand, reported Korean media.
When asked by the Thai media about their thoughts on the flooding in Thailand, Zico said he hoped to help the Thai people with monetary aid, but later said he only had 7000 won (S$8).
His fellow members laughed at Zico's jest, however, many who saw the video clip of the interview, which has since gone viral, felt that it is no laughing matter and found Block B's comments to be highly insensitive.
Zico is not the only one who has since worked toward making amends - each member of Block B had also written a letter to apologise for behaving badly during that media conference.
This is apparently not the first time that Block B is in trouble after making insensitive comments - Block B was also criticised for being insensitive about the tsunami situation in Japan last year.
"Right now there's a tsunami raging outside.
"We will sweep over here (Japan) like a tsunami," said Block B's member Park Kyung in Korean, while other members made waves-like motions with their hands and laughed.
The translator had wisely opted to leave out the tsunami comments from his translations as Japan was still dealing with the aftermath of a tsunami at the time.
CNA
Reveling in music, youth, hallyu
Feb 22 2012
F.T. Island aims for success outside K-pop comfort zone
At a studio in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, only three out of five members of the F.T.Island are waiting; the missing two are at a doctor’s being checked up for fatigue, said the manager.
Of those present, bassist Lee Jae-jin looks at the interviewer with a curious grin but becomes a little alert when their eyes meet. Choi Jong-hoon, leader, guitarist and keyboardist, and Lee Hong-ki, vocalist, are enjoying their “time off,” jamming on an acoustic guitar and sitting quietly as the hair and make-up crew put on their final touches.
They are stars, though their faces are mostly inexpressive — impenetrable. Or maybe they are just tired from their 20-hours-a-day routine that began with the newest EP release earlier this month.
But they are also just young men who are reaching their 20s. When all five reunite at last, with Choi Min-hwan, drummer, and Song Seung-hyun, guitarist and vocalist, they become a playful gang, cracking jokes about each other’s pet peeves or latest love interests.
“You know, I didn’t even know singers needed to go to a throat doctor until (an older singer) told me,” said Lee Hong-ki, 21, underlining both his inexperience and his goal of a long-lasting career. “Our range of music — what we can see and hear — is expanding. As a band, we’ve reached our comfort level. We are used to each other’s habits when we perform together.”
They say they are “Grown Up,” like the title of their latest disc. They constantly reassess themselves in a strikingly carefree, frank and joyful manner, only possible in the blossom of one’s youth. They have a five-year career, though, “veterans” by ..... (article cut to save bandwidth)
Kim Tae-hee’s Japan event canceled
Feb 22 2012
Actress Kim Tae-hee has been forced to pull out of a press conference for a new cosmetics commercial in Japan.
Kim was supposed to attend the event Tuesday for her new advertisement for the Japanese cosmetic brand of pharmaceutical company, Rohto. However, she cancelled just one day before the event,.
The event was going to feature a preview of the new television commercial for a skin-care line starring the Korean actress.
According to Japanese sports newspaper Nikkan Sports, the event was cancelled because of hateful comments on Internet community boards and various blogs in light of Japan’s “Takeshima Day” on Wednesday. Her agency eventually decided to withdraw her from the scheduled event because of safety concerns.
The actress, who has appeared in Japanese TV drama, "Me and My Star’s 99 Days," began to receive criticism from anti-Korean Japanese protestors in October 2011, after she publicly advocated the Dokdo islets as Korean territory.
Korea and Japan are in a long dispute over the islets’ sovereignty.
Korea Times
Kim Jae Joong of the star Hallyu group JYJ will appear in the drama “Time Slip Dr. Jin.” The PR company 3HW said on February 21 that Kim Jae Joong will challenge himself with his first appearance in the historical drama by playing a competitive military officer with strong self-esteem in the Joseon Dynasty named Kim Kyung Tak. He is a top military officer who was born into a family of master martial artists, and he holds single-hearted devotion to a woman whom he has loved from his childhood.
Star Song Seung Hun will appear as a protagonist in the “Time Slip Dr. Jin,” which is a fantasy melodrama in which a genius doctor from the 21st century comes to the Joseon Dynasty by time travel. The PR company said, “Kim Jae Joong and Song Seung Hun will have a fateful confrontation in the drama.” The drama is targeting an air date of the first half of this year through a terrestrial channel.
KBS Global
"Howling", #1 At The Box Office
Feb 22 2012
Lee Na-young and Song Gang-ho's new film is leaving movie-goers howling for more.
The flick, "Howling" is approaching the one million ticket sales mark.
According to the Korean Film Council on February 22nd, "Howling" drew in 71,791 people on the 21st, bringing the total number of viewers to 785,884. As soon as it hit the theatres on the 16th, it beat out "Nameless Gangster" to take over the number one spot at the box office.
An industry rep said they expected the movie to break the one million mark sometime this week.
"Howling" is about two detectives trying to solve a series of deaths that involve a killer wolf.
On a side note, "Nameless Gangster" attracted in 62,677 people on the 21st, putting it at second place. So far, a total of 3,524,614 people have seen the movie, making it a mega-hit.
"Dancing Queen" was at third with 31,269 movie goers, for a total of 3,615,991 people. "Toro: Legend Of The Magic Hammer" was at fourth with 22,031 people having watched it, followed by "The Grey" with 17,477 people.
KBS GLobal
Andy Lau to raise daughter in new home
Feb 22 2012
The singer's wife will give birth in Hong Kong
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau is sparing no efforts to ensure the best for his unborn child.
The singer not only hired bodyguards to ensure 24-hour protection for his wife, but also invited monks to bless their child.
Last year, it was rumoured that Andy had purchased a house, which cost NT$114 million (S$6.02 million), in Malaysia.
Recently, the singer reportedly bought the house next to his earlier property with the intention to combine the two, so that his wife and daughter could live comfortably.
Carol will also be giving birth in Hong Kong, because Andy's parents hope to see their grandchild when she is born. Carol's sister will accompany her in Hong Kong, and the pair will return to Malaysia for her confinement.
To ensure privacy, the singer had selected Hong Kong's Canossa Hospital, which has a secret passage way.
In other related news, Carol, who is more than six months pregnant, was spotted visiting a clinic in Kowloon City, accompanied by her bodyguards and relatives. She was spotted with pregnancy spots on her face, probably due to hormone imbalance.
Source
Translation by minivicki @ asianfanatics.net
Source: UDN & Yahoo TW
Show Luo recently released his first Japanese single EP "Dante" and entered the Japan Entertainment arena. This song clinched 5th place in Japan's Oricon daily charts on its first day of release and managed to hit 10th place for the Oricon weekly charts. He is the first Taiwan male singer that managed to place on this Japan charts and has the second best results for a Taiwan singer, falling behind Teresa Teng's "I Only Care About You" (9th place in 2nd Feb 1987).
When interviewed by the Japan media, he declared his wish of "I want to hold a concert at Japan's most popular venue - The Budokan area within 3 years!" and expressed that he has been very envious of other singers who could promote themselves in Japan in the past. Now that its finally his turn "Although it might be late, but I usually act faster than others so I'm sure I can catch up!"
During the interview with Japan media, he used fluent Japanese to answer them and often added in some on-the-spot humor, showing his "Show Luo style Japan" which won the praise of the Japan reporters. He shared that "Besides speaking some words wrongly such as "jeans" became "underwear", I also used more comical ways to introduce the Taiwan massage and acted as a massage instructor who will give a 3min introduction before his massage." He kept using japanese "very happy" to describe his feelings about officially debuting in Japan. He also ..... (article cut to save bandwidth)
Translation by minivicki @ asianfanatics.net
Source: Yahoo TW
Jolin Tsai's recent good mood cannot be hidden. Besides going London for a sweet trip with her boyfriend, she also attended a fashion show yesterday and even though she clashed both shoes and bag with members of Korea Girls Generation, she sat next to them and smiled for the camera.
Jolin's London travel is a multi-purpose, well calculated trip. Besides romance, she also managed to squeeze in opportunities for work. With Vivien accompanying her, it kept her in a fabulous mood. However, sharp-eye netizens were quick to spot how Jolin's shoes clashed with Girls Generation Seohyun and her bags clashed with another member Yoona. They were arranged to sit next to each other too, causing netizens to comment on how its "really awkward."
Jolin was spotted travelling to London with Vivien on the eve of Valentines Day and after that, photos of them at various parts of London kept appearing, including pictures of them in shopping malls, the subway and Outlet. These sweet pictures have fans wanting them "to just get married."
A friend of Jolin also revealed that Jolin might have plans for marriage as the relationship is stable and fans are accepting of it. Should they decide to tie the knot, it will not be a surprise to anyone. Jolin's focus last year was also on concert performances and her love, with no album release and it has been confirmed that she'll be releasing a new album this year instead. Warner Music's Asia region president Chen Zeshan expressed on his Sina Weibo that Jolin is already ..... (article cut to save bandwidth)
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