Kpop Behind | All the Stories Behind Kpop Stars

2016 MAMA made its nomination announcement on October 28. Did you  check out the full list of nominees? So many kpop idol stars are on the list, and it is expected that there will be some fierce competition for the awards. By the way, in the kpop world, extra attention is now only focused on who's going to win 2016 MAMA for Best New Female Artist. Do you know why? You know, five attractive female groups, BLACKPINK, Gugudan, Bolbbalgan4, I.O.I, and WJSN are nominated for 2016 MAMA Best New Female Artist, while BLACKPINK and I.O.I are the two strongest candidates for the award. BLACKPINK made a very successful debut in August by topping various music charts with its debut song "Whistle." You know, t he 4-member girl group is YG Entertainment's first girl group since 2NE1 debuted in 2009, and enormous interest has been currently showering the team. And I.O.I, comprised of  11 members from 8 different kpop agencies, was absolutely the hottest kpop girl grou...

EXO's Kai has lately been embroiled in a controversy due to his wrong attitude toward his senior idol singer, Big Bang's Seungri at 2015 MAMA. As you can see in the picture above, when Seungri showed up in front of EXO, the members stood up and bowed politely to him, but Kai was just looking at him. Well, do you think Kai really ignored Seungri? Let's see the scene from another angle. You can see Kai r emoved his legs with thighs attached when Seungri appeared but missed timing to bow to him. Let's take a second look at it. Yeah, he belatedly found out that Seungri was there, and he had no enough time to express respect to the senior singer. And you know, it was during the live broadcast and Kai couldn't go to him later, of course. Don't mistake Kai for a rude person. He's not a very cheerful person and he is a little shy, but he is not the one  with no notion of politeness or manners. A nyway, it was an impressive performance by Seungri, a...

Do you remember 2015 MAMA? Various k-pop stars attended the awards and showed high quality performance, electrifying k-pop fans all over the world. Which was your best stage? Well, it's hard for me to pick just one, but I'm sure many of you were surprised at 2NE1's appearance on the awards. As you know, 2NE1's Park Bom got into trouble due to her drug issue and had had time for self-restraint and self-reflection for more than a year. However, she has never apologized for it and just made a surprise comeback at 2015 MAMA. That's why many people blamed her for her shameless. Well, what do you think? I can't say there was no problem, but I think it was YG's smart strategy. People in the world of k-pop usually call Yang Hyun Suk "adventurer," and he certainly showed his ability as a born businessman through 2015 MAMA. MAMA is not a just award ceremony. MAMA always tries to keep a balance among big k-pop agencies, such as SM and YG, and wha...

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...

Here is good news for kpop fans in Singapore. As you know, MAMA(Mnet Asian Music Awards) was held in Hong Kong 3 years in a row. When I visited 2014 MAMA, the Mnet staff said "We hold MAMA in Hong Kong because the city is the center of business, economy, and culture, while it has a large floating population." ( Stories Behind 2014 MAMA: Best Performances & Unknown Stories ) By the way, Lee Mi Kyung, vice chairman of CJ, is now showing a great interest in the Singaprean market. As I have heard from reliable source, she has recently visited Singapore and instructed staff to find a proper place where 2015 MAMA will be held. Of course, nothing has been decided yet regarding 2015 MAMA, and it is not a simple task to decide where 2015 MAMA will be held. MAMA has been maintaining a continuing relationship with various overseas companies, while the sponsorship deal with the companies is the most important thing for MAMA. It's unclear if the companies will agree with...

BIGBANG appeared on KBS’ “Happy Together” aired on May 21 2015, while it was the group's first ever appearance on KBS' entertainment show since 2008. Before the broadcast, YG's Yang Hyun Suk and KBS' senior officials had a meeting, and many people were surprised at it because it seemed that YG and KBS have been experiencing discord for years. Let’s see what happened with YG’s relationship with KBS first. It all started in 2010. In the year, YG didn't accept KBS' invitation to appear on the broadcasting company's end-of-year music awards “Gayo Grand Festival,” insisting that KBS' method of selecting the most popular song of the year award was unacceptable. Actually, Girls’ Generation, who was considered 2NE1’s main rival, won the award, and what YG really wanted to say was 2NE should be the winner of the award. Well, some of you might say YG was very narrow-minded. But I cannot just simply say YG was wrong because a lot happened in 2010. Just be...

From December 2-4, I've been to Hong Kong to watch 2014 MAMA held at Asia World Expo(AWE) in Hong Kong on December 3. As you know, the event is the biggest music festival in Asia, and a variety of Kpop stars including Big Bang's G-Dragon and Taeyang, EXO, IU, Girl's Day, Ailee, Winner, Epik High, Block B, AOA, BTS, Infinite and more attended the event. 2014 MAMA TOP 3 Performances Many of you might watched the show through TV or online. So, which performance do you think was the best? Here are top 3 performances of 2014 MAMA. No.1 GD & Taeyang Big Bang's Taeyang, who won a triple crown by receiving awards for Best Vocal Performance Male, Best Male Artist, and Song of the Year at 2014 MAMA, performed his mega hit 'Eyes, Nose, Lips', and then, hit the stage again with his best friend GD. It was the first time for the two top idol stars to perform their new song 'Good Boy', but the two absolutely overwhelmed the audience with their o...