Monday, June 25, 2012

2PM, 2NE1, Girls’ Generation win

2PM, 2NE1, Girls’ Generation win at Japan MTV awards

Boy band 2PM and girl groups 2NE1 and Girls’ Generation received major awards at the MTV Japan music video awards on Saturday, beating other internationally famous artists.
2PM won the Best Group Video with “I am Your Man” and 2NE1 received the Best New Artist Video with “I am the Best.”
Girls’ Generation won Best Album with “Girls Generation,” their first regular album in Japan, released in June last year. The album has sold 206,979 copies, making it the 11th best-selling album in the first half of the year on the Oricon Chart.
The MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2012 was held at Makuhari Messe Hall in Chiba, near Tokyo, on Saturday.
In winning the Best New Artist Video award, 2NE1 beat artists including LMFAO and James Blake as well as well-known Japanese groups.
The four-member girl group heated up the venue performing “Scream” and “I am the Best” in front of more than 6,000 people.
2NE1 plans to hold concerts in Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohama in September as part of their “New Evolution” Japan tour and expect to perform for more than 70,000 people.
2PM prevailed over other nominees including Coldplay and Maroon 5 to win the Best Group Video prize.
“We would like to attribute the honor of receiving the award to our fans and those who love ‘I am Your Man,’” 2PM said in Korean, Japanese and English after receiving the award.
2PM and 2NE1 performed with top Japanese groups EXILE and J Soul Brothers at the annual MTV Video Music Awards Japan.
The annual music video awards ceremony was presented by the Japanese singer Perfume and attended by world-famous artists including EXILE, JUJU, Bump of Chicken, Linkin Park and J Soul Brothers.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Girls' Generation

For idol stars who have reached the top usually enter the filming industry in order to prolong their top star statuses. This is so because in the music industry, the top stardom doesn't last long. As idol group members get older, it becomes harder and harder for them to maintain their popularity.

A drama production representative stated, 'When we cast popular idol stars in our dramas and films, we are able to broaden our audience and it becomes easier to attract investors. Now days, the audience for our dramas are not only Korean citizens but people worldwide so casting a popular K-Pop star will only be helpful to the drama in aspects of financial gains and drama popularity; which is why we prefer to keep casting idol group members. On the other hand, idol group members know themselves that their music career is very limited so they also prefer to broaden their work field and begin their acting careers.'
Recently however, idol group members who begin their acting careers are getting younger and younger. Even members of groups recently debuted have been training years before their debut to become actors. Why is this happening and when did this begin?

Representatives stated, 'It's hard for the artists to gain popularity and make their face known without acting.' It's almost impossible to get the names of the individual members known to the viewer's just by their appearances on music programs. As a result, idol group members often appear on talk shows and comedy shows in addition to their other busy schedules. Idol stars are resorting to acting because even with their hectic schedules, their popularity level remains the same.
One representative from an entertainment company stated, 'When they begin to act, they are able to reach out to teenagers as well as to the older audience so they are able to get their names out there by appearing in shows and dramas. On the other perspective, when idol stars appear in dramas and shows, the viewing rate goes up significantly so they prefer casting idol stars. This also applies to product endorsements.'

Another agency representative stated, 'When idol groups appear at individual events, the reaction of the audience is important. When idol stars appear at event in rural areas, the audiences are all senior citizens who have never heard of the idol stars before. Senior citizens don't watch music programs. Instead, they watch dramas and talk shows. This is a major factor in why idol groups are appearing in more and more shows and dramas.'