Kpop Behind | All the Stories Behind Kpop Stars

BLACKPINK won no.1 trophy of SBS' "Inkigayo" aired on July2. With its new song "As if it's your last", the girl group topped the chart show. By the way, BLACKPINK members burst into tears when their name was called. Yeah, they burst into tears because they were so moved. But that's not all. There's a story behind it. BLACKPINK released "As if it's your last" on June 22. And on the same day, MAMAMOO also made a comeback with its new song "Yes I am". Great attention was focused on the competition between the two popular girl groups, but, it seemed that MAMAMOO won the competition. MAMAMOO reached the top of a variety of online music charts, while it's notable that the girl group ranked higher than BLACKPINK on Melon, the biggest Korean music site. In addition, BLACKPINK's "As if it's your last" is a single, which means, the girl group can't get any album sales points on music chart shows. ...

IU is one of the most popular k-pop singer among k-pop industry workers because she is very good-natured. She's kind to everybody and she never acts high and mighty even though she is a top star. By the way, it seems like she is more kindhearted than I thought. Do you like k-pop chart shows? Do you know what happens backstage, then? It is common for Korean people to have respect for seniors. That's why the relationship between senior k-pop singers and junior k-pop singers are so tight. So, on the day when k-pop idols take part in the recording of a music chart show, junior singers usually visit senior singers' waiting rooms and bow to them. Junior singers present their signed CDs too, while some senior singers who have bad character even refuse to receive it. Senior singers, especially popular singers never visit junior singers' waiting rooms or present their signed CDs to junior singers. However, IU is different. Even though she has been active in the k-pop worl...

On June 20, T-ara topped SBS MTV "The Show" with its new song "What's my name?". By the way, the members burst into tears even before receiving the no.1 trophy. They cried so much that they couldn't even give their thoughts on winning the trophy. As they've gone through so many hardships since their debut, it seemed that they were full of emotions. You know, after the girl group's bullying problem has surfaced in 2012, the members became the focus of public censure, while Boram and Soyeon left the team this year. Some people said it will be impossible for T-ara to win a no.1 trophy on a music chart show, but, yeah, the members did it. Congratulations on T-ara's successful comeback, and check out what the 4 members talked about their winning no.1 trophy on "The Show". They gave their thoughts through their agency. Eunjung Even though I wasn't there when our name was called due to my drama shooting, I missed the other me...

BLACKPINK will make a comeback by appearing on MBC's "Show! Music Core". According to the officials on June 20, the girl group will perform its new song "As if it's your last" on "Show! Music Core" to be aired on June 24, while it's notable that it's the first time for BLACKPINK to make an appearance on the program since its debut in 2016. You know, just like the other YG artists, BLACKPINK has performed its songs on "Inkigayo" and "M Countdown" but didn't appeared on "Show! Music Core" even once. What do you think it means that BLACKPINK decided to make an appearance on "Show! Music Core" for the first time? Well, BLACKPINK is planning to do extensive promotional activities, and there will be many chances for BLINKs to see the attractive 4 members on various TV shows. <K-pop Secret Vol.1: 40 Korean Stars’ Real Personality> K-pop Secret Vol.1 contains stories about the real persona...

SEVENTEEN made a comeback with its new album "Al1" on May 22, and it seems like the boy group's comeback is very successful so far. The title track of the group's new album "Don't wanna cry" ranked high on various music charts, while the album topped album sales charts too. Even though it has been just 3 days since it was released, the album sold over 80,000 copies, which have increased by 20,000 copies compared to SEVENTEEN's previous album. SEVENTEEN's popularity race in the k-pop world is very meaningful in many aspects. First, SEVENTEEN made a very successful comeback even though its new album was a new challenge for the group. You know, unlike the group's cheerful and energetic previous songs, "Don't wanna cry" is a song about young boy's sadness. Second, SEVENTEEN is becoming increasingly popular in the k-pop world. The fact that the group is doing great on album sales charts means they have a lot of loyal fans....

Block B's P.O, EXID's Junghwa and MOMOLAND's Yeonwoo have been chosen as new MCs for MTV "The Show". On May 15, "The Show" officially announced that the three idols will host the show, stating, "P.O is the one who has bright and positive energy, and we're sure he is the right person to host the show". About Junghwa, "The Show" said "She's already hosted the show as a special MC on May 2, and we think she will do an excellent job because she has lovely and fresh charm", adding, "Even though it's the first time for Yeonwoo to host a music chart show, we're sure she will give the rest two MCs lots of energy as a rookie idol".

On February 13, veteran k-pop singer Lee Seung Hwan posted a long piece of writing on Facebook. What he wanted to say was MBC's "Show! Music Core" is unfair and there is injustice regarding k-pop singers' appearance on the show. Even though MBC disregarded us, I wonder what they'll say. Do you know why these guys couldn't appear on "Show! Music Core"? What? Only 40 managers who are managed by MBC can make their singers appear on the show? LOL These guys have been produced through your TV show "Great Birth." Yeah, you must hate me because I said such and such about their welfare. You, dickhead. I've invested 50M KRW to help them make contracts with good agencies, and you knew that. Did you think I was foolish when I earnestly requested for just one chance? I even participated in your union rally for you, bastards. What is important for you? A promise with big k-pop agencies? Or you just hate me? Now that I think about it, it mak...

On Friday, around the building of KBS is crowded with k-pop fans. You know, it's the broadcasting day of a famous k-pop chart show "Music Bank," while various k-pop stars appear in KBS on the day. Every Friday, k-pop journalists visit the broadcasting company too because we can meet many k-pop industry workers and have interview with idol stars there. By the way, in 2016, KBS hired private security guards to block k-pop journalists' access, which evoked a strong opposition by the journalists. Well, there were two reasons for KBS' such action. "Music Bank" is aired for about an hour, but it takes almost a full day to film the show. And as there are many singers who appear in the show, singers have to wait for a long time till their turn comes. So, during the waiting time, k-pop journalists usually have an interview with idol singers. However, some of the singers were late for the recording of the show after being interviewed by journalists, and KBS...

On May 27, AOA topped KBS' "Music Bank" with its new song "Good Luck," pushing back Twice into the second place. By the way, this provoked a fierce controversy among the public. Some of you might not understand why, but there's a reason for that. Ok, before looking into the reason, let's see  how the big 4 kpop chart shows choose their No.1 of the week. As you can see above, "Music Bank"  chooses its No.1 of the week by totaling digital single, album sales, broadcast and preference points. Then, let's see if AOA deserves the No.1 trophy. Here's actual points of AOA and Twice. From the top, those are digital single point, preference point, broadcast point, and album sales point. So, as you can see, AOA got more broadcast point and album sales point than Twice. The broadcast point is not debatable because AOA appeared in KBS' many programs and this is how FNC singers usually can win No.1 trophy at "Music Bank"...

YG has been in conflict not only with KBS but also with Mnet. In September 15, 2015, iKON released its warm-up single “My Type,” and with the song the boy group dominated a variety of online music charts. However, the song was just excluded from the chart of Mnet’s “M Countdown,” and the incident triggered a conflict between YG and Mnet. At that time, Mnet stated “The music chart of “M Countdown” only takes into account songs that are being promoted. iKON just dropped the warm-up single and didn't appear on music chart shows. That's why the song was excluded from the chart." However, YG took a strong stand, saying, "It doesn't make any sense. We will consider whether iKON should appear on Mnet even after the group's mini and full album will be released." Well, what do you think? Actually, there was something complicated behind the conflict between them. In 2015, there was an intense competition between YG and SM. YG’s BIGBANG made a comeback afte...

Check out Top 15 Songs with the Highest Preference Points on Music Bank (all time, as of July 30, 2015) too.

Please check out   this article if you want to know details about how kpop chart shows choose No.1 of the week.

Who is your favorite k-pop idol group? Have you ever voted for the group to help the members win No.1 of the week on k-pop chart shows? Well then, do you know how k-pop chart shows such as “M Countdown,” “Music Bank,” “Show! Music Core” and “Inkigayo” choose their No.1 of the week? Here's how the big 4 k-pop chart shows give marks to k-pop idols to choose their No.1 of the week. Well, so, it’s that simple? No, it’s not. There is another thing affecting how the k-pop chart shows choose their No.1 of the week. Broadcasting companies need to maintain good relations with big k-pop agencies because they need the agencies’ popular idols. However, at the same time, the broadcasting companies do not want to be defeated in the power struggle with k-pop agencies. Barely a decade ago broadcasting companies had absolute authority over k-pop agencies, but the agencies became much more powerful now. So, before determining their No.1 of the week, broadcasting companies have to do a...

Have you ever been curious about k-pop idols' microphones? Unless you are a professional, it’s difficult to know the details about the microphones. However, there’s a very simple way to make a guess at what kind of microphone your favorite idol star uses. Well, the way is to classify the microphones by their colors. Colors of microphones do not always mean everything, but like I said, you can at least make a guess at what kind of microphones those are. Flesh-Colored Microphone You might see the flesh-colored microphones frequently in various k-pop chart shows. Those are the basic microphones offered by the broadcasting company. People in the k-pop world usually call it "Band-Aid." The microphone is cheap, and it doesn't perform well. However, it doesn't matter because not a few incompetent idols depend on their AR and just pretend to sing live. Black Microphone The black microphone is not offered by the broadcasting company. If an idol group's...

APink topped Soribada's weekly chart for 2 consecutive weeks with its song 'LUV'. With the song released on November 24, the girl group was ranked No.1 on Soribada's fourth of November chart and first of December chart, proving its great popularity in the world of kpop. Prior to this, the girl group has already topped a variety of music chart shows including KBS' 'Music Bank', MBC's 'Show Music Core', and SBS' 'Inkigayo'. The group, who has maintained its pure and lovely concept since its debut in 2011, showed off more mature and elegant charm through 'LUV'. Meanwhile, Sung Si Kyung and Kwon Jin Ah's 'Don't forget' was ranked No.2 on Soribada's weekly chart, while Super Junior's Kyuhyun ranked fifth with his solo song 'At Gwanghwamun'.

Boyfriend's Jungmin has been chosen as a special MC for MBC's 'Show! Music Core'. According to Starship entertainment, Jungmin will host the show to be aired on October 18 as a special MC. Jungmin stated, "I'm honored to be an MC of 'Show! Music Core'. I'll try not to make a mistake. I'm a bit nervous but so excited too," while his company said "We are expecting that Jungmin, who is a clever talker, will make a good job of it." Meanwhile, Boyfriend recently released its new song 'WITCH'.

Kpop singers' lip sync will be banned at Korean music chart show. On July 1, MBC's 'Show! Music Core' announced that the program will restrict Kpop singers' lip sync. Actually, not a few Kpop singers have been lip syncing at music chart show, and there are several types of the singers' lip sync. Type #1. To Play AR and Lip Sync to It (Percentage of Live Singing: 0%) Some Kpop singers(They usually are idol groups who show dance performance) do not sing live at all. When watching their performance on TV, people can't notice that they are lip syncing because it sounds like they are singing live. However, their voices are all included in AR and they do not sing at all. The AR certainly sounds different from the song recorded in their album, and it confuses fans. Type #2. Only Lead Vocalist Sings Live (Percentage of Live Singing: 10~20%) This is quite interesting type of Kpop singer's lip sync. As you know, Kpop idol groups are usually comprised ...

EXO topped Korean and Chinese music chart shows at the same time. After releasing its new song 'Overdose' on May 7, EXO-K took over the first place of various Korean music chart shows such as MBC's 'Show! Music Core', MBC Music's 'Show Champion' and Mnet's 'M Countdown'. EXO-M also topped CCTV's 'Global Chinese Music Chart'(全球中文音乐榜上榜) for 2 consecutive weeks, proving that the group is the most popular idol in China. EXO became the first ever group who topped music chart shows in Korea and China at the same time. 'Overdose' is a dance track with an urban feel rooted in hip hop and R&B. It is the collaborative work of The Underdogs, who worked with famous pop stars such as Beyonce, Chris Brown and Justin Timberlake, and famous composer Kenzie.

High4 with IU topped SBS' 'Inkigayo' with its song 'Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms'. On May 13, SBS announced that High4 with IU took over the first place of 'Inkigayo', beating their rivals such as APink and Akdong Musician. SBS had cancelled 'Inkigayo' to show its condolences for the victims of the Sewol ferry tragedy. High4 with IU got 6000 points on online music site and 3500 on SNS, making a total of 9500, while APink's total points were 7499. The new Kpop boy group High4 is comprised of Kim Sung Goo, Baek Myung Hwan, Alex and Lim Young Joon, while all the members are able to compose and write their own songs. IU is maintaining a close relationship with Kim Sung Goo since her trainee period, and readily agreed to be featured as a singer in the song. High4 plans to release its new album in June, and will do promotional activities in foreign countries such as Japan and China.