Music Asia

MANILA, Philippines – Some of the biggest names in K-pop descended on New York City’s famous Madison Square Garden for the SM Town Live in New York concert on Oct. 23 (Oct. 24 in Manila).

SM Entertainment’s singers that performed before a sold out crowd were Super Junior, Girls Generation, SHINee, BoA, TVXQ, Kangta and f(x).

These pop idols performed their hit songs before thousands of fans who packed the arena.

The buzz generated by the concert did not go unnoticed. The New York Times, one of the most prominent and widely circulated newspapers in the US, published a review of the concert.

New York Daily News also ran a story on the concert and K-pop. The next day, Girls Generation’s Sooyoung was on the cover of the newspaper’s In Your New York section.

In its review, the New York Times said K-pop always presents new style and new singers.

“American teen-pop at its peak has never been this productive. K-pop — short for Korean pop — is an environment of relentless newness, both in participants and in style; even its veteran acts are still relatively young, and they make young music,” said the NY Times review written by Jon Caramanica.

He categorized SM Entertainment’s artists into veterans consisting of TVXQ and BoA, and the fresh acts– Super Junior, Girls’ Generation and SHINee.

SHINee was described as the “most ambitious,” with their outfits and choice of songs for the concert. The review praised the boy band as among the concert’s “strongest” and with their members likened as having “the same size as American groups like ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.”

Super Junior’s performance in the concert “was one of the show’s highlights,” the review said.

But it was Super Junior’s sub-unit, KRY, composed of Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung, that drew the best praise.

“K.R.Y., a sub-group of Super Junior, delivered what may have been the night’s best performance on ‘Sorry Sorry Answer,’ a muscular RB ballad,” the review said.

As for Girls Generation, the NY Times said the girl group “gave perhaps the best representation of K-pop’s coy, shiny values in keeping with a chaste night that satisfied demand, but not desire,” contrary to the “traditional American formula” where “young female singers are often more sexualized than their male counterparts.”

The review described girl group f(x) as the “least polished group on the bill” but praised its “tomboy” member, Amber, who performed the “best rapping of the night.”

If fans storming hotel rooms or camping out at 4:00 a.m. for their general admission seats wasn’t enough indication, K-Pop officially hit New York City this weekend.

October 23 marked the first performance of an Asian pop group in Madison Square Garden with the SMTown Live ’10 World Tour. In previous years SMTown, a South Korean entertainment company, has put on the popular tour but never ventured to America. This New York stop follows successful shows in Los Angeles, Paris, Toyko, Shanghai and Seoul as part of the 2010/2011 run. That L.A. performance at The Staples Center was a sell-out landing the show at No. 9 Billboard’s Boxscore Grosses that week with 15,015 tickets sold.

The sold-out showcase brought out some of Korea’s biggest pop acts, including solo stars BoA and Kangta, girl groups Girls’ Generation, f(x), male groups SHINee, Super Junior, and male duo TVXQ.

“We would like to have this opportunity, if there was any a wall between the West and East, to take this opportunity to squash this wall,” said Kangta via a translator at the start of a press conference that included all the performing artists. “Hopefully we could be much more famous in the United States, as well as all the other Western countries.”

Musically, the show brought down walls with the performers singing their biggest hits, plus occasional dance battles. Yet there were some English songs. In 2009, BoA released her first English album, “BoA,” and last night performed four of those cuts, including “I Did It For Love,” which originally features Sean Garrett, with Key from SHINee taking over his part.

Last Tuesday, Girls’ Generation released its first English single, “The Boys” (produced by Teddy Riley). This concert marked the first live performance of the English version of “The Boys” for the group.

“It’s going to be new for both the group and all our fans but I think that’s going to be totally fun and something to look forward to,” said member Tiffany. “We put a lot of effort and energy in the song so the result is turning out to be very satisfying and rewarding.”

When asked whether the other artists on the roster would be seeing U.S. releases in the future (“The Boys” was released by Interscope Records), Tiffany responded, “There’s nothing for sure, but in the future if everyone gets the right time and opportunity, they’re more than ready to take on the U.S. market as well.”

“We’re simply very flattered to have so many fans around the world, not just us, but all the members of SM Town. They really appreciate all the fans,” said TVXQ’s U-Know via translator. “Since this is our first time in Madison Square Garden performing, we’re going to do our best and we hope everyone has a great time.”

If the massive roars of the sold-out show were any indication, everyone had a great time at the first — and most likely not last — major Korean pop show at Madison Square Garden.

If viewed as a manufacturing factory churning out teen stars, the Korean pop music industry is streets ahead of the U.S. in its heyday in terms of output, according to a leading U.S. media.

“American teen-pop at its peak has never been this productive. K-pop is an environment of relentless newness, both in participants and in style,” the New York Times wrote on Tuesday in an article about Korean entertainment agencies’ ability to foster new talent.

The paper ran the story on two pages along with a review of the SM Town Live concert held at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday. It said that producing a singer along the likes of Canadian teen Justin Bieber requires the effort and coordination of an army of support staff, including producers, managers, vocal trainers, choreographers and stylists. But Korea now has several entertainment companies that specialize in churning out teen idol groups in various incarnations as it has refined this process.

The New York Times on Tuesday carries a story about the SM Town Live concert held at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday. /Newsis

About Sunday’s sell-out concert at the legendary Garden, the NYT said that both veteran singers like BoA and TVXQ and newer groups such as Girls’ Generation and Super Junior all cater to a young audience, but the latter seem to enjoy greater freedom in terms of hopping from genre to genre, like pop, hip-hop, dance and love ballads.

The reviewer described SHINee as the “most ambitious” of the Korean performers over the weekend, praising the strong vocals and adventurous nature of songs such as “Replay,” “Ring Ding Dong” and “Juliette,” while clearly tickled at the band’s wardrobe choice of light-colored leather, Dr. Martens and liberal use of hair mousse.

However, the NYT took a negative view of the “goofy” rapping — the unintended comic effect of which was only exacerbated by the English supertitles — while conceding that Amber stood out as the best rapper at the concert. It also pointed to Super Junior’s performance of “Sorry Sorry Answer” as the best of the night.

The NYT article also pointed out what is saw as influences of U.S. pop music on K-pop. It said Kangta’s singing was reminiscent of Josh Groban’s maudlin vocals, while TVXQ’s music seemed similar to that of Jodeci or early Usher songs, and BoA’s “Copy and Paste” reminded of a Janet Jackson song in the early 90s.

The multi-talented Lee Seung Gi’s drive to reach the top has been relentless. Even before the release of his fifth full album, his single, “Era Of Love,” has landed at the No. 1 spot on this week’s Billboard K-Pop Hot 100. “Era of Love” is a medium tempo ballad about a timid man who finally finds the courage to confess his feelings to a woman he has been longing for. Lee’s co-star, Han Hyo-Joo, from their highly acclaimed drama, “Brilliant Legacy,” and Ra-D, the winner of the 7th annual Korean Music Award’s “Best RB Album,” both contributed their voices to this track — creating a dynamic yet enjoyable song.

Full Chart: K-Pop Hot 100

The key to Lee Seung Gi’s popularity is his persistent willingness to challenge his own abilities. He first reached stardom with his debut song, “Because You Are My Girl” (2004), showcasing his powerful voice and boy-next-door good looks. In that same year, he successfully transformed himself into an actor, by taking up a role in a popular Korean sitcom series, “Nonstop 5.” Thereafter, he landed leading roles in several leading dramas including, “The Famous Seven Princesses” (KBS) and “My Foxy Girlfriend” (SBS), which earned him the title: the new Korean “box office star.”

Elsewhere on the chart, Ulala Session, the boy bander from “Superstar K” — who attained the No. 6 ranking last week with its remake of “The Moon’s Scheme” — jumped to the No. 2 spot this week with the band’s emotional “Open Arms.” Epik High’s Tablo, finally debuted his solo single, “Air Bag,” at the No. 6 spot, even after a two-year hiatus (due to controversies regarding his academic background), proving his undying popularity. Orange Caramel, a unit group of, ‘After School’ made it to the No. 7 rank this week with the girls’ new single, “Shanghai Love.” Last week’s topper, Huh Gak’s “Hello,” falls to No. 5.

One way these artists boost their popularity is having a strong presence on social media. This week, let’s take a quick look at the most popular K-Pop stars on Twitter and Facebook.

Social networking sites Twitter and Facebook allow artists the leisure of interacting with their beloved fans anytime, anywhere and is considered a new key barometer by which an artist’s popularity is measured. According to Korea’s Twitter ranking system, “Korea Twitter,” Super Junior’s Choi Si Won has accumulated the most followers of 765,967 fans. With his popularity firmly established, he is now broadening his fan base by entering the acting world. Alongside Choi Si Won, Super Junior members, Dong Hae (No. 2), Hee Chul (No. 4), Lee Tuek(No. 5), Eh-Sung(No. 6), Eun Hyuk (No. 7), Shin Dong (No. 8), Ryu Wook (No. 9), Kyu Hyun (No. 11) all appeared in the upper tier of the Twitter popularity list.

Super Junior also has a considerable amount of fans on Facebook, with a staggering 3,456,015 “likes” on their fan page — exceeding the figure-skating queen, Kim Yuna. She currently has 64,717 “likes.” Both “Mr. Simple” and “Ah-Cha” are ranked on Billboard K-Pop Hot chart this week at No. 74 and No. 91, respectively.

Beast is right behind their predecessor, Super Junior, as one of the most followed and loved boy-band on Twitter. Yoon Du Joon, the leader of the group, has 414, 612 followers- ranking him at No. 12 and Lee Ki Gwang at No. 14 with 366,416 followers. Yang Yo Sup is at No. 15 with 359,916 followers whereas rapper, Yong Joon Hyung has 354,729 followers. Song Dong Yon also has 282, 378 followers. The amount of Beast followers is testament to this boy band’s meteoric rise to fame. Revved up by their ardent fans and Twitter followers, Beast will perform at Billboard’s Korea’s upcoming event, the Billboard K-POP Masters concert at the legendary MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Nov. 25th 26th!

Kara, the front face of the Korea (a.k.a. Hallyu) Wave, is also on the top of the Twitter popularity list. Koo Ha Ra has the most followers amongst her team members with 351,328 followers, ranking her at No. 17 and Nicole Chung at No. 18 has 294,568 followers, both confirming their popularity. Kara latest hit single, “STEP”, is No. 20 this week on Billboard’s K-Pop Hot 100.

With fans streaming into the Tri-Delta area from places as far as Canada and Florida to attend the KBS – New York Festival earlier this month and SMTOWN New York which takes place at Madison Square Garden tonight, New York City has been the latest to directly experience the effects of the Hallyu Wave! New York Daily News recently published a feature article on this worldwide phenomenon, highlighting the excitement that’s invigorating fans in the city this week.

When B2ST and 4minute recently performed at the MTV TRL Studios, a crowd gathered outside for hopeful glimpses of the idols. After seeing the frenzy outdoors, MTV’s executive vice president Peter Griffin commented, “I haven’t seen this in years … It reminds me of when ‘N Sync was here and the fans lined up around the studio.”

Cedarbough Saeji, a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA in culture and performance with a focus on Korean culture, commented, “[K-pop music videos are] just slick, extremely well produced, always have different themes that really capture audiences’ attentions … The production value is very sophisticated. Every k-pop video is as high quality as any top American act like Lady Gaga or Britney Spears, but the image is a lot cleaner, less sexualization.”

The feature also highlights the Wonder Girls‘ upcoming official debut in the American tween market with their TeenNick movie as well as their past experiences with the Jonas Brothers and more. Furthermore, 2NE1 has “become designer Jeremy Scott‘s muses”, inspiring the shoe “JS Collage Wings x 2NE1″ which will debut next month. The article continues, “The group’s look — high fashion with a colorful, punky twist — has even inspired some updated costumes in the new production of Broadway’s ‘Rent’.“.

According to NYDailyNews, SNSD member Tiffany auditioned for Kollaboration, the Asian American talent show back when she was fifteen years old. Though Tiffany didn’t make the show, she caught the eyes of SM Entertainment scouts that were present at the event. Later on, Tiffany reflected, “I guess I got the bigger end of the deal.”

While discussing her training regiment, Tiffany explained, “I practiced a minimum of 4-6 hours every day … Being there alone gave me a lot of motivation to keep going on.” She also cited SNSD’s fans as a large motivator after the group’s debut. “Words cannot describe [our fans] … They are our inspiration and the foundation behind our music. Without fans we wouldn’t be here.”

In response to SNSD’s foray into the American market with their first English track, “The Boys”, which has reportedly hit #52 on iTunes’ Main Singles Chart, Tiffany expressed, “We’re definitely ready. … I’m not nervous. We’re looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to it.”

Read the article in its entirety here!

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MANILA, Philippines – A 17-year-old female contestant will represent the Philippines in the K-pop World Festival 2011 in South Korea in December after winning the Pinoy K-pop Star contest held in the country recently.

Karla Maye Carreon bested 12 other Filipinos to emerge as the grand prize winner in the contest sponsored by the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines (KCC), a unit under the Korean Embassy in the country.

KCC officials headed by Director Seong Un Hwang led in awarding Carreon, who won a trophy, gift packs and a free trip to South Korea.

This is Carreon’s second major win in a singing contest this year. She competed last July in the World Championships of the Performing Arts (WCOPA) in Los Angeles, California where she won four silver medals.

Carreon finished high school last March in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where her family is based. Her parents are working in Jeddah and she has a younger sister.

She is now staying at her aunt’s house in the Philippines and says she will be staying here for good.

“I will be settling here for good but my family plans to have me back in Jeddah every once in a while. I sure do miss the lifestyle there,” she said.

Karla describes herself as a singer, dancer and guitarist.

She told Bulletin Entertainment that she started learning how to sing when she was just three years old.

“I started singing when I was three years old, when my mom was listening to Michael Jackson and Bee Gees. She heard me singing their songs in gibberish but surprisingly in tune and that’s when she and my family decided to let me take up basic vocal lessons. It was heavy for a three-year-old, but I had fun,” she said.

To qualify for the Pinoy K-pop Star, contestants had to sing a Korean song and Carreon chose 2NE1 member Park Bom’s song “You and I” as her entry.

“I am an avid fan of 2NE1, and I love Park Bom’s vocal power. My friends were requesting for a cover of Park Bom’s ‘You and I,’ so I did a cover for them and it came in handy when I learned about the contest,” Karla said.

It was her mom who told her about the contest and this was the first time that Karla entered a Korean singing contest.

“She was Google-ing for local and international singing contests and she happened to browse the KCC website. We were so excited about the contest because it’d be my first time joining a Korean singing contest,” according to Karla.

Karla says she had fun during the Pinoy K-pop Star contest.

“After joining a lot of different singing contests, I expected to feel a little more confident and less nervous during the finals, but I wasn’t. It was my first time singing a Korean song in front of a crowd and I felt conscious about my pronunciation and diction. But I had a blast because the other finalists were so fun to be with backstage,” she said.

When her name was announced as grand prize winner, Karla cried.

“I was extremely surprised, I cried! Honestly, I didn’t expect to win the contest since the other finalists joined other KPOP contests way back and they had so much more experience in contests like this more than I do. I felt so happy that I’m going to bring home some good news to my grandparents in Pasig City and to my family in Saudi Arabia. I love making them proud,” she said.

Karla is preparing for the K-pop festival in South Korea where 17 teams from 15 countries will compete in the talent competition that will showcase singers and dancers, according to KCC Philippines.

K-pop stars will grace the event, which will be shown on KBS World.

“I feel so honored and blessed to be representing KCC Philippines in Korea this December. This will be another big shot for me; another experience to last a lifetime,” Karla told Bulletin Entertainment.

Karla has been joining singing contests in the last few years. She joined “Pop Star Kids” on channel QTV 11 in 2005-2006 and “Little Big Superstar” on ABS-CBN in 2007.

In Jeddah, she won in the Battle of the Singers 2008, Jeddah Pop Icon 2009, and Himig ng Kalayaan 2009. She had her first solo concert in Jeddah in 2009 organized by the Filipino Artist Migrant Ensemble.

When asked about the possibility of pursuing a professional singing career in the Philippines, Karla said she will go for it.

“If the opportunity comes, I will be more than glad to grab it!” she said.

Neowiz Internet announced that they have updated their flagship mobile game, TAP SONIC, with Girls’ Generation’s (aka SNSD) brand new single, “The Boys.”

TAP SONIC is a rhythm action game featuring a unique “tap slide” game play. It’s one of the most downloaded games in Korea, boasting more than 7M total downloads in the Apple App Store and Android Market.

Korean pop idol group Girls’ Generation released their third full album worldwide on October 19, and the single “The Boys” in the album is currently sweeping all the music charts in Korea. TAP SONIC quickly delivered localized versions of this popular track to its music library. For example, TAP SONIC downloaded from the US App Store comes with an English-language recording of the song.

TAP SONIC will license and add more tunes from Girls’ Generation’s third album to its worldwide service. Neowiz is also expecting to shed new light on Girls’ Generation’s previous popular songs already in TAP SONIC, including “Tell Me Your Wish (Genie),” “Gee,” “Kissing You” and “Way to Go!”

Joon-Il Park, lead product manager for Neowiz Internet, says, “As Girls’ Generation is becoming more popular outside of Korea, it is great to leverage the global status of TAP SONIC by providing their songs with it. We can also boost global K-pop fever by introducing more and more domestic K-pop songs to global TAP SONIC players.”

TAP SONIC hopes to spur the expansion of its market territory with this major update of music content. In addition to K-pop, the latest update of the TAP SONIC music library includes local hit tunes such as Lady Gaga’s “You and I” and Good Charlotte’s “Girls Boys.”

A troupe of K-pop stars became the first Asian singers to perform at a large 15,000-capacity arena in Madison Square Garden on Sunday evening (local time) when the SM Town New York concert lit up Manhattan.

BoA, Girls’ Generation, Kangta, SHINee, TVXQ, Super Junior and f(x) all belong to SM Entertainment, Korea’s leading talent agency. As they took to the stage, they were met with rapturous applause — indicating K-pop’s growing international appeal — five years after Rain performed at a smaller 5,000-capacity theater at the same venue.

Fans cheer and hold up photos of their favorite K-pop stars at the SM Town New York concert in Madison Square Garden on Sunday (local time). /Courtesy of SM Entertainment

The Garden is regarded as one of world’s premier pop performance halls, having staged the concerts of Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Elton John, and Beyonce, among a raft of global megastars.

The audience passionately welcomed K-pop stars by chanting Korean phrases such as “Saranghaeyo,” meaning “I love you.” This concluded SM Entertainment’s world concert series, which previously made stops in Seoul, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Tokyo and Paris.

The 15,000 tickets priced between US$60 and US$250 went sold out in two weeks, with 90 percent sold in just two days of being made available online.

A male fan shows a tattoo saying Girls’ Generation in Korean (left); Girls’ Generation performs on stage. /Courtesy of SM Entertainment