Sunday, June 2, 2013

Visual KEI!!!!!! SID シド LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!!

The first song that I have heard that made me like them was Hoshi no Miyako! (Y)!!! recommended! ... but who are they? SID is a Japanese visual kei rock band, formed in 2003 and signed to Sony Records. SID (シド) was founded in 2003 by vocalist Mao (ex-Shula) and bassist Aki (ex-Ram Rem). They were joined by two support members, guitarist Shinji (ex-Uranus) and drummer Yuuya (ex-Shula). The four of them released the band's first demo CD, Yoshigai Manabu 17-sai (Mushoku) (吉開学 17歳 (無職)), on mini-disc that August and soon after, they signed on with Danger Crue Records. Though Sid technically began in 2003, the band considers January 14, 2004 the date of their 'birth' as it was announced at their show at the Meguro Rock May Kan that Shinji and Yuuya would be joining as official members. With their line-up now complete, they released their first single "Kaijou-Ban"(会場限定盤) in March before traveling overseas for a two-day performance at the American convention Anime Central in May. The young band made quite an impact, gaining a number of international fans, and they have since expressed their desire to return to America once more. Sid heated back up in the winter months, releasing their first full album, Renai(レンアイ), and taking part in both their label-sponsored 'tenka' event put on every Christmas and the Beauti-Fool's Fest 04 event sponsored by Fool's Mate magazine. They continued to participate in lives and events well into the next year, which included their first one-man tour. The release of their second album followed. The band started off small, but not without a certain charming flair. Where most bandsmen handed out fliers, they also used megaphones as a means of personal promotion. Despite having only a small collection of songs to offer, they worked relentlessly to produce more. Their releases varied widely in style and composition, and the band made it an obvious goal to appeal to a broad audience - a plan which obviously worked. Sid grew rapidly in their initial years, at a rate which surprised numerous publications and notoriously earned them the title "the monster band of the indie scene". 2006 was a big year for Sid: they broke into the Oricon top ten for the first time with their summer single, "Chapter 1", and they were able to play a one-man at the famous Nippon Budokan live hall. They finished the year with the release of their third album, play, and a new one-man tour that took them throughout Japan. The following year brought a slew of new singles, including September's "Mitsuyubi" (蜜指), which was the band's first to reach the Oricon top five. In early 2008, Sid announced they would be going major with Sony Records and later put out "Monokuro no Kiss" (モノクロのキス), their debut major single. The single’s title track was used for the opening of anime "Kuroshitsuji" and the release was also available in four versions, one which was a special Kuroshitsuji version featuring the two main characters on a cardboard sleeve. Their debut concert at Nippon Budokan sold out in under two minutes in November 2008. Their next single, titled "2°C me no kanojo" (2℃目の彼女), came out in January 2009, and three months later "Uso" (嘘) debuted at number two on the Oricon charts and was also used as the 1st ending theme of popular anime "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood" Their other recent releases also seem to be used for popular anime, so anticipate many more songs to be used for original soundtracks. Their first major album, Hikari, was released on July 1, 2009, and will serve as the primary set list for what will be their largest tour to date. Another single named, "One Way" was released on 11. November which reached 3rd in the Oricon Charts. On March 3, 2010, Sid released their Single "Sleep" and announced their performance at Saitama Super Arena on July 31 in a special CM on TV Asahi program "Ikinari!Ogon Densetsu" on February 11, subsequently selling out 30,000 tickets in just one day. Sid's newest song is "Rain (レイン)" which is the fifth opening theme and sixth ending theme for the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Released on June 2, 2010, "Rain" ranked No.1 on the Oricon Daily charts on June 4 and 5, marking the first time Sid has ever placed No. 1 on the daily charts. "Rain" is SID's third contribution to the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise, making them one of the two artists contributing more than one song for Fullmetal Alchemist (the other being L'Arc-en-Ciel). However, on the weekly charts "Rain" was ranked No.2. On September 29, 2010 they released a new single titled "Cosmetic" and performed at Tokyo Dome on December 11, 2010. On 2010 December 1 they released a single, "Ranbu no Melody" (乱舞のメロディ) which was used as the 13th opening theme of Bleach from Episodes 292 to 316. They got the Top Pop Artist Award from Billboard Japan Music Awards 2010 on February 6, 2011. Also they participated in Kuroyume's tribute album which was released on February 9, the song SID will do is "Yasashii Higeki(Tender Tragedy)" a song by Kuroyume that was released in 1995. A DVD with footage from their live at Saitama Super Arena and Tokyo Dome was released and is available in 3D on Blu-ray. The DVD also placed 3rd on Oricon weekly. Their new single single entitled "Itsuka", was followed by another performance at Nipponbudoukan on October 4. Their 7th DVD, SIDNAD Vol.7: dead stock tour 2011 was released on the next day. "Itsuka" reached No. 1 on the daily charts and placed second on the weekly charts. On December 28, 2011 SID released "Fuyu no Bench". SID performed at the Ontama Carnival on January 29, 2012. Their single "S" was decided to become the theme of Sadako 3D. Their single "VIP" was released on 21 November 2012, and is the opening theme for the anime adaptation of the manga Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic On May 24, 2013 SID also performed in Singapore for the first time at the MUSIC MATTERS LIVE 2013 event. They will release their upcoming new single "Summer Lover" on 24 July 2013. MEMBERS マオ (Mao) Date of birth: 23 October 1977. Part: Vocalist. Place of birth: Fukuoka Mao is a fan of Kiyoharu, Kuroyume, Sads, Mika Nakashima & Shiina Ringo. 明希 (Aki) Date of birth: 3 February 1981. Part: Bassist, Back-up vocalist. Place of birth: Tokyo. Aki is a fan of B'z, Luna Sea, Oasis & Nakamori Akina, L'Arc~en~Ciel, HYDE Shinji (ex. しんじ) Date of birth: 8 February 1979. Part: Guitarist, Back-up vocalist. Place of birth: Saitama. Shinji is a fan of Boøwy & Tomoyasu Hotei ゆうや (Yuuya) Date of birth: 9 December 1981. Part: Drummer. Place of birth: Chiba. Albums [2004.12.22] Renai (憐哀 -レンアイ) ; No. 44 [2005.11.16] Hoshi no Miyako (星の都) ; # 26 [2006.11.08] Play ; # 9 [2008.02.20] Sentimental Macchiato (センチメンタルマキアート) ; # 8 [2008.08.13] Side B complete collection: e.B ; No. 10 [2009.07.01] Hikari ; No. 2 [2011.02.23] Dead Stock ; No. 4 [2012.08.01] M&W ; No. 1 [2013.01.16] SID 10th Anniversary BEST ; No. 1 A Day won't pass without me listening to them. I have seen a lot of visual kei bands but what makes them different is still an X can't be described by any words in english dictionary.. SID is magical..

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

SHINee Minho Reveals his Dream Girl

One of boys from SHINee revealed his typical girl. Min Ho speaks about her standards of his dream girl. You might be curious, and I must say that he has a good taste! Well, the lucky girl is Kim Tae Hee. “I liked her a lot since middle school,” explained Minho. “I saw her once on the plane, but I was too shy that I couldn’t even say hello.” Kim Tae Hee has a nice aura and she's popular for her big eyes. We all know that korean love big eyes and if you have big eyes, you will be surely loved! Credits: Mnet

Saturday, December 1, 2012

BUSKER BUSKER - Who are they?

" Cherry Blossom Ending" Who cannot resist watching this video about a trio who traveled a lot to see the Cherry Blossom tree? It's quite tricky when you watch the video since you will think that the boys fell in love with the girl not knowing that the reason why they have ran a mile is because of the Cherry Blossom tree. The song is relaxing and the sceneries that were shown on their video will make your mind CALM. The people behind this is Busker Busker. Who are they? Busker Busker is a korean indie band who first appeared in Superstar K3 of Mnet. Their members consist of guitarist and vocalist Jang Beom-Jun (장범준), bassist Kim Hyung-Tae (김형태) and drummer Brad Moore (full name: Bradley Ray Moore). Biography Before Superstar K3 The group Busker Busker was founded by the band's guitarist and lead singer, Beom-Jun. His vision was to create a busking art group that focused on street performances and sought to bring an artistic cultural presence to the streets of Korea. His vision included all art mediums, not just music, and he sought to create festivals that would showcase the budding talents of local artists. Members of Busker Busker included university students, mostly from the Cheonan campus of Sangmyung University. Prior to Brad joining the band, the band's name was Pinky Pinky and was only a subset of the total Busker Busker group. Unfortunately, the band's drummer had to leave the band in order to keep his compulsory commitment to join the Korean Army. At that time, Beom-Jun and Hyung-Tae were both university students at Sangmyung University where Brad also worked as a professor of English. They met and the three became the new bandmates, renaming the band Busker Busker. However, the band was still a loose formation, as many members of the Busker Busker group would rotate in and out of band performances. The Busker Busker group set up multiple performances in a local Cheonan park in the summer of 2011, which is where the Busker Busker Band's fame began to escalate. At the same time, Beom-Jun, Hyung-Tae, and Brad were participating in Superstar K3 auditions, as a trio because they were the only members of the band that were be able to participate in the process. After their auditions aired on TV, the band solidified as a trio.
Participation in Superstar K3 Busker Busker auditioned for the 3rd season of the Korean audition show: Superstar K. They were eliminated from the TV show after performing the song Juliet with another auditioning group, Two Gae Wol. However, despite only making it to the Top 48 of the contestants to tryout, it happened that the band that originally made it to the Top 10 dropped out. As a result, Busker Busker, along with another band (Haze), were given a second chance to appear on the TV show and signed on to be a part of the show's new Top 11. Busker Busker's first song on the show, Tokyo Girl, was extremely popular and the band survived the first elimination round. After repeating their previous success, the band managed to avoid elimination. Eventually, only the last three groups remained which included Busker Busker, Oolala Session, and Two Gae Wol. Going into the second-to-last show, the three groups were asked to honor a promise they had made earlier on the show, that if they were to end up in the Top 3 of Superstar K3, they would strip dance. Which they performed in Hongdae in front of a group of onlookers.After the live performances of the second-to-last show, and the live voting was completed, it was determined that Busker Busker and Oolala Session were to be the final two groups remaining. The last episode of the season was the final competition between the two remaining groups, with Oolala Session taking the top place.
Albums Song List Superstar K3 Compilation Album 동경소녀 (김광진)/Tokyo Girl (Kim, Kwangjin) 3:32 Livin' La Vida Loca (Ricky Martin) 3:18 정류장 (패닉)/Bus Stop (Panic) 3:27 어쩌다 마주친 그대 (송골매)/I Bumped into You (Songolme) 3:20 막걸리나 (윤종신)/Makkeolina (Yoon, Jongshin) 3:06 그댄 달라요 (윤종신)/You're different (Yoon, Jongshin) 3:46 I Believe (이수영)/I Believe (Lee, Suyoung) 3:18 서울사람들/Seoul People 3:26 너에게 주는 선물 (Superstar K3 TOP11)/A Gift For You (Superstar K3 TOP11) 4:24 줄리엣 (샤이니)/Juliet (Shinee) 3:29 Busker Busker 1st Album 봄바람/Spring Wind (Opening Track, instrumental) 첫사랑/First Love 여수 밤바다/Yeosu Night Sea 벚꽃 엔딩/Cherry Blossom Ending (Title Track) 이상형/Ideal Type (With MV) 외로움증폭장치 (브래드 드럼 한판 쉬기)/Loneliness Amplifier (Brad takes a break) 골목길/The Alley (interlude) 골목길 어귀에서/Entrance Of The Alley 전활 거네/Calling You 꽃송이가/The Flower 향수/Perfume Busker Busker 1st Wrap Up Album 그댈 마주하는건 힘들어 (그마힘)/It's Hard To Face You 네온사인/Neon Sign 소나기 (주르르루)/Showers 정말로 사랑한다면/If You Really Love Me (Title Track) 기다려주세요/Please Wait
In April of 2012, their song became no. 1 in Mnet countdown. No doubt they have got the award for Best band performance in MAMA 2012! Hwaiting Busker Busker!!! Credits to: ^ a b "Busker Busker suspends all public activities". Newswave. November 15, 2011. Retrieved Dec 5, 2011. ^ a b c "Sing the miracle!". The Korea Herald. November 8, 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012. ^ a b "Will Busker Busker Keep Their Promise to Strip Dance?". Soompi. October 31, 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012. ^ a b "‘Busker Busker’ drummer Brad reveals his girlfriend". TVReport via Nate. November 19, 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012. ^ a b "Busker Busker’s Brad is Back". in2KPop. January 11, 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2012. ^ "Busker Busker Takes Over Top Five of Music Charts". Enewsworld. June 21, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012. ^ activities/ "Busker Busker to Briefly Cease All Promotional Activities". soompi.com. June 22, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012. ^ Cyworld Digital Music Awards - Rookie Of The Month (October) Cyworld. Retrieved June 2, 2012. ^ Cyworld Digital Music Awards - Song Of The Month (October) "Tokyo Girl" Cyworld. Retrieved June 2, 2012. ^ Cyworld Digital Music Awards - Song Of The Month (April) "Cherry Blossom Ending" Cyworld. Retrieved June 2, 2012.

Friday, November 30, 2012

MAMA 2012 Winners List

I've waited for this day to come since I voted everyday for my favorites Korean artists!!! And guessa what? Everyone that I have voted won in MAMA 2012 that was held on the 30th of November in Hongkong. The event was attended by famous stars who have presented the awards like Choi Ji Woo, Seung Soong Hoon, Han Ga in, and a lot more.

Amazing performances from SHINEE, EXO, Big bang, Roy Kim have made my night complete!

Here are the list of the winners of this year's MAMA in case you weren't able to watch!

Best New Female Artist : Ailee

Best New Male Artist: EXO - K


Best Female Artist: IU

Best Male Artist: G Dragon



Best Female Group: SISTAR

Best Male Group: BIG BANG


Best Collaboration Performance: Trouble Maker - Trouble Maker
Best OST: Seo In Guk & Jung Eun Ji - All for You (Reply 1997)

Best Music Video: PSY - Gangnam Style

Best Rap Performance: Epik High - Up

Best Band Performance: Busker Busker - Cherry Blossom Ending

Best Dance Performance - Solo: PSY - Gangnam Style

Best Dance Performance - Male Group: SHINEE - Sherlock  

Best Dance Performance - Female Group: f(x) - Electric Shock

Best Vocal Performance - SolO:  K-Will - I need you

Best Vocal Performance - Group: Davichi - We Were in Love

Best Global Group - Female: KARA

Best Global Group-Male: Super Junior

MNET PD's Choice Award
B.A.P WON!!! ^^


Album of the Year
Super Junior - Sexy, Free & Single

Artist of the year
Big Bang

Song of the Year
Psy - Gangnam Style

Congratulations to all the winners specially to G- dragon, BIG BANG, EXO, SHINee, Busker Busker!! Please support Korean music!!!!!!!!!!!


Credits to: http://www.kpopstarz.com for the news and information
Please visit MNet's official website at mama.interest.me
 
   

Thursday, November 1, 2012

B1A4 Opens Extra Tickets for Exclusive Concert

To meet demand, B1A4 opened an extra batch of tickets on October 31 for its upcoming concert. Fans had been continuously sending in requests for other ways to attend the concert ever since all tickets sold out just five minutes after they were made available. When extra seats were secured by the staff after confirming the stage design, WM Entertainment and CJ E&M decided to open up those extra seats for fans. In the meantime, the members have been preparing many events to live up to the great expectations. It previously passed out flyers in animal costumes to students on the street, and most recently it announced it will invite one fan on a backstage date. The lucky winner will be announced on the day of the concert, and anyone attending the concert that day can be the one. Fans are also looking forward to whether the members will keep the promises they made for their concert. In an interview, the B1A4 members said they will dress up like girls or stand under showers of water onstage to celebrate their first exclusive concert. B1A4 has been paving a smooth way in K-Pop with its friendly and unique image. After managing to gather a strong fanbase just a year and a half since its debut, it managed to confirm its first exclusive concert and sell out all its tickets. The concert, BABA B1A4, will be not only about B1A4′s hits, but also about new performances and events. BABA B1A4 will be held from December 8 to 9, with a total of 10,000 fans. Photo credit: CJ E&M

Lee Seung Gi collaborate with Epitone Project

Lee Seung Gi is collaborating with Epitone Project. On 31st, an official from Epitone Project said, "Epitone Project participated in Lee Seung Gi's new mini album." Epitone Project is a sing-a-song-writer who is largely popular for emotional and beautiful music style, and he released an album last June. The official also said, "Lee Seung Gi's new album will be EP album, and Epitone Project participated in song arrangements and producing. Furthermore, a song that was written by Lee Seung Gi himself will be included, and it's almost at its final stage." This project was planned by Lee Seung Gi's request, and Lee Seung Gi will be making a grand return to the music field soon. On the other hand, Lee Seung Gi's new album will be released on November 22nd. Source: STAR N News VIA YAHOO

IU explains about her acting career

IU explained about her acting career. On 13th, IU wrote on her fan café, "There are so many articles about me starting acting, but nothing was decided yet." She continued, "The reports are all false conjectures, my fans won't have to really care about them. I'm not hiding anything, and I'm not being careful about things. Nothing was really decided yet. Maybe, I'm a bit too careful." It was recently told that IU, who previously casted in KBS 2TV drama 'Dream High', received casting offers from many different dramas. On the other hand, IU is currently appearing on SBS 'Music Trend' and MBC 'Quiz Show Q' as an MC. Source: en@starnnews.com

BigBang’s G-Dragon poses for GQ Korea

BigBang’s G-Dragon and Japanese hip-hop singer Verbal recently collaborated for a photo shoot for fashion magazine GQ, and some of the photos were revealed to the public on October 22nd. In the accompanying interview, G-Dragon said, “I find musicians who have their own brands to be really cool. It’s my dream to be like that too. I asked Verbal lots of questions about this when I met him.” With regards to photos he revealed earlier on Twitter of him holding up several spiral accessories for a pose, G-Dragon expressed, “I usually like wearing big necklaces and spiral-like accessories. I am a Korean, while Verbal is a Zanichi Korean, so we like to dab on colours of the Korean flag onto our spiral accessories. Verbal expressed that he knew G-Dragon before the latter joined BigBang, “G-Dragon bought back lots of Ambush products to Korea when he was in Japan. I heard that he brought lots of items at the flagship store, so I think he is a very stylish person.” More of G-Dragon and Verbal’s interview regarding music and fashion can be viewed in the November issue of GQ Korea magazine.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

2NE1′s Dara apologizes to MBLAQ’s Thunder for her “scary hairstyle”

On the upcoming episode of MBC Every1‘s ‘Idol Manager‘, 2NE1‘s Dara sent a heartfelt letter to her younger brother, MBLAQ‘s Thunder. The theme for this week’s episode is a healing workshop for MBLAQ. The members will read handwritten letters sent from their families, and footage of them practicing their choreography will be shown. Thunder especially garnered interest for receiving not only a letter from his mom, but his older sister, Dara of 2NE1. Dara’s letter was revealed and contained a heartfelt message of love and support for her younger brother as well as some pocket money, making the MBLAQ members jealous She wrote, “I also want to be a pretty older sister, so I am sorry for getting a scary hairstyle,” leading everyone on set to burst into laughter. This episode of ‘Idol Manager’ will air on September 28 at 6PM KST. Source + Image(s): TV Report via Naver

Kim Hyun Joong’s ‘City Conquest’ press conference expected to draw 16,000 fans in Japan

The upcoming drama ‘City Conquest‘ is scheduled to hold a press conference in Japan. Scheduled for 7PM on October 4th at Japan’s famous venue, Budokan, the large-scale showcase event will host nearly 16,000 Japanese fans along with an estimated 400 reporters from media outlets such as NHK, TBS, and FujiTV. In particular, television station NHK has assigned a ‘documentary team’ just for the drama, proving that the drama starring Kim Hyun Joong is attracting considerable attention. The press conference will include appearances by Kim Hyun Joong himself, co-star Jung Yu Mi, and other drama representatives. Special promotional footage will also be revealed during the event. In addition, the showcase event will also include the 1 year anniversary celebration of Kim Hyun Joong’s fan club. Meanwhile, the upcoming press conference is prospected to help ‘warm up’ the currently chilly relationship between South Korea and Japan, all the while playing a part in further spreading Hallyu culture. Source & Image: StarToday via Nate

JYJ’s Junsu releases “Love Is Like Snow” for ‘Nice Guy’ OST

As reported earlier, JYJ‘s Junsu has lent his beautiful voice for the OST of new drama, ‘Nice Guy‘. Titled “Love Is Like Snow“, Junsu’s song was previously heard during the end of a prior episode of the show, and caught the attention of many with its emotional melody.

CNBLUE went for London concert

Band CNBLUE is set to leave for their first live concert in London on the 20th. On September 22, the band will hold their ‘CNBLUE Live in London‘ performance at IndigO2. A representative of CJ E&M‘s global content division stated, “Most of the tickets for this show have been sold. There are only a few standing tickets available. For their first show in London, this is an impressive ticket sale.” CNBLUE also gave a statement through their agency FNC entertainment: “It’s like a dream to perform in the home of rock, England. We have always wanted to go there, and to be able to perform there makes us all happy. We believe we will overcome the language barrier and connect through music. Since this is our first visit to London, we are nervous, but we promise to do our best to show everyone an amazing performance.” After their London performance, CNBLUE will be touring in Japan from October 2 to the 21st for their ‘CNBLUE Arena Tour 2012-COME ON‘. Source + Image: Star Today via Nate

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The members of ARASHI~~




Satoshi Ohno (大野 智 Ōno Satoshi) (born November 26, 1980) is a Japanese idol, singer, actor, artist, and radio host. He is the lead vocalist and leader of Japanese boy band Arashi, hence his nickname Leader (リーダー Rīdā?).

Ohno began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1994 at the age of 13. He started an acting career in 1997 when he was cast to be part of the stage play Kyo to Kyo. In 2008, Ohno became the first and the only artist from Johnny's to hold and open his own art exhibit titled "Freestyle" and received his first starring role in a Japanese television drama, for which he earned a handful of Best Actor awards.

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Sho Sakurai (櫻井 翔 Sakurai Shō) (born January 25, 1982) is a Japanese idol, singer, songwriter, actor, newscaster, host and former radio host. He is a member of Japanese boy band Arashi.

Sakurai began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1995 at the age of 13. About seven years after his debut as a singer with Arashi in 1999, he became a newscaster in 2006, appearing in the news program News Zero every Monday. In 2008, he was appointed the official newscaster for the news coverage of the Olympic Games in Beijing on NTV. For his work as an actor, singer and newscaster, Sakurai became one of the recipients of GQ Japan's Men of the Year award in 2009.

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Masaki Aiba (相葉 雅紀 Aiba Masaki) (born December 24, 1982) is a Japanese idol, singer, actor, television personality and radio host. He is a member of Japanese boy band Arashi.

Aiba began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1996 at the age of 13. Prior to his debut as a singer with Arashi in 1999, Aiba started an acting career when he was cast as the lead role of Gordie for the stage play Stand by Me, which was based on the film of the same name. About five years after his debut as a singer with Arashi in 1999, he became one of the co-hosts of the variety show Tensai Shimura Dōbutsuen (天才!志村どうぶつ園 Genius! Shimura Zoo?) in 2004, making him the first member of Arashi to regularly participate in a variety show not primarily hosted by Arashi.

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Kazunari Ninomiya (二宮 和也 Ninomiya Kazunari, born June 17, 1983), often called Nino (ニノ?), is a Japanese idol, singer, songwriter, actor, voice actor and radio host. He is a member of Japanese boy band Arashi and is best known to movie audiences for his portrayal as Private Saigo in the 2006 Clint Eastwood war film Letters from Iwo Jima.

Ninomiya began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1996 at the age of 13. Prior to his debut as a singer with Arashi in 1999, Ninomiya started an acting career when he was cast as Chris for the stage play Stand by Me, which was based on the film of the same name. Since then, he has went on to appear in numerous drama, movie and stage productions, making him known as the actor of Arashi. Described as an actor who can act with his mouth and eyes, Ninomiya has won a number of awards and nominations for his roles.

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Jun Matsumoto (松本 潤 Matsumoto Jun) (born August 30, 1983), often called by the portmanteau nickname MatsuJun (松潤?), is a Japanese idol, singer, actor and radio host. He is a member of Japanese boy band Arashi and is best known to Japanese television drama audiences for his portrayal as Tsukasa Dōmyōji in the Hana Yori Dango series, in which he won GQ Japan's Man Of The Year Award under the singer/actor category for his work in the drama.

Matsumoto began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1996 at the age of 12. Prior to his debut as a singer with Arashi in 1999, Matsumoto started an acting career when he was cast as Teddy Duchamp for the stage play Stand by Me, which was based on the film of the same name. Since then, he has gone on to appear in numerous dramas and movies, receiving a number of awards and nominations for his roles.


Now who's your ARASHI guy??????

Let's talk about ARASHI!!!!!



Who are they????

Arashi (literally Storm) is a Japanese boy band formed under the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates, which announced the formation of the group on November 3, 1999 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The group was initially signed to Pony Canyon and released one studio album and six singles—beginning with their 1999 eponymous debut single—before moving to the Johnny's subsidiary label J Storm in 2001, which was initially set up for their succeeding releases.While their debut single debuted atop the Oricon weekly chart selling a little over half a million copies, the group subsequently faced slowly declining sales.

With the release of their eighteenth single "Love So Sweet", Arashi began gaining commercial success as "Love So Sweet" was used as the opening theme song for the high-rating drama Hana Yori Dango 2,making it one of the top five best-selling singles of 2007 in Japan and the group's first single to exceed 400,000 copies sold overall in nearly seven years.For the next two years, Arashi gained a number of achievements and records as they became the first artist to place the top two rankings on the Oricon singles yearly chart for two consecutive years with their singles "Truth/Kaze no Mukō e" and "One Love" in 2008 and "Believe/Kumorinochi, Kaisei" and "Ashita no Kioku/Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki)" in 2009,simultaneously topped the 2009 Oricon singles, album and music DVD yearly charts, and became the third artist in Oricon history to monopolize the top three best-selling singles of the year.In 2010, all six of Arashi's singles ranked within the top ten of the Oricon singles yearly chart,and their million-selling studio album Boku no Miteiru Fūkei was named the best-selling album of the year in Japan.



1999–2001: Debut and departure from Pony Canyon

Johnny & Associates announced the group's debut on November 3, 1999 through a press conference aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii.Then-president Johnny Kitagawa chose five trainees from the Johnny's Jr. division of the agency to become the members of Arashi, the Japanese word for Storm, and to represent the agency's thrust of "creating a storm throughout the world".On November 3, 1999, they made their CD debut by releasing the single "Arashi", which became the theme song for the Volleyball World Cup hosted by Japan in 1999.It went on to become a major hit, selling 557,430 copies in its first week and almost a million copies by the end of its chart run.

On April 5, 2000, Arashi released their second single "Sunrise Nippon/Horizon", which debuted at number-one on the Oricon weekly singles chart selling 304,340 copies.The next day, the group began their first concert tour at Osaka Hall.In July, the group released their next single "Typhoon Generation", which debuted at number three on the weekly singles chart with 256,510 copies sold and continued to chart for nine weeks before leaving the charts.After holding more concerts in August, the group released their last single of 2000, "Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi". The single debuted at number two on the Oricon weekly singles chart and had first-week sales of 258,720.

In January 2001, Arashi released their first studio album Arashi No.1 Ichigou: Arashi wa Arashi o Yobu!. The album debuted at number-one on the Oricon weekly album chart with initial sales of 267,220 copies.Until the release of their tenth anniversary compilation album All the Best! 1999–2009, the album remained the group's best-selling album with overall sales of about 323,030 for nearly ten years.From March 25 to April 30, 2001, the group embarked on their first nationwide concert tour Arashi Spring Concert 2001. The tour took place in Sendai, Osaka, Nagoya, Hokkaidō, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kanazawa, Toyama, and Tokyo with an unprecedented twenty-six performances.Before moving to a private record label by the end of 2001, Arashi released "Jidai" as their final single under Pony Canyon. Used as the theme song for Matsumoto's drama Kindaichi Shōnen no Jikenbo 3, it was named Best Theme Song in the 30th Television Drama Academy Awards.



2002–2005: J Storm and decline in sales

Arashi began 2002 by releasing their first single under J Storm. "A Day in Our Life" was used as the theme song for Sakurai's comedy drama Kisarazu Cat's Eye and debuted atop of the Oricon weekly singles chart selling 226,480 copies. Their subsequent releases of the year, "Nice na Kokoroiki" and "Pikanchi", were used as the theme songs for the anime Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo and Arashi's movie Pikanchi Life is Hard Dakedo Happy (ピカ☆ンチ Life is HardだけどHappy Pikanchi Life is Hard But Happy?) respectively.

Starting in 2003, the group would only release two singles every year until 2007. Both singles released in 2003, "Tomadoi Nagara" and "Hadashi no Mirai/Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono", debuted at number two on the charts. The song "Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono" marked the first time a member contributed to the penning of a single, as many of the group's songs are produced by other lyricists, composers, or musicians.Sakurai, who is the designated rapper of Arashi, has since written all the incorporated rap lyrics of the group's releases.

2004 was Arashi's fifth anniversary since debut. They began the year by releasing their twelfth single, "Pikanchi Double", in February as the theme song for their second movie Pikanchi Life is Hard Dakara Happy (ピカ☆ンチ Life is HardだからHappy Pikanchi Life is Hard Thus Happy?). Selling 89,106 copies in the first week, it is Arashi's lowest-selling single to date.In celebration of their anniversary, the group released a greatest hits album 5x5 The Best Selection of 2002–2004, which included their second 2004 single "Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy/Hero".

In 2005, on New Year's Day, Arashi released their first concert DVD since How's It Going? in 2003 titled 2004 Arashi! Iza, Now Tour!!. From July 26 to August 24, they embarked on a summer tour titled One to support their album of the same name. One of the highlights of the tour included the live performance their first single of the year, "Sakura Sake", on top of "Johnny's Moving Stage" (ジャニーズムービングステージ Janizu Mubingu Suteji?), a transparent stage that travels over the top of the audience. Invented by Matsumoto, "Johnny's Moving Stage" has since been used in a majority of Arashi's concerts to allow them to move closer to the audience seated at a distance from the main stage. In November, Arashi released a theme song for the manga-based drama Hana Yori Dango, which starred Matsumoto as one of the lead actors. "Wish" went on to sell an estimated 178,000 copies in its first week and over 300,000 copies by the end of its chart run, making it their first single sell over 300,000 copies in total in nearly three years since "A Day in Our Life" in 2002.




2006: International activities in Asia

By 2006, the group's singles and albums were being released outside of Japan. Their studio album, Arashic, was released not only in Japan, but also in Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The album was successful in Korea as the first 10,000 copies of the album were sold out on the first day, and it even topped the non-Korean sales charts on the third week of July.

In the midst of Arashi's summer concert tour Arachic Arashic Arasick Cool and Soul, the group embarked on a publicity tour around Asia called Jet Storm Tour on July 31.The group visited Taiwan, Thailand and South Korea, countries which later became part of their 2006 Asia tour, all in one day to hold press conferences and promote their Arashic album.For two days, September 16 and September 17, Arashi held their first concerts in Taipei at the Taipei Arena.

Performing "Arashi", "Wish" and "Kitto Daijōbu", which was their first single release of the year, the group represented Japan in the 3rd annual Asia Song Festival in South Korea on September 22.Almost two months later, they became the first group from Johnny's to perform individual concerts in South Korea. According to The Korea Times, the concerts in Korea were decided because about 1,500 Korean fans gathered at the Incheon International Airport during the group's Jet Storm Tour.Arashi proved popular to Korean fans when their concert tickets were sold out in an hour, as some 150,000 people rushed to book tickets online.

The group returned to Japan to release their second and final the single of the year "Aozora Pedal", which was written and composed by Japanese musician Shikao Suga and used for Sakurai's movie Honey and Clover.Although Arashi had planned to return to Thailand to hold a concert on October 7, it was canceled due to a military coup d'état.



2007: Returning to the Japanese market

On February 21, the group released their first single of the year, "Love So Sweet", the theme song for the high-rating drama Hana Yori Dango 2, which peaked at the number-one spot on the Oricon daily and weekly charts.It is also Arashi's first single to sell more than 200,000 copies in a week in almost five years.Their nineteenth single "We Can Make It!", released on May 2, also charted number-one on the Oricon daily and weekly charts.

In April, the group performed in one of their largest concerts: Arashi Around Asia in Dome, a continuation of their Triumphant Homecoming concert held in January, which was aimed to celebrate the successful Asia tour.Arashi Around Asia in Dome was held at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka and at Tokyo Dome, making it Arashi's first time performing there.On July 14, Arashi launched their summer tour titled Time – Kotoba no Chikara to support their seventh studio album Time. The album sold over 190,000 copies in its first week,not only extending the group's string of number-one releases but also propelling the album to reach Platinum status by Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).

Also in July, the TBS drama production of the manga Yamada Tarō Monogatari, which starred Ninomiya and Sakurai, began. Arashi sang the theme song of the drama, titled "Happiness", and released it on September 5 as their third single of the year. The year proved successful for the group as all of their singles ranked within the Top 30 of the annual Oricon charts, with "Love So Sweet" ranking fourth in single sales overall, making it the group's first single to rank within the Top 10 on the annual charts."Love So Sweet" was also named one of The Best 10 Singles in the 22nd Japan Gold Disc Awards in 2008.



2008: Rising popularity in Japan

The group's success in 2007 sparked renewed public interest. In February, Arashi released their first single of the year, "Step and Go", which debuted at the top of the Oricon weekly chart for having sold 324,223 copies, making it as the group's first single to exceed 300,000 copies sold in the first week since "Sunrise Nippon/Horizon" in 2000.The same month, it was announced that the group would be doing a concert tour of the five major domes in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo.The tour, titled Arashi Marks 2008 Dream-A-Live, consisted of ten performances, from May 16 in Osaka to July 6 in Sapporo.The only other Johnny's artists who have done a five dome tour were SMAP and KinKi Kids.The tour also coincided with their eighth studio album, Dream "A" Live, which was reported to be a hit with male buyers by Oricon despite the fact that most releases by Johnny's artists are geared towards female teens and young adults.In the midst of the tour, Arashi released their twenty-second single "One Love", the theme song for the last production of the Hana Yori Dango trilogy. Like "Step and Go", the single sold over 300,000 copies in its first week and charted at number-one of the weekly singles chart.

As the start of the group's second Asia tour, Arashi became the third musical group—after SMAP and Dreams Come True—to perform at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo as their first major outdoor concert on September 5. The first two legs of the tour included a return to Taipei and Seoul while the third leg was a first time trip to Shanghai. The concert in Shanghai also marked Johnny & Associates' first concert in China.Almost a month after the release of "One Love", their twenty-third single, "Truth/Kaze no Mukō e", was released. Debuting atop of the Oricon weekly charts, the double A-side single sold 467,288 copies.Before the group's concert in Shanghai on November 15, they released their fourth single of the year, "Beautiful Days", which was used as the theme song for Ninomiya's drama Ryūsei no Kizuna.Although "Beautiful Days" only had a little over a month to chart before the Oricon charting period for 2008 ended on December 11, the single managed to climb up to be the tenth best-selling single of the year.Their concert DVD Summer Tour 2007 Final Time - Kotoba no Chikara, released on April 16, also ranked as the second best-selling music DVD of 2008 and ranked sixth place in the general DVD category.



2009: 10th anniversary

The group released two double A-side singles, "Believe/Kumorinochi, Kaisei" and "Ashita no Kioku/Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki)", on March 4 and May 27 respectively. Both singles sold over 500,000 copies in first week sales, making Arashi the first artist to have two consecutive singles exceed the 500,000 mark within a week in seven years seven months since Keisuke Kuwata.

At the end of June, Arashi announced their tenth anniversary tour Arashi Anniversary Tour 5x10, which included three consecutive shows at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.They became the first artist to play at the stadium for three consecutive days.Their third single of the year, "Everything", was released on July 1 and sold nearly 342,000 copies in the first week.On August 19, Arashi released their greatest hits album All the Best! 1999–2009, which featured most of their singles since debut, a new song with lyrics written by the members themselves, and a limited edition third disc containing ten of the group's selections.The album sold over 753,000 copies in the first week.Thirteen days after the release, the album broke the one million mark, a first in Arashi's history.It became the first album of 2009 to break one million.

On November 11, Arashi released "My Girl" as their last single of the year. It debuted atop of the Oricon daily chart by selling about 178,000 copies on the first day and about 432,000 copies by the end of its first week.It was announced on November 17 that Arashi had thus monopolized the top four best first-week sales for singles of 2009.

On November 20, Arashi held an event organized by House Foods called Arashi in Tokyo DisneySea Premium Event. Reserving the entire theme park for one night, the group performed a special medley of Christmas songs and their own songs such as "Arashi" and "One Love", which made the Arashi the first celebrity to sing their own songs at Tokyo DisneySea.

Arashi attended the 60th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve, making it not only the group's first time performing on the show but also the first time in twenty-one years another group from Johnny's other than SMAP and Tokio, the two traditional participants, performed at Kōhaku.



2010: Continued success

On January 5, it was announced that Arashi would provide the song "Yurase, Ima o" as the theme song for the 2010 Winter Olympics news coverage on NTV.[81] On January 6, Sakurai announced that Arashi would provide the theme song "Troublemaker" for his then-upcoming comedy drama.The next day, Mezamashi TV aired the first preview of the theme song for the drama special Saigo no Yakusoku, the group's first drama together in nearly ten years.The theme song "Sora Takaku" was announced during the press conference for the drama special on December 15, 2009.Of the three newly recorded songs, only "Troublemaker" and "Yurase, Ima o" were included in the group's first single of the year released on March 3, with "Troublemaker" being the A-side song.

On February 24, the 24th Japan Gold Disc Awards awarded Arashi the "Artist of the Year" prize and nine other awards in various categories. As a result, they became the first artist to win ten awards at once.

It was announced on April 5 that Arashi would provide the theme song "Monster", which was released on May 19 as a single, for Ohno's fantasy comedy drama based on Fujiko Fujio's manga series Kaibutsu-kun.On May 24, "Monster" debuted at number-one on the Oricon weekly chart selling 543,000 copies in its first week, making Arashi the first act to have thirty consecutive singles rank in Oricon's weekly Top 3 since their debut.

On June 5, it was announced that the group was to release their first studio album in two years and four months since Dream "A" Live (April 2008) and hold a nationwide concert tour at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo for four days and the five major domes in Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo, Nagoya and Fukuoka.Although the four days are not consecutive, Arashi became the first to hold four concerts at the National Olympic Stadium in the same tour.

The group's song "Love Rainbow" was used as the theme song for the romance drama Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku (夏の恋は虹色に輝く Summer Love Shines in Rainbow Colors?) starring Matsumoto and Yūko Takeuchi."To Be Free", Arashi's third single of 2010, became the group's twentieth consecutive number-one single since "Pikanchi Double" (2004) on July 13.Together with Ohno's solo single "Yukai Tsukai Kaibutsu-kun" (ユカイツーカイ怪物くん?), which was released on the same day as "To Be Free" and placed at number-two, Arashi and Ohno accomplished the rare feat of a group and a solo artist from the group simultaneously taking the top two spots for the first time in nearly ten years.

Arashi provided the theme song "Dear Snow" for the live-action movie adaptation of the award-winning Ōoku: The Inner Chambers manga starring Ninomiya and Kou Shibasaki.On August 10, Arashi's ninth studio album Boku no Miteiru Fūkei placed at number-one on the Oricon weekly album chart, selling around 731,000 copies.The album maintained its number-one spot in the second week, making it Arashi's first studio album to lead the Oricon weekly album chart for two consecutive weeks. By selling around another 125,000 copies, the album has sold a total of 856,000 copies.In September, Japan Airlines (JAL) launched a domestic Boeing 777-200 bearing both the images of the members of Arashi and the title of their Boku no Miteiru Fūkei album, which will be sold with a specially designed cover in-flight. Japan Airlines will use the Arashi Jet until January 2011.

The song "Love Rainbow" was released as a single on September 8. It debuted at number-one on the Oricon weekly singles chart and sold around 529,000 copies, making "Love Rainbow" the group's third 2010 single to surpass 500,000 copies sold in the first week.On October 12, Boku no Miteiru Fūkei sold a total of a million copies, making it the group's first studio album to sell over a million copies and the first album in Japan to reach a million copies sold in 2010.Additionally, "Dear Snow" was released as a single on October 6 and became Arashi's fourth 2010 single to sell over 500,000 copies in the first week.

The group released their sixth single of 2010, "Hatenai Sora" (果てない空?, "Endless Sky"), on November 10. The single sold 572,000 copies in its first week, surpassing the group's old personal record of 557,000 copies sold in the first week set by their debut song "Arashi" in 1999.[103] The group became the first male artist to achieve six number-one singles in a year.On December 31, 2010, Arashi co-hosted the 61st NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen with Nao Matsushita, becoming the first group to host the show.



2011–present

On January 5, 2011, the 25th Japan Gold Disc Awards awarded Arashi the "Artist of the Year" prize for the second year in a row.It was announced on January 15, 2011 that Arashi would release the song "Lotus" as a single on February 23, 2011. "Lotus" was also adopted as the theme song for Aiba's drama Bartender (バーテンダー Bātendā?).

Released on January 26, 2011, Arashi's music DVD Arashi 10–11 Tour "Scene": Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fūkei – Stadium sold 618,000 copies in its first week, making it the first music DVD in Oricon history to sell over 600,000 copies in the first week.The DVD sold another 59,000 copies, bringing the total to an estimate of 677,000 copies sold and pushing the group's overall music DVD sales to 4,014,000 copies.As a result, Arashi became the first artist in Oricon history to sell over four million DVDs.

In early May 2011, the group announced their new tour with concerts in July, September, and January 2012 called the "Beautiful World Concert Tour". The group then announced on May 19, 2011 that they will hold charity events at Tokyo Dome for three days starting June 24, 2011, release their tenth studio album titled Beautiful World on July 6, 2011, and start their nationwide concert tour on July 24, 2011. According to Matsumoto, the title was chosen to reflect on Arashi's thoughts on the future of Japan after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Their nationwide tour will be held at four of the five major domes and the National Olympic Stadium, making it the group's fourth consecutive year performing at the stadium.

On June 22, 2011, Oricon announced that the group's second music DVD Arashi 10–11 Tour "Scene": Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fūkei – Dome+ sold 539,000 copies in its first week of sales, pushing their all-time DVD sales to 5.282 million, making them the first Japanese artist to sell over five million DVDs.

On October 19, 2011, NHK announced Arashi and actress Mao Inoue as the hosts for the 62nd Kouhaku Uta Gassen. This will be the second year in a row for Arashi to be in charge of the White Team.

On November 2, 2011, the group released their 36th single, Meikyū Love Song (迷宮ラブソング). Meikyū Love Song was adapted as the ending theme song for Sakurai's drama 'Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de'. The single sold over 240,000 copies on the first day and over 530,000 copies in the first week.


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arashi

Saturday, November 12, 2011

What is the secret behind the bodies of Narsha, Kikwang, and Boom?


Comedian Huh Kyung Hwan recently released a diet book that has been quite popular amongst many celebrities known for their fit bodies.

Named by personal trainer Sean Lee as having the golden body proportions, Brown Eyed Girls‘ Narsha is a huge fan of the book titled, ‘Huh Kyung Hwan’s Tasty Diet,’ and refers to it as one of her treasures.

B2ST‘s Kikwang is also a strong supporter of the book – all the more convincing because of his heavenly chocolate abs. Kikwang commented, “This is a revolutionary diet book. I didn’t know that chicken breast could be prepared in so many different ways.”

Boom, who recently returned from the military, swears the book helps him retain his army body. He encourages, “Even you can have a great body with Huh Kyung Hwan’s book.”

The book not only outlines meal plans and exercises, but also includes over 55 chicken recipes alone.

Source & Photo: TV Report via Naver

Kim Hyun Joong’s limited edition album pre-orders cause servers to crash



With pre-orders opening for limited edition copies of Kim Hyun Joong‘s ‘Lucky Guy’ album, fans rushed to online sites to purchase their copy.

Not only was the album completely sold out for pre-order, the flood of fans logging in at once caused servers to crash.

Key East Entertainment stated that the limited edition album was created to express Kim Hyun Joong’s gratitude for the fans who’ve shown his album much love. The limited edition album will contain merchandise decorated with Kim Hyun Joong’s official character ‘U:ZOOSIN’ and 50 pages of never-before-seen photos.

Fans have already petitioned for a release of more pre-orders, since many were unable to purchase theirs in advance with the servers crashing.

The limited edition will be officially released on November 14th, and will be available for sale in record stores.



Source + Photo: TVdaily via Nate, Mydaily
Tip: Beatrice

2NE1′s Sandara Park celebrates her 27th birthday



2NE1‘s Sandara Park celebrated her birthday with a short post and a new selca on me2day.

Sandara posted, “What’s up? I am now 26! In a few minutes I’ll be 27! I’m enjoying the moment! I finished my schedule, and I’ve returned to the hotel! Tomorrow we’re happily doing the ‘Girls Awards’ [in Japan], and in a bit we’ll be returning to Korea! Yours very truly, young Dara.”

The idol shared a photo of herself with her fingers posed to represent the number ’27′. Fans are noticing that with her hair pulled back from her face, ‘Young Dara’ looks more like she’s in her early 20s, instead of being close to 30.

They commented, “First of all happy birthday. It’s okay if you’re one year older because you still look young,” and “You should take the crown for youngest-looking person. I think you’ll still have that face even if you get older.”

In related news, 2NE1 was recently chosen by MTV as the ‘2011 Best New Band in the World.’

Source + Photo: Osen

Happy Birthday our dear Sandara Park!!!